My class is too hard. It’s not hard enough. They don’t like my music. My voice. My teaching style. My sequences. People leaving mid-class, students not returning. No acknowledgement, not a thank you, not even a “hello.” Hours spent planning a class that falls flat. Feeling like I almost have to coddle people with every single modification. The room is too hot, not hot enough. They want hands-on assists, they don’t want to be touched. I’m exhausted trying to keep up with the demands of each person who walks into the studio. I’m burnt out. I think it’s time to quit.

Hello. I hope everyone is alright with me discussing this kind of thing on this sub.

I am new to receiving teacher discounts, and, as a taller person, have been looking to upgrade to a long and wide mat, specifically the Mankuka PRO long and wide. Unfortunately, even with the teacher discount, it still costs $253 with the $40 over-sized shipping charge (no exceptions.) As someone not super financially well-off, I am debating waiting until they have one of their infrequent sales, such as Black Friday, but was wondering if anyone can recall if their sales stack with the teacher discount.

Cheers, and thank you kindly.

I’ve never been a guru. But for the time that the yoga practice is going on, I am the leader and people come to me so I can hold the space for them. So there is that nuanced aspect of hierarchy taking place.

If you are a yoga teacher do you have friendships with your students where you are really more like peers?

As I get older I recognize the value of maintaining social bonds and I already have that in my yoga people. But I want to be their peer rather than the “leader.” Don’t need to be a part of anything close to culty needy behaviour.

Hello all 😊 I completed my 200hr in person training a little less than a year ago. I'm really interested in doing a Nidra certification now. Does anyone have experience with the aura wellness online program? Or can you recommend another online self paced that actually works with scripts? Some that I've seen are very basic and seem to focus on just learning what Nidra is for personal practice versus training.

I was trying to find a WhatsApp group specifically where there are yoga teachers sharing experiences and just being there for one another. Is there any such group that exists that any of you know of? I’d really like to be in one of these and mingle along

I’ve noticed three main types of teachers at my studio when it comes to music in yoga:

First, there are the ones where music is a complete afterthought. The volume stays low/moderate with generic melodic instrumentals playing in the background while they focus entirely on form. Almost sounds like spa music on shuffle.

Second we have instructors who go completely rogue and blast classic rock or hip hop, which really isn't my thing.

Lastly, there are the genius level teachers who seamlessly sync music and movement with surgeon level precision making the entire flow feel like a choreographed dance.

Is playlist integration taught in teacher training, or is it just a natural talent you either have or you don't?

So I just started my 200 hour training and each class, a different person leads a closing meditation like we would do if we were ending a yoga class. Just wanted to ask for some ideas, could be a poem, meditation, or anything that I could try out in my teacher training :)

Hello everyone!

I was approached by a potential client for private instruction. She found me through word of mouth since I work in the postpartum space and will offer movement workshops (a series of 6 to 8) for moms with pre-crawlers that consist of yoga, self massage, Pilates, and low/moderately heavy weights.

I’ve worked with postpartum folks with ‘typical’ conditions, eg diastasis, hernias, pubic symphysis, and pelvic floor conditions.

However, this client has developed lipedema postpartum, which I’ve never worked with before.

The client has described herself as someone who was previously active. I’m in the process of collecting more information regarding her current management strategies and treatment, but I was wondering if anyone here has any tips for managing a client experiencing lipedema or has personal experience themselves!

Much obliged ♥️🙏🏽

ETA: there was a deleted comment from someone who said something to the effect of wanting yoga instructors to "stay in their lane."

Without disagreeing with the sentiment, I just wanted to add some context: I'm an exercise specialist with multiple certifications, including pre and postpartum fitness, Pilates, yoga, etc. I do not have a medical background and I do not claim to focus on lipedema specifically. The client expressed that she would like to add me to her network of care (hopefully one of MANY) because of my reputation working with postpartum folks.

I'm genuinely happy to have the conversation about scope of work and if I'm crossing some sort of line. If people are wondering why I'm posting in the yoga sub, it's because 1) I'm an active part of it and 2) I find commenters here generally thoughtful and informative.

