S02 E05: For the teachers out there: no one wants to talk about the business of yoga

We made this episode especially for yoga teachers out there and after receiving numerous requests on this topic. The business of yoga. Not many yoga teachers want to do business, when you boil it down, the business has no place in yoga because it is a practice of connecting community, self-discovery, letting go of attachments and fears, living in the present, and knowing that everything you were born with is all you really need. Marketing, spreadsheets, and making money don’t fit in this equation well! The reality is we are participants in modern society, we are ‘householders’ as per the yogic texts. We are not devout yogis who have given up all worldly possessions to live in a cave and meditate to reach Samadhi or enlightenment. We think our duty as teachers is to share the practice with others to help make their lives better. If you’re a yoga teacher let us assure you, no one will walk up to you on the street and ask you to teach them yoga these days. How do you teach people yoga if you don’t have anyone to teach? You gotta reach people somehow! Unfortunately marketing yourself is the way to do it, we don’t like it either, but through years of service as teachers, we have faced the facts and realised we needed business skills to run a self-employed small/sole trader business. We also live in a society where we are financially responsible for paying rent, groceries, utilities, and the clothes on our backs. Living scantly causes stress and anxiety and it is no place to teach yoga. Creating abundance for yourself is self-care, and you need to take care of yourself to teach yoga to others as part of your service. We discuss planning your year, organising retreats, and using Instagram and branding/websites.