At Equinox, yoga is so popular that all new Equinox clubs include a yoga studio. But the studios aren't just for yoga classes. A growing number of yoga participants are requesting one-on-one instruction, and they are willing to pay prices similar to those the company asks of personal training clients — $95 per 60-minute session.

"Yoga is definitely a value add," says Carol Espel, national director of group fitness and Pilates at New York-based Equinox. "There are quite a few people interested in the one-on-one yoga, and there is no overhead expense for the club."

Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, according to Yoga Journal's "Yoga in America" study. This represents an 87 percent increase in just four years. In an economy in which many people have seen financial instability, club owners may be able to benefit financially by tapping into markets like yoga, where spending is still on the rise.

In addition to spending growth, an untapped market for yoga practitioners exists. Of non-yoga practitioners, 18.3 million Americans say they are "very interested" or "extremely interested" in yoga, according to the survey. That number represents more people than are currently doing yoga at home or in a club.

Offering one-on-one yoga instruction in addition to increasing the number of yoga classes provides New York-based Equinox with a strong selling point, which is important when marketing its clubs in Dallas, Chicago and the big metropolitan areas of the East and West Coasts.

Even if only a few clients a week meet one-on-one with an instructor, others may start paying membership dues just because of this offering, Espel says.

"We position it as a value-add and another way to differentiate," she says. "It may not be the most profitable, but it adds to your brand."

Other club owners also see the value in private yoga instruction. They see one-on-one yoga lessons as an avenue to help current members who are yoga practitioners and to attract non-yoga practitioners to the club environment, thus providing additional revenue in a tight economy.

At Somafit, Washington, DC, a handful of clients pay extra for one-on-one yoga instruction.

"It isn't advertised, and we still get calls for it," says Mandi Davidson, the group fitness coordinator at Somafit.

One-on-One Leads to Group

Despite the calls for one-on-one instruction at Somafit, most of their members still take group yoga classes. But the goal of participating in group classes may be what drives some members to take private lessons, according to Nielle Arnold, director of CorePower Yoga, a 6,200-square-foot yoga studio in Edina, MN.

"A private lesson is an option for someone whose goal is to participate in group classes, but they want to get a head start on understanding the movements before they rush into a group setting," says Arnold, who does not do much advertising of private lessons. Still, she is considering putting the option on the company's Web site.

One-on-one is sometimes the most effective and only way to expose clients to a type of fitness they aren't familiar with, much like people who prefer to exercise with a personal trainer before attending group fitness classes. Because of body image or confidence issues, people may hesitate to go to a group yoga class if they perceive that, comparatively, everyone will be fitter, stronger and more flexible, she says.

Providing private yoga lessons also is a way to begin a relationship with a client, according to Arnold, who teaches five group classes each week in addition to running the facility. Even if students take only two or three private lessons, they are more likely to sign up as members of a club to take group classes after developing a one-on-one relationship with a teacher from that club, she says.

Current members also take advantage of private yoga lessons, often to help alleviate stress. Personalized yoga lessons that teach stress reduction techniques, like meditation and breathing, are often worth the investment for people who never would have spent money on personal training, especially with the stress of the current economy.

"When the focus is how do I get to a place of well-being, it is less a focus for affordability but more about health," says Denise Elizondo, who teaches three group yoga classes a week and about five private yoga lessons weekly at VIDA Fitness in Washington, DC.

Elizondo says that yoga class participation increases when stress levels increase.

"[Yoga clients] are asking, 'How do I deal with this? How do I cope?'" she says.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.