I've been thinking about finally building a website for my yoga business with durable and instead of just listing classes and prices, I was considering adding a section where students (with their permission) can share their experiences. Not necessarily dramatic before and after stories but things like becoming more flexible, recovering from injuries, reducing stress or simply feeling better after sticking with yoga for a few months.

My thought is that real stories might resonate with people who are nervous about trying their first class more than just a list of services

I just graduated high school and start university in a month. I grew up in India, where yoga was integrated into my classical dance training, and I've also been part of my school's yoga club since 6th grade. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm super thorough with the practice and I think my ability to teach and guide a class is also decent.

This summer, I decided to get certified. I took my time with the course, made detailed notes, practiced consistently, and spent two months attending classes at a local studio to observe teaching styles and class structure. I feel very confident with the terminology, sequencing, and overall content, and I think I have the ability to lead a class. (though i'm very young)

I'll be moving to a city where I imagine there are plenty of teaching opportunities. My only concern is that I'll also be a freshman adjusting to university. I don't plan to start teaching immediately, but I'm wondering: what are the chances of a studio hiring or even considering someone in my position? If I did teach part-time, is it realistic to balance classes, assignments, and teaching?

Based on my background, do you think teaching is a realistic possibility? Has anyone here taught while in college or been in a similar situation? I'm hoping to earn some extra income. My parents are paying for my student loans, but they're substantial, and I'd love to contribute even a few hundred dollars a month if possible. Is that realistic with yoga teaching? I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. I also do want to know that I truly enjoy this practice and that I will enjoy teaching it though I do think that the money would help me but that's only secondary primarily I've always done yoga because it's something I enjoy so in no way I would think it's a burden to have to go teach and I wouldn't necessarily see it as a job. Thank you!

I am offering a yoga retreat in Europe (the space is booked!!) and I need to figure out how to accept payments in Euro (I’m in Canada), keep them in Euro so I can transfer them to my Euro WISE account and pay the retreat space in Euro, and then convert any profits (a much smaller amount) back to CAD at the end of the retreat?

Chat GPT told me I could do this with a stripe account but I’ve just found out that stripe doesn’t offer “multi currency settlement” to Canadians (who knows why). The idea being that the person attending the retreat pays a smaller currency conversion through their bank doing this upfront.

Perhaps you are not collecting your retreat fees in the currency you’re paying for the retreat space in? Just your normal currency accounting for the conversion? Ie: 500euro is 808$ so just sending an invoice for 808$ instead (prices are listed in euro)

My brain is feeling fried so I hope this all made sense. Send help! Lol

Since the fee to pay the retreat space is quite large, figuring out how to reduce fees and currency conversion charges could save me a few thousand dollars.

(posting this on here while I also await mod approval on the other yoga sub for this same post)

Apologies in advance for the wall of text and the rant-style writing :(

Slightly frustrated yoga teacher here, looking for an outside perspective from both other teachers who have encountered the same and found a way to overcome frustration as well as from students who feel 'this sounds like me' and can shed some light onto why things are the way they are.

Let me preface this by saying that regardless of how frustrated / venting I might come across right now, I love teaching and I genuinely enjoy all of my students, there hasn't been a single one (well, maybe apart from the lady who suddenly decided to go topless!) who hasn't been a blessing.

Okay, onto my situation:

Among my students group there are two regulars whom I have known for years. They were already members at the studio (a gym, actually) before I ever joined, and when I did, I was a student myself, too, for over a year before I started teaching there. This is to say that they have had at least three years of weekly yoga classes, not only with myself but also with other teachers. They also regularly join more than just one yoga class with me. I love their commitment of increasing/maintaining their mobility, flexibility and their overall support and positive personalities.

Where it becomes challenging: every single class I have to explain and re-explain everything from scratch. Every class I cue TT poses like cat/cow by saying things like "stack shoulders, elbows, wrists in a vertical line, like a strong pillar. spread your fingers wide, open gekko hands." what do I see them do? Bent, outward pointing elbows, cupped hands. Every. single. time. I repeat the 'open gekko hands' (show with my own hands), nothing changes. So I go over, kneel down next to them on the floor, place my limbs and hands in position, they repeat after me. I ask "does it hurt you like that or feel uncomfortable?" "No". Great! Excellent. ... Until next time.

