Last year I asked some of my fellow yoga teachers to take a survey about the state of our industry. I wanted to know what my colleagues were struggling with the most so I could address it in a program I was putting together. Although I had teachers answer my questions from all over the world with different levels of experience and expertise, when I broke it all down, I found two problems teachers face more than anything else. The Yoga Teacher Survival Course deals with so much more than just the struggles of building a teaching business, but fixing cracks in the foundation is an important place to start. Here are two of the biggest issues and some quick tweeks you can make before the course begins on January 8.Problem #1: Self-Promotion
Almost across the board (even with teachers who have been teaching for many years), instructors are in the dark about how to promote themselves.
While many simply avoid marketing and self-promo like the plague, most who try to embrace it are still using outdated and ineffective marketing techniques like classified ads and flyers on windshields. Even worse some teachers just expect the studio they work with to fill their classes and workshops for them. Even those who are using social media often aren't utilizing the tool in a way that attracts people. I see status updates from teachers every day saying "Come to my 6pm class tonight!" and I wonder, where is it and why should I go?
It is easy for your voice to get lost in the sea of media which is competing for the attention of your audience. The good news is that there are effective ways to connect with your ideal students and get them to your classes. Even better, these techniques have everything to do with why so many of us started teaching in the first place, namely our desire for real relationships and to help people live their best lives.
We will be covering authentic self-promotion in the course with step by step strategies, but to help you get started, one of easiest ways to get better at promoting your classes is to practice. Talk about your classes using the passion you have for teaching and for yoga when you invite people to join you.
Problem #2 Self-Worth
A more deeply ingrained issue for most teachers is self-worth. A few years ago, spiritual teacher and dear friend Jeff Carreira came to visit. While waiting for me at the studio, he saw my students interacting with me after a class. Each time someone came up to thank me, I would say something like "No problem" or "no, thank YOU!" (with the energetic quality in my response meaning that they did all the work and I just happened to be there).
He pointed out that in the eyes of the students, I had given them a gift by simply making space for them to recognize something deep within themselves during the yoga class. But when they expressed gratitude towards me, I was uncomfortable and couldn't own the fact that something I had helped them in any way.
It took a few days of him bringing this up over and over again for me to realize that I was actually diminishing the experience the people in my classes were having by acting unworthy or falsely humble in the face of my own discomfort. I have since come to recognize that feeling unworthy and apologetic about our influence as teachers is an epidemic in most yoga circles.
As an instructor, you have probably dealt with this yourself. Self-worth is a major issue that effects how we negotiate our rates, set up boundaries around our personal lives and influences the quality of our teaching. Frankly the worse part of this is that if you don't value yourself highly, you might not even recognize it!
While I have no quick fix to boost your self-worth, the course I created has helped dozens of instructors build a sustainable business. You will be able to use these tools right away to grow your success and connect with your perfect students— without sacrificing your own health or succumbing to the challenges of the industry.
If you are ready to thrive as a teacher in new and creative ways, I hope you will join me on this exciting and fun-filled journey beginning on January 8.
Burning teaching questions? Let us know in the comments below.
