I believe that yoga should be available to everyone and that everyone can discover a mindfulness practice that is suitable for their body and their life.
When I started out teaching in 2005, I had a moral conflict with charging a set fee for yoga. I felt that yoga should be free. I taught for years and often got zero donations. I did classes as a volunteer in a variety of long term care centers for free. I did bedside hospice yoga. And to this day, I always have at least one pro-bono client.
But when I left my j.o.b.to pursue my passion, teaching yoga became my main source of income. I am still certain that charging a set fee won’t ever be part of my business plan.
You might ask why? Because I deeply trust the concept of generosity and believe in the karmic flow in which I participate in.
But to be clear, donation-based yoga is not free yoga. The average yoga class in my area is $17, including online yoga (which takes a tremendous amount of time). The generosity of some students allows others to still have the benefit of yoga and mindfulness.
I provide my yoga classes on a donation basis because I believe everyone who wants to practice should be able to practice yoga regardless of their financial circumstances. I do this in the hopes that this will allow everyone to access the healing effects of yoga. Your generous donations allow me to meet all the expenses of being a self-employed yoga teacher and still keep the classes available on a purely donation basis. It is for this reason that I very much appreciate your generosity in giving what you can, when you can.
With deep gratitude I thank you for your donations.
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