Life as a Yoga Teacher

Ups and Downs of Sharing My Passion

September 22, 2023

As a yoga teacher for over 5 years now, I’m often asked about my journey to teaching and what life is like guiding others in this profound practice. While incredibly rewarding, it’s also demanding to balance teaching with my own practice, managing a studio, and continuously growing as an instructor. Here’s an inside look at my experience spreading yoga’s gifts along with the joys and challenges I navigate.

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Why I Became a Yoga Teacher

I took my first yoga class around 2010 to relieve stress after starting my career in marketing. I was amazed by how much better I felt physically and mentally! I also loved the sense of community in class. I soon found myself practicing 4-5 times a week and reading yoga books voraciously. My teachers and fellow yogis felt like family. I knew I wanted to share these gifts with others.

I completed my 200-hour training and apprenticed under my teacher for a year before feeling ready to hold my own classes. I’ll never forget the excitement of that first class I planned solo! Seeing my students relax and smile as they settle into savasana filled me with the most profound sense of purpose.

Fulfilling Aspects of Teaching Yoga

My favorite parts of teaching include:

Watching students improve and gain confidence in their practice over time. Nothing compares to student breakthroughs!
Hearing how yoga has changed their lives – alleviating back pain, reducing anxiety, helping pregnancy, etc.
Introducing beginners to yoga’s transformative power.
Bonding over our shared love of ancient movement and mindfulness. My students feel like family.
Constantly deepening my own study of poses, anatomy, philosophy, and meditations. Teaching forces you to know your stuff!
The creativity of sequencing classes – I love the challenge of keeping classes fresh.
Learning from my own teachers and being part of a teaching community. It can feel isolating without camaraderie.

No matter how stressful my days get, teaching yoga brings me back to my purpose.

Pain Points of Yoga Instruction

That said, the path isn’t always smooth! Some difficulties include:

Work-life balance – hard transitioning from my demanding day job to teaching evenings and weekends. The danger of burnout is real.
Business aspects – I wasn’t prepared for the challenges of owning a studio – marketing, finances, payroll, etc. It’s a constant learning curve.
Managing student expectations – Some want advanced poses before building foundational skills which can lead to injury or frustration. I remind them it’s a journey.
Preparing new material – It takes a lot of time outside of class to create balanced sequences and update my teaching cues.
Physical demands of demonstrating poses – Being on my feet for 1-2 hours per class and staying nimble for assists takes stamina!
Dealing with student crushes – Yes, even teachers have to gracefully handle students developing attraction. Establishing boundaries from the start is key.
Quelling my inner critic – Some days I’m still plagued by self-doubt. But I remind myself teaching skills continuously evolve.

Teaching fulfillment overshadows the struggles. I’m blessed to play a role in students’ journeys of self-growth and discovery. Yoga teaches us resilience – I must remember that during challenging moments on this path. I hope my experience gives you an inside look into this beautiful but demanding profession! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions.