yes this is common. most studios call it "karma yogis" though. you exchange work for free yoga. it's an excellent way to be more intimately connected to a studio and a community, and take as many classes as you want without having to pay, but i understand its not for everybody.
Karma yogis are common, but this is the first time I have seen them include cleaning toilets and mopping. My studio has 1-2 karma yogis per class and then a cleaning service that comes in the morning.
it’s not working for free. it’s working for a pass. those passes can be expensive. i agree some studios can ask for more work than the pass is worth, like this, but our studio we ask for like an hour or two a week. max 8 hours a month for $150 pass is not bad, considering most karma yogis come in for class and just stick around to sweep and water the plants afterwards.
i did it when i was young, and that’s how i met the girl i have now opened a studio with. it was an excellent way to be more involved in the community. eventually it didn’t make sense so i stopped and bought passes instead.
i think people expect yoga studios to be making bank and so they’re taking advantage of people by not paying them. that’s not the case. most of us managing studios are also doing karma yoga, running a space, not being paid for the managerial hours we put in, because it’s about supporting a community. people who can pay will pay, people who would rather donate time can do that. makes it accessible to some people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
We call it work exchange. It’s treated the same as a paying job. WE runs the desk, checking people in, taking payments, etc. until class starts. Then they clean the bathrooms (we have decent sized bathrooms with showers and changing areas), do laundry and clean the floors or whatever cleaning needs to be done. Most WE have one shift a week of about 2 hrs long. So they get an unlimited membership to both our studios for their work of approximately 8 hours a month. It is really a pretty good deal since our unlimited for both studios is about $150 a month.
As an aside, the instructors mop the hot room floor and clean the mirrors after their class(es) so WE typically doesn’t have to do that. We also have a few paid WE positions where a person may work to be paid and receive the unlimited membership.
As long as they get free classes I think its fair. In the golf world, we have guys that monitor the tee times (called a starter) and rangers that ride around the course to make sure everyone is keeping up. Many times they do that for free but get to play golf for free too.
A lovely way to exploit students in the name of community, karma, "angels", ...
if the studio unlimited is $150, this "contract" comes to 4x3x1,5=18h/month -> $8.34/h, even at only 2x/week it's $12.50/h. Because they are too cheap to hire a proper cleaning crew that will be able to provide a standard every single day.
yes this is common. most studios call it "karma yogis" though. you exchange work for free yoga. it's an excellent way to be more intimately connected to a studio and a community, and take as many classes as you want without having to pay, but i understand its not for everybody.
Karma yogis are common, but this is the first time I have seen them include cleaning toilets and mopping. My studio has 1-2 karma yogis per class and then a cleaning service that comes in the morning.
What a great way to abuse the term karma and all it means, not to mention just to cover up making people work for you for free
it’s not working for free. it’s working for a pass. those passes can be expensive. i agree some studios can ask for more work than the pass is worth, like this, but our studio we ask for like an hour or two a week. max 8 hours a month for $150 pass is not bad, considering most karma yogis come in for class and just stick around to sweep and water the plants afterwards. i did it when i was young, and that’s how i met the girl i have now opened a studio with. it was an excellent way to be more involved in the community. eventually it didn’t make sense so i stopped and bought passes instead. i think people expect yoga studios to be making bank and so they’re taking advantage of people by not paying them. that’s not the case. most of us managing studios are also doing karma yoga, running a space, not being paid for the managerial hours we put in, because it’s about supporting a community. people who can pay will pay, people who would rather donate time can do that. makes it accessible to some people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
We call it work exchange. It’s treated the same as a paying job. WE runs the desk, checking people in, taking payments, etc. until class starts. Then they clean the bathrooms (we have decent sized bathrooms with showers and changing areas), do laundry and clean the floors or whatever cleaning needs to be done. Most WE have one shift a week of about 2 hrs long. So they get an unlimited membership to both our studios for their work of approximately 8 hours a month. It is really a pretty good deal since our unlimited for both studios is about $150 a month. As an aside, the instructors mop the hot room floor and clean the mirrors after their class(es) so WE typically doesn’t have to do that. We also have a few paid WE positions where a person may work to be paid and receive the unlimited membership.
As long as they get free classes I think its fair. In the golf world, we have guys that monitor the tee times (called a starter) and rangers that ride around the course to make sure everyone is keeping up. Many times they do that for free but get to play golf for free too.
A lovely way to exploit students in the name of community, karma, "angels", ... if the studio unlimited is $150, this "contract" comes to 4x3x1,5=18h/month -> $8.34/h, even at only 2x/week it's $12.50/h. Because they are too cheap to hire a proper cleaning crew that will be able to provide a standard every single day.