Teaching Yoga and Keeping it Fun

Yoga is an enjoyable workout because it relieves tension, stretches you out, and strengthens you. I was a yogi for about seven years before I became a teacher. I taught for five years and was making about $1,200 per month on the side. Here's how I built up my business:

1. I became licensed. Getting licensed in yoga is wide open to interpretation. I've seen great teachers who were "licensed" over a weekend. This can be done through lots of organizations. I went to a four week course in California at the Ananda Center. The fact is, there is no standard yoga license that is approved by a state. The word license means that some organization gave you some kind of training and a piece of paper. This piece of paper is required for getting a teaching slot at a fitness center or a yoga studio. If you were to ask a manager at a fitness center or even a yoga studio to be specific about what kind of license they require, they probably couldn't tell you. Many studio owners have no such license, they've just been in the business a long time. Basically, it's a made up concept, but required to get your foot in the door so your fitness center can cover its butt legally.

2. I asked my yoga teacher to put me down as a substitute. I started getting gigs immediately through her. Once I subbed at a few fitness centers, the fitness centers themselves put me on the sub list. I remember the first class I ever taught. I just kept telling myself, "These people have no idea that you are totally inexperienced at this, and they WON'T know unless you tell them." I was scared out of my mind, but once I got into it, my instructions started rolling off my tongue as though I been doing it all my life. Basically, I just did what my teacher did. I then asked the manager of my fitness center, where I had been a member for five years, to let me teach at her club. She was a huge help and gave me a couple of classes a week for the whole time I taught.



3. This whole teaching thing was good for my personal growth on a lot of levels. I had to get out of my comfort zone to in order to ask people to let me teach at their clubs. I frequently taught students who were new to yoga. Some liked what was going on in class, some didn't. I had to be on time, learn different stereo set ups, drive around town, and eat irregularly. If my muscles were sore from overworking, the show still had to go on. I remember one time I taught for two months with a cold I couldn't shake because it never quit raining. But here's the thing, when I was in front of a class, I was totally alive. I was flooded with adrenaline, so I didn't feel the hunger or joint pain or exhaustion during class. There were some corporate fitness classes of mine, like Texas Instruments, Abbott Labs, and the Millennium Center where I truly felt loved as a teacher.

4. There's a bit of a difference between yoga at a fitness center and yoga at a yoga studio. Yoga at a fitness center is full of professional people and office workers who come from all different backgrounds and religions. If a teacher tries to get too froo froo or spiritual, it can backfire in a corporate setting. The students want to be entertained to some extent. Coming from an office environment myself, I could keep it light and funny and speak the lingo. People talking and laughing was cool with me. As I saw it, we were there to work out and have fun. Even at yoga studios, my classes laughed a lot.



5. Dessert: Guided Meditation. I heard a really good form of guided meditation from one of my classmates at yoga teacher training. It was actually the best part of my class. Basically it would either put people to sleep or into a light hypnotic state. Men were especially susceptible to my guided meditation voice. I had one or two people ask me for a tape of my guided medication so they could sleep at night. It starts with "Imagine yourself breathing in through your toes. Relax your toes (breath), relax you feet (breath), relax your ankles (breath), and on your next exhalation, relax even more." Each body part is covered up the legs, torso, arms, neck and head, and each time you say another body part, it is in time with the breath. Then once we get past the scalp, I would offer some sort to visualization like the beach and ocean. Many students would be out cold before we got to the torso. I use this on myself (in my head) for purposes of falling asleep.

If you are just starting out, there are several ways to get into yoga. Classes are great and teachers give you feedback so that you know if you are doing it right. But if you don't have access to a class you can buy some good DVD's to play at home. I recommend going to the library and checking a few out. Different people have different styles, personalities and levels of difficulty. Many are overly challenging for beginners, especially if you are out of shape or stiff as a board. Don't waste your money on something you'll only watch once. Try a few from the library and whichever fits your taste, go out and buy it. I like Kathy Smith Yoga and White Lotus Yoga. Keep in mind, you WANT it to be a little bit beyond your current capabilities. You will grow into it and work up to most positions over time if you keep at it a couple of times a week. When I first started out, I thought it was the greatest experience you could have. I hope it gives to you all it gave me.