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Interview with Dylan Robertson: Yoga Instructor, Long-Time Tokyo Resident and Creator of Hello Yoga

 

(December 5th, 2009)

Hello Global interviewed Dylan Robertson, yoga instructor, long-time Tokyo resident and creator of Hello Yoga (12.5.09) CM

Hello Global interviewed Dylan Robertson, yoga instructor, long-time Tokyo resident and creator of Hello Yoga, an online portal for Tokyo’s English-speaking yoga community, for an insider’s view on the Japanese yoga industry and what he sees in the future for yoga in Japan.

Hello Global: How has Japan’s yoga industry developed over the last several years?

Dylan: Interest in yoga grew rapidly from around 2002 and peaked around 2005. In Tokyo, neighborhood studios popped-up and most of the big fitness clubs started offering yoga classes—“Hot Yoga” was an especially popular offering. Many Japanese joined classes to find out more about yoga, but few of them become regular practitioners. Since 2005, the hype has died down and the yoga market has stabilized. It’s not that yoga has died and gone away. Yoga is going strong and is here to stay. Nowadays it’s become an established item within Japan’s vast health and wellness menu.

A large portion of yoga students will go to a yoga class once or twice a month, in the same way that they would go to a beauty salon or get their nails done. They just want to relax and feel like they are treating themselves to something special. A smaller percentage of yoga students have made yoga into a weekly practice in a studio as well as at home. An even smaller, but not insignificant group of students are training diligently with the possibility of going on to become instructors.

Hello Global: What are some of the common characteristics of your students?

Dylan: Most of my students are women in their thirties. I don’t see many students under 25 or over 45, although they are most welcome, of course. There are a few men but not as many as you’d see in a yoga class overseas and most are foreign men. I think that Japanese men will gradually come to try yoga when they see more Japanese male professional athletes and celebrities making it a part of their routine.

My yoga classes and online community targets people interested in yoga taught in English in Tokyo. Around 80% of my students have been Japanese, but the mixture depends on the venue I teach. The studio I teach in at Hiroo, a residential area popular with foreign expatriates, attracts more foreigners. But at the studio in Nihonbashi where I teach workshops occasionally, I’ve had 99% Japanese students. Many of them have lived or traveled abroad, speak English or want to practice their English skills while studying yoga.

Hello Global: Where do people in Japan get their information about yoga?

Dylan: There are popular magazines such as Yogini and Yoga Journal Japan. There are also online portals such as YogaRoom and Yoga Gene. Many students buy their yoga wear and accessories from department stores, sporting goods stores or through popular online shopping sites such as Amazon or Rakuten. When searching for a yoga studio, many students will often search via Yahoo using keywords such as their neighborhood’s name and “yoga studio” or “yoga classes”. From this, they might find the website of an individual yoga studio nearby.

I created Hello Yoga to fill the gap in the market for an online resource targeting people specifically interested in yoga taught in English in Tokyo. Around that, I am building a community with articles, yoga teacher interviews and channels via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Mixi (Japan’s largest online social networking service).

Hello Global: What kind of emerging trends do you see?

Dylan: Yoga classes that are more ‘holistic’ and have a spiritual component are gaining interest, as well as specialized workshops that refine the student’s technique. Students prefer products that are ‘eco-friendly’ and can also be seen following the “My Bottle” trend. There is also a growing trend in yoga goods for use in the home or as they say in Japan, “Taku yoga” products. With commuting times and busy schedules, videos for home use are popular. Many Japanese would like to make yoga part of their holidays and are interested in taking yoga retreats in both Japan and abroad if there is a Japanese interpreter available.

Hello Global: What advice would you give to companies or individuals wanting to enter the Japanese yoga market?

Dylan: I’d say traditional market research is important but I’d also advise actually visiting Japan and spending some time here. Go to some yoga classes and talk to people who are already in the industry to get a sense of the market for what you’re offering. My portal is a good starting point, but remember that the English-speaking market is only the tip of the iceberg.

Hello Global: What’s in store for the Hello Yoga website and your plans for the future?

Dylan: We hope to continue growing and serving as communications hub for Tokyo’s English-speaking yoga community. Items on the ‘to do’ list include improving the quality and quantity of content we offer, making it easier for people to navigate our website to find what they want, making all content on the site available in Japanese, improved integration with our various social media channels, and getting more studios that provide English instruction to allow us to feature their offerings on our site.

We don’t charge fees of any kind for community membership or for yoga teachers or studios to feature their offerings on our site. Since the many items on our ‘to do’ list will require financial resources and manpower, we are looking for a corporate sponsor who is interested in marketing to the demographics of our community. This must, however, be done in the right way and serve the interests of our community. The trust of our members is the lifeblood of our community.

CM
2009/12/5