From the outside people might think that teaching yoga is a really easy career. Visions of travelling to warm sunny locations to do yoga on the beach, spending the day talking about breathing and relaxing might be part of this fantasy.
As you already know, teaching yoga involves a lot of work. There is the time that we are actually doing the teaching part and then there is the rest. This might include:
- Advertising
- Accounting
- Creating class plans
- Making playlists
- Buying props
- Invoicing students and/or studios
- Writing emails
- Studying and taking courses
- Blogging
- Cleaning the studio
- Updating social media and/or website
- Answering phone calls and texts
- Travelling to, from and between classes
- Talking with students before and after class
- Looking for new teaching jobs
Even if you decide that you want to be a yoga teacher as a volunteer – you are going to have to do some of the items on the list above.
If you want to be a successful yoga teacher, then getting good with the business side is a must. You then can increase your income and the number of people that benefit from yoga.
Travel back in time for a moment, (about 120+ years), when yoga wasn’t available to everyone. It was common to be chosen by a teacher and then spend years learning.
When yoga was brought to the West, (click here to read how Yogi Bhajan brought Kundalini Yoga to North America), it began to evolve. Some argue that this is a bad thing. In my opinion – this evolution has made yoga more accessible, so I view it as a positive.
Full disclosure – there are times when I still hear a critical inner voice judging styles of yoga that seem far from what Patanjali had in mind, but I try to remind myself how I got into yoga. It was a girl’s night out idea and it was focused on physical health and a lot of giggling.
My point is that if I would have needed to travel to an ashram to sit and meditation for a month – I never would have discovered yoga. Now, teachers can share yoga on a much larger scale and they can cater classes to suit their unique offerings and students.
I appreciate that I can pick this book up and read one short chapter. As the title suggests – there are 26 chapters and each one is associated to a letter of the alphabet. For example – L is for Longevity and M is for Marketing. This book is useful for any yoga teacher, no matter the years of teaching experience.
My favourite part – the actionable steps for every chapter. Erin focuses on business topics as well as how to care for your own health and wellness as a yoga teacher.
Also – Erin has given everyone the chance to download 3 free chapters. Click here for that offer.
I got the book from my local library and because I keep renewing it, today, I decided to purchase it.
This book is small, but mighty. I highly recommend checking it out from your library or purchasing a copy (click on the photo or the book title above).
Do you have a favourite yoga book? Please share the title in the comments below.
