Yoga of Social Media
The past year I've given a lot of thought to social media. I decided to use it with intention as my 2017 resolution: use social media insofar as it contributed to my sense of purpose, peace, and joy. Nothing else. That means I became very clear about my use of Facebook and Instagram (the two platforms that I am on). I witnessed too many ugly arguments on Facebook, so I decided on a "no politics/no controversy" rule for my personal newsfeed and commenting policy. That doesn't mean that I'm not engaged in causes in the real world, or that I avoid hard discussions, just not on social media. On Instagram I joined solely as an outlet for my visual art. That has been one of the most gratifying things of this past year. I follow over 500 artists who share their daily art. Several hundred follow me, allowing my art to be seen daily and in real time as I create it. I've gotten nothing but inspiration and joy from Instagram.
Now onto the yoga part. Still Mind Yoga has a Facebook page, and people are always telling us to grow the yoga school by doing more on social media. And yet we don't! We don't post many yoga memes, take pictures of our teachers and students doing asana, or take pictures of students in class, even from the back. This isn't because we don't understand social media marketing, but rather it is a choice. In the following paragraphs, I'll give some background as to why we've made that choice.
For those who practice here, it should be pretty clear that our school is not very commercialized. We don't run "teacher trainings," sell merchandise, or try to up-sell students. We are operated by a nonprofit and thus are mission driven, not profit driven. Yoga is a person to person transmission, and actually works best in 1:1 or smaller groups. Yoga is taught through the means of relationship. That is its main form of transmission. That doesn't mean there isn't an ancillary place for social media, books, videos, online course etc. Just that yoga IS relationship: intimate relationship with yourself, and face to face relationship of kindness with your teacher and fellow students. If you want to learn yoga the traditional way, come to our studio where you'll find a real live teacher who will take an interest in you as a person, not a number, and teach you a yoga for specialized for you. You'll also find kind-hearted students in regular bodies who will introduce themselves to you with a warm smile. If we were to take pictures of ourselves in poses, or snap pictures of our students while practicing, and post several times a day...all of that seems disconnected from what we are actually trying to teach.
Our Facebook page exists so that if someone wants to find us, and they are on Facebook, we have a presence, albeit minimal. It's how we are represented on Facebook--sort of a placeholder. From there, they can read a few posts, maybe get a vibe, go to the website and read our bios/blog etc, and then come to class if they want. Eventually, to use social media for business purposes you have to be on there a lot, constantly keeping yourself in front of your audience, and have a high degree of student engagement. Also you may have to do social media across several platforms. That needs to become a rather large part of your job. And along with all this, Facebook and others will eventually squeeze money out of you, as being "seen" is no longer free. And all this social media hustling is not likely to attract the sort of practitioner looking for the personal relationship in a quiet, non-commercialized setting described above. So the time and effort spent to cultivate a social media presence isn't in line with how I want to live my life, and I don't believe it will attract a student interested in traditional hatha yoga.
Yoga is also not a commodity that can make money in a material way. The money to be made in yoga comes from products and teacher trainings, not classes. The big box model is still in its experimental stage in terms of profitability. Our business goals are to pay the rent and pay our teachers a fair salary, which if you look at the current yoga studio landscape, may be the best one can expect in terms of the business of studio yoga.
Now onto the yoga part. Still Mind Yoga has a Facebook page, and people are always telling us to grow the yoga school by doing more on social media. And yet we don't! We don't post many yoga memes, take pictures of our teachers and students doing asana, or take pictures of students in class, even from the back. This isn't because we don't understand social media marketing, but rather it is a choice. In the following paragraphs, I'll give some background as to why we've made that choice.
For those who practice here, it should be pretty clear that our school is not very commercialized. We don't run "teacher trainings," sell merchandise, or try to up-sell students. We are operated by a nonprofit and thus are mission driven, not profit driven. Yoga is a person to person transmission, and actually works best in 1:1 or smaller groups. Yoga is taught through the means of relationship. That is its main form of transmission. That doesn't mean there isn't an ancillary place for social media, books, videos, online course etc. Just that yoga IS relationship: intimate relationship with yourself, and face to face relationship of kindness with your teacher and fellow students. If you want to learn yoga the traditional way, come to our studio where you'll find a real live teacher who will take an interest in you as a person, not a number, and teach you a yoga for specialized for you. You'll also find kind-hearted students in regular bodies who will introduce themselves to you with a warm smile. If we were to take pictures of ourselves in poses, or snap pictures of our students while practicing, and post several times a day...all of that seems disconnected from what we are actually trying to teach.
Our Facebook page exists so that if someone wants to find us, and they are on Facebook, we have a presence, albeit minimal. It's how we are represented on Facebook--sort of a placeholder. From there, they can read a few posts, maybe get a vibe, go to the website and read our bios/blog etc, and then come to class if they want. Eventually, to use social media for business purposes you have to be on there a lot, constantly keeping yourself in front of your audience, and have a high degree of student engagement. Also you may have to do social media across several platforms. That needs to become a rather large part of your job. And along with all this, Facebook and others will eventually squeeze money out of you, as being "seen" is no longer free. And all this social media hustling is not likely to attract the sort of practitioner looking for the personal relationship in a quiet, non-commercialized setting described above. So the time and effort spent to cultivate a social media presence isn't in line with how I want to live my life, and I don't believe it will attract a student interested in traditional hatha yoga.
Yoga is also not a commodity that can make money in a material way. The money to be made in yoga comes from products and teacher trainings, not classes. The big box model is still in its experimental stage in terms of profitability. Our business goals are to pay the rent and pay our teachers a fair salary, which if you look at the current yoga studio landscape, may be the best one can expect in terms of the business of studio yoga.
"But if you're not on social media, won't fewer students find you?" is one thing I often hear. I don't think so. Anyone who wants to practice yoga can type "Yoga White Plains" or something similar in a search engine and begin vetting schools on the first couple pages of Google. Call the number and I'll answer the phone and talk to you (or call you back soon). As a yoga teacher I want the student to actually make the effort to seek out the studio, show up for class, and even to prioritize their schedule so they can make classes (as we don't have a "convenience model" schedule of round the clock classes). This effort is more in line with a serious traditional study of the practice and will produce much stronger benefits for the student. We may be on top of a 7/11, but we are not a 7/11 )
It's not that I don't like Facebook or Instagram. I just don't like them for our studio. Personally, I love Instagram and post my art daily @kimgoldcollage. Facebook I can take or leave. Most of my activity since my New Year's resolution of 2017 involves cat pictures (can't resist), seeing what family and friends are up to, or private Facebook groups for yoga teachers. When it comes living and teaching the path of yoga, for OUR studio the way we teach, social media has a very limited role. It is a role that we have carefully considered and weighed the pros and cons. Many things in life are neither right nor wrong, but are useful insofar as they align with your intention. Perhaps that is the greater yoga teaching here: whatever you do, know very clearly why you are doing it (clarity and intention), and make sure it is contributing to the greater good for yourself and others. And then go for it, or not.
Thanks for reading..Hope to see you in class.
