Your knowledge and input would be appreciated

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hey all. I’d like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond to this.
I am in the process of saving up some money. While I haven’t fully decided what I’m saving up that money for, I am leaning towards education. And from there I am considering becoming a yoga instructor. Should I go with that, I’m still 10-12 months away from being able to afford such instruction. I was hoping for some information to help me make a better informed decision.

How much yoga experience does one need before going on such a course? (I have about 2 years experience in basic yoga but am wildly out of practice and miss it) How much does a yoga instructor make in a month? What should I look for in terms of a schools credentials (or whatever may be appropriate). If you could direct me to some accurate online sources that would also be great.

Where possible I’d like information with reference to a Cape Town/South African context but input from wherever in the world you are situated will be appreciated.

Thank you for your time an I do apologize if this has been discussed before.

#2

While you may, of course, do what ever you’d like…

I don’t think becoming a teacher of yoga is something one does in order to earn an income. An income CAN be earned doing so, however it should not be selected on the basis of whether you can be financially stable once you’re working in your field.

I also believe that our work should be something we deeply love and enjoy and are nourished by, so I personally wouldn’t be selecting a field of employment based on the charted revenue possibilities anyway so that tells you where I’m coming from.

Practicing yoga and teaching yoga have very different skill sets. Being a sound student does not translate into being a sound teacher - though it is obviously the start. However I believe it is essential for a prospective teacher to have a practice of some significance (for their living) and duration AND deeply consider the commitment to sharing yoga, helping others, and continuing their education over the span of their lifetime. Yoga is a way of living. Choreography is for some other discipline.

The decision about becoming a yoga teacher comes not from the checkbook or from the thoughts, it comes from the heart and we very much need more teachers who are able to impart Yoga from this place, rather from the place of “how big can my classes get”, “my, how popular I am”, or “look at me, I’m a yoga teacher!”.

Since you’ve not mentioned your motives for considering yoga, I can’t really comment on it specifically. But I’ve been asked about this before and my thoughts around it have clarified over time.

#3

There are some people on this board who will probably be able to advise you on certification levels for you area, but my advice is to find a school or a lineage or a style of teaching that you enjoy and connect to, and then ask those teachers where you should begin. There are many paths, and thousands of years worth of information that one has the choice of delving into if they desire - the people who you are most comfortable with as teachers will be your best guides.

There are too many variables to determine what a pay grade would be. It will depend on the style you teach, where you teach, how often you can afford to teach, and the amount of work you choose to put into becoming a good teacher, and what type of teacher you want to be. I’m a firm believer that those who do what they are really supposed to be doing and are willing to work for it, will find that opportunities always present themselves. Good luck!

#4

Namaste SB,

Speaking form a South African pov, it is really very difficult to make a living solely out of yoga. If you are fortunate enough to have a rich husband who can still support you while teaching yoga, then you would be one of the lucky ones. However, I gather from your posts you are not. Most yoga teachers I know both up in Gauteng and down in the Western Cape still have a day job and teach yoga part time. Cape Town is a very expensive city, so you really have to think carefully about how you want to go about it. If you are male, making a living out of yoga can be to say the least extremely challenging in South Africa.

Personally I would consider a few years of more practice. How old are you? Remember in the South African social context there is still much resistence against younger people trying to teach older people.

I would recommend that you find yourself a good teacher, learn from this person as much as you can, subject yourself to the discipline that this person might be willing to afford you and allow the Divine wind to blow you from there in the right direction. Follow the directions of your teacher. I still belief that your teacher should give you permission to do teacher training and that it is not something that you decide yourself. My own teacher only gave me permission after about 9 years of training with her. Today, in hindsight I can see the value of holding me back, teaching me more before she allowed me to do teacher training.

Good luck.

#5

A ton of knowledge isn’t even worth an ounce of practice. Find a practice you like and dedicate yourself too that first. Then you will be passionate about it, then find your way.

#6

I honestly spent 30 minutes trying to pre-empt the backlash I expected to get from daring to ask how much a instructor makes. When I kept coming up short, I just left it out. The short version of it, I pretty much took the spiritual side of it as an ineffable given. As for the money side, I would have liked to get a practical understanding of what I would be getting myself into. And when you make less than $200 a month, money does seem important, if not the only factor.
Anyway, Pandara and suryadaya, thank you for coming the closest to answering my question. Everybody else, thank you for being perfectly predictable.

#7

your welcome ;0)

#8

The short version of it, I pretty much took the spiritual side of it as an ineffable given

This would have been good information to have in the first post but you didn’t even allude to it. And I’m sure you have your reasons, but understand it is THE only slice of you we get. So to me, you presented a partial picture and expected a robust answer.

Practical? Most yoga teachers struggle to make an income of significance (enough to live on) and have to do “other” work. Some teachers spend their time running from one teaching location to another in order TO make a living. There are a few yoga teachers who do earn a living just teaching yoga but they are not in the majority. It is very challenging (for many) and that is why I spent my reply time discussing the origin of intention relative to choosing to teach THIS instead of Nia or Tae Bo or Pilates.

I’m sorry the reply did not meet your needs and that you determined it to be typical or expected. I take full responsibility for my half of that role.

#9

You want a direct answer -

  1. most instructors make between $10 - $30US/class dependent on skill and location of the studio. But if you teach more than 8 class/week your creativity wains and teaching becomes work not passion. So, this is not a reliable, long-term career, income.
  2. the best way, like any industry, to make money are royalties. (Books, Videos, etc) but your skill set and your charism better be strong to sell in this market. Plus, advanced training and respect-by-the-industry only comes with time and practice.
  3. search for Andrew Gowans in So. Africa, (where exactly ?) he recently sold Yoga Pod in Boulder, CO and moved back to So. Africa with his wife. He’s a talented instructor and sound business man. He teaches heated vinyasa yoga.

Sometimes this forum gets a little carried away with the “read between the lines” feel-good theme. It’s a lot of interpretive dancing in written form.

Hope that helps.

MM

#10

Another way of making ends meet is with an affiliate program on your yoga site/blog. There are many companies that offer such affiliate programs. It can help to bring in some extra income.

BTW - I think your whole story is blogable, there are folks that want to do X or Y and they blog about it until they get there. You never know where things like that can lead.

Avi
Activewear USA.com
Margarita Activewear

#11

The most I have made solely from teaching a class is AU$200 teaching four classes in a local school in one half day. It was truly exhausting and not something I’m in a rush to repeat; however that’s a very decent income for a half day’s work. The least I have made is AU$10 from a community yoga class which I thoroughly enjoyed teaching.

Perhaps a balance between the two is how to pay the rent through teaching yoga. I certainly wouldn’t want to be doing the high-volume, high paying stuff too often though. It’s tough on your body and tough on your spirit, a quick road to getting burnt out.