Readers, your help is required.
I am currently writing the world’s longest blog post. I have been at this for weeks and suspect I will have to turn it into an ebook or podcast or both. We’ll see.
Anyway the post is all about becoming a yoga teacher. A “how to” if you will. A collection of hints and tips covering all the things I think they fail to tell you in yoga teacher training. From where you can find gainful employment to what can go through as an expense on your tax return. From what to look for when hiring a hall to how to bluff it when you’re really, really nervous. You know the kind of thing. A gift from me to you! 
So what do I need from you?
Questions and tips.
Inspired by Emma and Nadine’s recent posts I decided to open this one up to you!
So those of you thinking you might train to be yoga teachers, or are currently training or are starting to think about teaching ask me anything. I can’t promise a coherent answer or a date when all this will be finished but I would love to hear from you!
And those of you that are teachers – your hints and tips please. Anything that you came across as a struggle in the early days (or even the later days) and how you overcame it.
Leave me a comment or send me an email (suburbanyogini [at] gmail [dot] com) and I’ll love you forever!
(image: weheartit.com)
I wonder how I will find my own “personality” as a yoga teacher. I really like my instructors for different reasons but I worry that, beyond the general nervousness issue, I won’t be able to make my class “my own” and give it a unique quality that isn’t just copying things I’ve liked from other teachers.
I don’t know when I’ll get around to teacher training, but I really hope it’s in the next year or two.
Thank you, Rachel!
and…. inspired by *you* i am currently working on a surprisingly long blog post about all of the different jobs encompassed in being a yoga teacher (accountant, comedian, doctor, counselor, etc.).
that fall into that range?
Here’s something that I’ve always wondered about: Can you become a yoga teacher if you have a serious, permanent joint injury that prevents you from doing some moderate and almost all advanced poses? (My knee injury, for instance.)
I have so many questions! I’m hoping to do YTT in February or maybe next fall, depending on where life takes me. I wonder a lot about money–how to make it, how to manage it, how much to charge, how to run a successful business. A lot of that is my own insecurity and financial hang-ups, but I never see it talked about in the yoga world. How to market oneself while remaining authentic and inclusive seems like a challenge.
Also, YTT while pregnant! I know you haven’t had that experience, but I do want to have kids and I fully expect the universe to play a joke on me and get me knocked up the second I enroll in YTT.
The subtleties of energy work re: taking care of yourself. I had a friend who went through massage school, then decided not to pursue it as a career because she couldn’t keep herself from absorbing the energy of her clients. I imagine similar issues could happen while teaching yoga, as well. Holding that space while keeping yourself energetically sealed–or maybe a bit porous, so there’s a give-and-take, but not so much that you’re drained–sounds like quite the balancing act.
The one thing I learned is that I will not become a yoga teacher overnight!! You can’t be afraid to touch people and be touched. Seems like a silly thing to say…but you find yourself often on “display” in class or having to do partner work that is invasive. You will learn in teaching training that home practice is something you actually have to do…you can’t fake it!!!
How do you deal with the critism you recieve from senior teachers? I always remember that its constructive feedback that helps me. become a better teacher..but I always seem to get a lip quiver or two!
I’m constantly struggling with eparating “yoga” from “business.” Is there even a separation? Does one inspire you (or should inspire you) to be better in the other? Is business just business regardless of the industry?
When I first started teaching, I would take all and any sorts of teaching gigs to get exposure and practice. No that I look back, I would have not taught for free all the time and believed in myself that I was worth something (especially after paying an arm and a leg for training). Working for free all the time set me up to feeling guilty when I wanted to get paid because yoga teachers are all about loving and sharing right? For new teachers: know the difference between service and being taken advantage of.
There’s more I’m sure and I’ll send them to you when I think of them.
Same issue as Tamara for me: how will I make classes “my own” and not mindlessly copy what I’ve seen? I guess it comes overtime, but this (and the confidence issue too, hahahaha) is my biggest concern.
Thank you all for your great comments! Watch out for more on this in the new year!
this is such a fabulous idea! i don’t have any questions at the moment but will certainly let you know if i think of something. big hugs!!
[...] Dec Recently I was inspired by two of my fav yoginis Rachel and Emma who blogged about how to become a yoga teacher and what they don’t teach you in [...]