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Planning a Yoga Studio Design – 13 Key Factors to Consider

Are you planning your yoga studio design and you need ideas to achieve the best? If YES, here are 13 key factors to consider when designing your yoga studio.

Yoga is a mental, emotional and even spiritual exercise that also takes care of the physical fitness of the outer body. For that reason, a yoga studio’s design shouldn’t be handled with levity. Even though there are numerous design options ranging from modern, innovative to traditional for yogis to choose from, but there are still key architectural elements for designing the perfect yoga studio.

Yoga studio design refers to your color scheme, décor, and furnishings, but there is more to designing a yoga studio than choosing the color schemes and décor. A lot of architectural skills are required to develop a functional and aesthetically appealing yoga space.

Choosing a yoga studio design is not fun. It is a full-time task that needs time, dedication and some guidance. In this article, we would provide you a few tips on how you can get the perfect design for your yoga studio.

Planning a Yoga Studio Design – 13 Key Factors to Consider

Yoga studios are usually put together to reflect different designs based on the intention of the yogi. But before you can start crafting out a design for you studio, there are several factors that you need to take into consideration, and they include;

  1. Studio Space

The amount of space you have in your studio is what would inform the type of design you can choose. Some designs go well for large rooms, while others would look much more tranquil in smaller rooms. Also, the size of room you have would enable you pick the right flooring, lighting, decorations, etc.

If you have a lot of space that you cannot handle all at once, you have the option of splitting it up and letting it out (if your lease agrees with that). On the other hand, you can use it to serve your own purposes by opening a juice bar there, a sauna, or a retail store.

You should budget your space at 28 to 30 square feet per student. That gives each student 7 feet by 4 feet wide for space. Understanding the space per student is important for your business planning as it can help you make better projections.

2. Ceiling Height

The height of your ceiling is another factor to consider when designing your yoga studio. Not all studio owners will have the luxury of choice as long as ceiling is concerned. Why you need to consider your ceiling is because your light fixtures depend mostly on the height of your ceiling. If you have a low ceiling and you get low hanging lights, then it won’t work.

Ideally, the ceiling height for an optimal yoga environment should be about eight feet, which is capable of accommodating a six-foot individual with their arms raised above heads. This is especially beneficial when performing poses like the tree pose.

The idea behind creating higher ceilings is to achieve a sense of airiness, which is essential when looking to derive optimal benefits from yoga. Although 8-foot ceilings are the minimum height, it can look cramped in a large room. Therefore, if you have the option for higher ceilings take it. In the long run it will be a much nicer studio in which to practice yoga.

3. The area the studio is located

The next thing to look out for when designing your yoga studio is the area in which your studio is located. This may sound strange, but allow me to explain. If your yoga studio is located in a busy town, then you may have noise problems.

You may have no other option but to sound-proof your classrooms as much as possible to keep sound out and to prevent sound from getting out from the studio. If you have windows in the studio class space, consider translucent coverings to protect your students’ privacy (or at least provide the option).

4. Your Reception Area

The look and feel of your reception area can be the reason whether your students will linger after class or not. A relaxing reception can be powerful enough to bring your clients back, so you should give it some good considerations. The ideal yoga studio reception area will include a kiosk/reception bar/desk where you can process payment and greet students. It should also include some seating or space to stand.

If you can, provide space for shoes, bags and jackets. Get the most (business-wise) out of your reception area by offering some retail items. It could be a book/magazine shelf built into the wall (taking up very little floor space). It could be a small supplement shelf.

It could be a wall of carefully selected apparel. Not only can this add revenue, but it adds some design elements to your reception area. If you have space, a sitting area is fantastic. It would be great for your business if you can provide a couch and some comfy chairs for your students to sit in while waiting for class or chatting with fellow students after class.

5. Finance at hand

Money decides a lot of things when it comes to business. And as far as decorating your yoga studio is concerned, the amount of money you have is what would influence the kind of decoration to choose. But you should not assume that you just need the four walls, some bamboo flooring and some mirrors to run a yoga studio.

The fact is that you need to make heavy investment on a wide range of things such as heating and HVAC systems, bathrooms, signage designs, sound systems, paint, computer and data systems, legal fees and contracts, and many more.

So, explore all sources for getting good amount of funds. Remember that you will take many months to break even. You will need additional money to pay rent and salary of your staff such as assistants. A well designed yoga studio can gulp quite a sum, but it will be worth it in the end.

