The Real Reason Why Yoga Teachers Are Not Making Money (Trigger Warning)

I've been in the yoga industry for 10 years and here's my take on yoga teachers not making money.
If you're a yoga teacher and you're stuck, check out Impact: doyou.li/book-yt
SOURCES:
Future market insights: www.futuremark...
Yoga teacher salaries: www.glassdoor....
Highest paying jobs in the US: www.forbes.com...

[@AcroyogaWuppertal]

Andy when i hear people wordering its "EXPENSIVE" "why a Workshop costs more than 25 bugs" but 2 Cocktails cost more today, i cant believe that the people asking that....thank you for your great, radical and overall true opinion and words about our realy important work.

[@itszoltan]

We will get there! I think a lot of this is because of how yoga teachers perceive themselves. Once you change your mindset from "price" to "value", you attract people that value what you have to offer.

[@yogawarriorgroove]

Andy! You are someone who really truly cuts through the crap and sees the issues that yoga teachers face in the current global environment. Most importantly, you actually CARE about what is going on and your mission to genuinely help us yoga teachers is certainly an inspiring beam of light to inspire and actually guide yoga teachers in a direction of, not only financial growth, but also personal growth. Your input and perspectives add real value. Ongoing thanks & gratitude! (You greedy.... 😅... hilarious!) Reply

[@itszoltan]

thank you for saying that. i try haha!

[@OmJerome]

The yoga machine needs some yoga! Thanks for your work to help us thrive Andy :)

[@itszoltan]

Always brotha!

[@douglasringwald]

Truth! As Kriyananda, one of my teachers said, "Money is the prana of the material world." One needs a healthy flow. There are many challenges in the current yoga paradigm to overcome imo; including a pervasive victim mentality, group think, attachment to authority (lineage) instead of use of discernment, and a misunderstanding of discernment vs. judgement to name a few. I see creating an abundant business as a spiritual endeavor of service and a personal journey of growth and authentic Being. Thanks Andy!

[@itszoltan]

thanks doug! 🙏

[@energyrebel]

You 06:35 AM ANDDDYYYYY, that video of why ppl are making money is SO TRUE! I’ve been saying that since forever, ppl claim that my studio isn’t real yoga because it was successful & I so dislike Yoga Alliance they are daylight robbers! Thank you for saying as it is. This is my last tour so to speak, my parents were yogis, yes we hosted many teachers through out my childhood & yes, these sadhus or gurus were our doctors + advisors & i of course hated it then, i wanted the opposite. Such is life & now I have been teaching since 2009. The yoga business is dark, fear mongers and filled with double jointed, flexible idiots. 🤯 The more reason why I want to make this work for me & make RESTING sexy again 😎 Thx 😊 Nikki

[@itszoltan]

Thank you for the kind words Nikki! I personally don't dislike Yoga Alliance... I just think people should be aware of their biz model 😅

[@ailaleeboklund8960]

I hear you. I had a personal experience some time ago, my least favourable experience to date. We are in this business to lift ppl up, YA isn’t part of that mission.

[@Yoga_con_Rose]

Thank you Andy, always inspiring your point of view 🙏

[@itszoltan]

Thank you very much :-)

[@DebbieMoser]

Another great video! Thanks Andy for empowering us 🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@itszoltan]

Thank you Debs!!

[@33crystalgirl33]

Brilliant video. I’ve sadly lost friends bc of my non ‘traditional’ form of teaching. The shaming is for real. Btw, you’re a yoga teacher in my eyes. 👍🏻

[@itszoltan]

wow that has got to be the best compliment ever. thank you!!! 🫶

[@kundaflow]

Yuuup, I’ve been saying a few of these points for years.. very well put and thank you for bringing light to this topic/ issue. Let’s trump the big pharma industry-! Health is First Wealth

[@itszoltan]

yes!! it's us against big pharma yall 🫶😄

[@Heather_Michelle]

$4300 for YTT $250 to register with Yoga Alliance Money earned as a yoga teacher? $0 I just wanted to teach something I love, knowing I wouldn't be able to earn a real living doing it, but now I'm finding in having to create an audience on line just to have the opportunity to teach and IT'S SUCH A NEGATIVE SPACE it's made me question teaching at all...😢 Thank you for creating this, I felt like I was alone in feeling this way.

[@itszoltan]

thank you for sharing! 🙏

[@alexkatsanos8475]

Been around hatha yoga for a long long time. Yoga studios to make profits classes were not enough so they started teacher training then it became “deepen your practice” rather than become a teacher….I knew they had over saturated the market. YA gave schools a framework so anyone could design a program and now I see online trainings... That makes me laugh. Mr. Iyengar made those who were serious and wanted to be a teacher come to Pune India and study with him along with the programs in SF and a few other places and that was it. It took years. And CVD scared people off. Rents go up. Insurance needs. Not enough students. Not enough classes. I can’t imagine doing online classes. The question is how do you fix the entire industry…and Yoga Journal Magazine is part of the machine. The yoga studio is an important little community for working on ourselves and sharing a sort of Satsang. At this time here in NYC now most studios are gone although some new ones are popping up so there is hope. In India by the govt mandate, kids are taught hatha and yoga nidra etc.

