{"id":16754,"date":"2018-01-04T17:40:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T17:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?p=16754"},"modified":"2021-02-19T17:32:36","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T17:32:36","slug":"adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","title":{"rendered":"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Originally featured in\u00a0GymOwnerMonthly<\/h3>\n
\n

Have you thought about adding yoga or pilates to your offering? Justin Rogers, Creative Director at TEN Health & Fitness, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s.<\/h2>\n

Two of the oldest disciplines in fitness, Yoga and Pilates<\/a> are enjoying greater popularity over the last few years than ever before \u2013 complete with A-list ambassadors and legions of instagram fans. Their growth and appeal continues unabated, with new Pilates and Yoga studios launching and expanding across the UK on what seems like a weekly basis.<\/p>\n

From a fitness operator\u2019s perspective, there are a number of advantages to adding either or both disciplines to your offering including:
\n\u2013 increasing the number of services available under your roof
\n\u2013 adding extra revenue lines
\n\u2013 gaining access to a wider range of potential customers
\n\u2013\u00a0providing more variety to your existing customers<\/p>\n

But should you?<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s assume you\u2019ve already done the basics. You\u2019ve run the numbers, and you\u2019ve looked at the opportunity cost – the revenue lost either by not using the same space for something else, or because adding these classes means repurposing or reducing a space that\u2019s currently generating revenue as say, gym space, a caf\u00e9 or retail.<\/p>\n

Assuming it stacks up financially, the next question is how well either or both disciplines fit with your brand and the rest of your business. Whichever you choose, it needs to be aligned with your values, approach and the rest of your products and services. If it\u2019s not, your customers are unlikely to embrace it and your staff will be less keen to support it.<\/p>\n

For instance, if you\u2019re currently running a testosterone-heavy weights-based gym, it\u2019s unlikely to be an environment that a spiritual, mindful, and 75% female Yoga audience is going to feel comfortable in. Let alone what your existing customers and staff will think about such a drastic change to the vibe they\u2019re accustomed to.<\/p>\n

Assuming you\u2019re still with me, the next question is which discipline to offer (or both). And that\u2019s down to a number of factors, including:
\n\u2013 the amount of competition around you
\n\u2013 which you think you could do differently, or better, than anyone else in your area
\n\u2013 which fits best with everything else you offer
\n\u2013 your appetite for managing class schedules and trainers
\n\u2013 how much space you have available
\n\u2013 how much time you have available within any existing class schedules (better to add one new<\/p>\n

The differences – from an operator\u2019s point of view<\/h3>\n

This isn\u2019t about the differences in approach, techniques or methodology \u2013 you can find plenty of people online who\u2019ll define those more neatly than I can – though from experience, don\u2019t expect them all to agree with each other!<\/p>\n

Here, I\u2019m talking about the operational differences – what it will mean for you as a fitness business owner or manager. How much investment, how much space and what facilities you\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n

Yoga
\n<\/strong>Yoga comes in many different forms, from dynamic and vigorous (Ashtanga and Vinyasa,) precise and detailed (Iyengar) to the restorative. Not forgetting the various Hot Yoga options. So you\u2019ll need to decide which to add to your schedule – and if you choose more than one – what to schedule when. There can also be significant differences in the standard of instructors.<\/p>\n

Pilates<\/strong>
\nAt least at first sight, Pilates<\/a> is a simpler proposition. There\u2019s less \u2018woo\u2019 and less variation between one interpretation and another. Instructors are also more consistent in standard and approach, particularly if they\u2019ve qualified through a reputable body – Stott or Body Control are both excellent.
\nThere\u2019s definitely a bigger audience for Yoga, but there\u2019s also much more competition. And perhaps because of the differences between instructors, keen yogis are often more loyal to an instructor than a studio.<\/p>\n

Space and equipment<\/h3>\n

The space you have available will have a bearing on what you can offer.<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re going for the Hot option, a yoga Studio can be set up with the minimum of investment. The same is true of Mat Pilates. A room, mirrors and some mats is pretty much all you need for either.<\/p>\n

Pilates\u2019 greater focus on individual attention and hands-on correction means classes are usually smaller than with Yoga \u2013 at Ten, we limit numbers to 10 clients per class. (For Yoga providers, 30 or more people in a session is not unusual.)<\/p>\n

So the bigger the space, the more attractive Yoga becomes from a revenue point of view at least.<\/p>\n

While both disciplines can be taught with the minimum of props, Pilates can be also be taught using specialist equipment \u2013 the Reformer, the Chair, the Tower and the Ladder Barrel are the most popular. This enables greater variety and challenge in a session – and a higher class price as a result. However you will need to allow more floor space per person than in a standard mat class.<\/p>\n

