Yoga students sit on their mats waiting for class to begin.
Students prepare for their yoga class to begin. Credit: Lucy Kalantari / Flickr Credit: Lucy Kalantari / Flickr

As the city of Toronto began to open up in the first few months of 2022, Zoë Poole was looking to renew her sense of community.

Then an aspiring yoga teacher, she thought by getting back to an in-person yoga practice she could make new connections and feel more engaged, particularly since she was working from home full-time. Poole responded to a posting for an “Energy Exchange” (EE) program at her local yoga studio, Chi Junky, where she had practised prior to the pandemic.

Located in Leslieville, the full-service yoga studio offers an EE program that lets you take classes for free in exchange for helping out around the studio. You do a bit of work, and in return, you enjoy access to free yoga.

That simple agreement may not be as mutually beneficial as it seems.

According to Chi Junky’s posting, EE responsibilities include cleaning and resetting the yoga room for class, customer service, administrative tasks, as well as opening and closing the studio. At the time Poole applied, it required a commitment of three hours a week, with the same shift scheduled every week.

The position was enjoyable at first: Poole met like-minded individuals in the community, learned about the yoga industry and took up the many classes offered at her leisure. However, the so-called exchange began to lose its balance, with duties, hours, and pressure increasing for her and the rest of the EE staff.

“We were opening the studio front door, checking clients in, cleaning up and assisting teachers,” Poole said in an interview with rabble.ca. “We were doing the essential work of the business, especially as the owner wasn’t even in Toronto a majority of the time.” 

She explained many of the workers, usually an average of 15 and 20 at any given time, had the entry code for the studio lockbox that held the key, and were often the first in or the last out of the building. Three hours of work a week sometimes became five or six. Outside of scheduled shifts, there were texts and emails requesting someone to show up early, stay late or pick up a shift at the last minute, as well as a work Slack channel employed for regular communication.

“It began to feel, for myself and others, that what was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement was turning into exploitation. It felt like we were expected to provide unlimited help by participating,” Poole said.

More and more, the responsibility felt like what comes with a regular paying job instead of a volunteer position. 

“You had to get your shift covered if you couldn’t make it in,” she said, “And I couldn’t just get rid of a shift if I was sick, I had to make up for it.” 

Despite a large staff, at certain times there would only be one EE member working in the studio, outside of teachers who would come and go for their class.

“The feeling of community disappeared,” she explained. “If you were there, even just to take a class, you might be asked to clean up after. I found more anxiety going to the studio, which is a shame as its whole premise is wellness.”

“It was very clear to me that relying on volunteer labour to this extent isn’t normal for a for-profit,” Poole added.

How the exchange works

Chi Junky is not alone in running such a program. At least a dozen yoga, fitness and dance studios in Toronto offer an energy exchange program, all sharing key similarities around responsibilities, perks and time commitment.

Most programs require workers to adhere to a weekly schedule, working the same three to six hours a week across one or two shifts. They must agree to the program for a period of three to six months. Duties include any combination of cleaning, administration and customer service.

Some are more demanding than others. Ride Cycle Club requires a staggering eight hours of work a week at minimum, alongside multi-tasking, organizational and communications skills as well as the ability to lift at least 30 pounds. BeHot Yoga, meanwhile, requires in addition to working “2-3 hours a week,” a $30 per month fee to take part in the program. You have to pay to work there.

In return, many studios offer unlimited memberships, most of which cost between $150 to $300 per month. Someone working minimum wage for four hours a week for three months would net just under $800 before taxes. Maybe there is an argument to be made that the labour and membership are of equal value, but paid employees are often entitled to free memberships as well. 

A Ride Cycle Club unlimited monthly membership runs $290, while 32 hours work across four weeks nets nearly $500.

Those benefits may come with stipulations, tilting the arrangement further towards the studio. BeHot, for example, limits workers to one class per day. Beaches Hot Yoga, meanwhile, encourages workers to take at least three classes a week, although mat and towel service are not included. In some cases, you might be kicked out of class if a paying member dropped in and the class was full. Sweat & Tonic, which is opening up a massive new studio downtown, offers 1.5 class credits per three-hour shift instead of an unlimited membership, which further complicates the value proposition and restricts the arrangement.

