06/07/2025
Teaching yoga for a living has been the most demanding job I’ve ever done.
What once brought me peace — physically, mentally, and emotionally — has become a source of stress. And honestly? Doing what you love as your job isn’t always the best advice.
Let me explain:
• Many people don’t take yoga teaching seriously. There’s a constant battle for recognition and respect — especially when people see it as a “hobby job.”
• The field is saturated with part-time instructors who don’t rely on it to pay bills. In my area, many are wealthy women teaching casually from home studios built by their husbands hefty salary..Some of these women don’t even practice yoga themselves.
• Pay hasn’t changed in over a decade, while the cost of living has skyrocketed. So I work more — seven days a week — just to stay afloat. I carry my mortgage alone, and taking time off isn’t a luxury I can afford.
• Full-time yoga teachers give everything. We pour our energy, time, and bodies into this work. Yet part-time teachers (with a full-time job elsewhere) often get grouped in with us — and they’re rarely held to the same standards. That might sound harsh, but it’s true.
That said — big changes are ahead for me.
Soon, I’ll be cutting down on yoga classes and shifting into personal training. After teaching yoga full-time since 2012, I’m completely burnt out.
The endless driving, the rush to classes, the physical toll — it’s all taken its price. I’m ready for:
✔ A day off
✔ A pain-free body
✔ Respect for my work
✔ Reconnecting with my own yoga practice — for me
Funny how saying “I’m a yoga teacher” often gets blank stares… but “I’m a personal trainer” earns more respect. I’m still not sure why.
If you’re a full-time yoga teacher doing it for the love of yoga and a desire to share it: I see you. I respect you. You’re doing something rare, beautiful, and so, so hard.
You deserve recognition.
You deserve rest.
You deserve to be paid fairly.
