Most registered yoga schools offer a sliver of information on the business of yoga. But between liability, insurance, employment Yoga Alliance registration, marketing, social media, blogging, business cards and websites things can get busy and confusing fast. Here are 7 things you should do as soon as you finish your 200hr teacher training (if not before).
Pay attention to the dirty details! I know, you just want to spread the yoga love but here’s the reality: we live in a litigious society. If you screw up and someone is injured in your class, kiss your assets good-bye. Most yoga studios (if they’re smart!) have liability insurance, but as an independent contractor, you’re probably not covered. If you want to get into corporate yoga, businesses are going to require you carry it and may even request to be added as an additional insured to your policy. Yoga insurance is easy to get, and it’s cheap. There’s no excuse. Get insured.
Save a life. Get AED/CPR Certified. Some Teacher Training programs offer this in their curriculum, but most do not. It is your responsibility to get this training Any reputable place will require you to have this certification (if they do not – RED FLAG ALERT!!!). It’s inexpensive and you could save a life. Call your local hospital or EMS to find out when the next class is.
Sign up for Yoga Alliance and start tracking your hours. You earned the hours, don’t forget about the technicalities, SIGN UP! (You also get all sorts of mad discounts with your membership from places like Gaiam, Be Present and Hugger Mugger!) After you sign up, start tracking your hours, ritually. When I first joined YA, nothing was online and everything had to be updated manually. You had to keep track of your teaching hours as well as your continuing education hours on your own and submit them once a year. Welcome to the land of Excel spreadsheets!! Thankfully these days everything can be updated online. It seriously makes life so much easier. So now that it’s easy peasy, don’t forget to do it! Set a reminder in your Ical, google cal or whatever scheduling tool you use and do it weekly! Recreating your year of learning and teaching sucks, believe me I speak from experience!!
It’s all about style, baby! I am not talking yoga style, I am talking personal style -if you’re trained in Jivamukti, you’re not going to be teaching a Bikram class. Yet every Jivamukti teacher has a different style or teaching voice. Some teachers wow you with their humor, some tantalize with spirituality and some engage through stern direction. Which are you? If you’ve always been the funny chick and try to turn into a “strict” yoga teacher you’re destined for failure. Your students will see right through you and you’ll struggle to connect with them. Connection is essential to filling your classes! Stay in touch with your personality. Cultivate your authenticity and don’t try to mimic another popular teacher’s style.
Be a social butterfly. Go to other local studios, gyms and community centers, introduce yourself and sign up as a sub. Even better, offer a free class at your local community center or place of worship. Get active in your local yoga community. If your local community isn’t very active, be the catalyst for this change! Start a local meet up- chit chat about anatomy or the sutras or whatever it is that gets you juicy and turns you on about yoga. This Kula will become your family and it’s not just the three dimensional connections you make in real life, it’s online too. Start joining different yoga networking sites. Check out Find Yoga Studios (tell is founder, Lisa I said hi!) and join The Yoga Recipe, download some classes, learn from seasoned superstars and maybe even upload some classes of your own! And while we’re talking about the online world… If you don’t like social media, get over it. Right now. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you create a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, Instagram and Pintrest account. Start following people you admire including teachers, activists, organizations, whatever floats your boat. Follow Darshana Communications on Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest. Give a shout out and I’ll shout you back. If you scratch me here I’ll scratch you there – Shimmy shimmy cocoa-pop.
You’re a professional! Nothing says I’m a pro like a business card, eh? I jest, but they are important. You can get free ones from Vista Print. If you really want to up your game, check out Moo. They’re a little more hip and you’ll definitely have more design options!
Go Deeper. Start thinking about the next workshop or training you want to attend. Make a top 10 teacher list – who do you want to learn from and what do you want to learn? Your 200hr just ended, but your training just began. Continue to take lots of classes in various styles from lots of different teachers. Each time you step on your mat, treat it as if it were the first time. Be open to new lessons. Every one and every thing can be a version of your guru, so long as you listen from within.
This winter Darshana Communications will be launching the Yogini Superstar Business Strategy Toolbox! Everything you need to know to Skyrocket your Yoga Business. Tool box includes legal consent forms, a personalized bio and tagline, a 1:1 Jam session with me (where you get to pick my brain for a full hour), a 5 pack of class outlines (including class theme, pranayama, asana, meditation and playlist) and so much more! It’s seriously chocked full of everything you need to get rolling as a yoga teacher. Easy Peasy. If you’re still confused, a little lost after reading this list and can’t possibly wait for the YSBS launch, don’t fret!! I am totally here to help you. Shoot me an email and we’ll set up a 15 minute jam session via skype or the phone.
It’s free baby!
Joy up By Design 
Talk to me!