HELPING HAND IS CENTRE OF MIND
A GOLD Coast yoga company has claimed a world-first by achieving certification for using business for social good.
State of Sahaja Yoga Mats & Yoga Studio has been awarded B Corporation status. Certified B Corps are companies that make decisions that have a positive impact on their staff, customers, suppliers, community and the environment.
The company is the first yoga studio in the world to receive the award, and the first B Corp of any kind on the Gold Coast.
State of Sahaja owner Judes Yang walked away from a corporate role with automotive giant Volkswagen several years ago to pursue yoga as a career, and said she was thrilled to have been recognised by B Lab, the nonprofit organisation behind B Corporations.
“It’s great to have the status and the certification, because from the start it was part of who I am in my heart and my soul to give back, drive and grow our community and step up to do more for others. I knew this was my calling, I found my passion and what I’m meant to be doing with my life, and that was the driving force behind it.”
Yang began her business with yoga mats, and in May this year launched her yoga studio, having previously won the Bond University Business Accelerator entrepreneurship contest in 2017, before taking part in the Myriad Mission study tour in 2018.
The university’s assistant professor of entrepreneurship, Dr Baden U’Ren, has also been a long-term mentor for Yang.
“We brought it back to basically yoga, we’re not a fitness boutique, we’ve brought it back to what the essence of yoga is: meditation, mindfulness practices and a deeper connection to yourself.”
State of Sahaja donates a percentage of its earnings from yoga workshops and training to three charities – A Sound Life, Rizeup Australia, and Marine Mega Fauna. Additionally, it works with
Australian firm Tsuno to donate disposable menstrual products to shelters around the Gold Coast region.
For every yoga mat sold by the company, they also give a solar light to families without electricity in Mozambique.
To obtain B Corp status, State of Sahaja underwent an audit examining its suppliers and its business model.
The company works with eco-friendly suppliers, their yoga mats feature microfibre towel tops made from recycled plastics and natural tree rubber, and the ink used on the mats is water-based so it avoids toxins.
The packaging is also fully recyclable.
Additionally, State of Sahaja’s yoga studio is plastic and chemical-free.
Yang said the structure of her company made it easy for people to do some good in the world.
“What makes both the businesses so great is, you don’t have to do anything, you buy a yoga mat, or come and take a yoga class, or go to a yoga workshop, we donate from our profits so you don’t have to think about it, it’s just done for you.”