Teachers Blog

During my #virtualbooktour for The A-Z of Being a Successful Yoga Teacher last year I tackled some very sticky issues for teachers. I wrote this in June 2015 but have recently been discussing these big issues with teachers again so here is a fully updated version for you to think about and comment on.

The biggest and most controversial of was the topic of money. I wrote an article for Yoga Trail that sparked a conversation for teachers all over the globe (you can find the original article here).

The fact is, whether you like it or not, as a teacher you are part of a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet, even in major urban centers instructors are struggling to make ends meet. While I understand the cynicism many teachers feel about the current state of affairs, most aren't taking an active role in changing things for the better. 

If you pushed me to say what the two most important steps are to change the financial landscape for all teachers, the first be to get clear about the yoga industry's relationship to money.

Summer is tiptoeing towards us here on the East Coast and after a long winter, it is a huge relief to see the farmers markets back in action and people walking around sans boots, coat and firmly fixed frowny face. 

While most busy themselves making decisions on how best to enjoy these next few blissful months of warmth, many yoga teachers and studio owners begin to feel a growing anxiety. As an instructor, your business may take a serious nose-dive during these traditionally slower months if many of your students travel or opt to spend more time outdoors. 

I asked a group of teachers how they plan to "summer-proof" their business and avoid debt during lulls in attendance. Some had planned well, while others seemed to simply be crossing their fingers hoping it would all work out (a strategy I do not recommend).

While every situation is unique, I want to share the things that have worked to keep my teaching business thriving. Keep reading to find some of my tips to keep my students returning (even to hot classes in the middle of the summer). 

Did you learn about meditation in your teacher training program?

In both of the long programs I attended, we dipped our toes into the practice of meditation. While I have always appreciated why it is important for teachers to be aware of meditation as a practice, none of the styles I learned in my early days truly resonated with me. 

Don't get me wrong, it was fascinating to learn about different traditional practices and experience meditation with my Buddhist instructor who infused his beliefs and philosophy into class. It was equally interesting to get lost in hours of chanting practice or learn about the chakra system through visualization.

Even so, I struggled with the myths and philosophies of the various practices that one needed to accept at the outset in order to "get" the meditation. By the end of those long courses, I was always left with a handful of possible directions and ideas about what meditation was for and what path to take.

Right now, I am deep in preparation for a weekend of teaching in Ontario. My co-host Jeff Carreira and I are leading a day long Urban retreat the weekend of May 9 followed by a workshop especially for yoga teachers called Cultivating Magic In Your Yoga Classes. The seed for this weekend was planted in conversation I had with Jeff a few years back when he told me something that set my teaching on fire in a brand new way. Today I will share with you that one thing to make your classes more magical for you and your students, starting today.

The Background: Jeff had just finished leading a day-long seminar for a group of people interested in spiritual pursuit. The group contained beginner mediators as well as people who had been steeped in spiritual life for twenty years. This disparity of experience didn't stop the group from dropping almost immediately into a palpable depth and unification. By the end of the day, every single person reported having a breakthrough.

The Studio Owner's Perspective

I few months ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who just opened a studio. Within a short period of time, she went from being this bright-eyed owner who wanted to serve her community to an over-booked, exhausted human "to-do" list.

First let me say, my dear friend is an intelligent and thoughtful woman who knows a lot about both yoga and how to run a business. She didn't just wake up one morning and hang a shingle. Her studio came from a well thought-out plan and her business is growing every day.

The source of her frustration, was actually in large part her staff. She hired a group of teachers whose classes she enjoyed, but quickly found were lacking professional skills. More and more often she found herself constantly having to rush in and teach at the last minute for instructors who fell ill or just plain forgot to get their classes covered. 

Another studio manager recently confided in me that she has teachers on staff who actually sub out more classes than they teach and she has no idea how to get them to commit.

Over a decade ago I finished my first 250 hour yoga teacher training. We spent days doing the things you would expect from such a program. We dove into yoga philosophy, anatomy, teaching theory and taught each other until we were blue in the face. We also had two hours with someone who came in to teach us the "business" of yoga. I remember nothing of that time, but I do have some random pages in my teaching manual about taxes to prove I was actually there. For the years that followed however, I learned a considerable amount about what the "business" of yoga really looks like.

I wish I could tell you it was smooth sailing but like many instructors, this journey was often frustrating and demoralizing. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching yoga. There is nothing more beautiful to me than watching a student break through a self-imposed mental barrier or see the light of understanding in their eyes as they find a pose that has long alluded them. My confusion was around the periphery of the yoga mat.

Deep breath everyone.

Today on the #virtualbooktour I am tackling some very sticky issues for teachers over at Yoga Trail.

The fact is, whether you like it or not, as a teacher you are part of a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet, many teachers are struggling to make ends meet or have quit teaching altogether. I am so tired of hearing instructors complain of how unfair it is while they do nothing to change it or support one another.

It may be controversial, but if you pushed me to say what the first and maybe most important step is to change the payment landscape for all teachers, here is my answer.

I have a special treat for all of you fine yoga teachers. My dear friend Kate Connell has written a guest post to help save you time and energy if teaching private classes is on your radar. Kate is a great resource for instructors who want to carve out a sustainable lifestyle working one-on-one with students and I am thrilled to share this important piece with you all today.

5 Mistakes Private Yoga Teachers Make

(And How to Move Past Them)

by Kate Connell

When I started my teaching career, I knew I wanted to teach private yoga sessions – they were a foundational part of my 200 hour training (which is very rare!), they were the work I felt called to do (versus group-led classes), and I was constantly hearing that the way to have a sustainable yoga business was to have a private yoga client following.

A long story short – I made a navasana-load of mistakes. And, to be honest, I still make those mistakes. These aren’t embarrassing, oh-my-god, can’t believe I’m gonna dish these up mistakes – they’re actually really common ones. The thing is, once I began to chat with my other teaching friends and started to mentor other private yoga teachers, I  noticed that a lot of other new teachers were making the same mistakes I did in my freshly minted teaching days.

My goal isn’t to make you mistake-proof. My goal is to demystify some of the most common mistakes make in the private yoga teaching industry so that you can make 1,000 different ones instead!

Happy Monday!

They say, go big or go home. So when I sat down to write the guest blogs that will be popping up all over the internet in weeks to come, I wanted to make sure I was giving hugely practical tools and ideas for teachers to chew on.