From January 16-18, Yoga Alliance® took part in Yoga Journal LIVE! at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. More than 2,000 yogis attended classes and lectures at the conference, which included a few appearances of our own.
Throughout the weekend, our team manned a booth to educate attendees about all of YA’s recent initiatives, provide them with helpful resources and create a safe space for providing feedback. Yoga Alliance Spokesperson Andrew Tanner, E-RYT 500, and Senior Operations and Member Services Manager Jackie Gray said they were excited to speak with hundreds of attendees at the booth, and that attendees loved the free headshots offered at our booth by photographers Sawyer Hurwitz and Wilder Bunke.
In Andrew’s presentation “California, Here We Come: A Call to Action for the Yoga Community,” he outlined Yoga Alliance’s new direction and Gary Kissiah,
RYT 200 and lawyer, joined Andrew to explain California’s recent targeting of yoga studios for audits and
what teachers and studios should do to avoid legal trouble. Andrew also had the opportunity to give a brief overview of YA’s mission and vision at the Presenter’s Dinner.
“If there’s one thing we learned during the weekend, it would be that the future of yoga is rooted in service, advocacy and the inclusion of underserved communities,” Andrew commented.
Members shared great ideas with our team on how YA can better serve the community, including the need for more inexpensive events for yogis on a budget, and the desire for YA to provide more data and information about the value of owning a yoga studio.
Thank you to all who attended and shared your experiences with us. We’re always looking for new ways to support our members’ expanding yoga practices from personal pursuits to professional advancement.
We would like to also extend a special thank you to our volunteers for their help at our booth during the conference.