Vital Beat in The Community Newspapers

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“Taking her yoga studio online was not solely about Vital Beat Yoga owner Kaye Waterhouse keeping her business afloat when COVID-19 shut its doors in Midland and Edgewater.

‘It was most importantly to support the physical and mental wellbeing of our student base’, Waterhouse said.

‘I struggle with clinical anxiety and Ive found this time incredibly challenging not only for my own mental health, but trying to remain a leader for my team and a source of strength and safe haven for our community’.

‘The practice of yoga is my sanctuary when things seem so uncertain and if I feel that way then surely many others do too. So I cant stop fighting to keep this community together because we all need it (social distance or not!). The response has been phenomenal’.

In a turn of fortunate events, Waterhouse had already begun building a landing page for an online platform in the weeks before the virus hit Australia to expand the studio’s offering to expand the studio’s offering to a digital business.

‘When COVID-19 hit I knew I had to act quickly and after a few sleepless nights, we were ready to go live’, she said. ‘I already had a software system in mind that we could use long term, so we actually skipped the use of Zoom and went with something with more functionality and longevity. We plan on continuing an online yoga studio complete with wellness workshops and teacher trainings, long after COVID19 is over’.

After creating an account on the website portal, Vital Beat Yoga students can access live-streamed classes and the library of previously recorded content, filtered by class length or style. Waterhouse said one of the main pitfalls was not being able to see their students practice. ‘While they can do yoga in their pyjamas, we cant offer individual modifications or adjustments for challenging postures so we have to trust that students will self-modify’, she said.

‘What we’ve also seen is a large umber of students returning to us, who had moved interstate or overseas where they now practice with their favourite teachers and favourite classes that they’ve been missing. I know of one former student in lockdown in the UK who can now do our classes in her living room’.

Vital Beat is online at www.vitalbeat.com.au

written by Tanya MacNaughton