How to Get a Job as a New Yoga Teacher Amanda Kingsmith, host of the M.B.Om podcast
Let's get started! This short book provides you with the top 4 things that you should do if you want to be successful as a new yoga teacher. There is a lot of competition in the yoga industry. Yoga teacher trainings are pumping out yoga teachers around the world, and although not every person who completes a yoga teacher training wants to teach, many of them do. Completing a yoga teacher training and stepping out into the world as a yoga teacher can be really intimidating. You may find yourself asking, what s next?, how do I get my first job? and what is the right way to go about even getting a job? I completed my yoga teacher training, and stepped out into the world asking those exact questions. Despite having a background in business and marketing, I had no idea how to market myself as a yoga teacher. How do you sell yourself as a yoga teacher when you have never taught yoga? And, how market yourself as something you ve really never done before? I had lots of ideas, but felt paralyzed by fear. Since then, I have successfully gotten teaching jobs at 4 yoga studios, worked as a studio manager for a studio that I love, taught multiple private clients, and taught many one off classes through athletic brands like Patagonia and lululemon. Before I got there though, I did a lot of things wrong, and learned a few things along the way., I want you to learn from my mistakes. In order to be successful with this workbook, I strongly recommend that you work through it at your own pace, and take time to do the activities provided.
One: Tell People You Want to Teach
1. Tell people you want to teach I took my 200 hour yoga teacher training (YTT) outside the town of Ubud in Bali, and when I returned home, I wanted to teach yoga; I ve been dreaming of being a yoga teacher for years. I was intimidated and scared though. I was living in a small mountain town where there are a TON of yoga teachers, and a lot of really amazing yoga teachers at that. I knew I wasn t at their level, so I felt like I couldn t teach at these studios where these amazing, super experienced teachers were teaching. So, I decided that I would play it cool. I wasn t in a rush to teach, so I would just take teaching gigs as they came. Being passive helped protect my ego, but it didn t help me get classes to teach. The reality is that teaching gigs usually do not just appear. They will not simply be handed to you as a new yoga teacher. In the first 3 months after I completed my YTT I taught a total of 4 classes, basically one class a month. At the time, I felt like this was a good start to my career. I told myself that I was easing myself into it, and getting the hang of this teaching thing slowly. The truth is that it will take you decades to become a good yoga teacher if you are only teaching once a month. It will take you years to build your resume up to a point where a studio owner will feel confident and trusting in your ability to teach. What should you do instead? If you want to be a yoga teacher, the first step is to tell people that you want to be a yoga teacher. People don t read minds, so if you don t tell them that you want to teach, they will never know and you won t get a job. Once you tell someone that you are interested in teaching, and that you are willing to teach, they have the opportunity to think of you the next time they need a sub, or they hear of someone else needing a sub
Activity Put together a list of 7-10 influencers in your yoga community and /or people that you could tell about your desire to teach yoga. These could yoga teachers, studio owners, friends who practice yoga, the barista at your local coffee shop, your best friends, or your mom. The more people that you can tell about completing your YTT and wanting to teach the better. Once you had put together your list, strike up a conversation and begin putting yourself out there! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Two: Connect with Studio Owners in Person
2. Connect with stuio owners in person Once I realized that my whole playing it cool tactic was not helping me to get teaching gigs, I decided to step up my game and send emails to local yoga studios. What I didn t realize at the time is that this is a yoga studio owners nightmare. Firing off an email is not going to get you anywhere (in most cases). Why not? Imagine yourself as a yoga studio owner. You have a group of amazing teachers that you trust, and you have a group of dedicated yogis that have come to love your brand. You work hard to maintain your group of dedicated students, and you consider them to be like family. My students are like my children, and I m not going to leave my children with a babysitter I ve never met before! stated Canmore-based studio owner, Jeff Mah. You are probably great, but that studio owner doesn t know that yet. The rapport and trust has not been established, and it is not going to happen via an email. I can personally attest to that. I sent out 5 emails introducing myself and telling people about who I am and why they should hire me. I waited. And waited. And got nothing in return. What should you do instead? If you want to teach at a yoga studio, show your face. Go to that studio, take a class, and introduce yourself. Make time to get to know the studio, the teachers, and the studio owner. Create rapport with the studio owner, the studio manager (if there is one), and the other teachers that teach there. Make sure that that studio feels like a good fit for you. Ask yourself if you can really, truly see yourself teaching at that studio. Do they offer classes that you could confidently sub? Is your style and method of teaching similar to the other teachers already at the studio?
Once you have determined that the studio is a good fit for you and create rapport with the studio owner, express interest in teaching there. This is key, because, as you know, people do not read minds. This step may sound tedious, and in a lot of ways it is, but if you want to teach yoga, it is very important. Note: It can be difficult to introduce yourself face to face if you are passing through town and hoping to teach, scheduling workshops on the road, or moving to a new place. If this is the case, I would recommend that you send a really well composed email sharing why you should be hired, and what makes you unique. Include testimonials or reviews from past studio owners that you have worked for and students you have taught, and always attach a high quality, professional resume.
Activity Begin by compiling a list of yoga studios in your area, and then researching which studios look like they would be a good fit for you and your teaching style. Create a list of 3-5 yoga studios that have serious potential for you to teach at. 1. 2. 3. 4. Now, take your list of yoga studios, and begin to research who the studio owner is and when that studio owner teaches. Make time in your schedule to go to these classes and introduce yourself. Put these classes in your calendar to help hold you accountable to going. Notice your resistance to going to these classes. Don t push it away, just notice it and accept it for what it is.