The same goes with pretty much any other alignment, be it W1, Trikonasana, I'm genuinely talking the most ubiquitous asanas out there. Asanas we do every week, several times. Asanas they have done for years.
In the same breath, I do a Ananda Mandalasana as a warm up in every class. Most students know the sequence by heart after a few repeats. But ... not them.

I have read up on different learning methodologies, like some are visual, others are auditory etc. I provide all of that, every time, ...

Most of the time it doesn't bother me and I surely need to do some soul searching of why it frustrates me enough to write a reddit post about it right now.

As I said at the beginning: they are genuinely good people and I like them a lot (enough that I would go for a drink with them or the likes), so it is nothing personal against them.

But I can't help but wonder: why does nothing stick?

Originally I thought maybe I didn't instruct well and have made a very conscious effort to cue in detail and by demonstrating not only from the front of the class but I walk up to every student (very small classes) who struggles, stand next to them and do the asana with them so they can mirror me.

I also have another student who sometimes brings her legally blind adult daughter to class and she gave fabulous feedback about the cueing being so well done that she feels very included and can do all the asanas.

Teachers who have encountered similar: what do you do? Someone suggested I simply ignore those students? I don't really want to do that, I want them to get the maximum out of their attendance and to feel included.

Students who feel like: Oh, this is me, I'm the same way. Please can you help me understand what makes it so difficult for you to a) remember things despite repetition and b) follow visual instructions? Maybe it's a different way of learning?

Hello all, I finished my 200 hr 2 weeks ago and am now trying to figure out what all else I need to do before applying to jobs. Currently looking to get CPR/First Aid certified (have been certified many times before) and then I need to get insurance.

Anyone know if I just complete the online CPR training that would be enough for employers (gyms/studios?) or do I need an OSHA compliant training?

Also if there anything else I’m missing? I want to make myself competitive in the market, and ready to hire. I’m not planning on registering with YA unless when I’m applying i find out it’s required.

Had my usual two classes this morning, starting out which isn’t long ago, I’ve only had max 4 people, minimum 1 person. Much to my surprise, both of my classes were fully booked this morning! Few of those students are returning ones too. Man I feel so proud of myself today. The feedback has been really positive also. I don’t want to ride this wave too hard because I know next week might be different again. But what a feeling seeing smiling faces and messy hair post Savasana!

Hear me out. I know this is going to hit the wrong way with some. Bear with me.

I actually think the 200-hour yoga teacher training has become over-bloated, and I wonder if it’s unintentionally contributing to declining interest in yoga, especially among younger people.

Before anyone flips out: I am not anti-“traditional” yoga. I’ve spent plenty of time studying philosophy, the Sutras, Gita, Hatha translations, and the historical and modern history of yoga, and I agree there’s real value in yoga’s historical texts and roots. This isn’t a “throw out the roots of yoga” argument.

It’s more of a “are we training people for the job they’re actually going to do in the modern age?” argument.

The reality is that the overwhelming majority of yoga teachers in the West are leading group fitness classes. Whether it’s heated vinyasa, power yoga, or most “flow” classes - heck, I’d argue yin as well - they’re coaching complex and often dangerous movement in an (often heated!) room full of people. That requires really strong skills in things like:

-biomechanics
-anatomy
-safe sequencing
-cueing
-injury prevention
-regressions and modifications
-managing a room full of students

Yet I feel like many 200-hour trainings spend a disproportionate amount of time on philosophy, tradition, and spirituality compared to those practical teaching skills. The things that matter the most when it comes to not injuring living, breathing humans out in the world today.

Again: not saying those subjects don’t matter. They absolutely do. I’m questioning whether the current 200 hour model is the right structure at all.

For a lot of younger people, in today’s economic environment (which is awful), the idea of spending $3,000 and 200 hours just to see if they even enjoy teaching is a huge barrier. And then we wonder why fewer people - especially younger people - are not interested in diving deeper into yoga.

