Why we went paid
The reasons behind our switch to a subscriber-supported platform
PS: This is a long post so if you’re reading this as an email, make sure you hit ‘download entire message’ so you can see everything in one place.
When I pivoted Yogateau from an all-access website to a newsletter called on Substack, I had reservations about getting rid of the maps, workshops, trainings, events and retreat listings but more importantly about switching to a paid subscription model.
Based on the number of early unsubscribes (and reasons given for them) it appears skepticism was a factor on the end-user’s side as well.
So in the spirit of transparency, I’d like to explain the thinking process behind this change and why it was inevitable.
MORE DETAILS ON WHAT WENT INTO CREATING AND MAINTAINING YOGATEAU
The new format
To bring you Do Yoga in Paris, there is a massive amount of work that goes into it every day of every week. Here’s a non-exhaustive list to give you an idea:
Keeping tabs on over 175+ studios and their changing yoga and meditation calendars in Paris (spreadsheets de ouf!)
Doing the same for other cities like Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille…
Researching and vetting creative yoga and meditation retreats throughout France
Discovering and testing new studios, teachers, and yoga concepts (classes are very seldom comped, for the record)
Staying up-to-date on Paris events that broaden the definition of yoga and mindfulness
Writing, editing and photography
Designing custom art and digital guides
Mindful concierge services and bespoke tours for Founding Members
“un travail de fourmi”
Do Yoga in Paris would be a full-time job for a single person, never mind for a person who is also a busy creative director (me). Laurent Commergnat, founder of Yoga Village Paris, once said that what I do here represents “un travail de fourmi” i.e. the kind of work that ants do, that is to say: patient labor which moves ploddingly yet ineluctably forward. Laurent was/is not wrong. Bringing Do Yoga in Paris together every week demands an ant’s resourcefulness, fortitude and resilience.
While I generally keep the tone light here, I don’t want you to think that I approached this new subscription model lightly.
For over 10 years, I ran Yogateau as an entirely gratis operation until the workload became so overwhelming that I had to look to alternative financing methods such as sponsored content and brand partnerships. Some were nicely aligned (Wanderlust x Adidas, Karuna Shechen, l’Armée du Salut), some were marginally related (the French 🥝 board, if you can believe that). I explored fees for event listings with ancillary social media promotion, eventually relenting when it was looking more and more like pushing a boulder up an algorithmic hill. I even taught as part of a Teacher Training in Paris to cover operating costs. I treated every opportunity with the same attention and creativity, yet at the end of the day whatever was earned barely covered hosting fees, a freelance programmer, my Navigo for running around town.
For a long time I thought it wasn’t fair to charge yogis for the content; yoga is expensive enough as it is. But the more I heard from users, yoga teachers and studio owners how invaluable and beneficial the content was, the more I realized that it wasn’t right to me not to honor the time and effort I was devoting to the project. By not charging, I was essentially saying that the work wasn’t worth anything. That’s crazy! I know the work was worthwhile because the feedback and attention from all of you has always been so encouraging.
To be clear: Do Yoga in Paris is not a yoga class; it doesn’t cost 30€ for 60 minutes one time and then it’s over. Do Yoga in Paris is more like a magazine that you flip through at home, on the métro, on vacation. With fresh content every week, a searchable archive of articles, a newsflash pipeline called Notes, Chat and Threads for Q&As.
For as little as 1€ a week, you get up-to-date yoga recommendations, insider access to the best yoga spots, creative tips for enhancing your practice, deep dives into yoga concepts, and more!
Do Yoga in Paris will always be a reader-supported publication which means that a subscription at any level (monthly or yearly) is a vote of confidence and a way to financially contribute to the work I do and help grow the community.
Every paid subscription ensures the content remains independent, beholden only to readers’ interests, not advertisers’. Additionally, as a paid subscriber you can comment and share what you’ve discovered on your own yoga journey to make Do Yoga in Paris a true collaborative, collective project.
And no matter if you’re a free or a paid subscriber, your generosity of spirit (you read this whole thing! Bravo! Namaste!) is tremendously appreciated 🙏
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