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The average yoga teacher training (YTT) program prepares you to do one thing: teach yoga. The scope of the program that narrow because the topic is broad enough to fill much more than 200 hours. There’s really no room for more than the discussion of the history, philosophy, class styles, anatomy and methods for teaching yoga. And at that initial level, a 200-hour YTT is introductory to broader discussions of each topic. By the end of the program, your mentors are doing their best to teach, encourage and advise you on how to hold a yoga class. It’s more than enough to discuss.
Usually, there’s a section at the end describing some other larger topics—getting teaching insurance and how to market yourself, maybe even a refresher on tax forms or what to charge per class. Unfortunately, there isn’t really time to talk in depth about the business side of yoga teaching. The program isn’t to blame for this; the goal is to teach you how to teach, and that topic is big enough.
And so nearly all of us at the end are left to figure it out on our own, as we do in all parts of our careers, but if you’re like me, you’ve found the ways in which to go about it really effin’ baffling.
In my marketing career, applying to jobs was straight forward—find a job posting, submit the requirements, get interviewed, and maybe get a couple people to call the hiring manger and speak on your behalf. I also went through headhunters and staffing agencies who do some of that work for you. Or maybe you know someone who knows someone, and that helps to grease the wheels. Whatever it might be, the jobs I got had a clear path on how to get them.
It’s not necessarily like that with yoga studios. It can be, but not usually. Yoga studios want know you and your personality. They need to have an idea of what you’d be like as a teacher. I can empathize with that, as I imagine as a studio owner, you’d want your studio to have well-taught classes by friendly, qualified and kind teachers who are knowledgeable and interested in growing in their craft. There very few job postings for yoga teachers, as studios would generally be overwhelmed with applicants.
There is an incredible amount of trust that goes into inviting a new yoga teacher into your space—they are going to represent your studio when you’re not there. And it takes time, it take a whole lot of time to warm up to teaching yoga in terms of confidence, expertise and all the soft skills that it takes to teach well.
This is the same Catch-22 that was ahead of me in my creative marketing career, too, that I had to prove myself before I could prove myself. At nearly a decade into my career as a yoga career, I’ve learned a few things.
Say yes to a fun idea
Most of y’all know that one of my summertime specialties is Goat Yoga, and we’re now nine years in. I joke with my farmer friend and business partner in Goat Yoga, Katherine Harrison of Harrison Farm, that this is not what I expected at all when I graduated YTT.
The short story is that Katherine did coordination for my wedding to my husband, and while she was building out her own rendition of her family’s farm operation, she was looking for new ways to build community and make a living as a farmer. Yoga on the farm was something she suggested to me, and with the media frenzy around goats and yoga, we saw it coming together for us.
Neither of us were looking for Goat Yoga, but it found us. It is still one of the most successful ways I can offer yoga to new and experienced students, and generate income as a yoga teacher. It very much shaped who I am as a teacher who works to make this practice accessible to as many people as possible.
If I had said no to this opportunity (because it wasn’t in a gym, community center or studio), I honestly don’t know who I’d be as a yoga teacher. I don’t know if I’d still be teaching, as this endeavor even carried me as in-person teaching gigs were nil in the pandemic and morale was low. I am forever grateful to Katherine and her farm for giving me the opportunity to sustain myself sharing yoga.
That is to say, when someone approaches you with maybe an off-the-beaten-path opportunity, at least give it consideration. It may not ultimately be the right fit for you (some ideas I tried weren’t), but you really, really don’t know what will stick.
Just because it wasn’t a glamorous gig at a fancy studio doesn’t mean it’s not the right choice for you. I still love and teach Goat Yoga, and I wouldn’t have my career go any other way.
If no one will hire you, hire yourself
This is along the same line as an experience like Goat Yoga—come up with your own reasons to host a yoga class. After having been involved in the local creative community, my connections were with designers and artists rather than yoga studios, so that’s where I started.
During my first year of teaching, I created and promoted my own classes and also teamed up with more experienced teachers to do a series of special events. We worked with a local business that let us use a space in their office to host classes. We combined little treats like a chocolate tasting or mini spa day that were kicked off with a yoga class. We once did a class with an acupuncturist, and she gave everyone a few needles (with their consent!) during savasana, and it was magical.
When you partner with businesses, you can make it mutually beneficial, calling upon their community and yours to get attendance and offer something unique. It takes time and is more work than teaching a weekly class, but you can earn more and make memorable experiences.
Occasionally offer a freebie
I am not saying you need to do this always, or that your services aren’t worth paying for, even right out of YTT. You invested your time, money and spirit in the training, and you should be paid for that.
However, along the lines of teaching more, you might consider volunteering a class pro bono. It might be attached to a conference or special event, or maybe even a themed class like “yoga for new parents” at a community center.
While I do recommend exploring some free offerings, I would make them the exception. My criteria for free offerings need to qualify under at least one of these stipulations:
A cause you believe in
An event that sounds fun to be a part of
A class that is guaranteed good attendance (a.k.a. good personal marketing)
You think it’d be good name recognition for you
Just a side note on freebie boundaries: Generally, I would not agree to teach a free weekly class or long-term series, nor would I agree to pro bono for an event with a high ticket entry that seems like they just don’t want to pay you. Again, if it really sounds like a good time for me personally, I might make an exception. These are all judgment calls you’ll need to make, but don’t get in the habit of de-valuing your offering.
