Running A Studio
Yoga in common

...Mark Devenpeck established Triad Yoga with co-director Newton Campbell in 2002. Their yoga studio is based close to fashionable Newport Beach in Southern California. They decided to open a studio because of their shared passion for yoga (they are both teachers) and their desire to offer a great service to the community in the area they live in. Mark too has experienced the sometimes awkward situation of students expecting a different level of service and becoming a little defensive about money. Both Tara and Mark admit that running a yoga studio is an ongoing financial challenge. It is particularly difficult to plan ahead when it is impossible to predict the amount of drop-in class traffic coming through the doors. They know how critical it is to have additional income from other sources.

Mark and Newton run workshops from time to time, revise and update the class schedule regularly and both spend time teaching privately to support the continued growth of their business.

...Mark acknowledges "Change is inevitable but the personal touch of knowing the students that come to class are lost in some ways."

...For anyone running a yoga-related business the necessity to make "yogic" business decisions is immense and despite the fact that Tara and Mark own studios on opposite sides of the globe, they both encounter the same obstacles and challenges on a daily basis. However, they also share the same generous yogic nature. Both strive to live their lives and run their businesses by sharing their passion for yoga with others and, in the process, witnessing the joy and positive change that yoga can bring.

Despite the ups and downs of running a studio, both Tara and Mark are philosophical about their chosen business paths. Tara is motivated to continue as she knows that she is doing the one thing she loves in sharing her passion for yoga, "I just love what I do, it is such a great job. I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing." And Mark draws inspiration from teaching yoga as it gives him "the opportunity to help people grow and to change lives in a positive way". You can contact Mark on (001) 949 724 1479, www.triadyogaca.com. (www.yogamagazine.co.uk)