Yirser Ra Hotep considers himself to be a Yoga Practitioner who just happens to be a teacher and an entrepreneur. Not only is he the most senior instructor of Kemetic Yoga in the U.S. but he also created a new style called YogaSkills Method (YSM) which ventures away from the traditional Indian teachings of Yoga. Both styles have roots in ancient Egypt and combine movement with breath control.
After practicing and teaching yoga for over 30 years, Hotep decided one of his life’s missions was to influence others and bring Kemetic Yoga and YSM to the mainstream. He is well on his way to achieving that goal, as he has produced various Yoga products, such as CDs, videos, and training retreats. His intention is to have an international organization with certified instructors teaching and promoting his unique brand of Yoga.
Hotep shares with BlackEnterprise.com his motivations and strategies that will make his vision come to fruition.
What was the impetus behind venturing into the health and fitness industry as an entrepreneur?
My main motivation for making health and wellness my business is [knowing] that what I have to offer is sorely needed. My business evolved from teaching daily Yoga classes to taking on private students for one-on-one stress management to owning a studio. As time went on, I decided that I wanted to travel and increase brand awareness for the style of Yoga I teach which is called Kemetic Yoga and the YogaSkills Method. Initially, I traveled giving lectures, workshops and master classes. I’ve recently added teacher training and certification to the mix, which is a major part of my business. We currently have over 300 certified instructors nationally and internationally.
How has business been going for you?
Business is going very well for YogaSkills right now. Even though we are in a recession, people are actually seeking out training and certification in Yoga as a means of enhancing their personal well-being , as well as an avenue for income. As part of the my YogaSkills Teacher Training and Certification course, we offer training in business development and innovative ways to use your Yoga Skills for the benefit your clients and as a source of income. Our teacher training courses are conducted throughout the United States in major cities such as New York, Atlanta, Washington DC metro, Chicago, Los Angeles and others. We also offer exotic trainings and retreats in Jamaica that are focused on healing. We actually take our students to out of the way locations to practice Yoga in the rainforests and then to recharge in waterfalls and mineral baths. We offer activity packages that no one else offers in order to add value to our services and to separate us from the competition.
What resources did you use to start and grow your business?
The first thing I invested was my time and effort into becoming an expert in Yoga and expanding my knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology, wholistic health and later, business principles. I hired a speech coach to improve my public speaking and obtained professional photos for business cards, brochures and websites. You need to look the part and also be able to articulate your message effectively and communicate with a broad spectrum of potential customers.
In order to help establish my brand, I created posters with various images of me performing Yoga postures and I had a show on cable that reached over 1 million households in Chicago. I positioned myself to be a guest on various radio shows and after a while, I was featured in Ebony Magazine and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
The main expense I encountered was in creating my first website. I invested several thousand dollars, which was most of a modest pension I had earned while working for the state of Illinois as a child welfare administrator.
What are some of the challenges you face being an African-American Man in the Yoga space?
It is not expected that a black man would practice Yoga, let alone teach it as an expert or master. The stereotype is that petite women teach Yoga and only women are flexible enough to be good at it. So, people are surprised to see a 6 foot, 2 inch, 215 lb., bearded Black dude come up to teach a class. I’ve also found out the male Yoga teachers are expected to be gay, which I am not.
Even though I meet well-known white Yoga instructors from around the country, I have never been invited to the major Yoga conferences. Though I haven’t received a lot of play in the mainstream Yoga world, I have strong bonds in the African American community as well as the diaspora and I have requests [to teach] from people of color in South Africa, Ethiopia and New Zealand.
How has yoga changed your life?
More so than anything else Yoga has allowed me to live what my motto is, “Live without fear.” Fear is the foundation of stress and comes from a desire to avoid the unknown. The inability to handle uncertainty has caused the demise of many people. We live in the age of uncertainty! Yoga helps me to keep a clear head and stay focused on the end game no matter what the situation. It has allowed me to truly believe in myself and develop my mental and spiritual faculties.
I receive all of the physical benefits from practicing Yoga but the mental and spiritual side is key for me, especially as I get older chronologically. I feel very resilient, hopeful and optimistic because of my Yoga practice. I feel that I am the master of my destiny and I’m in harmony with how the universe operates. My meditation has allowed me to realize the basic underlying nature of things. What I am saying is much deeper than simply feeling more flexible. I have acquired the basic skills of self-realization and self-actualization. That is why I call my system YogaSkills Method.
Being that you are one of the few African American entrepreneurs in the yoga industry, do you feel that you have inspired other people of color to practice Yoga?
One of the greatest joys I have received from my experience is the fact that so many people of color have been inspired to practice Yoga – Kemetic Yoga in particular. I take pride in the fact that my image as a black man is seen in so many places and it breaks the stereotype that Yoga is for whites and for women only.
Many people of color are attracted to Kemetic Yoga because it is something that speaks to them culturally and spiritually and gives them an alternative to the staid “Up Dog/Down Dog/Warrior Pose” mentality of the mainstream Yoga world. Many people of color I come in contact with whether they are African American, Latino or Asian, state that they have had negative experiences in predominantly white Yoga environments and are seeking what we can provide.
What are your plans for the future?
YogaSkills has some very definite plans for expansion. We will offer a high-end luxury retreat with one of our new partners, Millbrook Resort in Montego Bay Jamaica. I also plan to start a wellness institute at East of Eden Resort and Spa in Jamaica that will feature monthly workshops led by myself, Mr. Wayne B. Chandler, author of a phenomenal book called Ancient Future and a host of experts in various aspects of wellness. We will continue to offer our annual trip to Egypt hosted by myself, Mr. Chandler and Dr. Sunyatta Amen. Over the next two years we’ve been invited to travel to countries like South Africa, Ethiopia, Haiti, Brazil, Dominica, Martinique, Guadalupe, England, New Zealand, Thailand and Cambodia to train new teachers in Kemetic Yoga. We also have plans for 2 new books and one new instructional DVD that will be released in 2012.
One of our biggest plans is to host Soul Yoga Fest in 2013, which will feature Yoga instructors and other experts in movement and wellness. This will be hosted in the Bahamas and Jamaica and will feature major musical groups, sponsors and celebrity guests.
Connect with Yirser Ra Hotep on Facebook.
Next up in our Yogapreneur series: Indianapolis’s Nikki Myers
