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Shortly after I graduated from yoga teacher training, I landed a slot on the schedule at a recent studio. I needed to put considerable effort and time into preparing my first sequence, and since it was a day class, I needed to navigate Los Angeles rush hour traffic to get to the studio. Still, I used to be captivated with finally having the ability to teach!

The day of my first-class, I walked into the studio early and waited for college students to reach. Eventually, I got here to the belief that nobody was going to indicate. That was disappointing in itself, but because that studio’s payment structure was based on the number of scholars who attended, I used to be paid nothing for my efforts. By the top of my drive home, I knew that teaching situations like that weren’t going to work for me.

That have forced me to fastidiously consider how I wanted to construct my yoga teaching profession. For me, that meant regular, reliable opportunities that enabled me to be of service to others as I discovered my voice and honed my skills. It wasn’t until I got clear about this that I could select opportunities properly relatively than say yes to any opportunity.

Not long after, I started teaching Ashtanga at a few local Ys because of a connection from my YTT. In time, two classes each week became 4 classes. The setting wasn’t ideal, but I loved having the ability to make a standard practice accessible to folks who probably wouldn’t attend a yoga studio. And the compensation wasn’t huge, however the teaching was regular. And when I ultimately opened my very own shala, or dedicated yoga practice space, lots of my regulars from the Y followed and have become my first contributing members.

Where You Can Teach Yoga Beyond a Studio

I counsel anyone searching for a teaching position to avoid the latest, trendiest, and sometimes even probably the most established yoga studios. As a substitute, I encourage exploring unconventional locations where you may concurrently expand yoga’s reach and gain precious experience. This is applicable not simply to recent teachers but to anyone who’s trying to expand the scope of their teaching.

There are a lot of ways to get experience in your teaching endeavors. Imagine if we were capable of spend most of our time getting within the trenches and sharing this transformative practice with an increasing number of folks in the true world. It is probably not glamorous, but it surely definitely is fulfilling. And it provides us with something that is crucial—the actual experience we want to turn into effective teachers. Following are among the places you may explore.

(Photo: Xu Wu | Getty)

Community Centers

Because yoga has turn into so widely accepted, places akin to the local Y, libraries, civic centers, and parks and recreation facilities commonly offer classes for his or her members or the general public.

Those years I spent committed to my classes on the Y were instrumental in learning teach individuals who were brand recent to the practice. It also allowed me to construct a dedicated student base.

Schools

Teaching kids (and their teachers!) is one other strategy to share yoga with individuals who may benefit from ways to center and calm themselves. Again, this may increasingly require specialized training, but there isn’t any shortage of children yoga teacher training programs.

If you happen to are a parent, you would reach out to your child’s school—preschool, grade school, junior high, and even highschool—to see in the event that they can be concerned about offering yoga to the kids (or the grown ups!). I taught at an area charter highschool in my early years, and it was quite plenty of fun. I discovered that teenagers generally had a difficult time focusing, but they brought great energy and playful humor to the classes.

Outdoor Spaces

Soon after YTT, I started to supply weekly Ashtanga classes to my friends at an area park. I offered them as donation-based because they were a way for me to achieve experience teaching in a low-stakes setting. I also got an education in what it takes to run a business. For instance, I learned that sending weekly reminders and showing up consistently, regardless of sophistication size, were very essential.

If you happen to plan to show at a park, beach, or other public outdoor space, check to see if a permit is required. If the permit process is pricey or inconvenient, you would as an alternative take an easier route and teach in your backyard or that of a friend or member of the family. We frequently have people in our lives who’ve a desire to practice yoga; they only need a time and place to indicate up with someone they trust. That somebody might be you!

(Photo: ljubaphoto | Getty)

Wellness Centers

Some acupuncture clinics, Ayurveda centers, massage studios, mental health counseling offices, and therapy groups also offer yoga classes to assist people satisfy lots of their wellness needs in a single location. Reach out to your favorite practitioner and offer your services as a yoga teacher. This may be a possibility to construct a non-public teaching practice for those who are concerned about working with folks one on one.

Vulnerable Populations

If you happen to feel called to bring yoga to those that would profit from this practice but who aren’t capable of travel to attend classes, consider teaching at a treatment center, an elder-care facility, a jail, or hospital.

I taught for a few years at a middle for ladies recovering from eating disorders and still maintain a reference to one in every of the scholars. During one in every of my classes there, one other student fainted. Thankfully, the opposite students rushed to call for help, the coed who fainted was alright, I adjusted what I used to be offering, and we were capable of proceed the category. That moment showed me that teaching vulnerable populations comes with unique challenges. These students can have a history of trauma or physical conditions that will require them to maneuver quite slowly or avoid certain movements altogether. It’s essential to acquire specialized training when mandatory and all the time work with the staff to be sure that you’re meeting the scholars’ needs.

Once you start teaching, consistency is crucial. It’s our responsibility to earn and hold a student’s trust with the respect it deserves and show up fully with humility and presence. Erica Morton Magill has been facilitating yoga in prisons for 17 years by teaching and training other teachers in trauma-informed approaches to yoga.

“In unconventional settings like prisons, schools, and rehabilitation centers, the essential foundation of a yoga class is relational: we’re growing a way of safety, strength, softness, trust, curiosity, and community as a team,” says Magill. “These classes are typically therapeutic, continually centering across the unique challenges, needs, and constraints of the power, the day, and the people present.”

(Photo: Thomas Barwick | Getty Images)

Gyms

Gyms are, after all, more fitness oriented than a typical yoga studio. But many offer yoga classes due to how useful the practice is for increasing strength and adaptability, reducing stress, and promoting overall well-being.

As with a community center, a gym setting could also be noisy with vibrant lights and mirrored partitions—not probably the most conducive environment for gazing inward. But teaching at a gym almost guarantees that students will show as much as your every class. And since students may have diverse body types and ranging experience levels with yoga, teaching them will offer you precious experience. Also for those who are a multidisciplinary teacher with expertise in dance, pilates, or other movement-based practices, you will have the chance to show those modalities as well.

Corporate Offices and Residential Communities

As of late, many of us would love to include yoga into their on a regular basis routine but are too busy. To satisfy this demand, many firms offer wellness experiences, including yoga classes, on to their employees. The identical is being done in lots of urban apartment complexes so residents don’t even have to go away the constructing.

After completing her YTT, Jessica Kang spent three years teaching abroad. She walked right into a high-rise apartment complex and asked in the event that they’d prefer to offer yoga to their residents. They said yes. Within the years since, she’s built an organization, Yogis On The Move, that brings yoga and other fitness and wellness experiences to greater than 40 apartment complexes in Southern California.

“It does offer some challenges, akin to sharing spaces which might be out of our control, however the properties’ teams are very accommodating to our requests and concerns,” says Kang. “Technically, we’re teaching at people’s homes and the scholars that join us love the incontrovertible fact that we come to them, which makes it very convenient and more accessible.”

Remember What Teaching Yoga Is About

Magill reminds us that it’s a privilege to show yoga, irrespective of the setting. As she explains, the practice “palpably transforms everyone within the room.” How inspiring it’s to bring yoga to places beyond the same old confines of a studio.

About Our Contributor

Pranidhi Varshney is the founding father of Yoga Shala West, a community-supported Ashtanga Yoga studio in West Los Angeles. She can also be mother to 2 children who she describes as “courageous and smart little beings.” The thread that runs through all her work is the need to construct community and live from the guts.