At Ten, we\u2019re all about the Pilates Reformer. While it offers a lot more flexibility and capability for both functional and rehabilitative work than a mat does, it\u2019s a large and heavy piece of kit. Ours require 7-9 square metres of room space each depending on room proportions, and at 55 kilos, they\u2019re not something you\u2019d want to be moving around too often.<\/p>\n

So think about what else you\u2019re going to be using the room for. If you\u2019re planning to run a mix of different classes, Pilates and\/or Yoga alongside, say, Barre and dance classes, you\u2019re better off keeping any equipment to a minimum to allow easier changeovers between classes.<\/p>\n

Staff<\/h3>\n

Last but most definitely least, it goes without saying that specialist classes require specialist instructors. Properly qualified and experienced. So unless you already have Pilates or Yoga teachers on your books, you\u2019ll need to find and hire them.<\/p>\n

At Ten, we have our own industry accredited in-house Academy where we train all our Pilates instructors. But that\u2019s not a necessary (or even advisable) route for anyone who\u2019s just looking to add some variety to an existing fitness business.<\/p>\n

Luckily there are plenty of really good trainers available in both disciplines. The vast majority are freelance, so likely to be visible online, and potentially open to offers.<\/p>\n

Key things to look for are their level of qualification within their discipline, who they trained with, how long they\u2019ve been teaching, and where else they teach. You can judge a fitness operator by the quality of its instructors \u2013 and vice versa.<\/p>\n

But you can\u2019t beat first-hand experience. So get a feel for their teaching style and skills, either by observing one of their classes, or asking them to teach a trial class to friends or staff (paid, of course).<\/p>\n

Last but by no means least, you\u2019ll learn a lot about them by looking at their social media feeds. What they say will tell you a lot about their interests and expertise. How they say it will tell you a lot about them as a person.<\/p>\n

And that matters because bad energy is bad energy. And whatever they\u2019re teaching you don\u2019t want that.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business (Originally featured in GymOwnerMonthly.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,101],"tags":[68,120],"class_list":["post-16754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-pilates","tag-pilates","tag-yoga"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ten Health & Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/pages\/TenPilates\/181187291162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-04T17:40:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-19T17:32:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Rogers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Rogers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business\",\"name\":\"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-04T17:40:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-19T17:32:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e067b892c378700dd9f640a00c17357\"},\"description\":\"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1125},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Ten Health & Fitness\",\"description\":\"Giving you a slimmer figure and lean, toned muscles, fast. We have Studios throughout London \u2013 in Fitzrovia, Nine Elms, King's Cross, St James's, Notting Hill, Notting Hill Gate, Little Venice, Hatton Garden, Chiswick, Tottenham Court Road and the City.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e067b892c378700dd9f640a00c17357\",\"name\":\"Justin Rogers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b91a9510bea58cd308176a5890e2251?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b91a9510bea58cd308176a5890e2251?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Justin Rogers\"},\"description\":\"A former advertising copywriter and Brand Consultant, Justin is Creative Director of Ten, and - from first hand experience - a passionate advocate of the many benefits that Ten\u2019s Dynamic Reformer Pilates offers deskbound office workers.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/author\/justin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness","description":"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness","og_description":"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","og_site_name":"Ten Health & Fitness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/pages\/TenPilates\/181187291162","article_published_time":"2018-01-04T17:40:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-19T17:32:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1125,"url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Justin Rogers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TenPilates","twitter_site":"@TenPilates","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Rogers","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business","name":"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business | Ten Health & Fitness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-04T17:40:05+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-19T17:32:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e067b892c378700dd9f640a00c17357"},"description":"Justin Rogers, Creative Director at Ten, explains the how\u2019s, why\u2019s and why not\u2019s about adding yoga or pilates to your business.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/article-hero-yoga-pilates.jpg","width":2000,"height":1125},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/adding-yoga-and-pilates-to-your-business#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Adding Yoga and Pilates to your business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/","name":"Ten Health & Fitness","description":"Giving you a slimmer figure and lean, toned muscles, fast. We have Studios throughout London \u2013 in Fitzrovia, Nine Elms, King's Cross, St James's, Notting Hill, Notting Hill Gate, Little Venice, Hatton Garden, Chiswick, Tottenham Court Road and the City.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/1e067b892c378700dd9f640a00c17357","name":"Justin Rogers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b91a9510bea58cd308176a5890e2251?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b91a9510bea58cd308176a5890e2251?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Justin Rogers"},"description":"A former advertising copywriter and Brand Consultant, Justin is Creative Director of Ten, and - from first hand experience - a passionate advocate of the many benefits that Ten\u2019s Dynamic Reformer Pilates offers deskbound office workers.","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/author\/justin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16754"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21906,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16754\/revisions\/21906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}