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How to Open a Yoga Studio… and Succeed
5 Experts’ Best Advice on How to Open a Yoga Studio—& Succeed
Ever wonder what it takes to start your own yoga studio and make it successful? Follow along as we trail an enthusiastic pair of yogis through their business journey.
Brie Galicinao and Alysia Hendricks are on the cusp of opening a yoga studio in Santa Barbara, California. But, setting up all the business details has been challenging.
“It was tough to even get started. Visiting a bank with our financials, submitting a letter of intent on a lease, looking into copyrighting, and contacting contractors and equipment providers,” says Galicinao. “Even researching and looking at spaces for the studio took us a whole year”. (As of press time, they’re still in lease negotiations with a goal of opening by April 2018.)
Galicinao and Hendricks are Yoga Medicine teachers trained by Tiffany Cruikshank, certified personal trainers through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and softball coaches at the University of California–Santa Barbara. They’ve both wanted to open their own yoga studio for years, but the idea became more appealing after they each used yoga to recover from head injuries (softballs are not exactly soft).
The Inspiration
Two years ago, Hendricks was pitching in a batting cage when a line drive ricocheted off the cage and smacked her on the forehead. She was diagnosed with a concussion. And, later, post-concussion syndrome. She suffered debilitating symptoms that persisted for months. “I had severe daily headaches, nausea, vertigo, and slow cognitive functioning,” Hendricks says, “I think the toughest part was having no guidance for how to get better and no timeline for my recovery.
Doctors were limited with their resources, insurance companies wanted objective medical evidence or test results, and my friends didn’t realize how much I was suffering because they couldn’t visibly see anything wrong with me.” Hendricks, a dedicated yogi, started a post-injury routine with some breathing exercises and a couple of seated postures, slowly building back up to an hour-long practice.
“Yoga was the only physical activity I could do for six months,” she says. “I was able to breathe into spaces where I was holding a lot of tension, slow my heart rate, and reduce the pain of my headaches,” she says. “Pranayama, in particular, gave me a starting point, or reset. It helped me be OK with the ups and downs of recovery as I tested my limits, including retraining my brain to process information and speak at the cadence I was capable of prior to the injury.”
Galicinao had a similar experience last spring after she suffered a concussion during softball practice. “Yoga was instrumental to my recovery,” she says. “It helped reduce my irritability, fatigue, and sensitivity to light and sound. All of which was as particularly difficult to manage when coaching an outdoor sport.”
Bridging the Gap for Head Injuries
Hendricks and Galicinao are now determined to bring yoga to other athletes suffering from head injuries. Their studio will also serve those looking to improve their mental functioning and overall brain health. During their own recoveries, they realized that there aren’t a lot of resources that bridge the gap between the medical field (neurologists and others who treat brain injuries) and getting athletes back to being active, so they believe they will be poised to fill a real need.
Armed with their decades of fitness knowledge, their deepening connections to the medical professionals who treat brain injuries in Santa Barbara, and Hendricks’s extensive business background (she’s worked in financial roles for Apple and the Tiger Woods Foundation), the pair plans to open MindShift Studio. Their studio will offer a combo of yoga, cycling, and specialized strength and conditioning training. The yoga classes will be centered on ways to improve cognitive performance through balance poses and breathwork. And they plan to offer indoor cycling in their space since they consider it a safe way to get a cardio workout and bring blood to the brain without flaring up post-concussion symptoms—mainly because your head stays relatively still on a stationary bike as opposed to the up-and-down bouncing during running or the balancing act of cycling on the road.
While they’re confident in their purpose, Galicinao and Hendricks know that they have a lot to learn when it comes to succeeding with their studio. To help nudge them along, Yoga Journal set them up with some business-savvy yoga mentors who took a glance at their preliminary business plan and offered some guidance on next steps. Read along for an inside look at what it takes to launch a studio, and for best practices when going into the business for yourself.
Step 1: Establish your business vision & strategy
Mentor: Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine
Tiffany Cruikshank has been teaching a style of yoga focused on anatomy and biomechanics for more than two decades (called Yoga Medicine) and training teachers for the past 12 years. In that time, hundreds of her former students have started their own studios. In fact, a third of Yoga Medicine teachers own studios. She’s been a part of her students’ successes, and also their failures. As Galicinao’s and Hendricks’s teacher, Cruikshank has been in the loop during their business incubation.
Cruikshank has given them input on one of the biggest issues many new studio owners face. The issue? How to establish a well-defined purpose.
The duo must be careful here, says Cruikshank, so that their focus on cognitive function and brain health doesn’t get lost amidst the cycling, in particular. “If they focus too much on the cardio, they may lose a lot of the yoga clientele, particularly since Santa Barbara has a lot of yoga studios,” she warns. Galicinao and Hendricks say that yoga will be the main offering, and their cycling classes will have a focus on mindfulness and brain health, featuring soft lighting and mellower music than you may experience at a standard cycling studio or gym. They plan to schedule 75-minute vinyasa yoga classes, 30-minute yin yoga and meditation classes, and 45-minute cycling classes that can be followed by meditation.
Finding a Niche
In a larger city like Santa Barbara, the pair can get away with having more of a niche studio. Like one devoted to cognitive health and recovery. Conversely, in a small town where there are few options, studio owners should keep it broad, says Cruikshank. Galicinao and Hendricks know that the yoga offerings in their area are many. But, Based on their research they believe that there is room for a studio that is uniquely focused on brain health.
Building a Referral System
Cruikshank says that establishing relationships with medical pros will be key. One of the simplest ways to start is to hand out postcards offering a free class to some nearby medical offices. “You want to get the doctors, nurses, and their staffs in the door to experience it themselves,” she says. She also recommends that they use their strengths as high-level coaches to connect to the athletic community at large in Santa Barbara, including reaching out to recreational athletes. “After all, they want to serve anyone who wants to feel better and perform better.”
Decide on a Curriculum
Another consideration, says Cruikshank, is how much control over the yoga classes they intend to wield. “Sometimes studio owners struggle between choosing a style. They could prescribe a class style, meaning classes would be more consistent, but always the same. Or, they could decide to have classes that are more individual, but less predictable.”
Hire Some Staff
When it comes to hiring teachers, Cruikshank recommends doing as much research as possible—especially outside of a traditional interview setting. “You want to find teachers whose yoga and wellness philosophy is in line with what you, as the owner, want for the studio. It can be difficult though—a demo class or two doesn’t always prove that. It may be helpful to look at potential teachers’ social media to see how they are connecting with people and if what’s important to them is in line with your values, too.”
When you talk with prospective teachers, Cruikshank recommends asking whom they trained with and what trainings they have done, to get a sense of their qualifications. Then, ask prospective hires why they enjoy teaching, what kind of classes they like teaching, and what excites them—in yoga and in life, she notes. “With this info, you’ll get a sense of where a teacher’s heart really is, and that will tell you what kind of classes they will teach well.”
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