r/YogaTeachers

i’ve been teaching for about 5 months and have just been offered another opportunity to teach at a local gym. i am curious if seasoned teachers use the same flow for multiple locations or might that get confusing/boring? i haven’t accepted, so am brainstorming how i could take on another weekly class without overloading my sequencing brain

I have been offering free / donation based classes as a new yoga teacher trying to gain experience. It has mostly been word of mouth and while everyone is excited and encouraging, I have gotten a lot of last minute cancellations (day of or a few hours before). I am wondering if anyone has an RSVP method for classes that are not paid for up front. Maybe a group chat or Facebook group? I am thinking of asking people to confirm the night before. By the time I have prepped the sequence, done the playlist, etc it’s a waste of time if no one shows. Of course all practice is good practice but trying to tighten things up a bit.
Thanks!

Ok random thought I had in the middle of night. We yogi’s usually flow / move from right side to left side. What are the actual “rules” here? I’m aware this is how prana flows within the body but I find it a bit confusing in some scenarios as I’ve noticed over the years teachers are different in how they approach it. For example…moving through a Sun A or B.. “right leg high, step through low lunge, rise up high crescent, root into right foot, left knee to chest one legged mountain..” right leg is clearly the dominant/foundation in this portion of class. Left side is more of the ‘supporting’ side. This idea makes sense in most class scenarios. But what about when in something like childs pose / mountain pose, and we cue side body opening by walking hands to right / left side of mat or a side bend either side. If we cue to walk hands right side of mat first.. the left side is being stretched or at least feels this is the more dominant / benefitting side. I’ve noticed some teachers will in fact cue left side first to target the ride side of our body’s, some cue right. Or a reclined supine twist… if you drop knees right first, it targets or left side more. Am I overthinking this? Did I miss something along the way?!Anyway, curious on your thoughts! Thanks in advance!

What the title says!! Did you apply through online job search platforms? Or ask local studios? Did you know someone? Did you ask a studio that didn't have an opening but still got a job? Did you climb up from a sub to a teacher? Did you have to shadow?

I'm looking for a job in manhattan/around that nyc area (dont mind a commute at all). I wonder how major cities or downtowns in general are in terms of competitiveness?

PS. Yes, this is my second post in a row!! Super nervous about the process and would love some guidence.

For yoga teachers, do you feel like the room itself affects the class?

Have you ever changed something in the room and noticed a difference with your students?

I wonder about things like the lighting or what’s on the walls. Does it really matter?

I'm applying to my first set of jobs to be a yoga instructor after wrapping up my yoga certification. Some roles are asking for CPR/First aid certification. There are an array online, but which ones are actually eligible for these jobs??

I ask because I saw the one from National CPR foundation which is 100% online and 15 dollars to get a certificate. I wonder if it upholds due to its lack of in-person training. I'm a student on a budget and want a budget-friendly option but also want a certificate that is valid. I definitely dont want to claim that i can help someone when I'm not a 100% well trained.

Let me know which certification you guys have!!! Thank you! this sub has been amazing as a teacher looking to enter the market

Is anyone familiar with this process? I would like to gift classes to people or join a yoga camp there. Any and all information would be appreciated :)

What happened to this sub over the last few weeks?

Maybe I didn't get the memo that the last of our human online spaces are finally succumbing to the maya and avidya of real, live humans becoming overrun by spam and engagement bots and dead internet "theory". It has happened to many a sub here on Reddit over time, but i thought for the longest time that this sub had the potential to be a stronghold.

Surely I'm not the only one to notice the lack of earnest activity and uptick in spam & bot posting here recently?

Maybe it's time to start the virtual r/yogateachers sangha group that was discussed some months back in order to see who here remains and is actually real? It is becoming increasingly difficult and futile to determine who here on this platform is real and the practice of yoga is supposed to lead us in search of the truth, free of the illusion and misperception.

*mild edit* in lieu of most of the responses being about lower attendance in actual classes due to the time of year: I am specifically talking about activity on the r/yogateachers sub over the last few weeks, which has not only been less than half the quantity of previous stretches of the same time period, but also poorer quality overall as well, and has shown an increase in bot / spam posts over the normal baseline amount of that we get around here. I have been around this sub for a few years now and don't remember a trend like this before in previous Augusts or other times of year in terms of actual quality and activity of posts on this sub Reddit.

I'm interested in how different yoga teachers here include guided meditation into their classes? Of course, meditative aspects can be present throughout the class, but do you include time for participants to have a still meditation practice in their class? What techniques do you guide them through? Do you have any resources you would recommend that helped you incorporate guided meditation into your classes?

I'm hoping to get some inspiration for my own teaching. I generally try to guide students through breath and body awareness throughout the Asana, rather than just going through the motions of the poses. I also sometimes do a little guided meditation at the start of shavasana, usually either a body scan / progressive relaxation or being present as an observer of their thoughts.

