When we are looking at $15-$20 for an hour to an hour and a half of practice we can see that Yoga as a practice caters to the well off and is not accessible by the majority of people.
A cursory look at others opinions seams to elucidate the expense to practicing in places with high overhead. I don't think its just a western issue of wanting to practice in beautiful place with wide open rooms that are well lit and warmed pleasantly that look great and have fully functioning bathrooms, etc, etc. Overhead is expensive and that is the bottom line and the more 'features' a studio wants to add than the more expense they have. I suppose that they have a particular target market that is able to afford the, imho, exorbitant fee for yoga. Unlimited passes and punchcards seam to give some savings to the individuals but it still doesn't bring the price down to an affordable rate unless your in the middle to high working class.
A cursory look at others opinions seams to elucidate the expense to practicing in places with high overhead. I don't think its just a western issue of wanting to practice in beautiful place with wide open rooms that are well lit and warmed pleasantly that look great and have fully functioning bathrooms, etc, etc. Overhead is expensive and that is the bottom line and the more 'features' a studio wants to add than the more expense they have. I suppose that they have a particular target market that is able to afford the, imho, exorbitant fee for yoga. Unlimited passes and punchcards seam to give some savings to the individuals but it still doesn't bring the price down to an affordable rate unless your in the middle to high working class.
Before I was a yoga teacher I had to make the choice to either practice yoga at the unlimited price or have money to buy new clothes or have entertainment for a month.. I couldn't do more than 1 of these otherwise I was literally accumulating debt.
A few questions I am trying to ponder;
Are karma classes and or energy exchanges the answer to this?
A few questions I am trying to ponder;
Are karma classes and or energy exchanges the answer to this?
Are studios who offer energy exchange coping out on hiring appropriate custodial staff?
When studios offer karma classes are they about competition with other studios doing the same or is it truly about giving back to the communities?
When studios offer yoga teacher training at the 200 or +300 hour levels do they believe in the essence of what the instructor is giving or are they just doing it to make ends meet and or attempting to make a profit from it?
Should yoga be accessible to everyone?
Should yoga be accessible to everyone?
What things can change in the world of westernized yoga to allow studios to meet their bottom line and allow the underprivileged to have a practice?
The worker is worthy of his meat, but at what point is taking to much?
Do we sacrifice our morales in order to make ends meet?
How do we make sure that all Yoga Teachers and studios are insured so that if a full time yoga teacher needs time off they are compensated or if someone is injured under their instruction/in their venue that they are compensated? How is it made affordable?
There are so many factors in all of this, and so many questions that come up around the issue of the price of yoga.
There are so many factors in all of this, and so many questions that come up around the issue of the price of yoga.
Currently I am of the opinion that the majority of studios are overpriced and catering to the aesthetic desire of our people and that many teacher training's out there are putting out subpar teachers and are more concerned with getting numbers of people into the training rather than giving each individual teacher to be the attention needed to have the best chance of being a good teacher.
I am not in love with my ideas and willing to expand my thought process.
I am not in love with my ideas and willing to expand my thought process.
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