We were lucky to catch up with Emily Anderson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

All Bodies Welcome Yoga is a virtual yoga studio that offers group classes, private instruction, and on demand videos. ABWY centers the experiences of larger bodied folks, like myself, and also folks with chronic pain, illnesses, or fatigue, folks with limited mobility, and folks who don’t feel comfortable in traditional fitness spaces.

I had been working as a part time contractor, teaching yoga for brick and mortar yoga studios, for two years, while working a corporate job full time. I also grew an engaged community by teaching pop up classes in unique places – collaborating with makerspaces, CBD stores, and even an organic grocery store. By bringing yoga to spaces that didn’t have fitness associations, I met students who were curious about yoga, but would not have gone to a gym or traditional studio.

Virtual movement spaces were once the outlier, with many teachers focusing on in-person services. Teaching in person often involves a lot of unpaid time for yoga contractors – commute time, set up + clean up work before and after classes, as well as the work to build a presence in your community. Time and energy are finite resources, and I was attracted to virtual offerings for both how it could lessen the unpaid work I was doing for others, and how it could reach more people – especially my clientele.

When pandemic lockdowns began, one of the studios I taught at made a swift pivot to online classes. Getting comfortable with online yoga teaching was a process, but one that now feels second nature. I began to crave more control over my schedule and how my classes were marketed. I also grew in confidence + curiosity about offering complementary services such as private instruction, workshops, and digital products.

As customers in general grew more virtual meeting savvy during the lockdowns, I began to develop my own online platform so that I could offer virtual classes directly, as well as many other programs. Many people in my audience were thrilled to be able to practice at home.

Launching my own virtual studio gave me more control over my day and my choices, and this is one of my primary motivations for being an entrepreneur. A virtual studio also allows me to have low overhead while I am in my early growth phase! I can experiment and fail without significant loss. The studio now offers three weekly classes, private instruction, and a monthly subscription option for members. I host workshops and release digital products as well through the studio.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I began practicing yoga in college as a fitness modality, and after ~8 years of practicing as a student, entered a Yoga Teacher Training to have a deeper understanding of the history and philosophy of yoga.

I was also at a point in my life where I realized I was constantly overexerting myself – professionally in a corporate career, physically in my body, and mentally by overcommitting. Yoga helped me learn to care for my nervous system, and in turn, I wanted to teach others that it was good to slow down.

I named my yoga business All Bodies Welcome Yoga because I initially assumed I would be teaching mostly plus sized people, like myself. However, people really took me up on the phrase, and I attracted students of all sizes that had chronic illnesses like MS and fibromyalgia, folks with physical disabilities, and folks recovering from disordered eating. I am honored to hold an intentional space for all of these people.

I teach accessible yoga, which means that everything I teach should be an equitable experience for every student no matter their body size, disabilities, or other contradictions. It is common in fitness yoga to hear the teacher suggest childs pose if a student cannot do an “advanced” pose. I reject the hierarchy of “advanced” postures in yoga. My students use mats, chairs, and mobility devices – every student looks different, but they are all gaining the same benefits, instead of being asked to sit out a portion of class. It takes more work for me as the teacher, but its creative, challenging work that I love!

I consider myself as a teacher to be a mirror, reflecting my students back to themselves, so they can understand themselves more clearly, physically, mentally, and energetically. Our bodies hold innate, somatic wisdom, but many of us live in disconnect from our whole selves. By creating equitable experiences for all my students, they build better, less reactive relationships with themselves, and in turn, with their communities.

How did you build your audience on social media?

There is no guarantee that a potential customer will ever see you again once they start following you. Don’t be dependent on the algorithm. I started a newsletter right away, and I collect emails at every in person event as well as collecting sign ups via social media. My number one piece of advice is to start a newsletter! Social media is the pretty signage, but getting someone off Instagram / TikTok and into your mailing list is the same as getting them in the door at your business. I have been to so many markets and fairs where I would have loved to get on a mailing list for fellow small business owners, but they only have Instagram. Direct your followers and potential customers to your newsletter frequently. I don’t have a large social media following, but I have a very engaged newsletter base – more than 10% of my Instagram following, and more than 60% are reading every newsletter. This converts to new business much more sustainably than trying to go viral on social media.

Be consistent – put time on your calendar to write multiple newsletters so they are easy to send out. Take snippets from those newsletters and put them on social media – you have content ready made! I also batch brainstorm and create my social media in advance, so it is easy to post on the fly.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Initial capital for launching my studio was frankly very low. But what I have learned since being in business is how many resources were available to new business owners. See if there is a small business development center near you – these services are free! Check out small business incubators in your city, and local business associations as well. In the US there is also SCORE, which provides free small business mentorship. There are also many opportunities for small business grants, both locally and with large corporations! You do not need to be rich to start a small business, if you can think creatively about overhead costs and have the patience to research and utilize the free resources out there!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allbodieswelcomeyoga.com
• Instagram: @allbodieswelcomeyoga
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/allbodieswelcomeyoga
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/allbodieswelcomeyoga
• Other: get The Softness, a weekly newsletter about somatic self care: http://eepurl.com/imMUqQ The Softness podcast is coming soon!

Image Credits
photo 1 Courtney Holliday photo 2 Sandrachile