How You Can Succeed As A Yoga Instructor

Ever considered making a living by teaching yoga? Yes, it’s a great career for passionate yogis. Yes, you can succeed as a yoga instructor provided that you have the skills and know how to utilize them.

For example, you can consider teaching yoga at a local gym. You may also make money by teaching private lessons and online classes. Another option is to teach yoga at hotels and resorts. Conducting retreats and workshops can boost your earnings further.

Basically, you’ll be able to excel in this industry by complementing your yoga skills with good marketing practices,

How to succeed as a yoga instructor

1. Get certified

First, it's important to get certified. While certification isn’t always a requirement to teach yoga, gaining minimum and advanced certificates will be for your advantage. It can significantly boost your earnings and open up more doors of opportunities. More clients and establishments will readily trust you as you show your credentials.

In a post by job website Indeed, we learn that the Yoga Alliance “is an internationally recognized organization that categorizes certification.” They offer Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) programs for those wanting to explore yoga teaching.

2. Serve your students

After equipping yourself with the skills and qualifications to teach, it’s time to face your students.

Remember that you are serving them. It’s important that you learn their names. Discover their strengths and limitations.  Do they have any health conditions you should be aware of?

Knowing these details in advance allows you to personalize your classes in a way that will help and inspire them. Keep in mind that students are on different levels physically, and mentally. As such, you want to teach them appropriate lessons.

3.  Keep learning

No, learning doesn’t stop the moment you get certified and start teaching your classes. You need to keep enhancing your skills and to actively seek new information.

Read books. Watch videos. Learn from other yoga instructors. Of course, you have to practice regularly. You and your students will benefit as you continually challenge yourself to be better.

Our very own Farm SoHo Editor-In-Chief and Marketing Specialist Bianca Polizzi is a yoga instructor herself. A digital nomad for several years now, she qualified as a certified yoga instructor in Goa, India in 2019. She later went on to launch her own yoga retreats in Palermo, Sicily just three months after completing her yoga studies.

According to her:

"If you do anything because you love it, you can only succeed because your drive comes purely from passion and that is a divine, magical place to source your energy from. Just like in yoga, in order to achieve what you want, you need to learn to focus on where you want to go. This is where stability is found. What you’ll notice happening as you move into new spaces, is that you naturally release what no longer supports you. There’s no other way, but to focus and trust in yourself, keeping your sight on one focal point. Give your energy to trust, and move away from fear."

4. Use failures as your stepping stone

Bianca also pointed out:

"Another key point for all business, be it becoming a yoga instructor or any other niche -  just like in yoga, you need to learn to fall down well before you can hit the poses that you want to achieve, so don’t be scared of getting it wrong in business. Allow the falls to happen and laugh at yourself when they do. If you learn to have a sense of humor when it comes to 'failing', you can get back up easily without being sucked into negative self-doubt traps and continue to grow more rapidly than if you move with fear. The only way to grow is by forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. So go get it - and just believe in yourself, for goodness sake! You can do anything!"

5. Take advantage of social media

These days, those aiming to succeed as a yoga instructor has a powerful tool in their hands: social media.

You can reach more of your target audience by constantly posting about your services on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You may also create a professional profile on LinkedIn.

With these platforms, you will be able to advertise yourself as a qualified yoga teacher. Share your photos and videos online. You may even post yoga-related quotes and memes. You can even do fun giveaways and contests if you want. More importantly, do not forget to inform people about your teaching schedule. Plus be ready to respond to comments and direct messages.

You’ll be surprised with how the number of your followers and students will grow as time passes. Just do your best to be authentic and consistent in maintaining your online presence. The results will be worth it.

6. Build your own website

You can take things to the next level by putting up a website. This allows you to boost your credibility even more. From a marketing standpoint, a site with excellent SEO standing makes perfect sense. It drives your name to the top results as people use Google or other search engines.

To do this right, you will need to hire an expert web designer or developer. Be clear about what content (text, images, videos, etc,) you want placed on your site. Be open to their suggestions at the same time, if they have any.

A well-designed and well-optimized site can truly help establish your image and give you advantage over your competitors. It’s definitely a wise investment if you seriously want to succeed as a yoga instructor.

7. Explore other ways to earn

Lastly, your career as a yoga instructor doesn’t have to be confined in the classrooms. You can likewise explore various earning opportunities by sharing your knowledge through other mediums.

Got some writing skills? You may want to start a blog on your website or even submit articles to health and wellness publications. There are many online and print magazines that accommodate content from experienced yoga teachers.   

Moreover, you can consider launching your own podcast or YouTube channel (or both!). This could be a good way to reach a wider audience and to market your brand. Case in point, monetizing your platform allows you to earn some extra bucks as well.

Final thoughts: you can succeed as a yoga instructor

With patience and determination, you can make a name for yourself as a yoga expert. You can turn your passion into business, which can be very rewarding.

If you’re in New York City, allow us to welcome you at the Farm SoHo. We have hosted numerous yoga and fitness classes in our popular event venue The Farm Rooftop. We’re located at 188 Grand St, NYC and our 2,300-square ft space can comfortably accommodate up to 50 individuals. Our venue is “surrounded by low buildings with picturesque views of the iconic Manhattan skyline to the rear.”

Given these points, it’s certainly perfect for a yoga session.

If you and your fellow yogis are interested about having an event with us, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Inquire or book a tour with us and we’d gladly assist you. Email us at [email protected] or call us now via (917) 722-5027.