Regardless of the specifics of the arrangement, energy exchange programs raise both ethical and legal concerns, allowing for the exploitation of individuals, particularly those looking to advance their career, without giving them wages and security they are likely due under the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

In an email, David J. Doorey, a Professor of Labour and Employment Law at York University, had a simple and stark insight upon reviewing some of the programs:

“It’s difficult to think of any way that these energy exchange arrangements are lawful.”

Energy exchange evolved

While energy exchange is relatively new and increasingly popular in Toronto, its origins date back centuries where companies would pay workers in a currency, or scrip, that could only be used at the company’s properties. 

“In the old days, before labour standards legislation, some employers used to compensate workers with deals like this, or ‘chits’ that they could use to obtain grocery staples at the “company store,”” wrote Doorey. “No cash was exchanged.”

“Many, many years ago, our governments stepped in and passed laws requiring that workers be paid money for their labour,” Doorey added.

Most EE programs also give workers a discount at the company store, which incentivizes purchases. Others also require workers having already purchased a membership. 

In its pure form, modern energy exchange is a form of bartering. Perhaps you are a skilled painter and your neighbour is a reiki master: you may agree to provide each other services without swapping money. Some studios do indeed mention this kind of exchange, encouraging those with specific skills to inquire, however, the vast majority employ programs akin to work.

“Most EE isn’t done legally. It’s just not,” Stacy Chong, owner of Toronto Yoga Co, said on a Zoom call. She spoke of being in an EE program many years back where it felt like a mutually beneficial relationship. “EE is really clear how you can go about it, how it can be done where it is an equal exchange of energy. But unfortunately now, it’s gotten out of control. I don’t think it’s malicious. It’s just been this way for so long.”

“I understand why studios do it. It’s hard to go from knowing that this way is costing you nothing to suddenly having to pay out $16.55 an hour. The bottomline is, it’s not right,” Chong added.

In addition to free classes, one of the big selling points are vague phrases around “community” and “connection,” which certainly seems like something paid employees have a chance at as well.

Yoga Tree states its program is a “great way to be an active member of our yoga community and create meaningful connections with your teachers and fellow yogis.” I Am Yoga offers a similar refrain, stating their EE program is “an important part of building a great community and offers students the chance to connect within the community.”  BeHot Yoga and Beaches Hot Yoga promote it almost word for word, with both stating, “This program is a great way to become a part of our yoga community, stay healthy, and bring your special energy to a vibrant, healing environment!” Beaches Hot adds in the possibility of making friends, however.

‘No treating as if not employee’

The ESA states just because someone is called a volunteer does not make them a volunteer, even if both parties agree initially on the designation.

If a volunteer can be proven to be an employee, they are entitled to wages and the employer is in violation of Section 5.1 of the ESA, which states: “An employer shall not treat…a person who is an employee of the employer as if the person were not an employee.”

The two benchmarks for differentiating between a volunteer and an employee is the extent to which the employer benefits and whether the worker is enlisting in order to potentially further their career, which is referred to as “pursuit of living.” 

Firstly, the studio clearly benefits from any EE program. A membership inherently costs the studio nothing: EE workers are simply joining in on a class that would otherwise exist without them, so there are no new costs associated. Studios, which are for-profit businesses, also benefit by not having to pay out wages and benefits under the ESA. 

Secondly, a pursuit of living would be anyone who hopes the work will help them secure opportunities in the future. That would surely include those considering becoming a yoga teacher, as Poole was at the time of her EE stint. Several programs boast about the chance to transition into paid work, which may also suggest a pursuit of living.

The ESA also lists five considerations that would define who an employee is. One of them surrounds how much control the business has, including deciding what the individual does, as well as when and where. Additionally, if the “business has the right to suspend, dismiss or otherwise discipline the individual,” they might be considered an employee.

The first definition listed, however, is the most telling. An individual may be an employee if “the work the individual performs is an important part of the business.”

Signing in clients, handling payments and opening and closing a studio are important parts of the business to be sure, especially when the only workers present are those in the EE program. Cleaning is a key part of almost all arrangements, particularly important when at a place where people are active and sweating.

