Financial: How much should I be paid as a yoga teacher?

This depends on many factors, including where you are teaching in the world and the setting of the class, such as whether it is in a community space, a yoga studio, or a corporate or private setting. The length of the class may also be a consideration, as well as if it is a specialty class. Some spaces will require you to set up the room and/or sign in students before class, and there may also be other duties involved in your role as a yoga teacher within the space, such as taking payments or giving a tour of the space to new students. Sometimes even how many students you are teaching can have an impact on what you will be paid. If you are planning to teach events, workshops or retreats this may also change the amount you receive.

Consider the amount of time you spend planning and preparing your classes, designing playlists, travelling to and from the class and the costs involved in investing in your own training and studies as a yoga teacher. Think about whether you have to provide props and mats, or if you intend to include other elements to a class, such as live musical accompaniment like singing bowls or gongs, or maybe the use of essential oils or an offering for students to take home, such as journals or workbooks. All these factors can help you to determine how much you would like to be paid. Some teaching spaces will have a set rate for teachers, whereas other spaces will ask you what you would like to be paid and there can be a negotiation. 

If you are teaching workshops and retreats, it is important to calculate how much you would like to be paid for the event and then work out all your outgoing costs for hosting, such as the rental of the space, perhaps the cost of food and accommodation if it is an overnight event, the cost for additional props, accessories, resources and goodie bags for your students. This can help you to determine how much you need to charge per person to ensure all costs are covered, and that you are paying yourself well for your time, effort and energy in hosting the event.

Some key things to remember when navigating pay as a yoga teacher:

• Know your worth.
• Value your time, energy and skill set. 
• Ask for what you want.
• Acknowledge when to say no, if it doesn’t seem like a good fit for you.