Yoga teacher training courses can be strenuous, with physical labor being the hallmark of their success. Although you may get injured during a teacher training course, it is crucial not to give up too soon and keep going forward with progress.
“Teach with integrity and with the aim of serving students. Don’t compromise your teachings in order to become more popular,” advises John Friend.
1. Take a Teacher Training Course
Yoga teacher training (YTT) courses provide the cornerstone to becoming a professional yoga instructor. Through these programs, participants will develop foundational skills necessary for becoming successful teachers: building confidence in yourself as an instructor while learning how to guide students through practice sessions.
At a Yoga Teacher Training course (YTT), you will also learn to incorporate pranayama (breathing exercises) into your classes to relax the mind and increase energy. Furthermore, developing effective communication skills is crucial so that you can teach effectively to your students as well as answer their queries effectively.
If you are planning to enroll in an online YTT course, it is vital that your program offers regular zoom or live sessions so you can receive feedback throughout the course and ensure its quality remains high.
2. Become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT)
If you are selecting a teacher training course, make sure it covers an array of yoga asanas, pranayama techniques, anatomy and physiology, teaching methodology as well as history and philosophy of the practice. In addition, consider whether instructors are experienced as well as whether the course has registered with one of the professional bodies within the yoga industry.
Once your yoga teacher training is complete, begin teaching yoga – whether that be in a studio setting or privately to students who wish to focus on specific parts of their bodies.
No matter your teaching method, it is vitally important to keep track of all income generated from yoga teaching. You can add earnings as a 1099 employee to your tax returns or form an LLC to keep business expenses and personal income separate – giving yourself greater control when expanding your business.
3. Create a Niche
As a yoga teacher, it’s vital that you find your niche by following a curriculum to get certified. Doing this will allow you to stand out in an overcrowded teaching landscape and attract ideal students. To do this, spend some time meditating and reflecting on which types of yoga you most enjoy – as well as your current teaching schedule; identify classes you’re passionate about teaching.
Be certain to use language that beginners can comprehend; avoid lengthy Sanskrit terms and anatomically precise descriptions as these can often prove intimidating for novices.
Once you find your niche, let it shine through in your class names and descriptions. Furthermore, become an authority in that area by hosting workshops or speaking publicly about it. Just be mindful that any income generated through yoga teaching must be reported on tax returns as required.
4. Create a Website
Websites demonstrate your commitment to yoga as a career, offering an edge over a simple paper resume. They can also serve to stay in contact with both existing and prospective students by notifying them about upcoming classes, events, and content related to yoga.
Your website should feature a homepage featuring an eye-catching header image, intro copy and content boxes showcasing recent blog posts or testimonials, yoga classes/workshops/retreats listed by page and an About Me page that provides more details about who you are. Furthermore, provide various ways for visitors to get in touch with you such as email, phone and social media for people to reach you directly.
Add a signup form that allows visitors to subscribe to your newsletters – this way, you can keep your visitors up-to-date about upcoming yoga teaching schedules or related content via emails.
5. Market Yourself
Social media and websites can help promote your yoga classes effectively. Attend local events to connect with potential students and distribute flyers about class schedules.
Make sure that the content you produce resonates with your target audience, from eye-catching descriptions, visuals, and testimonials that showcase the benefits of yoga classes to social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook to targeting video platforms such as TikTok for younger demographics.
Attract new students by offering introductory packages or discounted rates. Loyal students are key to your yoga teaching success; don’t be shy about rewarding their loyalty with discounts and rewards for staying faithful! It will only strengthen your business while building lasting relationships between teachers and students alike.
6. Get Experience
As part of their experience-gaining strategy, yoga teachers may work at multiple studios or private clients in order to build their portfolio and teach a variety of classes across demographics and teaching styles.
At first, you may need to accept less-than-ideal time slots or offer lower salaries; this can serve as a good opportunity to gain experience teaching yoga professionally and show that you are dedicated.
Be sure to practice your craft regularly both at studios where you teach and at home, both of which will serve to sharpen your communication skills and keep you inspired and passionate about yoga teaching. Over time, this practice will lead to students believing in your message and appreciating your teaching methods – this is how success should be measured!
7. Build Relationships
Building strong relationships with your students is key to being an effective yoga teacher. Doing this requires building trust and communicating clearly, as well as creating an environment in which students feel safe expressing their feelings, concerns and questions.
As a yoga teacher, you will likely interact with many of your students physically and emotionally – both professionally and personally. It is important that as an awareness of potential interactions and setting appropriate boundaries.
If you offer hands-on adjustments in class, for instance, you can empower your students to make their own decisions by offering double-sided cards they can switch throughout class to indicate whether or not they would like touch from you – helping prevent any inappropriate physical or emotional interactions from taking place.
8. Build Confidence
Yoga teachers must have confidence in both their own abilities and knowledge, as well as lead students towards finding their own practice. Such confidence stems from both having an established yoga practice themselves as well as communicating effectively and developing trusting relationships with their students.
Establishing your yoga teacher brand through creating a website and social media profiles are effective strategies for marketing yourself as a teacher of yoga. Doing so allows you to advertise classes while sharing inspiring quotes or articles about the discipline with potential students.
Many new yoga teachers attempt to understand exactly what their students want in a class. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict exactly what students will be searching for when attending one – that’s why it is crucial that new instructors find their niche and remain true to themselves; their unique teaching styles will attract and retain students.
9. Be Flexible
An important aspect of yoga teacher training is learning how to be flexible. This applies not only to physical asanas but also your mindset and approach when teaching yoga.
As a yoga teacher, there will be days where you feel terrible and other times when you absolutely love the profession. Both experiences should be welcomed as necessary in order to grow as an individual and develop more deeply as an educator.
Flexibility also includes adapting classes to each of your students’ unique needs, whether that means making adjustments based on experience level and injuries or providing feedback that helps guide their yoga journey – something active listening skills learned in teacher training courses can teach. Being adaptable ensures your students trust you and feel at home in your classes.
10. Be Yourself
Becoming a yoga teacher can be both rewarding and exciting; however, it requires time and dedication in order to succeed. In order to be truly successful at becoming a teacher of yoga it’s essential that you remain true to yourself while following your passions.
A good yoga teacher must be able to distinguish their personal life from their teaching. Students don’t enroll for yoga class to hear about their teacher’s political opinions or gossip; rather they seek someone who can share personal stories that inspire and empower their practice.
To promote yourself as a yoga instructor, it is useful to create both a website and social media accounts to showcase your classes, inspirational quotes and articles about yoga that might draw potential students in. In addition, host special events or retreats as an effective way of increasing visibility – updating your website frequently with class information will ensure current students stay engaged while drawing in new ones.
