Anne Marie Kramer is getting ready to lead the 9:30 AM class at her yoga studio called "Zuda" on 19th Street in midtown Sacramento. She teaches "Vinyasa"…
Anne Marie Kramer: "It comes from the root of Ashtanga; it's a flow yoga, breath and movement."
About two-dozen people are taking this class; mostly young
women in their 20s and 30s…and a few guys.
Anne Marie Kramer: "Good Morning."
Class: "Good Morning."
The 75 minute session begins with quite, meditative stretching
and deep breathing to - as Kramer says - "connect with the
here-and-now." Kramer guides her students through a succession of
poses with rapid fire directions.
Anne Marie Kramer: "…walk your feet forward
to the top of your mat, catch your hands at your low back,
interlace your hands, inhale, lift-up, half-way, squeeze, open your
mouth…"
Class: "Ahhhhhhhh."
Then there's the chanting…
Class:
"Ahhhhhhooooooohhhhhhmmmmmmmm."
Kramer opened this studio, with a partner,
five-and-a-half-years ago. She hasn't always been a yoga
instructor. She used to sell pharmaceuticals in Cleveland.
Anne Marie Kramer: "When I came to
Sacramento, it was probably about 7 years ago, there really wasn't
much happening in the Yoga scene. And we just found that this was
like a perfect opportunity to create a family and a community of
Yoga."
This isn't Kramer's only Zuda studio. She opened a site in
Folsom about three-and-a-half-years ago and she's getting ready to
open a third Zuda in Roseville.
Ann Marie Kramer: "By the time Roseville
opens we will have over 200 classes a week."
A single class will cost you $16…but the price goes down if
you buy a package deal…like a 20 class pass for $250. Kramer's
obviously doing well…but when asked to quantify the growth of her
business, the answer is a little elusive…
Ann Marie Kramer: "I wish I could say 'yeah,
I'm a numbers person, it's grown 20%' but like, I don't even care.
It's just been good. We've just had a steady business."
Another midtown studio that's growing steadily is Yoga Shala
on H Street.
Tyler Langdale: "Shala means church, school,
a safe, supportive place to come together to practice Yoga. My name
is Tyler Langdale and I'm the co-owner of Yoga Shala,
Sacramento."
Langdale started out teaching Yoga at the YWCA a little over
two-years ago.
Tyler Langdale: "We rented a room there for
one year and it was a wonderful way to start and that was back when
we had four teachers and I was teaching 12 classes a
week."
Now Langdale has eight teachers and offers about three-dozen
classes a week at his current location which has been open for
about a year. Business, he says, is booming…
Tyler Langdale: "I quantify success by a
couple of things - the number of programs that we're doing and the
number of memberships that we have - people who want to commit to
what we're doing."
To get actual hard numbers on the growth of Yoga studios we
checked in with IBISWorld a national market-research company based
in Los Angeles.
Caitlin Moldvay: "IBISWorld identifies yoga
and Pilates studios as one of the top ten fastest growing
industries in the United States. The industry continued to grow
even during the recession." '
That's Caitlin Moldvay of IBISWorld. The company tracks more
than 800 industries. Moldvay says Yoga and Pilates businesses have
grown 12-percent a year during the recession…and the growth is
expected to continue…
"Over the next five years to 2017, revenue for the yoga
and Pilate's studio industry is forecast to increase at an average
annual rate of 4.8% to an estimated $8.6 billion."
Moldvay attributes the increasing popularity of Yoga to a
growing number of people who are becoming health conscious. She
also says Yoga offers a way for people to release anxiety during
these rocky economic periods…plus it's relatively
inexpensive.
Back at Zuda, the morning Vinyasa session has ended and people
are streaming out of the humid Yoga studio. Jessica Micheletti is
one of them.
Jessica Micheletti: "Oh, I feel amazing -
grounded and just ready for the rest of my day."
Micheletti says Yoga helps her face life's challenges. And she
likes coming to the studio where the environment is friendly, open
and accepting. She says Yoga is worth her investment.
Jessica Micheletti: "Whether it's a recession
or relationship troubles or whatever comes up I can face it. I have
this amazing community of support around me. That's more important
than whether or not I can get my Starbucks or my
Peet's."
Zuda's owner Ann Marie Kramer says business shows no signs of
slowing.
Ann Marie Kramer: "People are bringing their
friends because when it starts to get you at that level you want
everyone to feel that. You're like 'oh, you must come to Yoga.'
People feel good and they want to bring somebody else in to feel
good."
Kramer will open her new studio in Roseville this
Saturday.