By: Sophie Schnitzlein, Founder of The Adaptive Yoga Resource
Marketing your yoga is an extension of your own practice. Beyond filling experiences, marketing with honesty allows you to serve others with intention. Clearly communicating the value of your work will lead your ideal clients to you.
I want to highlight that the words and language you choose to share in relation to your classes, workshops, and trainings hold power. Your words can determine whether someone envisions themselves in your messaging and offerings.
Throughout the journey of founding The Adaptive Yoga Resource (AYR), I have overcome many marketing challenges and want to share what I have learned with you. Below are three strategies that have helped AYR connect with our ideal clients and communicate our offerings with clarity and truth. I invite you to keep something to write with nearby as you read through this post. My hope is that you take time to reflect and identify meaningful ways to communicate the heart of your work.
In marketing, I have seen many wellness spaces use phrases like “Yoga for All,” “A Safe Space,” and “Everyone Is Welcome.” While these statements may come from a genuine desire to foster inclusion, they do not always communicate who the offerings are designed to support. In some cases, these phrases can make an offering less inclusive.
Phrases like “Yoga for All” can sound inclusive without communicating what inclusion actually looks like. When we make broad promises, we risk leaving potential students wondering whether they can participate.
The answer is not to abandon inclusive language, but to give it meaning. Rather than relying on broad promises, describe what participants can genuinely expect from your teachings!
Here are some ideas:
In conversation, I have noticed many yoga teachers hesitate to define their audience because they want to remain inclusive. They worry that being specific might exclude someone. But here is the thing: being specific clearly communicates who you serve and how your teaching meets their needs.
You can follow this three-step framework to help you clarify your ideal client and communicate the value of your offerings:
1. Identify the Client or Community You Want to Serve and the Type of Yoga You Wish to Teach Who are you hoping to reach through your teaching? What style of yoga do you wish to share?
2. Speak Directly to That Community or Client
Use language that reflects the experiences of the community you serve. Help potential clients recognize themselves in your messaging and understand how your offerings can support them.
3. Communicate What Makes Your Offerings Distinct
Explain how your teaching methods and class structure respond to the needs of the community you serve. This helps potential clients understand what to expect and determine whether your offerings are a good fit for them.
Both examples are rooted in Vinyasa Flow. However, communicating with clarity and honesty helps potential clients understand who your classes are designed for. This allows people to
make informed decisions and helps you connect with the communities you are passionate about serving.
A class description that says “60-minute Vinyasa Flow” communicates a service. It does not necessarily communicate the meaning or value behind it.
What makes your teaching meaningful may be the opportunities you create for self-expression, your ability to adapt movement, your approach to hands-on adjustments, or the rapport you build with your students. Many qualities make your teaching unique.
Take a moment to reflect:
Returning to the examples from Point 2, you can communicate the impact of your classes by highlighting how your teaching supports the needs of the communities you serve.
Clearly communicating the purpose behind your teaching helps potential clients understand what makes your classes distinct.
Let your marketing reflect your values
Marketing does not have to feel pushy or disconnected from your teaching philosophy. It can be an extension of the care and intention you bring to your classes.
You can use your website to explain your approach, social media to share educational resources and meaningful moments, and professional outreach to build relationships.
Social media, in particular, can be more than a place to promote upcoming classes. It can serve as a space to educate, build trust, answer questions, and help people understand what your yoga looks like in practice.
Want to Market Your Yoga With Greater Clarity and Truth?
At The Adaptive Yoga Resource (AYR), we believe effective marketing starts with understanding the people you serve and learning how to communicate the purpose of your work with intention.
Join us for a hybrid training at Asheville Yoga Center: either virtually or in person.
You will leave with a practical marketing framework you can implement right away and an accompanying workbook to help you refine your messaging.
These resources are designed to support you beyond the training as you continue developing and marketing your yoga offerings.
Sophie Schnitzlein is a leading adaptive yoga educator who supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is the founder of The Adaptive Yoga Resource (AYR), which leads a global movement to make yoga inclusive for individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities.
AYR provides education, training, and practical tools to empower individuals with disabilities, caregivers, educators, and professionals to share yoga in ways that support emotional regulation, functional movement, and empowerment. AYR’s work spans schools, hospitals, therapeutic settings, and community programs, with a focus on helping educators adapt their teaching to meet diverse needs.
Through the AYR Method™, Sophie is committed to making inclusive yoga education more intentional and accessible, empowering all minds, bodies, and spirits through the practice of yoga.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/IlpD0mZt_48
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/02Vs3UA6jXxaV7CRVSdMh9
Anywhere: https://www.adaptiveyogaresource.com/podcasts/the-adaptive-yoga-podcast
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