Yoga studio owners and full time teachers have a number of things in common. We’ve made our passion our profession and in essence, we’re yoga evangelists – We will talk to whoever, whenever about how much we love yoga and how it absolutely will change your life. We’ve usually experienced some sort of emotional and/or physical breakthrough or transformation as a result of our asana practice. We take our yoga off the mat and its teachings are an integral part of our spirituality. And most importantly, (for this post) using creativity to make ends meet is a way of life.
Today, I am not going to pontificate about the countless ways yoga has transformed my life so you too can nod in agreement and experience. For a moment, I am going to take my Yoga Evangelist hat off and slide on my attorney-business woman cap. For those of you that didn’t realize, in addition to being a yoga evangelist, I am also an attorney with over 10 years experience business transactions and contract negotiations in healthcare, pharmaceutical drug development and academic research. Sounds impressive, right? Well, honestly, it isn’t…but I do know a bit about healthcare policy and more specifically – the Affordable Care Act (“ACA” otherwise known as Obama Care).
I will not go through a litany of reasons why the ACA is awesome sauce or why it sucks balls. It’s up to you to make your own determination. I am however going to tip you off on something beneficial for yoga studios and teachers; the Workplace Wellness Program. The ACA creates new incentives to promote employer wellness programs and encourage employers to take more opportunities to support healthier workplaces. It literally opens the preventative care door for yoga in the workplace. Naysayers may cite the metrics, and standards for the reward as problematic, but as yoginis, we know that a consistent yoga + meditation practice can have specific and measurable results. You and I both know that yoga reduces the number of “PC Load Letter” or “TPS Reports” meltdowns. Mesaurable health targets aside, yoga wellness programs typically provide a 5/1 ROI. That means that for every $1 spent on yoga programming, the return on investment is $5. For companies that are self-insured, it could mean a reduction of more than $200 per employee for health care costs.
According to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Health Foundation, about 41 percent of U.S. companies with 200 or more workers offer some type of wellness program, and only 10 percent of smaller firms offer them. That means that 59% of BIG companies in your area and 90% of smaller companies are your potential students/clients. This is more than making ends meet, this is potential abundance. This is offering your gift of yoga to stressed out people that need it most. This could change your bottom line and it will definitely change the life of the worker that nervously walks into their first yoga class with you.
Between now and January 2014, you should be busting your tight yoga booty to develop your corporate yoga offerings. And I don’t mean thinking about it and maybe jotting down some numbers on a pink post it. I mean writing a professional corporate proposal (PDF) that can be submitted via email or hand delivered to an HR department. Every yoga studio should have an “in studio” corporate yoga package ready to go. Every yoga teacher should develop their own “on site” corporate proposal for “in house” or “on site” yoga. This needs to be an essential part of your offerings. Find a wellness buddy in your community, a nutritionist, a health coach, someone you can partner up with and start developing your corporate package. Make sure they’re polished by October and ready to be sent by November!
Next week I’ll give you 5 tips on what to include in your corporate yoga package that will have corporate offices begging you to teach at their office. I’ll also include some sizzling tips from a corporate wellness superstar!!
You’re here to change the world through yoga. I am here to help you do it with abundance.
Have questions? Need Help? Want to pick my grey matter? Email me. 🙂
