group exercise
strike a pose
What makes for a successful yoga offering? Kate Howe asks a panel of industry experts for their thoughts
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n estimated 30 million people around the world practise yoga every week, with almost 500,000 people doing so in Britain. From bikram to yin, ashtanga to acro, dynamic to iyengar – which types of yoga do members want, and what advice can we take from the experts to improve our offering and take a slice of this growing market?
Jonathan Sattin Founder and MD, triyoga
he classes on offer and the quality of the teachers are fundamental factors to bringing in full sessions. My view is not to limit yourself to one specifi c style, but instead
to offer a variety of classes at a variety of times on the schedule. Our ethos is ‘yoga is for everyone’, which is why we have
designed an environment and schedule to nurture the health of every individual: men and women, babies, kids and teens, right through to seniors. The yoga environment in gyms may be very different from ours, but that’s not to say they can’t still provide variety and choice. We’ve seen an increase in more dynamic types of yoga
in recent years – ashtanga and vinyasa fl ow, for example. However, the slower-paced kundalini, anusara-inspired, yin and restorative forms of yoga are also popular, as is pilates. Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s use of yoga is well documented
and we have in the past run a ‘yoga for sports’ programme, including yoga for football, tennis, golf, skiing, running and athletics. There’s no reason why gyms couldn’t do the same. The Gyrotonic method has also gained popularity recently: it
contains similar elements to those found in yoga, but they are more three-dimensional, with a greater emphasis on spiralling and twisting. This method uses specialist equipment, so could be run as one-to-one and semi-private classes at a higher fee.
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Pierre Bibby CEO, British Wheel of Yoga
for taking up yoga are as diverse as the styles of yoga available. Yoga can be preventative or rehabilitative and can benefi t
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specifi c physical conditions: it can help asthma sufferers, or help people manage stress. It can also be offered to pregnant women and children. Whatever your members’ objectives – be they health or lifestyle – there are yoga classes that can meet them. A good teacher, qualifi ed to a nationally accredited standard,
can be a golden asset, offering a value-added benefi t to membership that complements your existing offer. Some people fi nd the focus on stretching and strengthening in
yoga complements their work in the gym, for example, and others use the breath work to improve their cardiovascular effi ciency when doing other activities such as cycling, swimming or running. Different styles of yoga classes have a different emphasis –
some classes are more physical, while others focus more on relaxation, breath work and meditation – but all should be viewed as part of overall fi tness and wellbeing. It’s worth speaking to any potential yoga teacher about their
approach before you sign them up, in order to make sure the class will be right for your members.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital september 2011 © cybertrek 2011
uch is the interest in yoga that I believe there has never been a better time to introduce classes into your health club. In our hectic modern world, the reasons people give
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