I feel a desire to expand the types of guided meditation that I feel comfortable leading in my yoga classes, but I also feel nervous at the idea. I find leading Asana and Pranayama practices is so much easier because I get instant visual feedback on whether my words are landing with people, while leading a still meditation practice feels more like I'm nervously throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping that it sticks. And of course, there is the big issue of trying to make space for every aspect of the practice in a 60 minute class, which I'm learning since starting teaching is a very short amount of time!

What’s your favourite way to transition?

Curious to know if your yoga studio celebrates religious holidays & if so, which religion?

It’s becoming more & more common to see yoga business in Australia celebrating Hindu holidays like Diwali or Navaratri BUT also Christmas which is a Christian holiday.

It’s also common to see images of Hindu or Buddhist deities in studios.

There’s a very multi cultural community in our area and we have a blend of Muslim, Christian/Catholic, Hindu, Sikh & Buddhist members.

So I’m wondering if you believe yoga studios should be pro religion or non secular kinds of places?

A neighborhood wants to hire me to teach two Yoga classes at their community center 1x a month. They have said it will be about a 3 hour time commitment broken down as follows:
-30 min set up
-Two 50 minute classes (1 family, 1 adult only)
-30 min clean up

They asked what I want to be paid.

I am a newer yoga teacher… RYT-200 with 7 months experience. I currently teach at my YMCA and make $25 a class. I’m unsure of how much to charge out on my own.

For reference, I live in Texas.

Any advice on price is much appreciated!

Just a little share on my experience attending the audition at Lifetime Gym NYC recently. For the record, I did not pass their audition but thought I’d share the experience for anyone curious.

I applied online via their website. You fill out a form and submit your resume + certificates. I received an email invite for their audition. First off… they specifically refer their audition as “Open Casting Call”. The email came with a form to confirm participation along with the details such as location, duration, and what to expect. The audition is 2 hours long and all applicants are expected to prepare “90 sec” demo to best show their teaching style and basically impress the panelists. The audition is round robin style and everyone is expected to stay for the full two hours. We were instructed to bring a current “headshot”. The confirmation link was really another open form that anyone could sign up for as long as they have the link.

During the day of audition… As we went down the hall, each one of us filled out a form that asked for our contact info, availability, and “Instagram handle”. Our headshot was taken and clipped to the form and we were given a sticker name tag with a number. The number was for reference and also the order we were going to take turns to teach. The number of applicants kept coming and there were a total of 85 people auditioning. Some have auditioned before. We were split off in two rooms. First 45 goes in room A and the rest goes in room B. We were given a prompt to cue for breath and drishti, as well as give some energy. The panelists were most of upper management and they were direct about saying that they are not specifically yoga people. They just manage the group fitness classes and facilities.

The audition started shortly as soon as everyone got into the room with their mats. The main panelist held a stopwatch and kept time. They were very strict on the 90 sec time. As soon as the time is up, they’d cut the person auditioning with a “thank you, next person please”. The room had no AC. It wasnt a heated room but I felt like slowly suffocating. Even the panelists were sweating profusely (you can notice from their shirts stained with sweat). Everyone brought their own character to stand out. There were different styles. After the last person finished, they announced that the audition is officially ended and that certain people will be called back for a 2nd round. Then everyone just dispersed.

2 business days later, I received an email saying that if we did not receive a separate invitation to come back, then it means they will not continue with our application at this time… But! They attached an offer to enroll in their in-house “instructor training program”. I kinda had a feeling that was what was going to happen. To sell hopefuls another opportunity or “pay to play with an advantage”. Because it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll get you the job. It just means they’ll teach you their style and gain some guidance but you’d still have to go through the audition process again.

I met some really great people and wonderful instructors I’ve kept in touch with. Majority of them did not receive an invite back but I did hear about 1 person that got a 2nd round invite for a later date. And this time the group will be smaller and each person will get 3 mins to audition. If you pass the 2nd audition, you get an invite for a 3rd audition which is the final stage.

It was a very interesting experience. Again, just wanted to share this with others who are curious to hear about audition processes and styles.

I had a chat with a company that offers corporate yoga classes last year, and they finally got back to me with some options for classes. Many years ago, I taught a few times as a volunteer, then a few times at a yoga studio, and later for a company that sent me to different luxury apartment buildings. I moved around quite a bit during that time, and those were all in different cities. Later I also taught at CorePower Yoga, but I only lasted about two months. One of the reasons I quit was that I dreaded having to repeat the same sequence over and over. I got bored after maybe the third class, even with some tweaks here and there. That was about three years ago, and I haven’t taught since. So I’m still very much a newbie teacher.

