Yoga Teacher Talk is a series dedicated to all things related to new, current, or aspiring yoga teachers with the hope to spark conversation at the YBC Yoga Forum, where we have a space for current and aspiring yoga instructors to chat. This week's post comes from Rachael Cook, the founder of The Yogipreneur. Racheal Cook is a green smoothie enthusiast, restorative yoga advocate, and business strategist who works with yogi-hearted entrepreneurs to create more ease and less stress in their business.
Many aspiring yoga teachers have this idyllic vision of what their future career will look like - teaching incredible life-changing classes in these beautiful yoga studios or retreat centers, surrounded by students simply glowing with inspiration.
Except really, for many yoga teachers, the reality is a LOT of hustling from studio to studio, teaching upwards of 15+ classes per week, and wondering why you're feeling so darned exhausted when you thought turning your passion into a career would be the road to bliss.
Yoga Teacher Burnout.
It's the biggest topic that no one tells you until you experience it - then the stories come out. You finally realize that the teachers you adored as a student were really overwhelmed and running on fumes after teaching 6 days a week.
And when you're burning out - you stop making time for your own practice. You forget about the tools you have at your disposal to create more ease and less stress in your career. Suddenly, you're disconnected from your Source and not walking your talk.
So what's the antidote to Yoga Teacher Burnout?
Here's the honest truth - you can't give what you don't have.
When your inspiration tank is running on fumes, you're going to struggle to inspire your students! This is a dangerous place to be - suddenly teaching yoga is draining instead of inspiring. It's a slippery slope that can even lead to resenting teaching and all the energy it takes to keep up with this lifestyle!
It's time to hit the pause button and remember that the BEST yoga teachers walk the talk. They understand that making their yoga practice, their self-care, and their own growth and development isn't optional - it's essential to creating a career and a life you love.
If you're ready to help your students fall in love with yoga, you need to fall back in love with teaching yoga. Here’s three ways to get started:
1) Leverage Your Teaching
Let's get really honest about something - just because you're teaching 10 classes a week doesn't mean that you're only working 10-15 hours per week. It often takes HOURS to prep for your weekly classes, creating your lesson plans, putting together playlists, and finding inspirational passages to share. Not to mention the time it takes you to travel to your classes, set-up, and talk to students after class!
We each get 168 hours per week - so how can you work smarter so you can earn more and work less?
It's time to look beyond the studio. Teaching group classes alone is often not the path to a sustainable yoga teaching career. Once you expand to higher-value offerings such as workshops or a class series, or adding private clients to your schedule, you'll find yourself working fewer hours while making the same or MORE money. And when you're not burning out just to pay the bills, you free up time and energy to upgrade your own practices.
2) Redefine Self-Care
The idea of “self-care” often conjures up visions of being pampered at the spa and long massages {which we LOVE of course!}, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. To really fall back in love with yoga and adore what you do, you need to redefine self-care to include PROFESSIONAL self-care.
While pampering is lovely, as a professional self-care means that you honor your boundaries and get intentional about saying NO. That's right - saying NO is really professional self-care!
This is probably the opposite of what you've been told. Many yoga teachers are told they need to say YES to every opportunity that comes their way, every workshop that peaks their interest, and teach as much as humanly possible.
And while saying YES to everything will probably help you get some experience, it won't help you consciously design a career that you really love. Remember, we only have 168 hours a week! So when you say YES - is it 100% aligned with your vision for your teaching career? Is it 100% aligned with your ideal schedule? Is it a YES based in love and genuine excitement {or a YES based on fear of missing out}?
Professional self-care means you understand what YOU NEED to show up fully as a teacher. You value your own time, your own development, and your own practice... and are ready to say 'Thanks, but NO' to opportunities that aren't moving you in the direction of your dream yoga career.
3) Let It Go.
As yogis, we intellectually understand that we need to practice non-attachment. But really, many of us struggle to acknowledge when something just isn't working for us and step away from it! Why? Because we are ATTACHED to what letting go might mean.
It's time to let go of anything that isn't working. This does not mean you're a failure. It doesn't mean you didn't try hard enough. Sometimes, the answer isn't pushing HARDER to attempt to make something work. It's stepping back, looking objectively at the situation, and make a conscious choice.
Taking a hard look at what’s not working is a good place to start. Tap into what things make you unhappy or uncomfortable as you go about your week. Those emotions may be a signal that it’s time for you let go of that class, that student, that studio or whatever else it is. By letting go what’s not working, you’re opening up space for new opportunities that are truly in alignment with YOU.
As you work on falling back in love again with teaching yoga, keep in mind that you didn’t fall out of love overnight, so this may take some time. Creating the intention for approaching your teaching with more love, then following these steps will have you heading in the right direction towards a profitable, sustainable, and fulfilling yoga career.
Let's talk Are you a yoga teacher? Have you experienced burnout? Any other tips you would add?
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