Alison Tigges grew up as a very active dancer and athlete, so predictably, she experienced frequent injuries. During high school, the pain was interfering with doing what she loved, so when someone recommended she try yoga to help with her recovery, she listened. Alison’s very first class was a hot yoga session at One Tree Yoga in Dundee. She noticed how much better she felt after the class and welcomed the relief it provided. She was immediately hooked on yoga.
Over time, Alison had an epiphany of self-awareness. She noticed she was becoming calmer, more relaxed, and mindful in all aspects of my life. The realization sparked her curiosity. What was happening? She wanted to learn more, so she began doing some research. The research led to teacher training, and then work as an instructor.
Her progress to a yoga business career took place gradually. When she first began teaching, it was a side job completely unrelated to her full-time work. Eventually she was given the dual role of managing the studio and teaching some classes. Finally, when she was offered the chance to take over the business entirely, it was too good an opportunity to pass it up and she was ready to take the chance.
Benefits of Yoga
Yoga has tremendous benefits for athletes. Each sport has repetitive motions that strain certain muscle groups. Consider the basketball player shooting the ball or pitcher throwing out dozens of pitches every day. Using yoga to loosen up and strengthen those strained muscles can improve athletes’ performance and give an added measure of protection from injury. The mental focus component of yoga is also extremely beneficial for athletes.
Yoga is also helpful for those who are looking to embrace an overall healthier lifestyle. As they participate in breath work and mindfulness during class, these behaviors naturally integrate into their lives. They begin to observe and respond to their bodies’ cues, paying attention to hunger and thirst or a need for sleep. Most find they sleep much better while practicing yoga, which results in better mornings and more productive days.
Most importantly, there’s the stress reduction and mental health benefits of yoga. Alison considers those to be the most important part of a healthier lifestyle. “Learning how to breathe, be still, calm myself down, move my body in a mindful way—yoga taught me all of that.”
Yoga as a Career Path
Alison recommends that those who are contemplating teaching yoga or perhaps would like to own their own studio one day commit to being very involved with their own practice. “I just think someone needs to love yoga, do a lot of it, want to share with others, and be committed to a life of learning. I have been teaching for 16 years and I still do regular trainings with yoga teachers who know more than me. Always a student!”
It’s important to really love what you do. When you do, it shows in your teaching and in the way you run your business. Alison pointed out that owning a studio is not for everyone. “The beauty is yoga is everywhere now. You can teach at your work, with friends/family, at your kids school, the options are endless.”
No two yoga training programs are exactly alike, but at a minimum, teachers must have at least 200 hours of training. At One Tree Yoga, they’ve designed a nine-month program. During that time, they offer lectures every month and many classes. Trainees attend on their own schedules, but if they’re committed, they can easily complete 200 hours or more of class and lectures combined. For ten years, One Tree Yoga has offered an impressive 200-hour program. Now, they are offering even more. “This year, we are offering a more advanced 300-hour program for people already teaching or those wanting to do a deeper dive,” said Alison.
Alison advises, “if you are looking be discerning. Not all programs teach you how to teach. We pride ourselves in not only teaching you the vast subject that is yoga BUT also how to effectively teach it and share with others. Do your homework and take classes at places you are interested in training.”
Being an Entrepreneur
Alison’s long-standing relationship with One Tree Yoga before taking ownership gave her significant advantages over someone launching a business from scratch. Even so, running a small business requires her to wear many hats: accountant, custodian, social media marketer, human resources, and the list goes on. She credits her awesome business partner, Gabe Hopp, with making One Tree a success. “Without her, our awesome staff, and students, we would not be thriving today,” said Alison. She also gives credit to her wonderful husband and family for their support.
Although she may not be “on call” per say, Alison finds it hard to unplug, as most business owners do. Inevitably, something always comes up when you run a business, so “playing with boundaries is always a challenge,” said Alison. To lessen the mental load, she challenges herself to limit the workday hours and carve out downtime when she puts her phone away.
Many small businesses including One Tree Yoga are deeply affected when the economy takes a downturn. When money is tight and people are struggling, yoga studio membership will be eliminated long before people stop going to the grocery store.
Growing competition is an additional challenge. “It means we have to be constantly looking at how we can stand out and be the best at what we do. Rather than trying to be a ‘jack of all trades’ we have really honed in and focused on being the best at what we do best—teaching really awesome yoga.”
Adaptability is a key trait for business owners. Consider the fundamental shift in the ways businesses operated during the Pandemic. Suddenly, everyone found themselves having to completely reframe how they did business. The online classes and other format changes implemented to survive 2020 haven’t really gone away. None of the changes felt good at the time they were made, but ultimately, they ended up being very good for business. No longer is One Tree just a local spot, but students—and instructors—can participate long distance. Their client base is now anywhere the internet is.
There’s no way to predict what challenges lie ahead, but Alison remembers, from the start of her career until now, that the very things we consider potential disasters are the very things that stretch and grow us in ways we would have missed out on otherwise.
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