I’m a little scared to start teaching again, but I’m also excited about the possibility that this setup might actually work for me. For those of you who teach yoga, especially if you’ve been teaching for a while, any advice for someone new to teaching yoga for a corporate group? Do you think teaching in this kind of setup could be a good way to get back into it?

This sub seems to have gone to sleep for the last handful of days...so a question / topic to maybe wake it up a bit:

In teaching group classes, I have experimented with a handful of different ways of organizing and structuring the "curriculum" of what I'm actually teaching / sharing. It has ranged from being a bit more spontaneous and not really planning out or knowing specifically what I'm going to be teaching in the next class until maybe the few days leading up to the class (and finding something of interest or relevance from my own personal practice, though not necessarily with a multi class / week plan of continuity...) to saying "this month we are focusing on ___ and we will take each week / class to explore a particular aspect of that subject" in a way that not only layers on to itself but also melds with depth into what subject came before it the last month and the subject I have in mind for the next month, etc...you know, like an actual class or planned curriculum when learning a subject.

As a teacher, I have found value and satisfaction in both ends of the spectrum, and have done some kind of in between versions as well that are still structured thematically but less committed to a multi-month curriculum plan.

There are, as always, other factors at play, but I have noticed that the attendance and retention rate / students returning week after week has been better and more consistent with the planned curriculum approach (in addition to me announcing at the beginning of each class a reminder of what we're doing this month and week and that we are studying in this "serialized" structure.) It is a bit of a chicken / egg situation, though, bc part of what held me back from doing more of this structured curriculum approach in the past was not ever knowing who was going to show up for drop in classes, and it being a real mix of people I knew from past classes and brand new (to me or to yoga) students.

It has also been more focused for me and basically eliminated that "what am I going to teach this week / class??" feeling that can sometimes creep in and wreak a bit of havoc. It also helps give some focus to my own ongoing studies, that are going to be there no matter what as a part of my own personal practice, but at times can feel scattered in direction / continuity.

There also seems to be a nice opportunity within the structured theme framework to explore specific concepts or techniques with a bit more depth that is related directly to that class's theme, bc you know that's what the focus is and maybe even why some are there. It feels like the depth is more appreciated and appropriate as compared to a more general class that may have a theme but not one that is necessarily tied to a larger focus.

I'm not saying any approach is better than the other bc, as always, it depends and on so many things and there are many paths; I can appreciate both approaches for different reasons...I am more just sharing and asking the group what your experiences with this subject have been.

For reference, in this context I am talking about a recurring weekly, studio, all levels "hatha" style drop in class and not a specific series or workshop, etc. The class itself is basically ~80% the same from class to class, and I use that last ~20% for variation on whatever the theme / subject is, typically. This is all very intentional for multiple reasons, but part of it is to help students know, at least on a basic level, what to expect. I suppose it's no surprise that laying out themes / specific curriculum in this particular context that is already built on that being central in the first place is appreciated by students.

I realize that all of this is a bit context dependent and some of you likely teach in different formats than recurring drop in classes. I have read some comments in the past here that some of you even plan out your curriculum for the entire year + or that some plan themes / curriculum in coordination with the seasons, etc.

Feel free to share any experiences, etc you have had with this topic.

I’ve been looking into how different teachers manage their class flows, especially when starting out. I notice a lot of newer teachers relying heavily on sequence cards or trying to memorise everything by heart. The downside seems to be that it sometimes limits them from trying more innovative sequences or fresh, brand-new movements because it's just too hard to memorise complex flows.

For those who want to teach more creative, non-standard sequences and use a phone or tablet to keep track: how do you actually manage it while moving around the room to give adjustments? Do you use a specific app that makes this easy, or do you find yourself tethered to a paper script or a screen on your mat? Would love to hear your workflow!

My class is too hard. It’s not hard enough. They don’t like my music. My voice. My teaching style. My sequences. People leaving mid-class, students not returning. No acknowledgement, not a thank you, not even a “hello.” Hours spent planning a class that falls flat. Feeling like I almost have to coddle people with every single modification. The room is too hot, not hot enough. They want hands-on assists, they don’t want to be touched. I’m exhausted trying to keep up with the demands of each person who walks into the studio. I’m burnt out. I think it’s time to quit.

Hello. I hope everyone is alright with me discussing this kind of thing on this sub.

I am new to receiving teacher discounts, and, as a taller person, have been looking to upgrade to a long and wide mat, specifically the Mankuka PRO long and wide. Unfortunately, even with the teacher discount, it still costs $253 with the $40 over-sized shipping charge (no exceptions.) As someone not super financially well-off, I am debating waiting until they have one of their infrequent sales, such as Black Friday, but was wondering if anyone can recall if their sales stack with the teacher discount.

Cheers, and thank you kindly.