Client Stories: Himalaya Yoga Valley Cork

As part of our Buy Local Campaign we are highlighting some good news stories from our clients. 

There are so many small local businesses out there right now that are working so hard during the pandemic. SMEs have been innovating over the last few months and many have reinvented how they do business. At TaxAssist Accountants we feel this work deserves to be commended.    

Last week we caught up with the very pleasant business manager of Himalaya Yoga Valley Cork, Marion Courtney and spoke about the launch of their Virtual Yoga Studio …

… Himalaya Yoga Valley was founded by the renowned Yogacharya Lalit from India. He has been practicing yoga since the young age of seven at traditional schools in the inspiring Himalayas. For the last 7 years they have been offering over 70 classes a week at their centres in Cork City & Ballincollig.

Unfortunately, the studios, along with so many other businesses, had to close suddenly on 12 March. The safety of their staff and clients was paramount.

After the initial shock of closing wore off, the staff at Himalaya Yoga Valley reflected on their core values; to improve well-being, health and happiness of their clients. It became clear that during the COVID-19 crisis their clients and community needed them more than ever.

Marion explained “we wanted to keep going and help people with their physical and mental health as so many were confined to their homes and feeling isolated. So we ran over 100 free online community wellness classes over a period of 7 weeks which attracted participants from all over the world. This offered our teachers and clients a way to come together as a community and it helped give people a sense of routine during this difficult time.”

Then on 11 May Himalaya Yoga Valley launched their virtual studio where they are now offering over 100 virtual live classes each month, streamed directly to people’s homes.  

As the uptake online was so good they have now been able to incorporate this into their business model and are now running an online class schedule that clients are paying a monthly membership. (But it is nice to note they are keeping classes free for frontline healthcare workers and running a free class every Friday for all levels which anybody can join.)

And what does the future hold for Himalaya Yoga Valley? 

Marion is obviously eager to get back into the physical centres, but the virtual studio will continue: “An online studio is always something we wanted to create, and we were pushed to do it this year. We have been able to reach more people this way, and not just locally but internationally. In particular, there’s been a great interest in our online teacher training courses. We are running our second course this month with our teachers logging in from Ireland, the UK and Goa to deliver the course.”

We wish Marion & team the best for the next few months and a safe return to the studios.

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Himalaya Yoga Valley is a client of TaxAssist Accountants Cork and you can find out more about them here

Published 11/06/2020

 

Date published 11 Jun 2020 | Last updated 11 Jun 2020

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