The Business of Yoga

When I started Yoga, it was a health, wellness and spiritual journey. I was connecting to myself and finding an inner sense of happiness that I hadn’t felt prior to finding Yoga. While training to become a Yoga teacher in Bali, Indonesia, this spiritual aspect was heightened even further. And then at the end of the training, our teachers had a one-hour workshop on the business of Yoga. It seemed strange to most of us to look at Yoga, a highly spiritual practice, as a business. But the truth of the matter it is – it is a business, and it can be a very lucrative one at that. The idea of health and wellness has entered our every day lives and does not show any signs of slowing down or stopping.

The overall Wellness market was valued at $4.2 trillion in 2017, and has continued to trend upward as people continue to take an active interest in their health and wellness. With only 56% of people feeling they are in excellent or very good health, there is plenty of room for growth. This means that working in the health and wellness industry will not only help you to manage and maintain your own well-being, but it will also help you to build wealth and live a financially stable life. After all, health is wealth.

During this one-hour workshop, our teacher gave us as many tips and tricks as she could into building our brand and running a successful Yoga business. The point that most stood out to me was – never teach for free! Yes, we are giving back in a spiritual, meditative way, but we also need to cover our bills and make a living. Teaching for free also makes it harder for other Yoga teachers to earn a living because it lowers the standard and expectations of Yogis across the board. All Yoga teachers should be charging something, even if it is as little as $5 or a canned food item.

When you are first starting your Yoga teaching journey, it is important to find your niche. To do this, start by looking at what attracted you to Yoga, what you most love about it, and what you have gotten out of practicing it. This will help you figure out what you are most passionate about and start there. For example, I started practicing Yoga to kick start a weight loss journey and find an inner peace. When I started teaching, I was still on that journey. This helped me to create my slogan: “Any Size, Any Level, Any Body!” And I now help total newbies find Yoga for the first time and get them started on their journey to better health. Then I took my love for animals and combined it with Yoga to teach Goat Yoga (in Prince Edward County, ON).

When you transition from a Yoga student to a Yoga teacher, depending on how often you teach, you may find that your own personal practice diminishes or disappears altogether. This is understandable because your body will be tired and sore, but even if you have to carve out 10 minutes per day or three times per week, it is important to continue to have that relationship with your own practice. This will keep you balanced, centered and motivated to continue teaching and moving forward with your business.

As a Yoga teacher, you should also continue to study the practice by taking other instructor’s classes in person or online. After a while of teaching, you may start to notice you have your favourite poses and/or transitions that you use often. Taking other classes will give you new ideas for flows and transitions to help keep your own classes fun and fresh for your regular students. This will also benefit your body by switching up the flow, which is imperative to a good exercise regime. Specifically, for weight loss, if you stick with the exact same movement every time you work out (with the exception of Ashtanga), your body will get used to that movement and you will likely hit a plateau. Keeping the flow fresh for your students will help to prevent this phenomenon.

Whether you teach in a studio or own your own studio, teach in a park or teach from home, follow these guidelines and watch your classes and reputation grow as a Yoga Instructor. For help with your Yoga business, contact me to set up a FREE 1/2h consultation. Yoga has led me to become a social media manager and coach, and I would love to show you how to maximize your reach and grow your Yoga business. (“Contact” Page)

Sources:

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/health-wellness-industry/