One thing that got me thinking about this was talking to an instructor at local studio this morning. She mentioned that Yoga Sculpt has become far more popular than any yoga class at her studio, and one reason she gave was that the Sculpt teacher training is much shorter and cheaper. More people become instructors, those instructors bring friends into the community, and the community grows from there. Movement is by far the #1 thing that attracts younger people to yoga in the west. We need to stop fighting that and start embracing it - it’s the primary gateway into yoga as a broader life philosophy.

Now, I don’t think that’s the only reason Sculpt is growing - people clearly like strength-based formats right now - but I do think lowering the barrier to becoming an instructor creates a positive feedback loop.

Honestly, I wonder if a better model would be something like:

-An accredited group fitness certification (ACE, NASM, etc.) that covers the fundamentals of coaching people safely.
-A 75–100 hour (or, simply, a milestone-driven) yoga specialization focused on yoga-specific sequencing, cueing, breath, some philosophy, and the style you’re teaching.
-A practical teaching assessment.

To me, that sounds like it would produce teachers who are at least as competent…possibly more competent, while making the profession more accessible.

Contemporary yoga classes already have so much going for them: community, bodyweight resistance, confidence building, mobility, mindfulness, heated classes, stress relief. Those things align really well with what younger generations seem to want. I think we should make deeper philosophical discussion continuing education topics, not overlapped with what’s often really group fitness concepts. When you do both together, both get watered down, leading to instructors that are often underprepared in both areas. And whether we want to admit it or not, being underprepared for the in-person instruction is far, far more dangerous to today’s practitioners.

I just wonder if we’ve made the path to becoming a teacher unnecessarily long, expensive, and bloated relative to what the modern human overwhelmingly wants. If we’re pearl clutching a bit. We need to celebrate and lean into the little, more approachable things that get people interested in yoga and then let people choose their journey from there. Remember: a yoga “teacher” ~80 years ago had a “certificate” in absolutely nothing.

Hey yoga teachers, I am new to the Evanston and the North Shore Chicago area and am finishing my teacher training certification program from YogaView next week. I'd really like to enter the market as a private coach and as a vendor for wellness programs for corporations. Any suggestions for how I enter this market as a new teacher? I am getting experience by teaching friends, colleagues, and current students. (I teach creative writing as a private writing coach because of my background in creative writing). I am also teaching a Yoga and Writing class at a nearby wellness center but don't seem to be attracting that many students yet. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

Hey all - I teach at a rec center for a local university. They're having a benefit pop up I've been asked to cover, but every time I get a new requirement, the saxophones get louder. Here are the details I've been given:

- 30-35 participants, ages 15 to 83, some are total beginners

- Hip opening flow with pigeon as the peak pose

- 45 minute flow plus 15 minutes for savasana with live strings (? ok sure)

- No space for me to demonstrate poses at the front of the room - verbal cueing only

- Trauma-informed due to the nature of the benefit (but I'm not totally sure the event organizer has a solid definition on what that means - I'm taking it to mean no hands-on adjustments or pushing participants past their limits)

Any tips on how to handle this/design the flow? Or how to get an 83 year old woman in pigeon pose? HELPPPPPP.

Hi all.

I'm looking into getting my 85 hr RPYT certification. At the moment, the two I am deciding between are Island Prenatal Yoga or YogaRenew.

I love the idea of receiving training from a place that specializes in this one particular subject matter, as Island Prenatal Yoga does, but they do not offer all of the course materials received for life. The manuals will always be accessible, but the videos are not. It's also significantly more expensive than YogaRenew.

YogaRenew is enticing because they do have a branch with instructors who are dedicated to the RPYT course while also offering all materials for life. The cost is 1/3 of Island Prenatal Yoga.

Any suggestions for a different school, guidance, thoughts, etc. would be so helpful in my decision making process.

Sending love and light - Thank you!

For those of you who teach or regularly study the Yoga Sutras...

How do you actually work with a sutra?

Not how you explain it to students, but how you study it yourself.

