The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
216: Corporate Yoga [Part 2] with Samantha Harrison
Description:
Is corporate yoga still relevant now that many businesses have moved online because of the pandemic? Absolutely! What’s more - there are even more opportunities available for yoga teachers in this space. In Part 2 of this series on teaching corporate yoga, Samantha Harrison shares how being virtual has changed the corporate yoga space.
Samantha Harrison is the founder of Samantha Harrison Yoga and the creator of the Online Corporate Yoga Teacher Training. Samantha found yoga as a burned out, stressed out pre-med student, and realized that her true calling was to help her fellow over-achievers and time-crunched professionals experience the benefits of yoga on and off the mat. Today, Samantha is a full-time corporate and private yoga teacher in Greenville, NC and also leads an annual 200-HR YTT. To help other yoga teachers offer corporate yoga as well, Samantha has consolidated all her knowledge into a practical, action-oriented training - the Online Corporate Yoga Teacher Training.
What is it like to bring yoga to the various business spaces in your community, not just in-person but also to the broader corporate community online? Samantha shares her experiences in adapting her business to the COVID-19 pandemic measures, and how moving online has opened up new opportunities for her. She also shares the different types of offerings for coroporate yoga, including one she didn't think would exist until the pandemic hit. Samantha also talks about her corporate yoga teacher training which includes email templates, how to create contracts, how to teach, and marketing to businesses.
This episode is perfect for yoga teachers looking for ideas to expand their offerings into their community or businesses around the world.
Key Takeaways:
[10:50] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Samantha Harrison.
[12:27] What does Samantha do and who does she do it for?
[13:13] How has COVID-19 changed the corporate yoga landscape?
[14:59] Is Samantha still working with corporate clients in person?
[16:06] What are some things that Samantha is doing differently in her in-person yoga classes from before the pandemic?
[18:15] Samantha shares a little about the opportunities that have opened up as a result of the pandemic.
[19:05] What is Samantha's setup for her virtual classes?
[20:03] How does Samantha balance classes where she has students in-person and online at the same time?
[20:48] What is Samantha's policy for students who miss classes?
[21:21] Samantha shares how she discovered a new offering for corporate clients during the pandemic.
[23:35] Why are companies drawn to hiring yoga teachers to teach their employees?
[24:45] What is the training that Samantha has put together for yoga teachers who want to get into the space of teaching corporate yoga?
[27:17] How does Samantha help yoga teachers in her training reach out to businesses and get started with teaching corporate yoga?
[28:18] Samantha also covers pricing as a part of the course.
[29:00] Does corporate yoga refer specifically to a certain number of employees or does it include any business?
[29:49] Samantha shares a bit about her mini-training and the coupon code to get a discount on her training.
[:31:27] Shannon and Samantha discuss the budget that companies have for wellness programs.
[32:06] What is it like to live in an area where there isn't a lot of yoga around, and how does this impact teaching corporate yoga?
[33:02] Samantha's yoga teacher training includes a section on marketing. How and why did she decide to include this section?
[36:50] Shannon shares her biggest takeaway from this episode.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors Schedulicity and Sketching Yoga Sequences with Eva-Lotta Lamm Workshop.
Quotes from this episode:
"We've actually seen an increase in participation in some situations because people don't have to drive, people don't have to worry about location." - Samantha
"Everyone's used to being virtual and doing so much on Zoom anyway that what used to be a barrier, is now an opportunity." - Samantha
"Now, the options are endless in a way." - Samantha
"You can't wait to feel confident to do something. Taking action is how you get confident." - Samantha