Do you crave teaching more yoga than you presently are - even full-time? Have you crunched the numbers and thought out the logistics, to see if that might be possible for you? Teaching can be fulfilling and magical like nothing else, but it’s not exactly an easy career path. Our bodies, bank accounts, and free time can take a hit. It often requires sacrifice. Let’s break this down into things to consider in your decision whether or not to teach more.
1. The why - what do you really want with more teaching?
Looking at this question, with non-attachment and honest objectivity, can help to better understand what the shift will most likely look like for you - both in how you plan it, and if it will be genuine (and thus most likely successful in the long run). Are you compelled by the magic that happens in the classroom?
If you’re thinking it will guarantee a comfortable income, think again. Many yoga instructors do make a comfortable income, but that is after many years of building private clientele, student following, workshop themes and content, retreat contacts, and teacher training syllabi. It doesn’t happen overnight.
The hard truth of it is that all has to come with concrete steps. Are you passionate about social justice and bringing yoga to the underprivileged? How about looking into funding for programs for at-risk youth? Have a personal connection to cancer survivors and those undergoing treatment? Look into programs at oncology centers - where yoga is practiced more and more nowadays (and more and more verified by empirical research).
2. The how - Can you make it work?
As mentioned, yoga instructors can make quite a comfortable living, but it takes a lot of hard work and time (which can’t just be bypassed) to get there. If you’re already in a tenuous financial situation (such as with debt, college tuitions or newborn children on the way, or a medical issue that will require funds for treatment), financially speaking it might not be the right time for the leap into teaching more. Perhaps you have a spouse or other family members who can help financially for a time. Perhaps not.
This is all somewhat under the assumption that, presumably, in order to teach more you’d have to scale back (or leave entirely) other employment, or bypass searching out and applying for perhaps more financially stable work. This is a cold, dispassionate look at financial realities.
Other things to consider in this hard look at whether or not increasing your yoga instruction is tenable in your unique situation, are transportation and opportunities within your regional area. If you do not have a car, and rely on public transportation, is it widespread and reliable enough to get you to a variety of teaching locations on time? Are there a good number of potential teaching opportunities close to you, or will you have to travel through several towns in order to make it all viable?
If you may try teaching more, and you find that it’s not sustainable, that’s okay too. Every experience, “good” or “bad”, is a learning one. In a following article, I’ll discuss ways to sense when too much is too much, and those for stepping it back. Please stay tuned!
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