“An arrangement whereby workers agree to effectively act as part-time janitors in exchange for deals on membership benefits violates the most fundamental of labour standards: that workers are paid wages in exchange for their labour,” wrote Doorey.

The ESA also important to note that any contract or agreement between the two parties is likely irrelevant. Section 5.1 states the misclassification is still a violation even if both parties honestly believed otherwise, both parties were unsure or the parties agreed knowingly on the misclassification.

Basically, it doesn’t matter what you call your workers, and it also doesn’t matter what they agreed to be called. Just as with yoga teachers who may be misclassified as independent contractors, what determines your status as a volunteer or employee is responsibilities, duties and potential punishments.

READ MORE: Yoga instructors face job insecurity with few protections

The indications of employment are hiding in plain sight.

Sweat & Tonic suggests on their website its program is a form of employment: “We don’t offer a student discount; however, we do have a Sweat Equity program that exchanges part-time employment for club credits.”

Yoga Grove similarly states on its website: “Note that this position is not a volunteer position. Having an Energy Exchange shift should be treated like a regular paying job.”

BeHot Yoga exercises control over what a worker does: “You will be given very specific duties at assigned times in accordance with studio requirements.”

Rumble Boxing, meanwhile, speaks of an expectation of a team attitude “from all our employees.”

Gyan Yoga states any EE opportunity is “not a volunteer position.”

The list goes on. Yoga studios like Downward Dog, dance studios such as Brass Vixens, and even a pottery studio all offer energy exchange programs.

Misclassification solutions

After some research and consultation with the Employment Standards Information Centre, Poole determined she was an employee and not a volunteer, so she filed a claim with the Ontario Labour Board for lost wages. Filing a labour claim is a free, protected and relatively simple process.

An official from the Board that contacted her to determine whether the claim should proceed presented some optimism, mentioning that in addition to wages, as an employee she was also owed vacation and sick pay.

The claim moved forward, which meant that the respondent – Chi Junky – would be notified. The studio hired a lawyer and Poole soon received a threatening demand letter. Were Poole to not drop her case, they would file a Statement of Claim, suing Poole to recoup money the studio supposedly lost in the EE arrangement, according to the letter that was viewed by rabble.

The ESA states “No employer or person acting on behalf of an employer shall intimidate, dismiss or otherwise penalize an employee or threaten to do so, because the employee,” for among other reasons, “files a complaint with the Ministry under this Act.”

Poole hit a snag in the proceedings, however, when the Employment Standards Officer assigned to her case did not connect with her. In an email exchange viewed by rabble, Poole reaches out to the officer multiple times after the officer initiates contact and a deadline is set for a ruling. The two parties never connected. The final ruling states the officer couldn’t get through despite Poole’s email responses and phone calls to the contrary.

Had Poole and the officer spoke, evidence could have been presented and witnesses heard to support her case. The claim ruled in favour of Chi Junky, arguing Poole inquired about the program, had a chance to leave at any point and already had a full time job.

“It’s not that I wanted money, or am against alternative labour arrangements,” said Poole. “I wanted to send a message that this particular arrangement is harmful and unfair. I had lots of private support, but in public, no one wanted to burn bridges.” 

Poole sent an email blast to multiple EE workers at Chi Junky as she left, informing them of their rights while explaining how she felt “the business model at Chi is highly unethical and exploitative.” 

A class action suit was brought against the travel firm S-Trip by its employees, alleging they were misclassified as volunteers, a case that was settled in 2022 in favour of the workers.

As CBC reported at the time, the Ontario Superior Court judge noted the case was a “novel one” and the result was “somewhat groundbreaking.”

“This is the first volunteer misclassification class action in Canada, and will have a significant impact on employment law going forward,” wrote Justice Edward Morgan.

Energy exchange programs, with a concerted effort by those who feel wronged, may be the next case.

Anthony Marcusa

Anthony Marcusa is a freelance writer and pop culture enthusiast driven by curiosity. He earned a Bachelors at the University of Toronto and studied journalism at Centennial College before writing about...