7online‘s a little late to the Yoga boom in Recession party, but we’ll forgive them, if only because they dug deep and did the hard reporting. What’s the news? Employment down, yoga UP! (remember, though kiddles, this is NYC). (video)
Elena Brower of Virayoga (in Soho) says classes are brimming upwards of 70 students in each Tues and Thurs class, and guess what time? The middle of the day! And they’re not “free classes for the unemployed.” Why are people who have no steady job bumrushing yoga class? Because it feels good, it gives them direction, and because they still have disposable income and instead of splurging on the $700 handbag (on sale!), they opt for yoga.
And according to YogaWorks CEO Phil Swain, it’s a necessity!
“A lot of people are only purchasing what’s a necessity,” he said. “We really believe that yoga is a necessity. It’s a lifestyle, it’s their health and wellness, it’s community, and, frankly, it’s entertainment. So we’ve seen activity up.”
Yes, let’s purchase our lifestyle (oy). Says moneybags Phil, luxuriating in the setting of the swanky new Soho location (though we’re not sure why we didn’t spy any celebs yet). Totally agree with yoga being an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, especially in high-stress times as today, but perhaps escapism is also not the answer, as one fine fellow would like to forget:
“I dread going back to work,” he said. “I want to live a healthier life, a more relaxed life. So I want more yoga and less work.”
Oh, don’t we all!
But what’s with these yuppies anyway? The end of the article notes that yoga distracts from shopping or spending money on things that make you feel guilty for spreeing on afterwards. For crying out loud, give us a break Soho.
On the flipside, good news for yoga studios.
(yes we realize not all mid-day practitioners are laid off investment bankers with gold bars under their mattresses)
Yoga studios thrive in recession [ABClocal]
-Earlier…NY Unemployed Work Networking Angles at Yoga Class
– What the Great Depression Can Teach Us About Today’s Recession Yoga Boom
I heard a term recently that I confess made me giggle and might be appropriate for your context: “yippie” (yep, hippie + yuppie)
Anywho, back to the article – I once heard a report about the exact same thing, except they were talking about the sales of lipstick. When in a recession, lipstick sales go up. I leave you to ponder what lipstick and yoga have in common 🙂
Yogadorkster – I commented last night on YAMA because the CEO of YAMA was having dinner chez moi and was just scanning things and saw this heading too. I remember when I used be on “expense account” for a bank I worked for and I was in London and the price for a drop in was 20 pounds and the exchange rate was $1.92 – crazy crazy but classes were full there too. I treat yoga like most everything else in life – it can’t all be for me. Some folks have no problem paying up – for others, it’s just where they are in this life and their relation to money. That’s why I’ve adopted a very simple ethic in this life with everything I do – you can’t keep it unless you give it away. So, in these trying times, we’ve decided to put up some free yoga videos every now and then which we poured some good $$$ into creating and just pouring it back in. Check out http://YogaWithLes.com/freedownload – 30 minute yoga class on shoulders. Love your work on here and it’s much appreciated. Om Shanti – Les
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