First priority, protect the studio
The studio owner takes immense amounts of risk, and carries huge overhead, in order to maintain their studio. They provide their community a place to practice, and their teachers a place to teach. The studio invests countless hours and dollars to create the space. Yoga retreats are a natural extension of the community that comes together at the studio. All too often, the studio isn’t prepared to handle the implications of retreats being run out of their community. It is the studio owner’s first priority to protect and maintain their community’s space.
Some studios forbid the marketing of yoga retreats within the studio. They don’t allow in-class announcements of yoga retreats. No yoga retreat flyers hang on community bulletin boards. No promotional post cards sit on the reception desk. We argue that such a policy detracts from the space the studio is creating for their community. Teachers prefer to talk about the retreats they are planning. Students should excitedly discuss their yoga retreat plans. All in all, a strong community openly supports and discusses events which have sprung from its nucleus: the studio. Therefore, the studio owner must curate the yoga retreats program.
Understanding the risks
Yoga retreats that are advertised within a studio’s walls or networks, are seen as that studio’s retreat. This is unavoidable, and this truth is affirmed to us frequently. As a result, studios should clearly understand the risks they are taking by allowing yoga retreats to be marketed to their community. First, there is reputation risk. Then, there is financial risk. Let’s not forget the risk of causing staffing problems. Finally, although to a lesser extent, there is legal liability risk. Each of these areas warrants a deeper dive in order to fully evaluate the risks. And in order to stay excited about the benefits of a yoga retreat program, we will discuss ways to mitigate some risks, and eliminate others all together! Stay tuned!