Meditation is one of the fastest-growing niches in the health and wellness industry. According to the latest meditation market statistics, the meditation market in the U.S is estimated to reach approximately $2.08 billion, by the end of 2022. And by 2027, the meditation market is set to reach approximately $9 billion.
Due to its growing popularity combined with its incredible health and wellness benefits, an increasing number of traditional gyms and fitness centers across the globe have started introducing meditation classes. And those that have jumped on this bandwagon have already started enjoying a wide range of benefits.
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If you own a gym and you are yet to add meditation classes to your schedule, this article is specifically aimed at you. In this article, we will take a closer look at the benefits of introducing meditation classes at your gym. We will also walk you through the steps that you will follow when rolling out this practice in your gym. With that said, let’s jump straight in.
1. Benefits of Introducing Meditation Classes at Your Gym
Introducing meditation classes at your gym comes with great benefits – both for your gym’s growth and your members. Some of the benefits of offering meditation classes in your gym include:
1.1 Boost Membership
Growing your gym membership is, without a doubt, one of the biggest objectives of any gym owner. But, with hundreds of gyms, health clubs and fitness centers being set up every day, the competition has increased considerably. Hence, the conventional mechanisms of boosting gym membership are not as effective as they used to be.
Hence, as a gym owner, you need to start thinking outside the box and come up with unique ways of boosting your gym membership. And one of the most effective and unique ways of achieving that is by introducing meditation classes in your gym.
If you walk into most gyms in your neighborhood today, you will notice that most of them offer almost the same types of services. By introducing meditation classes in your gym, you will set yourself apart from the competition while attracting more people who are into mindfulness. As a result, your gym membership will grow and your revenues will increase. So, if your gym membership has somehow stagnated, you will experience considerable growth when you venture into meditation fitness.
Setting up meditation classes in your gym may require some initial capital. But, the long-term returns from this investment will be worthwhile.
1.2 Increase Member Retention
Retention remains one of the biggest challenges for many gym owners. According to the IHRSA, gyms and health clubs have an annual attrition rate of approximately 28.6%. And, exercise monotony is one of the reasons why people cancel their gym memberships.
So, how do you break exercise monotony at your gym and prevent gym cancellations? Well, one of the most effective ways of achieving that is by offering something new such as meditation classes.
Changing things around in your gym and offering something new will help to freshen things up while keeping your clients interested and motivated. And if your clients are motivated and interested, they will likely renew their membership. Hence, your retention rate will equally be high.
1.3 Create a Friendlier Gym Environment
Most people who would like to start their fitness journey are usually put off by the traditional gym environment. As a result, they end up postponing their plans or looking for other alternatives. And this means you will have lost a potential member.
But, when you introduce meditation classes in your gym, you will make the environment a little more relaxing, inviting and friendly. By doing so, you will end up attracting those prospects that may feel intimidated by the typical gym environment. Again, this will help to grow your membership and boost your revenues.
1.4 Increase Your Members’ Focus
While introducing meditation classes offers several benefits for your gym, your members also stand to benefit. And one of the benefits of fitness meditation is that it will help to boost your members’ focus.
Meditation is known to boost focus. And the increased focus that your personal training clients will benefit them in several ways. For instance, if you have a client that is training for an upcoming athletic competition, the increased focus will help them to stay committed to their training programs, without allowing distractions to get in the way.
At the same time, if you have a personal training client that is prone to negative self-talk whenever they are distracted, the increased awareness that comes with meditation will help them to get back on track quickly. Simply put, offering meditation classes in your gym will help your members to stay focused, thus bringing them closer to their health and fitness goals.
1.5 Alleviate Your Members’ Stress
Meditation is known to alleviate stress. And the reduction in stress that comes with offering fitness meditation sessions in your gym can help your clients considerably. For instance, meditation will help your members to handle the mental impacts associated with stress.
1.6 Promote Faster Recovery for Your Members
Also, post-workout meditation will help your members to recover faster after their sessions. And with faster recovery, your members will not miss their workout sessions. On the other hand, if the recovery is taking too long, some people may be tempted to miss their workout sessions. Eventually, they will end up canceling their memberships altogether.
2. How to Introduce Meditation Classes at Your Gym
The benefits of introducing meditation classes in your gym are undisputable. They will boost your bottom line while benefiting your members in various ways. The question is, how do you introduce meditation classes at your gym? Here are some steps to guide you when rolling out this practice:
2.1 Assess the Demand
Before you invest your time and money, you first need to consider whether there’s a demand for the meditation classes you want to introduce. At the end of the day, there’s no point in introducing them, if there’s no want and desire.
To determine whether there’s want and desire, you can conduct a simple survey amongst your regular clients. And if the overwhelming majority is for the introduction of the sessions, then you can proceed to the next step.
2.2 Develop a Strategy
Once you’ve determined there’s enough demand for the meditation sessions, it’s now time to come up with a strategy that you will use to roll out the classes. And for the strategy, you have two options that you can explore.
First, you can opt for a gradual roll-out, where you will be offering meditation sessions as part of your regular workout classes. For instance, you can have meditation sessions before or after the workout sessions. Hence, all your members will have an opportunity to participate in these meditation sessions. Using this approach will help to boost interest.
Second, you can offer the meditation sessions as stand-alone classes from the on-set. With this approach, you can be offering them twice or thrice per week. These sessions can be free for your regular gym members and paid for non-members.
If you decide to go with this approach, make sure you set them in a way that’s accessible for everyone. For instance, you can schedule them to be taking place before or after your regular workout sessions. Hence, your members will have an opportunity to participate in the sessions.
Scheduling the sessions before or after your workout sessions will not only make them accessible to your members but will also help to minimize the noise levels during these sessions.
2.3 Prepare Space for the Sessions
Meditation sessions require a quiet, warm and inviting space, which will help the participants to relax. So, make sure you choose a space that’s extremely quiet, comfortable, and warm. If possible, the room that you choose for these sessions should be soundproof. Also, other distractions should be kept at a minimum.
Furthermore, it will also be advisable to add soft furnishings to that space for comfort. For furnishings, you can opt for blankets, mats, and cushions. You should also consider adding soft lighting, which will help with relaxation. Also, remember to add colors and scents that promote relaxation.
2.4 Hire a Meditation Teacher
Once you’ve finished setting up the space for the meditation classes in your gym, it’s now time to hire an instructor. You can put out an ad on social media, local newspapers, local radio and TV programs, bulletin boards, Craigslist or other platforms, making sure you include all the relevant details for the position.
And if your offer is attractive, you will soon receive inquiries from interested candidates. From there, you can then conduct interviews, hire the right candidate for the position and start offering the sessions.
You should also consider encouraging the personal trainers in your gym to become certified as mediation practitioners. This way, you will always have someone ready in your gym to conduct the meditation sessions, in case the instructor you’ve hired fails to show up for whatever reasons.
3. Wrapping It Up
Introducing fitness meditation at your gym comes with numerous benefits. It will not only help to grow your gym’s revenue but your members will also benefit significantly, from the amazing benefits of meditation – in and outside the gym.