The All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet Way of Selling Yoga

The typical yoga studio is set up something like this. The studio is founded and managed by an owner, most often a teacher her/himself, who usually but not always teaches a couple to a few classes a week at the studio and is responsible for setting the tone/vibe and the direction of the studio (styles offered, workshops, etc.). This person also needs to be a good manager and ultimately has to accept the role of a business person if his/her studio is to be successful and he/she is able to make a living off of the endeavor. Said studio owner also needs to hire teachers who fit his/her vision and are willing to follow his/her direction. This relationship will be the subject of a future post. What I am concerned with here is the way yoga is sold to the consumer and how this ultimately discourages the student from developing their own personal practice that fits their unique needs and requirements based on a specific day, time of life, etc.

This model of selling yoga offers a drop-in for a single class for a certain price, say $20 per class, as well as passes for a number of classes (in packages of 10, 15, or 20, which lead to a discount on the single class drop-in price of a few dollars). The drop-in is a good option for first-time visitors and the passes are good for the occasional consumer, taking into account that they have an expiration date. Most importantly, studios offer an unlimited monthly pass or an unlimited annual pass, sometimes also referred to as membership. I call it the all-you-can-eat-buffet model. In order for this membership to be worth its cost, the student needs to maximize his/her attendance. The more the student goes, the cheaper it becomes to do yoga. Studios, understandably, want to lock in clients and so promote the membership as exactly that: a cost-effective option to do as much yoga as possible and maximize one's investment.

This has a number of effects:
(1) It actually discourages the development of one's own personal practice--a practice that fits one's unique needs and requirements based on a specific day, time of life, etc. Rather than making time, even if it is once a week, for coaxing oneself towards developing a personalized asana practice, this model of selling yoga encourages a lot of class taking and not a lot of practicing and self-exploration. Yoga class is for getting tools and ideas that one can explore in their own practice time and integrate.
(2) The membership locks the practitioner out of experimenting with different studios/teachers. Studio memberships are not cheap, so the idea of going to a class that's outside the studio doesn't make financial sense for most people, even if it costs $10.
(3) On a more subtle level, I think it leads students to "overeat" yoga and/or "eat" some yoga just because it's there, available, and convenient, not because it suits them.
(4) On an even more subtle level, it breeds complacency and conformity. With the all-you-can-eat-buffet yoga, one gradually comes to perceive the studio as their own little yoga world/network: the space is familiar and soothing, you know the people at the front desk, you know who will show up to which class, etc. The whole experience get very predictable and routine to the point of breeding dullness. Don't get me wrong, I am all about having a safe, welcoming, and yes, predictable (in terms of quality, style, vibe, etc), class to go to, one that inspires and motivates you to practice on your own, to explore all the tidbits, take what works for you, and dismiss/file away what doesn't at the moment.

All I am saying is that the all-you-can-eat-buffet way of selling yoga, which is the dominant model, is ultimately not prodding the practitioner to create their own practice. Please feel free to chime in and let me know what you think and what your experience has been. I am of the mind that sometimes to make your point, you have to exaggerate it a little bit :).