I wouldn’t call this a family business, but a business started by one of my family.

Which leveraged the facilities of another family business – a film studio.

The client is Udaya Yoga and we have done 2 amazing websites for them.

How Yariv went from volleyball to yoga to online yoga streaming

Here’s the story as I know it:

My brother Yariv used to be a beach volleyball player and worked as a volleyball coach from 2002 to 2007. He has since become the CEO of the film studio run by my family. But before that, his career was in sport!

Having played so much volleyball, inevitably, like many athletes, he encountered some pain in his knees. Somehow, yoga was recommended to alleviate this. He started attending yoga classes in Santa Monica, and got to know Travis Elliot, a talented yoga instructor teacher.

They partnered to create a 108 day programme, culminating in the creation of a product. They had a group of yogi volunteers, committed to actually following the daily yoga schedule, the nutrition and meditation and then flying to Bulgaria to film the classes on location at the film studio in Sofia.

Completely immersive!

When they arrived, I remember how fit they all looked!

The Ultimate Yogi

It was Yariv’s first experience producing – from concept to screen. And this resulted in The Ultimate Yogi. The product initially consisted of a 12-DVD set designed to be completed over a 108-day schedule but has since been digitised. And it’s amazing! We’ve all gone through it and often go back to the soothing sounds of Travis’s voice and the satisfying yoga flow!

The program combines a special nutrition plan, meditation, various yoga styles, primarily focusing on power yoga, along with elements of pranayama (breath work), and gentler forms of yoga to enhance flexibility. Each session typically lasts about 60 minutes, with shorter sessions for meditation and pranayama ranging from 15 to 30 minutes

The Ultimate Yogi proved to be very popular, due to the quality of filming and the fantastic instruction from Travis.

Udaya’s evolution

This initial product set the stage for Udaya’s future as a leader in online yoga instruction.

Over the years, Udaya has emerged as a pioneering force in online yoga.

Because of our family’s connection with film production, and the access to the studio, this allowed Yariv and the Udaya team to produce more yoga content with superior video quality, setting it apart from other online yoga platforms.

Udaya is an innovative platform which has transformed the way people practice yoga, bringing high-quality instruction directly into homes worldwide.

The first website we created

After a while, we at Top Left Design were asked to create their first what we call “proper” website. The website we created for Udaya.com was recognised in this list of Top 25 Membership Site Designs, and one specific quote we are proud of is “The way they handle product page design is a masterclass in organization.”

By this time, Ultimate Yogi was one of many programmes on the site, including:

• Yoga Warrior 365: This program expanded Udaya’s offerings, providing users with daily yoga practices for a full year.
• Liquid Asana: Another unique product that further diversified Udaya’s yoga portfolio.

We continued to update this website on a regular basis, with add-ons and improvements. As it’s an e-commerce subscription website, we were benefiting from user feedback and continuous testing and making iterative improvements.

Now, there are over 2000 high-quality classes ranging from beginner to advanced levels, with more than 30 yoga styles and meditation practices to choose from, with the classes led by over 100 world-class teachers.

The platform allows options for quick 20-minute flows or longer 60-minute sessions.

Udaya has garnered positive reviews from yoga enthusiasts and critics alike:

“One of the best online studios that I’ve come across yet,” notes a review from The Yogatique.

As Udaya continues to grow, it remains committed to its core mission of making high-quality yoga instruction accessible to all.

Yariv Lerner is now the CEO of Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, and is very much involved in producing full-length features and TV shows. He has a trusted team to run Udaya including my cousin Ben!

Udaya Live Festival

I also have to mention that we were very much involved in another project, the Udaya Live Festival. For 5 years in a row, Udaya hosted a annual yoga and music festival.

This too in Bulgaria, the first year in the mountains of Borovets and subsequently at a lakeside resort called Riu Pravets. The festival lasts for 5 days and features a schedule of yoga classes across four different stages, three of which are outdoors but under cover (one of which is floating on the lake!). In addition to yoga classes, there are workshops on nutrition, meditation, and wellbeing. A unique aspect is that each yoga class has live musical accompaniment, either a DJ, singer, or band. That’s what made it amazing!

Evening activities include concerts by the various musicians, followed by optional clubbing at the resort.

It was, for all, a magical and transformative experience, combining yoga practice with music and community. Anyone who was there, including me and the rest of the TLD team, would assert that. And we did a fantastic website for this too!