Inspiring Conversations with Vineetha Menon of Yoga Wild

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vineetha Menon.

Hi Vineetha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I moved here from the UK in fall 2015 with my then husband and two young children as he was taking over 2 Bikram yoga studios in Leucadia and Oceanside. I was a corporate banking professional and while this career path was my plan, life took a different turn. Just three months after moving here, my marriage of 13 years suddenly ended. I was faced with the choice to either return to the UK or take a leap of faith and take over the yoga studios we had just bought.

I had no experience whatsoever of running a yoga studio, let alone 2. At the time, due to the controversy around Bikram Chowdhury, Bikram studios were really suffering the brunt.  I had picked up a failing business that was barely breaking even, I knew I had to do something but had no idea what. I embarked on different teacher training programs learning how to teach Bikram yoga, Inferno Hot Pilates and also Yin Yoga.

Through trial and error and a huge amount of hard work and perseverance, things started to turn around for us. I sold the Leucadia studio and focused entirely on building our Oceanside location. Our Oceanside studio underwent a huge remodel where we redesigned the entire space to be vibrant and groovy! I completed a strategic refresh of the business where we rebranded as Yoga Wild. Investing into building our community along with adding new and exciting classes to our schedule transformed us from a struggling Bikram studio to a thriving Hot Yoga and Pilates studio. We created a warm and cohesive community of the most amazing members and teachers.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The road has been far from smooth!

As a newcomer to the US I didn’t know anyone here and I was adjusting to living in a new country, learning to drive on the opposite side of the road and helping my young boys adjust to their new environment. Amidst this I was going through a divorce and trying to run two studios.

I had to learn so much to even understand people’s work schedules in California so as to plan class times. In the UK almost everyone works 9 to 5 but here I was surprised to see that our 4pm classes were often the busiest.

At the time that I took over, the negative effects of the Bikram scandal was affecting our business hugely. Even though our studio had no affiliation with Bikram, many people still thought we were a franchise. Member numbers were dwindling to a small group of die hard Bikram yoga enthusiasts. And when we did start introducing new classes, sometimes replacing Bikram yoga classes with other options, our existing members found this frustrating. So it was a delicate balance of trying to keep our existing members happy yet offering enough choice to bring in a new demographic.

I had 2 studios with a high overhead of staff and was just not bringing in enough revenue to justify the number of classes offered. Often if a teacher cancelled or fell sick, I struggled with being able to sub the class. I couldn’t be in two places at once if I was already teaching at the other location.

I had inherited 2 studios where there was no concept of a team. Staff from the 2 studios barely ever saw each other. There wasn’t a clear mission or brand that staff could be inspired by. Likewise there was no community spirit at the studio. People came in silence and left after class. Nobody really talked to each other.

The hardest thing was that I had no experience of running a yoga studio. I had no idea what I needed to do to attract new people, how to retain existing members. Our premises were so basic and run down. Compared to the other studios around us, our reception area and yoga room was shabby and unappealing. I’d almost feel embarrassed trying to sell a membership or to retain a member who was asking to cancel.

Of course, all that changed dramatically after we refurbished and remodelled our space in Oceanside. With our colorful surroundings, fun disco lights, upbeat music, our infrared heated yoga room that doubles up to a heated nightclub for fun classes, Yoga Wild is now the coolest studio in San Diego county!

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and being closed for several months, the strong community spirit we built kept us afloat during this challenging time and we were able to come back together in even greater strength when we returned after the pandemic ended.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I spent 25 years in the UK corporate world where I worked in senior roles in Financial Services. Working for some of the finest UK financial services institutions alongside high calibre professionals enabled me to acquire a wealth of skills and abilities that I have been able to hone and focus towards building Yoga Wild into the best it can be for our community in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and neighboring areas. I have found that the skills and experience built from my corporate career in areas such as team management, customer relationship management, financial rigour, creativity and marketing, brand strategy, business transformation and interpersonal skills have been the crucial success factors for where Yoga Wild is today.

As a yoga studio owner now, I am known first and foremost for my commitment and enthusiasm for our community. Walk into Yoga Wild and you will feel at home, like you are with dear friends. Our vibe and our community is vibrant, fun, warm and welcoming. We strive to know every member’s name, to connect with each person in a genuine and personal way and every person that walks out, leaves feeling they had the best class with the friendliest and most supportive group of people. Our community is truly what makes Yoga Wild unique.

I love teaching classes, it’s where I get to make the biggest difference – inspiring my experienced practitioners to go deeper, motivating the complete newbie to stay the course in a challenging class heated to 105 degrees, to making someone smile during the most challenging pose through humor! I love getting my hands dirty doing every job, big or small, that needs to be done at Yoga Wild. Strategic management, social media, staff training, admin all the way to cleaning mirrors and mopping floors.

Aside from running Yoga Wild I am also a singer and musician. I have recently released a spiritual album of songs from the saints of India. Being of Indian origin yet born in the UK and now living in the US, my musical influences are diverse and span both east and west. So my album is a fusion of the musical style I love – eastern vocals and traditional Indian instruments alongside exquisite guitar, strings and piano.

My music is used in our yoga classes and members love hearing their beloved studio owner’s voice while they are practicing yoga!

I also perform music live. Sacred music events held at Yoga Wild have been well attended with proceeds from the events going towards feeding the underprivileged in rural India. Proceeds from our concerts delivered the equivalent of 15,000 meals in India.

I am performing my album in Encinitas on 27th July at the Seaside Center for Spiritual living with a band of world class and Grammy recognized musicians.

Aside from music and running Yoga Wild I was recently asked to lead Kriya Yoga International’s center in North County, San Diego and to grow the community of Kriya Yoga meditation practitioners in our county. Together with JD Crawford (A San Diego based singer songwriter) we have organized the initiation event in Oceanside and manage the regular meditation gatherings in San Diego.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?

Pricing:

• New Member special – 3 months for the price of 1 at $189
• Drop in class – $28

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yogawildoceanside.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogawildoceanside/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YogawildOceanside
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetha-menon-1456a074
• Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/album/0RMQ1JyleQhcHd2jnTzeaS
• Other: https://www.rasathealbum.com/