A teacher with a following
Rod Stryker is a yoga teacher, author, and founder of ParaYoga. He has built a body of Yoga Nidra teaching that includes books, trainings, retreats, audio guides, courses, meditation practices, and more than 130 hours of online video. Sanctuary brings that teaching together with a global community, so members can develop an individual practice and connect with other people following the same work.
A library without a home
Rod had an extensive teaching library and a growing community, but no dedicated place where the two could meet. He wanted to make his teaching more accessible without losing the direct connection of his trainings and retreats. The platform needed to hold a large library, support live teaching, let members interact, and offer paid access to selected material.
Live teaching, on-demand practice
Rod launched Sanctuary in October 2018. Live streaming lets him teach the community in real time, while members can return to audio courses, meditations, and Yoga Nidra practices whenever they need them. The teaching sits alongside community interaction, bringing individual practice and the group around it into one app. Sanctuary is free to download and use; members who want the full audio-course library can choose a monthly or annual subscription.
Thousands of members, one practice
Within a few months of launch, thousands of active members were taking part in lessons through the app. "I have over 3,000 paying members on my Disciple app called Sanctuary," Rod says. The app closes the accessibility problem by making live teaching and an extensive on-demand library available from anywhere, and it gives Rod's team recurring subscription income while keeping a free route into the wider community.