6. Location

Location of your yoga studio matters when you are thinking about the design to choose. If your studio is located in a town where the residents prefer a certain design or theme, then you have to go along with the popular theme, unless you can run the risk of being different.

But in all, you need to ensure that the place is calm and away from daily noises of traffic, etc. Make sure that your landlord/landlady understands your business and has no intention to interfere in what you do in your studio. You must draw a boundary between your studio business and your landlord.

7. Your yoga style

Another determining factor for the design of your yoga studio is the style of yoga you intend to practice. If your studio would be focused at healing, tranquility and rehabilitation, then you have to design your studio to meet such needs. You need to look out for soft mild calming colors. If you are focused at fitness and weight loss, you may need to ditch all the softness.

8. The Cost

Affordability is also a big factor taken into consideration when designing your yoga studio. While good things are always on the expensive side, but if you do your research well, you will find some nice fixtures that are not price guzzlers. You need to, as a matter of fact, be able to manage your finances so you don’t get stuck in a rut of debt, and you should not be so miserly that your studio holds no excitement for your clients.

9. Illumination

Lighting is an important aspect when designing a yoga studio space; it can significantly influence the quality of one’s session. As a yogi, you shouldn’t settle on any lighting. When setting up a yoga studio, one should use illumination that sets a relaxing tone.

In other words, they should employ ambient lighting as an alternative to overly bright lights. This is because the studio should help students achieve a serene environment that will sufficiently calm their mind. The softer the illumination, the more relaxed the learners will be. If possible, illumination should be done using natural light.

Reason being; natural light has a number of unique benefits that include aiding in concentration and enhancing a good mood. But if natural light is not ideal for the clients due to privacy concerns, one can use illumination that mimics natural radiance such as LED lights or fluorescent bulbs.

10. Ventilation

Ventilation easily tops the list of the primary concerns when designing yoga studios. This is because most of the yoga practices require inhaling fresh air for enhanced spiritual development. By ventilating the room sufficiently, the user is guaranteed of uninterrupted oxygen renewal during sessions including when the room is unoccupied.

Without proper ventilation, one is likely to find students struggling to breathe or even suffering a stroke due to lack of sufficient oxygen.

11. Colour scheme

You can actually experience physical, mental and emotional changes because of specific colors. For example, some colors can increase your blood pressure, hunger levels, as well as your body temperature.

Because yoga is such a soothing art, the best atmospheres to practice it are ones that boost your sense of calm and help you step into a tranquil frame of mind. Little details like candles, can assist in building this atmosphere, but even something as basic as your studio’s coloring can grant a layer of relaxation to slide your students into a yoga mentality.

In fact, the color choice of the room can be mirrored throughout all elements of your yoga practice to give your students an overall sensation of the color’s effect as soon as they step into the studio. Although there might be one specific color that stands out to you as soothing, there are plenty of across-the-board colors that can be noted for their calming qualities. You just need a little research to find them.

12. Decoration

Décor materials used in Yoga studio should be made to blend with the space and the requirement of the yoga class. In general, you should avoid distracting elements or exaggerated decorations. It is recommended using warm materials and soft colors or directly white to help the students achieve a certain degree of initial concentration.

As practices carried out in permanent contact with the ground, floors are usually covered with wood or materials rather ‘soft’ and warm to the touch. Your decoration is usually the first thing that welcomes students when they open your doors, and you may not get much registrations if you studio decor is not inviting.

13. Yoga mats

Though some people may think it insignificant, but your yoga mats can make a good selling point for your studio. Yoga students come to your yoga studio to learn yoga. They are not so much concerned about your yoga décor though they want the place to look neat and attractive.

So you need not add more clutter to your yoga space by decorating too much but give ample space for your students to walk freely in the room and have sufficient space to set their yoga mats. You can use the standard measures of a yoga mat, which unfolds fully stretched in an area of approximately 1.70 x 60 meters.

It is suggested to leave at least 50 cm between the mats, to allow the free movement of yoga students during the exercises. Yoga mats can be of any colors or your choice to have variety. It’s best to consider flexible and budge-table yoga mats and buy them in rolls to cut them according to the standard size. If you are a new yoga studio owner or newbie in your yoga business then you can even ask your students to bring their own yoga mats to class.