[@itszoltan]

this is such an insightful comment. thanks for sharing this. in my opinion the industry will be the industry. this won't change. so i believe the solution is to empower teachers 🫶

[@le7062]

You are spot on about the Pharma companies. there is a lot of dilution in the practice especially in the Western world like sugar coating and make the practice easier not necessarily practice right. Secondly some teachers don't care about the practice. they lack that passion and it shows in their teaching. the list is long. making money is fine but the goal should be their craft, if they are true to their craft, money will come.

[@EnesCanMoves]

This is so true. The right education is key. Thanks for clearing this up 🙏

[@AcroyogaWuppertal]

true Words 100%. i appreciate that alot

[@itszoltan]

Thank you!

[@charlottenicholson]

Mic drop - truly. On all points. Thank you 🙏

[@itszoltan]

thanks for watching all the way until the mic drop haha ... but actually no mic drop. the work begins where this video ends 🙂

[@jenelleleatyoga]

Andy, you are fucking brilliant! I loved every single second of this. Seriously, EVERY single yoga teacher needs to watch this.

[@itszoltan]

thank you! not sure about brilliant. haha! i know many teachers feel this way about yoga alliance but i felt like somebody had to bring it up.

[@DidiyogasalsastudioTM]

❤awesome speech 🙏

[@DidiyogasalsastudioTM]

All you say is so true. I had to change all my practice because of these facts

[@itszoltan]

Really? How?

[@shahadlabelle]

I love this!! Thank you for sharing!

[@itszoltan]

thank you for watching! 🙂🙏

[@rophinvianney8016]

Inspired. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@itszoltan]

Thanks for watching!

[@fanniyogi]

That was really helpful, thanks 🙏🏼

[@itszoltan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dangumbo4835]

Never trust a yoga teacher who wants to make money from yoga.

[@itszoltan]

so they should teach for free?

[@dangumbo4835]

@@itszoltan Yes. I've never heard of a Buddhist monk charge people per hour to teach their spiritual practice, or a priest or a rabbi or an imam, and if they did, they'd be shunned. Donation is okay but it's only donation if it's also a free service. Yoga and capitalism are enemies. Can you not see that appropriating an ancient spiritual practice that espouses materialism to make money is a contradiction? Yoga is not a career or industry. It's a way to transcend materialism. As soon as people turn it into a superficial commercial practice, it is corrupted. The fact you don't realise this means you have a lot to learn about the true meanings of yogic practice. I suggest you read up about the conflict between commercialism and spirituality and the difference between a yogi and a fraud.

[@dangumbo4835]

@@itszoltan Type in yoga and capitalism in Google and you'll see page after page of articles explaining why you're just another person exploiting yoga for their own materialistic gain which is the opposite of what a real yogi does.

[@itszoltan]

@@dangumbo4835 on your planet, how do yoga teachers pay for rent, food, health care, schooling for their kids, their own education, simple pleasures?

[@dangumbo4835]

@@itszoltan Well yoga is a spiritual practice so if you're a spiritual teacher, your live what you teach. Just like a priest, guru, imam, rabbi or monk. How does your local priest survive? They receive alms or offerings to have their basic needs met (but nobody is obliged to pay for their spiritual education and the teacher has no problem with providing that education for free as they practice what they preach (unless they are frauds). They transcend the material world as much as is possible. Can you imagine a priest telling someone they can't pray in their church if they don't pay? We would call that priest a scam artist, wouldn't we. Real spiritual teachers do not exclude people based on money. You are welcome to say you're a personal fitness trainer but marketing yourself as a spiritual teacher (yogi), whilst simultaneously ignoring the principle that yoga should not be practiced or taught for material gain, means you're either ignorant of yogic principles or deliberately ignoring them to exploit the ignorance of others. Either way, you're not a yogi. The same way a guy who says he's a Buddhist monk and charges people to learn meditation, isn't a real monk because monks also do not teach for material gain either. If you want to be an authentic yogi (yoga teacher), accept alms (donations) like all spiritual teachers, live the simple life of a spiritual teacher and reject consumerism. On the other hand, If you want to be a fitness trainer living in a Western culture of capitalism, charge by the hour. But do not scam people by saying you're a yoga teacher. You're absolutely not. You're exploiting an ancient spiritual practice aimed to help humanity reconnect with the divinity of the universe to pay for your materialistic lifestyle. You're the opposite of a yogi and anyone who thinks you're a yogi needs to educate themselves. It's not a consumer product to be marketed and sold like you're doing. It's a way to get as far away from capitalism as possible. The two ideas are in complete contrast to each other. Enemies even. If you're not able to teach spiritual practices while surviving on donations or with subsidisation from non spiritual work, don't teach it. It's that simple. Making money from spiritual work means your motives are corrupted. Your student will never be able to know if you're doing this for spiritual reasons or materialistic reasons so you have no worth as a spiritual teacher. Zero. You're a fitness coach pretending to be a yogi.

[@user-ck8el2fu5e]

👌🧘‍♀️💫

[@ombodhi]

i'm gonna luanch OMBODHI

[@itszoltan]

let's go!!!!