The life of a yoga and Pilates teachers in Australia is amazing, rewarding and full of challenges. The yoga teachers when ready to teach yoga in class have lots of expectations. New yoga and Pilates teachers in Australia have so much of enthusiasm and energy to give to the world but like the saying goes no occupation is a bed of roses, the reality is far much different.

However, if one learns and understands the technique to cope up with the yoga profession, the expectations are fulfilled in time and your dream to be successful in this career is then what you look forward to.

The life of a yoga and Pilates teachers  – Expectations

1. You will get handsome salary or revenue teaching Yoga
2. Taking smooth ongoing classes is your passion
3. You think lots of students will come to learn yoga
4. You will have ample time to spend free
5. There are lots of career options and getting a yoga teacher job is easy

The life of a yoga and Pilates teachers  – Reality

1. There is tough competition in yoga business
2. You find it difficult to get students
3. Yoga is not only spiritual practice but Yoga is a business
4. There are different teaching methodologies and you don’t know all.
5. You want space to teach and paying rent and other expenses are high

As a yoga teacher you expect that all will run smooth as you are into a legit bliss. Your life seems to be all bliss calm and peaceful.

1. Taking Classes a Challenge

When you go out practically doing the job of teaching yoga, you face the reality that you like any other normal human being are imperfect and might do mistakes. Remember how scary it seems to teach your first class. The sheer amount of studying and body conditioning involved; it is like being back in school all over again just this time with an added intensive physical aspect. 

The biggest anxiety is having to stand in front of a room full of students waiting, watching and judging you, as well as expecting you to have all the answers.

<< Challenges in the business side of yoga >>

Furthermore, to have to think ahead of the cues, the pose alignments and muscle engagements, and to remember to create that safe environment for the students to practice in, all while owning the room.

2. Getting Less Students

The more worrisome is when you struggle to find student to come to your class and you convince him or her to join your yoga studio. When there are less students coming to your class our seem that your life is falling apart.

In the real course of time things make you crazy and you find yourself burdened with so much of work like finding students, maintaining the accounts, booking classes and hiring staff plus other miscellaneous work.

3. Facing other issues

Then you dread the day a student asks for a request or has an injury that will stuff up the sequence you’ve planned, also you pray no pregnant ladies come to your core & twist focused class.

Your brain is getting more complex when you find oh this is really a business and you nee to have a license, insurance, pay tax, learn first aid/CPR. You never would have thought to learn some digital and technical stuff and now you have to as most of the teachers go for online classes, are so active on social media and you face the competitive stuff.

<< Read the reality check of becoming a yoga teacher >>

Expectation vs Reality – How to cope?

Expectation vs Reality equilibrium can be maintained by being more practical and working from the ground level.

• Prepare a road map and find what certifications you have and what you need. To become a yoga instructor, you need to learn yoga from a reliable and trusted yoga school. Find out which additional certifications or license you need to run your yoga business.
• Start taking yoga classes from home and find a local apartment on rent if you cant afford a big studio. You can initially borrow or get the yoga accessories for your studios that are in your budget.
• Opt for private or group classes to increase your income. Personal or private classes for individuals pay much better and remember that for this you need to have a good reputation for yourself among your clients.
• Have your presence at social media sites and create a fan page. The more admiration you will receive of what you are teaching and the way you are teaching can add more value to your yoga teacher personality.
• You need to work as a professional and opt for a booking system online to get your students booked for your classes. Then create a smart teaching schedule and when deciding on your timetable, select the days that you would most like to have off, and then commit to the days and classes that are the most time efficient. If you join Yoga studios who want yoga teachers note that they want you to be committed to their business and work for long term.
• Don’t be dull but be active to teach at least up to 20 classes a week. Always stay inspired and learn new ways of teaching different postures through the yoga sequence, to avoid repetition.
• While home practice usually takes its place, remember to stay connected to your original teachers or the school where you undertook your teacher training. This will help you feel supported and connected to the yoga community.

It’s imperative to conduct yourself in a professional manner and get the right financial and legal advice right from the start, because it will prove invaluable when you need it the most.

Ensure you have set up your finance, marketing, social media strategy and administration processes, remember to contribute to your superannuation fund, sign up for income protection insurance, allocate your wage each week, and know the terms and conditions associated with employment as an independent yoga teacher.

Teaching can be mentally, physically and emotionally draining, but once you find your sweet spot of how many classes works for you it’s a pretty amazing ‘job’! Remember you get to be uniquely you – teaching and sharing however you love to! Also you can pretty much always find a cover so you totally don’t need to work on day one of your cycle

Most yoga centers operate as a weird hybrid of business endeavor and spiritual community, and it’s a truly confusing mix. You have days that light up your soul, when a student comes up to you and tells you how much you’ve influenced their life, comes up at the end of class crying tears of joy and release, or a student gives you the biggest cuddle ever after a life-changing moment in class.

You get to use your life and all the stuff that happens in it as inspiration for your classes, showing your humanness and imperfections, sharing how you’ve learned from it all.

Finally Yoga is indeed a a wonderful, beautiful, rewarding journey. Keeping yourself updated with times, learning new skills to practice yoga, serving the community, and working diligently is what you should keep in mind as a yoga teacher.