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How to Manage and Grow a Yoga Studio During COVID

With its ability to relieve stress, undo the day’s tension and poor posture, strengthen from the inside out and rejuvenate, we could all use a little yoga in our lives right now.

Yoga studios, whether operating virtually or in-person, are uniquely positioned to help people who have been stuck at home. However, there are also a lot of challenges that come with operating a yoga studio during a pandemic.

Many of the features that make a yoga class so amazing — focused breathing exercises, hands-on instruction, close-knit community, etc. — also present increased risk amidst the COVID pandemic.

Even as restrictions are lessened and vaccinations are more widespread, your members want to know that you’ll not only provide them with a relaxing, strengthening and rejuvenating experience, but also a safe experience.

The pandemic has forced small businesses in every industry to make changes and stay nimble. The fitness industry is certainly no exception. But, the good news is that there are many things you can do to win, even now.

6 tips for managing and growing a yoga studio during COVID

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#1. Get your website up to date

Inevitably, keeping your yoga studio up and running during the pandemic means moving some of your operations online. That means that your website needs to offer the features and functionality you need.

For example, if you have a pro shop at your yoga studio, building an online store can help to make up for a lack of in-person customers. You can also free up more of your employees’ time by allowing members to pay for one-time classes and monthly memberships online, and to sign up for classes from your website.

Even if you don’t want or need anything fancy on your website, at the very least, it needs to be professional and mobile-friendly.

#2. Offer online classes

Some of the changes yoga studios have had to make so far have included decreased class sizes to ensure social distancing, as well as limiting the number of classes and type of classes they offer.

One way to ensure that you’re meeting the needs of members who are uncomfortable with the idea of an in-person setting, and those who are unable to attend in person, is to supplement your in-person yoga classes with online yoga classes.

There are many different ways you could go about offering online yoga classes. You could live stream classes over Zoom, or you could produce classes ahead of time that your students can access any time.

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#3. Accept reservations for classes ahead of time

If you’re going to offer in-person classes, then you’ll need to make a few changes to how you normally do things. You’ll probably need to reconfigure the set-up of your classes, and you’ll likely need to limit your class sizes.

The last thing you want is to have to turn members away when they arrive for a class in person. This creates a negative experience for everyone, and forces you to choose who can stay and who has to go.

One of the best ways to ensure a better all-around experience for your members is to make your classes reservation-only and allow them to book a spot in the class of their choice in advance online.

#4. Move classes outdoors when possible

While precautions still need to be taken when outdoors, the risk of transmission is a whole lot lower. Practicing outdoors can give your members more peace of mind and help them feel safer and more at ease.

Outdoor yoga classes are a great alternative to indoor classes. Of course, the weather can be limiting, but you could always offer your members an alternative online session if conditions aren’t ideal.

Some yoga studios have offered outdoor classes in parks and other public spaces, while others have formed partnerships with local outdoor venues. There are probably more options than you think. You may just have to think outside of the box to find them!

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#5. Rethink your pricing structure

The pandemic has made it necessary for yoga studios to change what they offer and how they operate. While these changes make it possible for studios to keep serving their members, it’s important to ensure that they are reflected in your pricing structure.

If, before the pandemic, your members were paying for full-time, in-person classes with hands-on instruction and the works, you can’t expect them to pay the same rates if you’re offering fewer classes, you don’t have the capacity to ensure they get a spot in the classes they want or you’ve moved to virtual yoga classes.

One downside of online classes is that they tend to be a lot less personalized, even with the best instructors, which means people may not be willing to pay as much for them. However, the major benefit is that many more people can attend them!

#6. Keep your members up to date

Operating during a pandemic means making changes to ensure the safety of your members meet their changing needs and provide them with the best possible experience. Whatever you’re doing to make this happen, make sure you communicate with your members.

Whether you’re postponing an outdoor class due to inclement weather or you’re launching a virtual yoga workshop for your members, don’t just rely on one channel to get your message out there.

Keep your members up to date anywhere and everywhere you can, including on your website, social media platforms, local listings, etc. You should also connect with your members directly when possible through email and text message marketing.

People need yoga right now more than ever, and while yoga class may not look like it did before, there are lots of things you can do to keep guiding your members through their practice and helping them enjoy the many benefits of yoga.

Successfully managing and growing a yoga studio amid COVID starts with having a modern, professional yoga studio website that offers the functionality you need.

The Websites 360® yoga studio website builder is designed to make it easy for you to do it yourself and offers a library of beautiful website design templates to get you started and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Choose a template to get started.