A boundary example: Katherine and I consider Goat Yoga a premium class, with many parts involved. Class includes our time in aligning our schedules, promoting, taking reservations, hosting participants, collecting money and class waivers, wrangling the goats before, during and after class, and offering attendees snacks, snuggles, and time for photos. We want it to be a warm and welcoming environment for visitors. It’s not just me teaching, but it’s Katherine hosting and taking care of these animals daily, at least one more person (if not two) watching for the safety of goats and humans, and often, my husband at the registration table taking care of situating our guests. These classes are important to both of us financially and take far too much of our resources to reasonably offer that at no cost.
For these reasons we don’t offer Goat Yoga for free, but there’s still ways to be open to partnerships. If an organization wants to do a fundraiser, they can raise the price of the ticket and take the extra for their cause. Or, if there’s a cause important to us, we might offer a pair of tickets to a class for free for a raffle. If the organization really wants a free yoga class, I’m always available to consider opportunities, sans goats. Just communicate your boundaries and be sure about what you’re willing to take on.
Look outside the studio
For the first five years of teaching, I taught yoga in a gym that I really liked. I had amazing students who were consistent with their practice and eventually I added on a second day of the week at their request. They liked what I had to offer and it helped them to balance some of the strength training and cardio classes they were doing in the gym. The gym did not tell me what to teach, beyond keeping it an approachable, beginner/level 1 vinyasa class. I got to develop my personal teaching style on a weekly basis.
Later during this time I also started teaching at studios, but they were my first very consistent students and we developed a really wonderful rapport. I learned as much from them about how to teach yoga as maybe I taught them. They were aged 20 to 70+ and they taught me so much about making this practice accessible. Honestly, if it weren’t for the pandemic, I would probably still be teaching there. After when I came back in late 2021, the students had moved on to other things, as life tends to be. I still have great memories of growing in yoga with these students.
In my experience, gyms are no less legit than studios for yoga. This is where I started with yoga, and I really didn’t have a deep relationship with a studio until my YTT program. They tend to be a little less competitive in terms of teaching yoga and allow for a lot of personal exploration. This also goes for community centers or clubs like the Y. Plus, gyms usually have better sound system equipment than small locally owned studios.
Gyms and community centers tend to have lower teaching experience requirements, maybe 3-6 months, and so they’re easier gigs to get. You might have already elapsed that amount of time while practice teaching during your 200 hour program (which you should count). The standalone group fitness certification (8 hours of instruction, not including specialties like weight lifting or aerobic certs) is usually way smaller than what you have received in education. Most gyms will accept your 200-hour cert just fine.
Instructors can cycle in and out of gyms at a more frequent rate, so if you are consistent, you’ll make an impression. Gyms also tend to make public calls for instructors, so the application process is simple. Not every time slot I tried was a hit there, but I did find a schedule that worked for a long time. In the first year or two, I developed so much and really stepped into who I wanted to be as a teacher. While I was going through my 300-hour training later on, they were the first students I tried out new techniques with.
Consider the long-term
While I was teaching at non-traditional locations, I also went to lots of different studios in my city. I prioritized locations within a 20-minute radius of home. I found really lovely gems and had memberships and class packs at many of them (at different times). I got to know the teachers, owners and leaders of studios I liked. I even met lots of fellow students and made fun connections.
My goal was simple—to “interview” these studios and see what they were like, to enjoy practice and to try new kinds of yoga classes. I would go to a studio for several classes over 5-6 months before doing anything at all. If I saw that I would be a good fit for a studio culture, I would email and ask if they were doing auditions. Sometimes I’d get a yes and audition, sometimes I’d get a no. You cannot let that stop you.
I want to mention that these asks are uncomfortable, but it’s often the way teachers are hired. It requires that you get to know these people, feel invested in the community and make the vulnerable move, knowing you could get rejected. Present me is really, really glad that past me made these connections.
Again, some opportunities did not pan out, but I’ve also met fellow teachers this way. When I began teaching, I was a fairly new person to studio yoga in general. These connections took time to develop and are invaluable to have. We can help each other out, and we do.
Facebook groups are still useful
The only instructor gigs I ever see posted online are on yoga-teacher-specific Facebook groups. There’s usually a few in your city. You could look up “[Your City] Yoga Teachers” or similar to find them. Maybe even asking around to other more experienced peers might help to identify helpful ones.
It’s not a job board, so the conversations are wide ranging and aren’t strictly gigs. The community matters, and you’ll likely find other trainings and opportunities that are interesting to you anyway. Facebook groups (yoga and non-yoga) are basically the only reason I’m on Facebook at all.
Lower your expectations and be gentle on yourself
Not every class you teach will be a smashing success in attendance and financial income, but don’t let it stop you. There is so much to be uncomfortable about in this new growth edge—confidence, class size, right space, what you teach. Know that everyone is uncomfortable in this first part, but your students don’t need to know that.
Set yourself up so that you are aiming to have a well-rounded yoga class no matter who shows up to take it. Be happy when one or two students show up that you get to sharpen your skills by addressing what they need today. If it’s your own hosted class, my personal hack is to stack the deck by dragging a friend along with the promise of beer or dinner after. They’ll be a friendly face, even if there’s only one more person in attendance.
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Thank you for picking up where YTT left off!