Mindbody launches new social media player dedicated to yoga
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – February 9, 2011 – Since its inception in 2001, Mindbody has consistently broken new ground by offering its clients the latest online tools to help them succeed. The company’s latest device, a social media player called the Mindbody YogaScene, goes beyond traditional online tools by providing free content to yoga fans via their social networks.
The new YogaScene media player (www.facebook.com/mindbodyfinder) was released by Mindbody in collaboration with yoga and spiritual masters Shiva Rea, Ram Dass and Krishna Das. The player allows users to watch videos, listen to music and interviews, shop for yoga products and find yoga classes – all in one place. Users can share this free content by clicking the “share” button at the top of the player and indicating on which social media platforms they’d like to share, bookmark or email the player.
Mindbody clients who offer yoga classes will reach practitioners in a whole new way through the YogaScene’s “Class” section, where users can find yoga classes in their area, no matter their location. Users can also download this feature as a mobile app to their smartphones through the YogaScene’s “Cool Stuff” section.
In addition to this yoga class finder, the Mindbody YogaScene offers free content including music from Krishna Das, streaming videos from Ram Dass and Shiva Rea, interviews from Ram Dass and links to yoga products from partners like Manduka and be present.
“We are so excited about the Mindbody YogaScene player and our partnership with industry icons like Shiva Rea, Ram Dass and Krishna Das,” stated Mindbody Co-Founder and CEO, Rick Stollmeyer. “We are passionate about our clients’ success and are always on the lookout for how best to provide them with innovative yet affordable tools to help their studios thrive well into the future.”
“The Mindbody YogaScene is just the latest way we have embodied our mission to leverage technology to improve the health and wellness of the world,” said Stollmeyer. “By connecting more practitioners with these yoga leaders, and by offering simple ways for people to remain active while on the go, we continue to help improve the health of yoga fans the world over.”
Due in large part to Mindbody’s commitment to the continual improvement and evolution of its software and services, the company has enjoyed consistent growth over the years with a client base that increases by approximately 70% each year – reaching over 11,000 clients in over 60 countries by the end of 2010 – making it one of the fastest growing software providers in the United States.
About Mindbody
Mindbody delivers innovative business management software to the wellness industry, including fitness, yoga, Pilates, salons, spas and martial arts businesses. The company has been listed for the last three consecutive years in the Inc 500/5000, ranking 59th in the software industry in 2010. Additionally, Mindbody was included in Deloitte’s 2010 “Fast 500,” named among the most innovative 100 technology companies in North America by Red Herring 100 and identified as one of The 50 Best Places to Work by Outside Magazine. In 2010, Mindbody expanded its offerings to include mobile applications and a powerful new web technology called Mindbody Finder that enables consumers to find, book and pay for wellness-oriented classes and appointments through their mobile devices, high-traffic media sites and www.mindbodyfinder.com. Founded in 2001, the company’s investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Catalyst Investors, the Pasadena Angels, Tech Coast Angels and Frontera Capital.
About SHIVA REA
Shiva Rea, M.A. is a yogini firekeeper, sacred activist, global adventurer and leading yoga innovator.Specializing in vinyasa yoga (movement synchronized with breathing), Rea is the creator of Prana Flow Yoga, Yogadventure Retreats, Yoga Trance Dance for Life, Moving Activism for 1,008,000 Trees, the worldwide Global Mala Project, Yogini Conferences and E2: The Evolutionary Edge Tour. She writes for several publications including Yoga Journal and Yoga Plus Joyful Living, and is the author of awardwinning CDs and DVDs. Rea is also on the faculty of UCLA's World Arts and Cultures Program where she received her Master's Degree in Dance Movement Therapy.
About RAM DASS
Ram Dass is an American contemporary spiritual leader whose global work began forty years ago with the release of his 1971 autobiography, Be Here Now. This book details how Ram Dass’ journey through India in 1967 transformed him from Harvard psychiatrist, Richard Alpert, into spiritual practitioner, Ram Dass. Since then, he has authored numerous books and created the non-profit Hanuman Foundation where he helped develop the Prison Ashram Project, helping prison inmates grow spiritually during their incarceration, and the Living/Dying Project, providing support for inmates and others conscious of their pending death. Today, Ram Dass resides in Hawaii and shares his teachings globally via the internet.
About KRISHNA DAS
Musician Krishna Das studied with Ram Dass in the late 1960s before traveling to India where he embraced Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion) and kirtan (chanting the Names of God), and later became an appointed temple pujari (priest). Since returning to the Unites States in 1973, Krishna Das has made numerous pilgrimages throughout India, living in jungles, ashrams, and holy places, where he has studied Buddhist meditation practices and been initiated into Tibetan Buddhist practices by lamas from various lineages. Krishna Das chants regularly in yoga centers around the world and has sung for many saints and yogis in the United States and India.