Complete the following chart to help you with the planning phase of meeting your potential new bosses. Yoga Yoga Studio Studio Owners When am I available to What am I Studio Owner Teaching Schedule go to class? resisting?
Three: Be Prepared to Work for your Job
3. Be prepared to work for your job After I sent out emails to the yoga studios in my area, I waited a few days. A few days turned into a few weeks, before I realized that this strategy wasn t amounting to anything. My email either hadn t been read, or had been pushed aside due to more pressing matters. So, I began step 2, just as you did, and set out in search of meeting studio owners that I wanted to teach for. Things were looking up for me. What I did not expect was what came next, and what came next was completely out of my comfort zone. I met with a studio owner who was interested in learning more about me, and she asked me to do a teaching demonstration for her. It was exactly like an interview, but with teaching. I had never done anything like it before, and I wasn t really sure what to expect. I showed up fidgeting and nervous, my palms sweating profusely. It was just the studio owner and I; she asked me a few questions about myself, my teaching, and then I lead her through about 10 minutes of a class. Following the class, she gave me both positive and constructive feedback, and then offered me a job. I was beyond ecstatic! Since then, I have also done a teaching demo at a staff meeting with a room full of yoga teachers. Talk about intimidating! In hindsight, it was foolish of me to expect anything less than showing a teacher my style and skill as a yoga teacher in the form of a professional teaching resume and a demonstration, and I would recommend the same for you. Note: Once you have secured a gig at a yoga studio, I advise you to continue reaching out to new studio owners. Things are constantly changing in the yoga
industry, and as an employee at a yoga studio, your job is never 100% secure. Studios shut down, change ownership, etc., so it is important to always keep yourself open to meeting new studio owners and new opportunities. One of my best yoga teacher friends, Katie Roll, was teaching at 4 different studios when I met her, and she was always open to meeting a new owner or trying out a new class. It s easy to convince yourself to stop looking for new opportunities once you have something secure, but knowing the owners and managers of 10 studios opens up a ton more opportunities than knowing if you only know 1 or 2. How should you prepare? After you have expressed face-to-face interest in teaching at a yoga studio, be prepared to show that yoga studio owner your skills as a yoga teacher in the form of a resume and / or in the form of a teaching demo. Put together a professional, thoughtful resume to send off, and most definitely prepare before a demo. This is your time to shine and prove that you are worthy of that studio. This is not the time to half-ass it. Get clarity on what is expected for your teaching demo, and how long you are going to be teaching for. Prepare to teach for approximately 10-30 minutes, and teach a variety of poses to show your skills as a teacher. Most of us have a resume that we created in high school or college, but your yoga teacher resume should be different. When creating a resume, ensure that the information on it is interesting and relevant. Anything that does not directly impact you as a yoga teacher is probably not relevant for your yoga teacher resume.
Activity Prepare a 10-15 minute sequence that you would teach a yoga studio owner for a demonstration. Make sure to include introductory meditation and breathwork, warm up, a standing sequence, a balance pose, a seated pose, a backbend or inversion, and a 2 minute savasana. Make a list of your teaching qualifications, experience and achievements that you would want to include in a resume:
Four: Be a "yes"!
4. Be a "yes"! So you have connected with a yoga studio owner, provided a resume and done a demo. And now that studio owner wants to hire you. Congrats! You have now been added to the sub list at this studio, and sub requests are going out every week for different classes. Each time one comes out, you check your calendar and hum and haw over whether or not you want the class. Hours later, a second message comes through that the class has been taken and you have missed your opportunity. You feel relieved because you don t have to change your dinner plans with your friends or get up earlier than you like. That s all fine and dandy, except that you will never get experience as a new yoga teacher this way. What should you do instead? As a new yoga teacher, you will almost never just get a regular teaching slot. You need to earn the yoga studio owners trust. How might you do that, you ask? Plain and simple: say yes whenever you can. If you are serious about getting experience and being a teacher, you will get up early to teach at 6am, you will miss out on wine night with your friends to teach, and you will give up your lunch hour to teach. You need to gain as much experience as you can to improve your teaching skills. Offer to teach your family or friends, or exchange yoga teaching for other services (like haircuts, for example). Just because you have landed a teaching gig at a yoga studio, does not mean you can stop learning. Continue to add to your resume by getting as much experience as possible and improving your skills as a yoga teacher.
Activity 1. You open your phone and pull up your email. There is sub request for next Wednesday at 6am. No one has responded claiming the class yet. You hate mornings, but you know that it is important to say yes to opportunities like this to gain experience. How will you remind yourself that the experience is worth the sacrifice of getting up early? 2. Your friend has invited you out for dinner next Wednesday night. You are super excited that she has invited you, AND she s planning to go to your favorite restaurant that you haven t been to in ages. You send a quick message back saying you ll be there, but later on, you remember that you already committed to teaching. You immediately feel bummed, and consider subbing out that class. How will you remind yourself that the experience is worth the sacrifice of missing dinner with your friends?
Conclusion In summation, be sure that you are telling as many people as possible that you want to teach. Repeat activity #1 as many times as possible! It never hurts to practice getting yourself out there. Continue to go out and meet studio owners, studio managers and teachers in person - ask them to go for coffee to get to know them better, and turn them from strangers to friends! Then, once you ve landed a demonstration, be sure to be prepared. Even if you ve been teaching for a number of months or years, it never hurts to sit down and really think about how you are going to showcase yourself best in a short window of time. And once you ve gotten on the sub list for a studio, consistently be a yes man! Congrats on completing the workbook and getting your first job as a yoga teacher! Want to learn more? Check out the M.B.Om podcast on itunes or Stitcher.
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