Being a Yoga or Hot Yoga teacher (or both) really is a great lifestyle. You get to do work that you love and truly believe in. Your work directly helps other people. They feel good and they let you know. You’re surrounded by others who also love their work with a passion. This is all really rare in much of today’s employment.
But it’s still work. And because you care deeply, it can be hard work. So, are you ready? Here are four questions to ask yourself to help find out.
If you’re even considering training, then Yoga has already had a big impact in your life. Yoga has come to you through teachers: imagine being the channel bringing big life shifts to others. Teaching Yoga is a big responsibility.
Take a moment to consider that. Really, pause for thought. After reflection – do you really want to share Yoga and Hot Yoga as you understand it with everyone?
I highlighted as you understand it because you can only ever teach what you know, and one thing is certain: your understanding will develop and change as you continue to practice. There are two big commitments to make as a result.
To develop, you must continue to practice – and you must take ownership of it. Through training, you’ll have a little toolkit of postures, breaths, anatomy knowledge and energetic experience. Where are you going to take that, in yourself? Or – do you really want to develop yourself continuously through personal practice?
As you learn new things, some of your current ideas and methods will suddenly be out of date. Some even will turn out to be wrong. But what if they are your favourite bits or most treasured beliefs about Yoga or Hot Yoga? To put this another way – are you ready to let go of old ways to make room for your own growth?
In a way, it’s easy to say YES! to more practice, more learning, and sharing it all with others. The tricky bit is seeing that through, day after day. Rest assured, there’ll be days when you feel like snapping at students, or you find yourself doing a hundred things other than practicing. But a promise to Yoga is a promise to yourself, and sometimes we have to go an extra mile to keep a promise.
Again, take a moment to reflect on that. Will you really accept no excuses from yourself, when it comes to sharing Yoga with all, keeping up and developing your practice, and taking new methods on board?
When people say yes to all this, and see it through, then a truly inspirational lifestyle opens up. There really is no job like it out there, in my experience.
