The Business of Yoga {Yoga Post}

I've got an idea for a brand new recipe....deets below. I'm going to get the ingredients today. It is a veganized version of a dessert I saw on Facebook yesterday. I love veganizing and healthifying (word?) crappy food that is full of animal products. Stay with me!

This post is a little off the beaten path of recipes but my goal is for this blog to be a health and wellness blog. My life isn't just about making recipes and eating although it's a big part of it lol. I also do yoga, I teach restorative yoga for athletes when there is room on the schedule (more about that below) and I am training for the NYC marathon and raising a ton of money for my marathon charity. By the way, if you are reading this and want to contribute to helping kids become healthier and introducing them to running, my fundraising deadline is THIS THURSDAY and I need $499 more. My marathon training is all over the place but more about that in another post.

As some of you may know, I own a yoga studio in downtown Manhattan and we are having a workshop that focuses on the business of yoga. There is a lot of talk about how yoga was never meant to be a money making activity. Yoga originated in India as a way to become more connected with life and yourself and simplicity. Through asanas (poses) and meditation and helping others, it's a way to reach a state of happiness that is true to yourself and unique to YOU. Now yoga is so westernized, it's skinny white women wearing Lululemon and sipping lattes (no offense to Lulu and lattes) and it's JUST beginning to become diversified thanks to women like Jessamyn Stanley and Dana Falsetti.

I don't see anything wrong with people making money from yoga. If yoga is something that makes you happy and you want to make a living bringing happiness to others through yoga, meditation, Reiki and other healing arts, by all means do this. I think yoga should always be accessible to everyone and as yoga teachers, I think we struggle with pricing because of this. I think teachers need to be accepting of all students, embrace diversity and eliminate the perfect yoga student from their minds. I think yoga should be as non-judgmental as possible. My studio offers space to teachers who want to teach their own group of students. The teacher rents our space, which is fully stocked with yoga mats and props, and they bring in their own students. They charge their own price and are free to exercise their creativity. It's a space for teachers to be themselves and start teaching if teaching in another studio is not available to them. Yoga is NYC is off the chain and it can be expensive which is why we want to outside of that fray. And if no one else is booked, I teach a restorative class for athletes. It's a toss up because I'd rather the studio be booked with other classes but I do love teaching my own.

October 15th is our Do The Yoga Hustle workshop with Tracye Warfield. It's a workshop for teachers to learn how to start a yoga business, make money, attract students and do what they love while also paying their rent. The more yoga teachers who begin to teach, the more diversity we have. The yoga field is beginning to change and there are so many teachers out there who are not white, skinny (me!), wealthy, wearing Lululemon or charging a ton of money. Most of our teachers at The Yoga Collective keep their prices low and offer beginner classes, come as you are classes, and a relaxed environment for their students. If you are trying to get your classes up and running, any classes in the healing arts (Reiki, yoga, pilates, chakra dancing, health and wellness workshops etc) grab a ticket above. The price goes up slightly after today.

Ok, so this recipe.....baked cheesecake apples. I saw the video of how to make them and I'm set.  I can veganize them and also make them healthier...meaning no packaged ingredients, just the whole nut and fruit base. I'm psyched. They take a little bit of mixing and baking but they are a warm, sweet dessert that is perfect for fall. So, stay tuned for the next post. Also, I'm going to talk about my running and my marathon training too. It's been a summer and fall of realizations and setbacks. It's all good though.

Mwa!! Love yas all. Thanks for reading.

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