What to expect when teaching yoga…
Being a yoga teacher is a wonderful job! Not least because you are working in a field that you are passionate about. However, there is a lot that goes on in the life of a yoga instructor – and it’s not all blissful! Teaching anything can be stressful, difficult and of course, rewarding and inspiring. For a look into the world of the yoga teacher, here is what it is really like.
1. Yoga teachers have a lot of responsibilities.
You’re not just calling out yoga postures, you are also doing the following:
- Setting the pace and atmosphere of the class – you are the role model
- Offering modifications
- Providing adjustments throughout class
- Keeping the energy flowing
- Having a strong presence and verbal cues
- Demoing the postures
- Adjusting the temperature of the room, the volume of the music, and creating the ambiance as you move throughout the space
- Ensuring the students are practicing within their level range
- Designing sequences that encompass a full range of asanas for full-body benefits.
2. It’s a popularity contest.
It doesn’t matter how much you know about yoga and how many asana you can pull off. If you are not popular as a person, you are not going to fill classes. Fitness facilities, gyms, and studios all need teachers that attract a great number of people to make money. Therefore, if you are not meeting the needs of the business, you are not going to be considered “successful.” Obviously, gaining a following takes time, and many places are happy to give you enough time to get more people in class – but that also means you have to be comfortable with self-promotion and marketing.
“The art of teaching is tolerance. Humbleness is the art of learning.” ~ B.K.S Iyengar
3. There’s a lot of competition.
Maybe it wasn’t that way several years ago, but with the boom of yoga throughout the world, more people are becoming yoga instructors. Though there’s no downside to having a world full of certified yoga instructors, it does mean you have to constantly prove that you are a cut above the rest. Especially if you want to continue making a living teaching yoga. Though it’s important to remember, while yoga is everywhere, good teachers are not.
4. You’re in the service industry.
Surprise! You are serving the needs of others. You are also expected to bolster the preconceived notions of what yoga instructors should be like. While not every yoga instructor is going to be the “norm” or even “enlightened”, you are serving the fitness industry. You are expected to be able to offer up advice on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. People are going to ask you how to care for certain pains, emotions, and difficulties. They are going to probe and judge your habits. As such, yoga teachers are constantly planning on how to “serve” the class well.
Teach what is inside you. Not as it applies to you, to yourself, but as it applies to the other.” ~ Krishnamacharya
5. Sometimes, you lose your spirituality.
Being a yoga instructor means striking a balance between service, business, and spirituality. Obviously, these realms are all glaringly different. When you are trying to accumulate enough private clients to help you meet rent, sometimes the need to work frequently, often to the point of exhaustion, the joy of yoga begins to fade. You will often come across yoga instructors who seem dry and tired. It’s because they have gotten into the mechanical rhythm of business. Yes, they can get their spirituality back in time but as long as materialism exists, it can be a struggle.
Teaching yoga is a marvelous profession…
Whether it is a part or full time endeavor! While it may look easy to the student, being a teacher is also a challenge. Not only do classes need to be created for the students in mind, there are yoga philosophies and ethics to be adhered to. But the best part? Well, that’s sharing the joys of yoga with everyone you meet.
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