How To Become A Yoga Instructor
Today, many people are turning to yoga as their primary form of exercise and health improvement strategy. Yoga is a wonderful and effective way to increase flexibility while burning calories and improving bodily functions. There are a vast amount of yoga classes (and many different types of yoga philosophies and styles) all over the country in which people attend to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress.
Why Become A Yoga Instructor
If you are a healthy individual, and have experienced many forms of workout and always go back to yoga as your first choice for your consistent exercise program, then you may want to consider becoming a yoga instructor.
Also, working and communicating with people brings positivity to this position. If you are social and enjoy being around others while working, then you will enjoy spending your days doing what you love. You will be a positive role model for many people who value their well-being, and will meet many others who want to increase their fitness or reach new goals along the way.
Being a yoga instructor, you will be a source of inspiration to many people.
Yoga instructors are generally healthy people, and not only practice yoga, but practice excellent dietary habits, nutritional practices, meditation, and other forms of stress-relief and fitness. If you fit into this category, and would like to teach people what you know in terms of staying healthy, then a career in instructing yoga is perfect for you!
Yoga Instructor Work Environment
If you enjoy spending time in the fitness center or at a recreational facility, then you will love the work environment for the yoga instructor. Yoga classes are held in fitness facilities, gyms, and health facilities in the form of classes or private instruction. Some instructors work in resorts, spas, or even go into the personal homes of their clients. There is a nice variety of work atmospheres to choose from with teaching yoga that are certainly not limited to the gym.
The work environment of a yoga instructor is generally stress free, as they are doing what they love to do, and teaching and guiding others at the same time. Also, yoga instructors are practicing their own wellness, because obviously while teaching others several times a week (or day!) they are staying healthy, reducing stress, and maintaining their fitness level.
Yoga Instructor Salary
Certified yoga instructors normally do not depend on their earnings as their sole salary, unless they are very well established and have a wealth of experience and knowledge. The salary can range from $10,000 per year (part-time instructors) upwards to $32,000 annually. Usually, yoga instructors work at a fitness center and receive their earnings through what the actual students in their classes pay per class. It really depends on how much is charged for each class and the amount of students in each class.
This can fluctuate, and yoga instructors feel the need to increase their income through training other yoga instructors, doing workshops, and facilitating yoga retreats and seminars. Well-known and “famous” yoga instructors, naturally, make a much higher salary because of endorsements, such as exercise equipment, apparel, and published DVD’s.
Yoga Instructor Career Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that this career field and the opportunities that come with it will increase. Many people are changing the way they look at their health, thus adopting a lifestyle of preventative care. Also, many corporations do offer wellness packages for their employees to reduce the amount of work absences due to illness or disease, and many people opt for fitness of this type.
Yoga Instructor Degree
Many yoga instructors are certified in yoga training, and many also have gone to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in fitness or certified training instructor. Some yoga instructors have gone through training specifically for yoga, for example, through the Yoga Alliance, which is an intense training program that educates future instructors in methods, all of the different types and styles of yoga, physiology, and varying philosophies.
After their training is complete, they must take an exam to get licensed. Each state has different requirements for this and what precisely is required, and it also depends on what the individual has also received instruction in, such as nutrition, wellness, fitness, or any type of occupational or physical therapy.
Becoming a certified yoga instructor can be an interesting choice for you if you share the passion of this type of fitness with others, and there are plenty of opportunities where you can make this career work for you.
