Last week New York magazine ran an article entitled “Welfare Yoga” about the current state of yoga teachers and their lack of income sources. Below is the letter to the editor I wrote in response. The points raised in this piece further confirm that I made the right decision by turning away from the traditional studio teaching route; my gut steered me toward a brighter future by seeking to integrate with the traditional healthcare system.
“Dear Editor,
Thank you for your excellent piece “Welfare Yoga” on October 2, 2011. As a yoga instructor, I’ve been disappointed to see how the value of yoga classes in New York has been deeply diminished by offers through Groupon, Living Social, and other similar sites, as well as the less-than-savvy marketing efforts of many studios.
In many ways, yoga teachers have created the trend of cheap-to-free yoga to their own detriment. Now their own efforts have put them in the bind of people expecting free yoga and the studios not being able to keep their doors open. Rather than fixing this broken business model, an increasing number of studios are compounding the problem by generating their income through teacher training programs that produce even more teachers who compete for an ever-decreasing number of paying teacher gigs. It’s a vicious cycle that yogis are feeding at a dizzying rate.
Unfortunately, “karma” has been equated with “free” in the yoga world, and some teachers and practitioners have come to believe that all yoga should be free to everyone, regardless of the means of their students. We live in a world where eventually there is a cost for everything. In the case of yoga classes in New York City, the ones truly bearing the cost are the instructors who have to work several jobs in addition to (their often free) teaching so they can meet their own basic personal expenses.
Sadly, the only people we have to blame for this situation are ourselves.
Sincerely,
Christa Avampato”
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Last week New York magazine ran an article entitled “Welfare Yoga” about the current state of yoga teachers and their lack of income sources. Below is the letter to the editor I wrote in response. The points raised in this piece further confirm that I made the right decision by turning away from the traditional studio teaching route; my gut steered me toward a brighter future by seeking to integrate with the traditional healthcare system.
Well put, Christa. I’ve been wondering if we are devaluing classes since I heard someone say that discounts killed the book industry. Trying to think of other ways to get new students, and those less financially secure, over the hump and into class.
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Thanks, Erica. So true that we have seen this happen in the book industry as well. Same exact pattern! For Compass, I went the nonprofit route for this very reason – our attempt to cook-up a new breed of business model.
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I’m confused! Are you suggesting that the free-of-charge yoga we offer those with no money for $15-$20 studio class, but great need for yoga, is responsible for the difficulty we’re having making a living as teachers?
Warmly,
Stacey
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Hi Stacey,
I am all for meeting students where they are in terms of financial need! The tough part is determining that need. As the article in New York magazine states, there are many students of very substantial means who attend free or deeply discounted yoga that is provided by yoga studios. Cheap or free yoga is now so plentiful in NYC, to all students regardless of their financial means, that students no longer have to pay $15 – $20 a class. Groupon, Living Social, and other offer sites have done a very good job of helping yoga studios get people in the door but then the studio down the street runs an offer and students just migrate there for a comparable class at a deep discount.
The traditional studio model, combined with the offer sites, have changed consumer sentiments about yoga in NYC. There’s no more need to pay good money for classes and in the process it’s become harder and harder to earn a living as a teacher.
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Well put. It can be difficult in not just New York for studios to keep the doors open. And I agree that the teachers have caused it, but I also know that when you truly love something you want to share it with everyone and in the forget that if you are trying to make a living doing what you love, you need to charge and people will still pay for it because it is something they love. Unfortunately, with the economy if someone is offering a better deal most people aren’t going to stay and pay more if they can jump ship to a place where you don’t have to.
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Hi Carolyn,
It is a tough conundrum for sure! I don’t know that the current model is sustainable. We have to find a better way to make yoga affordable and to support teachers making a living.
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