Published January 30, 2026 01:58PM
It started with a petition. Posted online in December 2025 via MoveOn.org, the petition claimed that the national studio chain CorePower Yoga paid unfair wages and inadequately cleaned its studios.
It was written by a CorePower instructor, dani, who asked that her last name not be shared for fear of potential job insecurity.She explains that the petition was inspired by a conversation she had with a cleaning employee, who expressed concern about the availability of sanitizing supplies at the studio. “We didn’t have any sanitizing wipes or sprays in the studio. I was grossed out,” said Dani. “My bare feet are on these floors every single day.”
Given the concerns about cleanliness as well as fair wages that she shared with other CorePower instructors,Dani and her coworkers decided to act. The petition made three requests: fairer wages for instructors and studio cleaners, better cleaning supplies, and more frequent studio deep-cleans.
It was shared on social media along with graphics encouraging members to reach out to individual studios, corporate management, and the press in support of their teachers. The social posts also asked students to freeze their memberships for the duration of February 2026 and encouraged teachers to go on strike during that time.
When she created the petition, Dani was hoping for 200 signatures from local signers in Colorado.She didn’t anticipate the nationwide conversation her petition would spark.
By early January 2026, word of the potential strike had gone viral.
Social Media’s Take on the Potential Strike
soon videos related to CorePower teacher wages numbered in the hundreds. One of the early TikTok videos related to the strike, dated late December, came from a LA-based CorePower instructor who said she recently received an increase to her hourly teaching rate from $18.30 to $20.58, effective January 2026. In the video, she questions the timing of the raise and what prompted it, suggesting a connection between the potential for a strike and the pay hike. The clip has more than 100,000 views to date.
Some other instructors,including Dani,shared
play-instructor,front desk associate,security guard,laundry service-in addition to teacher. “Our pay rate was not reflecting the amount of jobs that we were doing,” she said.
Afterward, she felt appreciative of how the session was handled.”I don’t know if I made any difference in that Q&A, but it felt very much like I was being heard,” she said. The session, she explained, shared a more expanded outlook, which provided her with context on the business scope. Such as, she explained that she hadn’t been aware of the extensive impact Covid closures had on CorePower’s bottom line.
What’s happened with the Potential Strike in Recent Days
In an email sent to teachers on January 24, CorePower announced that they were committing to four studio deep-cleanings per year. Following this, discussion on social media appeared to quiet. Actually, it became so quiet that some wondered if the strike was still happening.
On Reddit, multiple posts in the CorePower subreddit, all dated mid-January or later, inquired whether there would be a strike affecting their studio. Some of the cities in question include Minneapolis, NYC, Portland, and Dallas. Similarly, a New York City CorePower instructor asked on TikTok,”Are we going on the strike? And what does the strike entail? And how do I do it?”
The silence,Dani shared,is intentional. She received guidance from the American Federation of Labor not to share details about how they were organizing the strike on social media.
On January 28,CorePower announced via an email to teachers that a nationwide base pay increase would be effective March 2 of this year. In a statement, the company shared the following:
Our teachers are essential to the CorePower Yoga community, and it’s critically important to us that they feel valued and supported. We recently announced a new wage increase effective march 2, 2026. Together with previous base rate increases and a Professional Growth and Advancement time benefit that took effect on January 1, 2026, these changes represent an average increase in teacher wages of 29% nationwide.In addition, we offered new benefits, such as
## CorePower Yoga Strike threat and Impact on Teacher Compensation
Recent developments indicate a potential strike by instructors at CorePower Yoga, spurred by concerns over pay and working conditions. This situation is drawing attention to the broader issue of teacher compensation within the yoga industry. The potential strike builds on organizing efforts, including those seen with YogaWorks instructors in 2019.
### CorePower Yoga Strike and Industry Response
As of January 30, 2026, a strike has *not* occurred, but the possibility remains a significant factor influencing studio policies. The threat of a strike has already prompted at least one studio owner to re-evaluate teacher pay.
### Yoga Loft Tucson and the Challenges of Fair Teacher Pay
Ashlee McDougall, owner of Yoga Loft Tucson, has publicly discussed the financial realities of paying yoga teachers a competitive wage. McDougall shared that,initially,she and her business partner forewent salaries for three years to prioritize increasing teacher pay and marketing efforts. This highlights the often-slim profit margins within the yoga studio business model.### Recent Pay Adjustments at Yoga Loft Tucson
Following discussions prompted by the potential CorePower strike, Yoga Loft Tucson increased its base pay for new 200-hour Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT) from $25 to $30-$35, depending on experience, and added per-student bonuses. This adjustment was made despite an unlimited monthly membership rate of $120.
### The Unregulated Nature of Yoga Teacher Compensation
The article emphasizes that yoga teacher compensation is largely unregulated. This lack of regulation means that instructors and studios across the country are closely monitoring the situation at CorePower Yoga to anticipate potential industry-wide changes.
*Yoga Journal* intends to provide ongoing updates regarding the potential CorePower strike.