Top 8 Alternative Jobs for Yoga Instructors

Are you a yoga instructor who wants to take a break from teaching yoga and do something different?

Are you looking for ways to make additional income as a yoga instructor?

Has the yoga studio you teach at closed but you'd like to find new opportunities to work in the yoga field?

We have eight great suggestions for you!

It's not abnormal, in any career field, to want or need to make changes in your day-to-day work while staying within the realm of your expertise. If you're willing to learn something new and step outside your comfort zone, the possibilities are endless. We provide some insight as we explore eight different ways you can increase your income or pivot your career while still using the knowledge from your education and yoga practice.

Alternative Jobs for Yoga Instructors

Yoga is an incredible field and teaching yoga can be incredibly rewarding!! Different yoga postures, mindfulness, and breathing all have some powerful benefits. But, if you want to take a break from instructing yoga classes, there are many other ways to still share your expertise. All it takes is a little outside-the-box thinking to create different sources of income or shift directions from your yoga practice instruction. The following list includes eight of our favorite alternative jobs for yoga instructors.

1. Own Your Gym Or Studio

If you're business savvy, you could become a yoga studio owner. If you've established a solid clientele base, you can hire yoga instructors to teach while you manage the business. You also have the option to manage the studio space and allow other yoga instructors to rent the space from you! It's common for fitness facilities to charge instructors a flat fee to use the facility to teach their class or charge the instructors a percentage of every client that attends.

2. Offer Private Yoga Classes

Instead of leading a group of individuals through a series of yoga poses, you can work one-on-one with individual clients. Your training will be customized to fit their needs and goals. A client may want more individualized attention on their alignment and yoga postures, need more support with their breathwork, or feel uncomfortable doing a yoga class in front of other people. It's important to keep in mind, if a client wants a private session because they have a certain medical condition or physical limitation, make sure it's within your skillset and scope of practice to work with them. Because of the expertise, time, and customizations required to help each individual in a private yoga class, yoga instructors typically charge more for private sessions.

3. Lead Yoga Teacher Training

A fun way to pivot your yoga instruction is to get involved in teaching other yoga instructors. There are yoga certification companies that look for instructors to teach live components of their content or run live workshops. Running a teacher training course allows you to teach and guide those new yoga instructors. In addition, there are also opportunities to create your own courses and potentially even have them approved as a continuing education courses (CEUS) for a yoga certification. You'll need to have the space, time, and organization to create great content, but it provides a great opportunity to share your experience and knowledge in a different way and develop other yoga teachers.

4. Become A Social Media Influencer

Because the world has become much more digital, it is common for companies to contract with fitness professionals to represent their products or become brand ambassadors online. If you have a strong social media following or the ability to create one, you can promote yoga gear, events, apparel, or other products to your audience. As long as you have an engaged audience and stay aligned with your expertise, beliefs, and personal brand, this can be a lucrative option.

5. Content Writer

If you have the knack for writing or the willingness to learn, you can use your knowledge to write content for online or printed material. Different magazines, online articles, web pages, and blogs are always seeking new content and anything fitness related is typically a popular topic. You can compare different products, write a "How To" blog, or share your yoga experience, etc. Some content writing can require that you do research, so, it's important to know where to look for credible information, use citations (if applicable) and edit, spell, and punctuate correctly. If you can do that, there are plenty of companies out there looking for your expertise and writing skills.

6. Provide A Complementary Service

You can stay within the holistic health realm by investing in a skill or service that complements your yoga practice and adds value for your clients. The following are a few options to consider:

• Massage

• Meditation

• Breathwork

• Acupuncture

• Reiki

• Mindfulness

• Pilates

• Personal Trainer

• Nutritionist

Services that complement what you are already doing can provide additional benefits to your clients as well as create additional income for you.

7. Build An Online Course

There are a handful of different platforms that allow you to create your own online course. Whether you want to create a teacher training course, online content for current yoga teachers, or develop a course with yoga workouts and learning content for your current clients is up to you. Creating an online yoga course requires quite a bit of detail and work up front. But, once you get things up and running, it can be a form of passive income for you and a great resource for clients (especially while social distancing is still important).

Get your Online Coach Certification with ISSA to start working toward your new side hustle today!

8. Find A New Yoga Niche

Finding a new yoga niche is a great way to mix up your career, expand your business, and increase your income. You could teach a different type of yoga or focus on teaching a new demographic. The following list includes a few different types of yoga as well as a few different demographics to consider. This isn't a comprehensive list but provides some ideas to get you started.

Other Demographics

• Prenatal yoga

• Kids yoga

• Senior yoga

• Mommy and me yoga

• Corporate yoga

Different Types of Yoga

• Hot yoga

• Yin yoga

• Hatha yoga

• Bikram yoga

• Vinyasa yoga

• Ashtanga yoga

• Restorative yoga

• Aerial yoga

Although these eight ideas don't include every possible opportunity, it should provide you enough insight to start thinking outside the box, finding new ways to generate income, and trying something new within your area of expertise.

Do you love yoga? Are you interested in becoming a yoga instructor? Get started today with ISSA's Yoga Instructor course!