Do you live and breathe yoga? Find yourself coming up with flows in your head and spending endless hours daydreaming of being on the mat? Or even better… are you thinking of teaching yoga one day? Teaching yoga is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, and it is indeed a noble path to be of service. The overwhelm of how to start teaching yoga can be really confronting when jumping from just practicing to actually teaching. I remember teaching my first public class at a little studio in Hollywood and how nervous I was (literally one person showed up 😂), to a year later landing my dream teaching job at Alo Yoga, teaching sold out classes each week – teaching yoga is a journey and I feel like I have been through it all; all of that said I want to do my best to offer support to my fellow teachers as I feel like we need to support each other!! To help, I have created a 5 step process for yogis and new teachers who want to start transitioning to a full-blown teacher but have no idea where to start.

My hope is that this blog post will offer some valuable guidance on how to start teaching yoga, but if you get to the end of this post and find yourself seeking more I have created an abundant amount of resources to support you on your yoga teaching journey! I have a podcast episode on my podcast, The Yoga Inspired Life Podcast, where I share some of my top tips for new yoga teachers: Let’s Talk Teaching YOGA 💗, a blog post with a few book reccs for yoga teachers: Books For Yoga Teachers plus an entire playlist on my YouTube channel dedicated to yoga teachers where I share tons of tips! But for now, let’s get into today’s post: how to start teaching yoga! ✨

Step 1: Deepen your practice.

My number one tip for how to start teaching yoga is to commit to first being a dedicated student; it’s essential to continue being a student. In yoga (and in life for that matter!) we are never done learning, evolving, and deepening. No matter how much of a yogi master you become, stay open so that you can always continue to learn.

This will allow you to become better in your own practice and help you continuously show up as a better teacher. When we stay in the perspective of a student as we evolve into a teacher, we can better understand exactly where our students are at. We deeply learn to understand our students because we are still students ourselves. 

Never stop learning! Use this transitional time to take your practice up a notch. Whether by trying new types of classes, expanding your understanding of the principles of yoga, or leveling up in all your poses. There is always more to learn, love! 

Step 2: Sign up for a yoga teacher training 

This is a non-negotiable part of becoming a teacher! You must, I repeat, must become certified before you start teaching. In training, you will be prepared to become a teacher by learning all the juicy parts of yoga as a whole. More importantly, it trains you to protect yourself and your client by knowing the anatomy, modifications, and proper alignment so you can hold space for your students in the safest way possible. 

When you go from a student to a teacher, you have to start thinking bigger than yourself, your practice, and your mat. You have to learn how to teach many different people on many other mats at many different levels. This is what yoga teacher training will teach you!

I have an entire post dedicated to How To Choose The Right Yoga teacher Training but here is a quick check-list for you to find the perfect YTT: 

• Consider your schedule
  • 200-, 300-, or 500-hour program 
  • Online or in-person
    • If in-person, where?
  • Specific time commitments of the YTT — days of the week, times, etc.
• Consider your budget
  • On average, programs can run from $1000-$3000 but can also go way up from there! 
  • Make sure it feels like a suitable investment for you. 
• Ensure your training is Yoga-Alliance Certified
• Evaluate the program, syllabus, and history of the programs you are considering.
  • Use your network! 
  • Read reviews on the internet. 
• Decide your intention and if the program aligns with the kind of yoga you want to teach. 
  • Follow your intuition! 

Step 3: Practice at yoga studios/with teachers who inspire you

When you are stepping into the teacher role, it is crucial to have good mentors. Start by regularly practicing with teachers and studios that inspire you and potentially see yourself teaching at. Add your favorite teachers on Instagram and Youtube! Pay attention to what you really like about them. This will help you aspire to be the best teacher you can possibly be. 

Along the way, these teachers can become more than just teachers and mentors too. These people can become friends and connections. Maybe they will know of an opening for a teacher at the studio they are at and think of you. Or perhaps they will have an incredible opportunity to collaborate. If nothing else, they are someone who has walked this journey before. That experience is so valuable when you are starting at square one.

Again, when you are just learning to teach yoga – adopt a sponge mentality! Take in whatever really speaks to you, and leave what you may not want in your own teachings. Your style of teaching will grow and evolve as you absorb more and evolve. So be open, wide-eyed, and ready to learn from the people and places that inspire you in the yogi world. 

Step 4: Decide if you want to teach in a studio, private, or online

In today’s world, the opportunities for how and where you teach yoga are genuinely limitless. Where do you want to start? Do you imagine yourself in a studio with a room full of 20 students? Does it light you up thinking of doing 1:1 sessions or small group retreats? Or really, do you want to start a youtube channel and start doing Zoom sessions?

By picking where your dream location is, you can set the foundation to get there. Once you know where your ideal setting to teach is, do some research, and create a roadmap of the steps it will take to get there. I am telling you right here right now, babe, literally write the steps out. 

This will do two things for you. First, it will cut the overwhelm, which of course, we are all about here! Second, it is a form of manifestation. Write it into the universe, baby! Let the universe know what you want so the magic of intention and manifestation can start working behind the scenes for you. 

Once you complete these 4 steps of deepening your practice, finding a YTT, identifying mentors, and deciding where/how you want to teach — the rest will start to fall into place. It is a journey to become a yoga teacher. Enjoy the in-between from student to teacher-in-training, to teacher. Think of it this way: you will never have this unique experience of being half and half at the same time ever again. There is so much value in that. Enjoy it!