The number of yoga teachers across the world is growing at an exponential rate. But. how much do yoga instructors make? Here’s an article about yoga instructor salaries and 10 tips on how to grow yours.
You’ve trained for years and are ready to impact your knowledge about yoga to others. That’s amazing and a big step forward in your personal and professional journey.
But man (or woman) cannot live on bread alone, and just like anyone else, you will need to make money in order to survive. You’re probably wondering just how much do yoga instructors make.
The answer to the question is pretty complex, as most yoga teachers aren’t employed at just one place of business. Most of the time, you’ll find employment at several gyms or health centers that offer yoga.
There is no simple answer to tell you that yoga teachers make a salary between two numbers, as it greatly varies from instructor to instructor. You’ll need to be able to take on several assignments at once, prioritize your time, and be great at self-discipline.
If you think being a yoga instructor is the career for you, read on for more information about how you can boost your income, quickly.
How Much Do Yoga Instructors Make Per Session?
As a yoga teacher, the money you earn per session can depend on where you teach and their model. In some locations, you may have a contract where you are paid a salary. In others, it may be about how many students sign up for the class, and you may have to pay a fee to use the studio.
At a high-end studio, you could earn $75 or more per hourly session. Of course, this isn’t done back-to-back for 40 hours a week. Instead, you might do this a couple of times a day, a few days a week.
You’ll likely supplement your income in a variety of ways as a yoga teacher. This can include selling other products, owning a yoga studio that offers other classes or creating yoga retreats.
While CNN once listed yoga instructors as one of the highest paid jobs with the most career growth, the reality is a little bit different.
It is possible to make a decent living, but there are many factors you’ll have to juggle to make it possible.
Remember, becoming a full-time yoga instructor doesn’t typically happen overnight. Instead, you’ll take many steps to get there.
1. Don’t Quit Your Day Job
This might sound harsh, but don’t quit your original job when you make the decision to teach yoga. You likely won’t be transitioning seamlessly to working full-time, unless you’ve been lucky enough to land a seriously killer opportunity.
You can reduce your hours to part-time and pick up yoga part-time until you build your client base. You can also decide to get a part-time job to pay your salary until you’ve gotten to the point where you can rely on teaching full-time.
2. Start a YouTube Channel or Yoga Blog
For some people, starting a YouTube channel or blog might sound incredibly embarrassing, but it can be a way to seriously pay your bottom line. Top performing YouTubers make an unlimited income, so it’s possible you can, too.
You can start a YouTube channel where you do some of your favorite flows, meant for people to watch and practice at home. Search for, or with your knowledge, start with some of the most requested flows and build from there.
Once you establish a core audience, you can start charging for custom and individualized videos.
A blog about all things yoga will also help attract readers and will establish you as a yoga influencer. From there, you can make money from not only ad revenue but also brand deals and sponsorships.
Your growing audience will also help increase the number of people who are aware of your work. They will then be more likely to want to know when you are doing local sessions. You might just see an increase in people who want to take classes from you.
3. Plan Yoga Retreats
A yoga retreat is an excellent way to make money. You can partner with yoga instructors or a hotel and plan an amazing weekend away. This can take place locally or abroad.
Target specific individuals for your yoga retreats, such as single women or working moms. Pair the weekend with some great speakers and a few other perks, and you’ll be taking home a profit.
4. Keep Your Students Informed with Email Lists
While this may not help you grow immediately and exponentially, it is a good way to keep your students in the loop about what you are doing. Encourage students to sign up to your list, and even offer a discount or a free session for doing so.
Once you have their emails, don’t abuse them, but rather use them to tell them about your upcoming retreats, classes, workshops and anything else you have going on.
5. Sell Merchandise
It may seem like only big stars and bands sell merch, but you can hop on the bandwagon, even if you’re just a local yoga instructor.
This doesn’t mean you have to create anything related to you personally, but with the rise of sites like Teespring, it’s never been easier to create designs and sell them.
If you work often in a studio or own a studio, you can also sell yoga attire to those taking your classes. Someone will always need last minute leggings or a bra, so it’s a guaranteed side income.
6. Teach at Local Businesses
While it may not seem like your local bank is interested in yoga, many corporate environments are turning toward hiring yoga instructors to help with employee health and well-being. Contact local businesses and see if they’re interested in a wellness day, and teach workshops and classes.
7. Don’t Ignore Colleges, Recreational Centers, and Mental Health Facilities
When you start teaching yoga, you might envision yourself at a yoga studio or working at a gym. But there are many places that teach yoga or would like instructors that you might be overlooking.
Colleges often offer yoga as part of their physical education. Recreational centers sometimes offer yoga as part of their offerings.
Mental health facilities and recovery units are a place many yoga instructors don’t even think about. Drug, alcohol and eating disorder rehab facilities often use yoga as a way to help with mindfulness.
Institutions that offer inpatient psychiatric care for other issues will sometimes offer yoga to their patients, as well. This is to help reduce stress and increase coping mechanisms.
8. Create an Online Yoga Course
You don’t need to be a YouTube sensation or a full-time blogger to create a yoga course. As more people are turning to the Internet to solve their problems, creating a well-priced yoga course could also bring in some extra income.
Create yoga courses on different topics, and offer them to individuals online. These could be things like yoga for recovery, yoga for depression, yoga for chronic illness, beginning yoga poses, yoga for the elderly, and many more. The possibilities for this one are endless.
If you create an online yoga course, you can also tie it in with retreats and workshops, particularly if you’re traveling for them. Encourage your students to come and meet you in person and do yoga with you on your retreat.
9. Run Workshops or Mini-Retreats
Not everyone can afford to go away for the week, let alone a weekend. Instead, bring the yoga retreat to those who are too busy to go on one and create a mini-retreat or workshop.
These mini-retreats can offer classes in several different kinds of yoga and wellness strategies. Or, you can simply offer to teach yoga to your students for several hours at a time.
Remember to advertise your mini-retreats or workshops in as many places as possible, including your email list or your YouTube channel.
10. Sell Other Products or Services
Yoga instructors are often regarded as wellness gurus. Capitalize on that by offering other services to your students that they can purchase.
This might include running a life-coach business, working with nutrition programs and offering meal plans for weight loss, or generally helping your students thrive in other areas of their lives.
Other ideas include selling essential oils, offering classes on mindfulness and organization or learning about and counsel individuals on various homeopathic remedies.
Moving Forward
The answer to the query of how much do yoga instructors make isn’t as clear-cut as it is with many other professions. Instead, it depends on a variety of factors. If you want to make a living working as a full-time yoga instructor, you will have to hustle.
You’ll need to constantly promote yourself and your brand to your yoga community as well as online. You need to keep others aware of and abreast of your plans, classes, and other ventures.
It may not be easy to make a living as a full-time yoga instructor, but that isn’t why you got into yoga in the first place. It may take some time to get there, but in the end, you’ll find personal fulfillment. That is ultimately priceless.
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