The last lockdown is behind us, the mouth caps have ended up in the trash. We are allowed to do everything again and it really does look a bit like the world as it used to be. But not for yoga teacher Natascha Wolfs from Oisterwijk. The corona pandemic is thundering behind her in all its intensity, now that cancellations continue to come in and there are actually no more reserves at all to keep her yoga school open.
Three years ago, 48-year-old Natascha . opened yoga studio Namaste in Oisterwijk, an inviting space where the candles are burning, soft music is played and the tea is ready. Getting a little zen in these hectic times.
It was an instant success. “We had 250 members in no time, there was even a waiting list of people who wanted to come and play sports,” she says. “I had a piggy bank and a pension pot, everything went well.”
Even when the pandemic broke out, an hour on the yoga mat was for many a nice escape from the daily hectic. “People were a bit anxious because of corona,” says Natascha. “That fear prevents you from looking at the situation neutrally. What you learn from yoga is that if you take a step back and see what it really is like in reality, it can give you peace of mind. A way to connect find with your feeling and body. It teaches you to accept and to be patient.”
In March 2020, the first lockdown came and – like thousands of other entrepreneurs – they were forced to close their doors for months. “A quarter of the members canceled their subscription, but I wasn’t worried thanks to my financial buffer. Besides, I thought, if everyone sticks to the rules, then the pandemic will be over in no time.”
“I saw everything go up in the air and I used up a lot on my reserves.”
The same year, the country was again locked down and the outlook became more bleak. “Again we had to close and this time I lost half the number of members. It went very fast, in the end 58 remained,” said Natascha. “I saw everything go up in the air and I spent a lot of time on my reserves. And what was also striking: when relaxation came, many people did not return for yoga classes.”
This was mainly due to fear, the Oisterwijkse thinks. “People have kind of lost themselves because they’re scared by everything that’s happened lately. There are so many stories, and everyone has an opinion on how we should deal with this.”
“I received a lot of worried e-mails,” says Natascha. “How many people do you allow in class, how do you deal with the rules? And I could never win, because some turned out not to be vaccinated and assumed they were not welcome, while those who had had the shot were afraid that there would be unvaccinated in the group and they would get sick.”
“According to my accountant, I’m actually already bankrupt on paper.”
The last time things had to be locked, at the end of last year, it caused panic. “I was literally shaking. The financial buffer had disappeared, the rack was gone”, Natascha looks back. “I need at least 110 members to break even. According to my accountant, I’m already bankrupt on paper.”
The war in Ukraine makes it squeak and creaks even more. “This week I had five cancellations because everything has become so expensive,” she says. “Groceries, petrol, the belt has to be tightened. A sports subscription is then one of the first things that die.”
She does not engage in commercial campaigns or consciously approaching people. “Yoga and business thinking are oil and water, they don’t mix. I want to let people understand their value and not make them feel like I’m trying to push them. I trust that they will come back one day, because they had a great time here and connect with themselves.”
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