The Business of Yoga
Written by Super Member: Kristina
When I first graduated from college and got a job in corporate America, I was very disappointed at the 9-5 working world, with its lines of cubicles and bodies lethargically sending e-mails throughout the day. Yoga classes were a soothing respite from the mundane world of computers, corporations, and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. I took Yoga classes - mornings and evenings, and sometimes snuck out in the middle of the day to take Yoga classes at Crunch Fitness gym across the street from where I worked.
I saw my Yoga teachers as these wonderful free spirits, dedicated to flexing body, mind, and spirit, whereas many in the 9-5 world seemed to be giving in to inertia. I only liked to observe inertia in noble gases - not in human beings - so one of my very naive decisions at the time - and thank Goddess and Guru for naivete - was to train to teach Yoga and massage so that I could get away from the desk job and earn a living at the same time.
After almost 11 years, I love to look back at my idealism. My salaries at my 9-5 desk jobs (now 9-7) have always been a multiple or several multiples of the "salaries" I have made as a Yoga teacher. At one point in my initial stages of Yoga teaching, I had a full-time day job for a start-up internet company that required much travel and taught several classes a week and on weekends. I remember praying that I wouldn't be asked to travel to beautiful places and stay at gorgeous hotels on behalf of my company so that I could stay in Austin, Texas, where I lived at the time and teach Yoga, making $30 per class.
Looking back, I have to laugh and cheer at my own dedication to the practice and Yoga's power to help people. I still believe in Yoga's power to heal and its thoroughly important place in all of our lives (yogis and non-practitioners alike) - but I've come to realize that only those who are really savvy at business, marketing, and promotions can make comparable salaries teaching Yoga to what I make in the corporate world.
We hear about it all the time - the corporation of Yoga. Is it authentic now that people are making so much money from it? Yoga as a business counts for a multi-billion industry as a whole - according to several articles, but is this right or good for Yoga?
I say it is as it is - neither right nor wrong - just a powerful wave. Admittedly, I like that Yoga is becoming part of the vernacular - whether or not people are truly cognizant of what they are saying when they refer to "samadhi" is none of my business for the most part - unless I am asked what it is. I'm just glad people have an inkling to figure out what samadhi is and how to achieve it.
Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, the founder of Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York, dedicates an entire chapter in his book "Fundamentals of Yoga," initially published in 1959 to "Yoga and Business". He explains that if we don't treat Yoga as a business in some respect, then it will always be thought of as a hobby or a pastime - rather than a lifestyle or way of being.
It is evident to me, that what we do for a living takes up most of our time - even beyond the time we spend with our families and friends. As Yoga gains popularity, people are figuring out how to spend most of their time in its practice and teaching - while earning a living to support their families, pay the bills, and live in a good home. I hope to continue to help figure out ways where people can earn a decent living teaching, sharing, and participating in Yoga, and I know most of you who read this article feel the same way, too.
Om shantih,
Sumukhi
This Article was contributed by a Super Member:
Kristina "Yogafly" Lanuza or "Sumukhi" (Sanskrit name) is a yoga teacher who currently lives, studies, and teaches classes, retreats and yoga teacher training at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York. She is available for lectures, trainings, and interviews. For more information, please visit www.yogafly.com.
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