Avoiding Private Yoga Teacher Burnout

The other day I watched a video of a really awesome teacher talking about yoga teacher burnout, especially in the world of private teaching. This teacher is someone who I highly respect and have learned a LOT from. But I have to say that I think her advice completely missed the mark. She talked a lot about class scheduling and self-care, all great stuff. But if you want to avoid the pitfall of yoga teacher burnout, you have to think bigger and longer term.
 
First and foremost, if you’re teaching yoga, you ARE a businessperson and entrepreneur. PERIOD. So it’s time to start thinking like one. As a one-person show, if you think that teaching classes in-person is going to cut it, then you are going to get burned out quickly. You need to be thinking about how to scale up in the long-term and get paid even when you are sick, even when you need time off, etc. If you’re only teaching in person and this is your only ambition/plan, then that means your entire income is dependent on your ability to show up EVERY SINGLE DAY. No sick days, no vacations, no parental leave, no disability, etc. That sounds like a nightmare and a good way to run yourself into the ground.
 
So what do you do?
 
Step 1: Figure out who you are, what you know and turn that into a brand. You don’t have to be the world’s leading expert on a topic but I’m betting there are some topics out there that you’ve learned a lot about and can readily share with the world. Start honing those and make your brand all about that.
 
Step 2: Start sharing what you know and who you are with everyone who will listen. From this, you will start to build your tribe. Ask everyone you meet to follow you on your social media – right there and then – or get their email and start emailing them. Like NOW.
 
Step 3: Create a plan for growth. Think about ways you can make bigger bucks than what you’re getting paid right now for each class. This might mean workshops, trainings, online classes, a book, a TV show, a meditation album, guest writing on paid blogs/websites, selling photos to stock photography websites, and/or a hundred other things. But start shaping your career towards doing things that don’t require you to be present every single time.
 
Step 4: Sell. This one takes time. You have to do the other three things for a while before you can sell stuff. But eventually, you will be able to sell and you then you will be able to make a sustainable living that will enable you to take a day off once in a while or afford to live somewhere slightly bigger than a shoebox.
 
If you’re interested in the upcoming training, will talk a LOT about this in detail. I’m thinking the training will start sometime in May. Also if you’re interested, please feel free to email  me at jesal@yogawallanyc.com and let me know if a weekday/weekend works better for you. Right now, I’m thinking about Thursday afternoons. More to come and in the meantime, I hope this helps you to get started.