3 reality checks about being a yoga teacher
Remember when Kylie Jenner said it had been a year of ‘like…just realising stuff.´? No? Don’t watch the Kardashians? Good for you, srsly.
But anyway, much like Kylie circa 2016, I’ve had a few realisations myself (though mine were about becoming a yoga teacher and her’s were presumably entirely unrelatable and linked to her billionaire status and whatnot).
Without further ado, here are a few of my own personal #realisations (yoga teacher edition):
My personal asana practice changed drastically
Before I started teaching a lot, I’d unroll my mat around 5 times a week - whether at home or in studio - and practice in the way I most love: fast-paced, with challenging transitions and new tricks. Once I started teaching more, I realised that a) I didn’t always have time for my own practice and b) I often didn’t have the energy to practice in the way I used to.I’m not gonna lie, this has been a hard one to reconcile. On one hand, listening to your body when it’s saying ‘pleeeeeease bish, let me rest!’ is super important. But on the flip side, I often find myself worrying that my asana practice isn’t ‘advancing’ or that it’s being neglected.
All in all, I reckon the key is in remembering what yoga actually is (a super diverse practice and study of self) and what it isn’t (based in ego and aesthetics).
Impostor syndrome never goes far
I put off teaching for a long time because I felt like it was absolutely outrageous for me to even think I could be a yoga teacher. I thought that was a position reserved for super strong, flawless and flexible, serene goddesses (thanks Instagram) - of which I was clearly not one. Once I started to really understand the practice, I realised that having a mindset like that meant I had totally missed the point of yoga.
That said, it still comes creeping back in whenever a fellow teacher takes my class (are they judging my teaching style??), or a student who can do poses that I haven’t nailed yet (they obviously think my class is super lame and easy). But at the end of the day, you just gotta remember that there are people in the world that don’t like chocolate - and that just proves that everyone has inexplicably different tastes in everything and we can never possibly understand it and that’s a-ok.
3. It’s difficult to swing as your only gig (which is why it’s not my only gig)
Full-time yoga teaching sounds dreamy, but once I started teaching even a little, I realised that to keep loving the practice and the job, I’d need to do it in a way that felt sustainable to me. I speak only for myself of course, but teaching multiple classes a day, in multiple locations, to multiple people and levels didn’t seem like something I could do well for the long term.
The other side of this is that teaching yoga is notoriously not amazingly paid. That’s not to say that studios who pay and value their teachers fairly don’t exist - I’m lucky enough to work at one right now - but it’s not exactly the norm. So, while teaching is a big part of my overall job and I truly love to do it, it’s not my only gig (and I think for me that’s what’s allowed me to keep loving what I do!).
And there we have it, folks - a few things I’ve learnt since becoming a yoga teacher. Would I change it? CRIPES NO!
What about you - any realisations of your own? Let me know in the comments!
I’d also like to give you a little somethin’ somethin’ as a way of thanking you for being here - a guide to 5 x body-based anxiety hacks.
