Find your yoga class wherever you are
Your moment of zen is only a couple of clicks away…with Yogaloupe
Reading time: 2 minutes
Alma Gudzevic loves animals, including monkeys. But once, during a trip to Bali, the noisy primates outside her hotel room drove her nuts. There was something else, too. The frustrating, two-hour online search for a yoga class in or around Ubud also drove her up the wall. But it also got her thinking. And now there’s Yogaloupe, an online platform that helps you find a yoga class near you wherever you are.
“Finding a yoga class should be as easy as booking a hotel room online,” says Alma. “I mean, I first had to search for the yoga schools in my area. Second step: look for good reviews. After that, I had to scroll through every single website to find out where the booking tool was, find available hours and also compare prices. There was a lot of going back and forth, and only after considerable time did I book a few classes. Let me assure you, at that point, my frustration levels were high. I now needed yoga more badly than before I started my search.”
After the Bali trip and the yoga classes in Ubud, the memory of the search was still at the top of her mind. “When I returned home, I told my brother about my experience. He didn’t need much convincing when I told him we needed to create a central booking website because I was sure I was not the only one needing such a service. That was the moment the platform yogaloupe.com was born.”
Yogaloupe recently went live. Of course, the principle of a central booking platform is not new. But Yogaloupe is the world’s first online booking platform where students can find and book a yoga class, workshop, or retreat near them or abroad. “I know there’s already a website you can use to book yoga retreats, but that’s only for retreats,” Alma explains. “What I envisioned was much broader. For example, when on the road, be it for work or fun, you can suddenly feel the need for a yoga class, be it after travelling, for instance, or between intense business meetings. Finding an available class is now just a few clicks away using Yogaloupe.”
Yogaloupe benefits not just people looking for yoga but also those who teach. “The platform is just like it is for students, also easy to use and free for teachers and schools. They do pay a small fee, but only if a student books and pays for a class, a workshop, or a stay at their retreat that can’t be refunded. The fee is only paid if the teacher or school gets paid by the student. It is a fair and transparent no-cureno-pay system, or should I say no-yoga-no-pay system?”
One last thing: Alma continues to love animals, but monkeys now have a special place in her heart.
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
