When I worked in a corporate environment, our company’s CEO wanted all the employees and staff to be healthy and fit for work. To this end, he made it compulsory for all the employees to attend yoga sessions in the evening after work.

Also, the staff was very happy to join the Art of Living classes, which acted as a booster at the end of the day after being free from office work. But what is corporate yoga, and if you are a corporate yoga teacher or own a studio, how to market to companies is essential to understand.

What are corporate Yoga classes?

Corporate yoga is those yoga classes that teach yoga to the employees of a company, an office or any business. This can be a large corporation or a small company. At corporate yoga, the company hires yoga teachers or a yoga studio for a specific period to teach yoga to its employees, generally in their own office or company premises, at a set time. The corporation or company pays to the yoga studio or yoga teacher but offers free yoga sessions to its staff so that they are fit and healthy.

Corporate yoga is also known as yoga in the workplace and is very much in demand these days as more and more companies want to enrol themselves in yoga. If you are a yoga teacher or yoga studio owner, teaching corporate yoga can bring you a great name and fame, and you also are paid well.

Why do corporations look for yoga teachers?

Corporate companies want yoga for their employees as mentally and physically fit employees who are full of energy, happy, and productive. If an employee is stressed or sick, there is a decline in good production for the company, thus a loss for them.

As yoga improves concentration and decision-making skills, the employee is fit enough to multitask in the corporate environment.

Most of the office workers or those who work in the company, especially those who work in computers or desk-related jobs, suffer from head, neck and back pain and get relief doing yoga.

How do you market corporate yoga?

If you are a yoga teacher or own a yoga studio, you need to market corporate yoga to get more offers for yoga sessions or yoga events for the companies.

A marketing strategy promoting yoga’s positive attributes should resonate with executives who want to establish a corporate wellness program. As a yoga teacher, you should plan a strategy for the corporation to get more clients in your favour.

Build a website

Build a website and dedicate it to corporate yoga. You need to regularly update your website with an interesting and informative blog post on the benefits of yoga and group yoga sessions for the employees, along with good images and videos.

As a yoga teacher, you should motivate the companies to imbibe yoga in their company, telling them the benefits of yoga that will help their productivity in a stress-free environment. Also, you can give information on how a company can purchase stationary fitness equipment that employees can use when they want and thus get motivated to the fitness classes.

Here is how to build a website in 10 minutes at Squarespace.

Note that selling to local companies will usually require a relentless commitment to marketing. You may offer onsite instruction for private or group sessions as a yoga teacher. You can add a bonus plan on your website for a company like the company that can pay a portion or percentage of the class fee to you or the employee directly to assist in the cost of a wellness program.

Also, if the company doesn’t have much space or conference room to accommodate their staff, you can offer them a discount on the yoga class at your studio.

Print marketing materials

To attract corporate clients, you need them to know that you teach corporate yoga. Print marketing materials or small posters that you can send to corporate via email or mail and tell them what service you provide for company employees. You can use marketing materials such as direct mail, postcards, and newsletters to inform local executives about professional yoga instruction.

Web-based testimonials from companies nearby may be used to enhance a yoga teacher’s credibility. Here are tips for designing posters and flyers to market your business.

Contact the companies

You should list companies around you or check them with your local phone or address directory. Take help from your friends and family who are well-networked and/or would be willing to help you out. Join a like-minded community or other teachers who can help you out. Then start asking the people on your list where they work and if they think their company would be interested in offering corporate yoga classes as a wellness benefit to their employees.

Finally, contact the right person to make that decision. Most of the time, this is a person in Human Resources or Corporate Wellness. Also, don’t be shy to approach the company directory or the head of the department who may want to start or initiate something new for their employees.

The best way to contact the companies or corporations is through emails or postmails enveloping the printed material showing the benefits of yoga along with your resume.

Find yoga teacher jobs at online sites

Many online job sites also list vacancies for corporate yoga teachers from which you can benefit. Local sites or sites like Craigslist find local, gumtree, Thumstack or LinkedIn and social media platforms are best for searching for jobs in corporate settings. 

Also, you can post your inquiry in yoga teacher groups and wellness groups and look at online job boards. Print media or your local newspaper or local community can also be used to search for such opportunities.

Let the company know how you will teach

Not all the employees are willing to take your full yoga sessions. While some employees may exhibit a solo commitment toward a fitness routine, other employees may be too exhausted or too stressed to maintain a regular workout schedule.

So you need to let the corporation know how you will teach and for how many minutes. Employees don’t want to take your 60-minute class at a stretch but will be happy for 15 minutes between meditation sessions or a simple asana for relaxation.

Styles of Yoga to teach

A yoga boot camp targets those interested in cardio in tandem with stress relief. With so many styles of yoga out there, it may seem overwhelming to figure out what variety to provide. You can briefly survey the corporate staff and find out what they prefer. You can start with a selection of slow Hatha, Ashtanga, restorative, Yin, and a Vinyasa class, as these suit all levels.

An ideal marketing approach includes a few breathing exercises, body cleansing, and other wellness components. Marketing the savings for hourly group sessions versus the average cost per session for individual participants might also appeal to corporate executives.

Here is the best yoga sequencing app you can use for your class.

What do you need to understand before taking a corporate yoga class?

Remember, it’s not just how to market corporate yoga; you must also be prepared for what the company might ask you, such as your corporate yoga rates, your experience in teaching yoga, the infrastructure needed to teach yoga, such as yoga mats or other items, the space you will need to teach yoga, and how many employees you can teach in a session.

Therefore, be prepared and propose corporate yoga so you can send it to all businesses who contact you to teach yoga.

Also note that you don’t need any special training to teach corporate yoga as your standard 200-hour yoga teacher training is all you need. However, there are some slight differences between a studio class and a corporate class, so prepare beforehand.

When you are ready to take a corporate yoga class, start with a beginner’s yoga sequence and modify it to fit the group class. Always consider a short class duration and minimize teaching advanced postures because no employee wants to do that level of yoga. They want to relax and ease in the workplace.

The corporate yoga gigs are scheduled weekly over the lunch hour, very early or late afternoon. Be comfortable with the time you decide upon together and fully commit. This can always be adjusted after a few months to accommodate both parties. 

You can play your favourite yoga playlist to add more harmony to your class, which employees will love. 

You may also require some paperwork or documentation for corporate yoga, like a document laying out the activity, deliverables, and timeline for a vendor providing services to a client. At Bare Bones Yoga, Karen provides a simple and straightforward example in her article here.

Also, some tax forms report various types of income, such as freelance work.

You may need liability Insurance as a teacher to protect yourself in the event of a lawsuit.

Also, as said above, draft a professional-looking proposal that explains what you offer, the benefits to companies, pricing, terms, etc. Be sure to customize each proposal to include specifics related to the company at hand.

Finally, remember that corporate yoga is great fun for students and teachers, and you should be ready to deliver the best of your yoga teaching. You can add a real-life story to your teaching to add more creativity and fun to ease your group. Also, corporate yoga teaching will prove your worth and add value to your profession. You will grow to name and fame and start getting referrals as well.