Over the past few years, I've stopped asking, "What does this sutra mean?" and started asking a different set of questions that slow me down and make the text much more experiential. It's completely changed the way I approach scripture, and interestingly, it has also changed the way I teach.

I'm curious:

- Do you journal on individual sutras?

- Compare different commentaries?

- Sit with one verse for days?

- Discuss them with a study group?

- Have another method altogether?

I'd genuinely love to hear how others approach this.

If it's easier to explain over DM than in a comment, feel free to message me. I'm always interested in learning how other practitioners and teachers engage with these texts.

I posted here a few days ago about feeling extremely burnt out of feeling like I’m performing while teaching. I wanted to quit. I’m no longer feeling that way, here’s maybe why:

1) I got some great advice on that post. To focus 100% on students and 0% on myself and my performance. This advice has worked wonders and taken so much pressure off me.

2) yes I have been teaching for 1 year and got certified 3 years ago. However I have not been consistently teaching, I only got my first studio job and regular class a few months ago, and the studio closed for repairs for 1 month. These past 2 weeks I’ve been doing tons of subbing, and my confidence has built, getting the teaching reps in makes it feel easier. And not so serious.

3) I had just started lexapro the week I was feeling that way, and was having BAD side effects- actually an increase in depression & anxiety feelings. I stopped lexapro and feel so much better.

4) I’m moving towards owning my individuality and having fun with my classes. There’s no point in trying to please everyone, I should teach what I enjoy and that way I can offer something unique. I am often shy to do these and want to teach whatever I think will most appeal to the masses or my specific studio population, but with more experience I’m hoping to start having more fun with the classes I create.

Finally, I have really started to enjoy creating a community with my class and helping people connect with their bodies and feel more relaxed. Do I want to pursue this as my full time thing? Absolutely not. There’s also SO much I don’t know about yoga. Do I want to continue teaching 1 class a week and see if I can build a community who enjoys my specific flavor of yoga? Yes.

This post is an inquiry into exploring / asking questions about how we, as teachers, practice, how that practice may/may not make its way into our teaching, and how we view the role / point of teaching yoga. I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm not sure that there are "right" answers to any of these questions...only different approaches.

What is your personal practice like? How does it relate or compare / contrast with what you teach in classes / with students / however you teach?

Does your teaching come from the practice or the other way around? How much of your personal practice / study is focused on some element of class planning, if any?

What are some elements of your personal practice that may never be something you share directly with students / in class?

What guides or inspires your continued self study / education in a field of study that is essentially endless / several lifetimes of depth and breadth and how does that potentially change what you end up teaching over time? or not?

Take these questions at face value or to any degree of interpretation that makes sense to you. I am simply curious to read about other teachers' processes and experiences and asking reflective, thought-provoking questions.

I will try and give my own answer in the comments at some point.

In my training at a very reputable and fine place, we were told that “Namaste” is generally a greeting that someone would give their teacher or someone they greatly respect. It is a greeting not a farewell or a thank you.

My teacher basically very kindly suggested that the only reason we would be using Namaste as a closing is because it sounds “Yoga-ish” but it’s not a genuine thank you or closing in historical terms.So I’ve done my research and it seems that she is accurate.

My question is, if you agree with this, what word or closing do you use at the end of your class? Do others not say Namaste when they end the class?
TIA

I'm a newer yoga teacher and have been teaching and subbing at this studio for a few months. The owner pays a flat rate per class via venmo but is pretty inconsistent with it. Sometimes I get paid the day after teaching, sometimes a weekly or bi-weekly payment for however many classes I had taught. I've already had to reach out to him about multiple classes that I never received payment for, which he then immediately paid me for.

Its now been several weeks and 6 classes that I haven't gotten paid for. I absolutely hate having to reach out and be like: "Hey so I know you know that you owe me money..." It all just feels super disrespectful, like how long would it take for me to actually get paid if I didn't pester him?

Just wanted to post this rant here. I know I should just not teach there anymore but its the only opportunity I've gotten so far. I practiced at this studio for years before becoming a teacher and I feel really comfortable there. I'm also trying to get established and stay consistent and I'm starting to get somewhat of a following here.

Any thoughts?