Yoga is not exclusive. That's the idea Steve Feldman and his partners had in mind when they started the Yoga Shelter in West Bloomfield in 2004.
They deemed a lot of yoga houses unfriendly to the neophyte. Places that read directions only in Sanskrit or practiced in ways only yoga snobs appreciated. The partners did the opposite, including offering the first week free to make newcomers feel comfortable.
"It was really about making yoga accessible to all," Feldman says.
It has worked. The company welcomes about 650 new students each month. That has allowed it to expand to five studios, including Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe, Birmingham, and Studio City, California, where one of the partners is expanding the brand. There are also plans to open new locations in Ann Arbor and a yet-to-be-determined place in Macomb County later this year.
After starting with a crew of eight, the West Bloomfield-based firm now employs about 50 people. It expects to expand its staff to 65-70 when the new locations open by the end of the year.
Source: Steve Feldman, co-founder of the Yoga Shelter
Writer: Jon Zemke
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