How to Become a Full-Time Yoga Teacher

So, you want to become a full-time yoga teacher. Congrats! This is a big step in your yoga journey, one where you can begin to share your gifts with more people.

For 20-plus years, I’ve been a full-time professional yoga teacher and in pretty much every form possible. From running all over town teaching yoga classes and trading my time for money to developing my own online yoga teacher training program and higher education courses, I know what it takes to thrive in this role. I can also help you to avoid making some of the same mistakes I did.

Here are my top tips for how to become a full-time yoga teacher:

1. Bring at least a portion of your business online.

When I first started my career as a full-time yoga teacher, I spent a lot of time going from one yoga teacher to another, instructing as many classes as possible to try and make ends meet. I loved teaching and connecting with my students, but if I wasn’t working, I also wasn’t making an income. That led to burnout pretty fast.

I soon realized that if I wanted to stop trading time for money, reach even more yoga students, avoid burnout and earn enough income to make ends meet, I needed to take my yoga business online. That’s when I started developing my online yoga teacher training program and courses on chakra therapy, astrology, tarot and more.

If you love teaching in-person yoga classes, that’s great. There’s no need to stop doing something that you enjoy. If you want to thrive as a full-time yoga teacher, however, it’s important to have some aspect of your business online—especially during a global pandemic where studios tend to open and close unpredictably. Keep in mind that teaching online has the added benefit of ensuring all of your income comes directly to you.

2. Develop a robust social media presence.

Once you decide to become a full-time yoga teacher, it’s essentially the same as having your own yoga business. That means it is to your benefit to find ways to bring in new students, promote your yoga classes and connect with your students off the mat.

Social media is a great place for this. By building your following online through social media, you also have the opportunity to connect with more people than you would through in-studio yoga classes. It’s a platform for sharing your talents far and wide. To develop your presence in this online space, be sure to create and share content that is aligned with your niche.

3. Be available for your students.

The most important part of becoming a full-time yoga teacher is being able to deliver your services and really be there for your students. Your reputation depends on your ability to do these two things.

Extraordinary yoga teachers are the ones that go above and beyond in helping their students. They are more than just teachers, they are spiritual leaders. If you want to thrive in your gifts and share yoga with more people, giving your students the best possible classes, workshops and training programs is a great way to do it.

To learn more about how to become a full-time yoga teacher, check out my YouTube video below: