There’s no doubt that fitness and health have become more and more important throughout recent years, and many people are choosing to not only use fitness as a method to better their physical health, but also their mental health.  And with that has come the emergence of group fitness classes.  Long gone are the days of making your way to the gym and working out on the treadmill exclusively; the newest and coolest is to participate in different types of fitness classes, such as cycling (see our previous blog on the emergence of cycling studios and classes), kickboxing and, you guessed it, yoga, all of which promote a healthy balance of mind, body and soul.

So, why do people take yoga classes?  According to Hastings Yoga, there are a ton of benefits to taking yoga, which include stress relief, pain relief, better breathing, flexibility, increased strength, weight management, improved circulation, cardiovascular conditioning, presence and inner peace.  To read up on the details of these benefits, click here.  

Classes are usually offered throughout the day and different classes help promote different outcomes, such as alignment, relaxation, strength, pre and post natal fitness, etc.  In addition to that, yoga is a low impact exercise, which means that wide array of participants can join in, just remember to research which type of yoga you’d like to participate in before signing up for a class.  While there are tons of classes in a “regular” yoga studio setting, some attendees are choosing to partake in Bikram Yoga, which is typically a ninety minute class in a room heated to a very high temperature with high humidity.  If you choose Bikram Yoga, be prepared to sweat... everywhere.

What does this have to do with real estate, you might ask.  Well, here’s the scoop.  Yoga studios are typically very clean and very simple operations to run, which is good news for the landlord.  They, usually, do not sell any perishable items, like food, and with the exception of Bikram Yoga studios, which use a ton of heat, the utilities are pretty standard.  For many looking to open their own studio, it’s important to consider the following in order to identify the best perspective locations:

• Demographics: Do people in the area work out?  Are there other gym facilities nearby?  If both of those answers are yes, then you probably have a winner.
• Parking vs. Non-Parking: This is dependent on the geographic setting; suburban areas need parking availability, while urban or city settings do not.
• Space Use: Yoga studios can generally utilize plain vanilla shell spaces.  The more work that needs to be done to the space, the less likely it is to be a real contender.
• Flooring: Wooden floors are preferred as they are easier to clean and do not retain odors (especially in that hot yoga class!).