The whole world is moving online, especially now more than ever. So it makes sense that yoga teachers and yoga studios would do the same.

In fact, I’ve been offering online yoga classes for almost a DECADE and teaching fully online yoga courses for the past few years.

I haven’t stepped foot, as a yoga instructor, in a yoga studio in YEARS. Needless to say, my entire business model depends on teaching yoga online.

And with the increased accessibility that the internet provides, a good percent of yoga practitioners will be moving online too. Especially when a worldwide pandemic hits.

So it’s time that you offer yoga online, too.

Why Teach Yoga Online

I know your yoga certification has prepared you to rise to the occasion, you just need a little encouragement, support, and a gentle nudge to leave your comfort zone. So let the nudging begin! I’m going to share with you all the fabulous reasons to offer yoga online so you feel ready to take the leap into the online world.

1. People are already practicing at home

In 2015, 47% of the 21 million yoga practitioners at that time were practicing at home. By 2018, 36 million Americans were practicing yoga. In just three years, the numbers of yogis grew by 15 million.

And if 47% of the 36 million yogis are practicing at home, you can only imagine how many millions of yogis are practicing yoga at home today.

What better time to start a yoga business than now, when you don’t have to convince your students to come to you…

…you can just meet them right at home!

2. Be your own boss

When you teach online, you are in absolute control of your income stream. No other business dictates what you offer or how you offer it. You are in charge of your brand, your process, what style of yoga you teach, when you teach, which platform you use, how much you charge, what kinds of packages you offer, and how much effort you put into it. You can explore any ideas that your heart desires and you get to keep all of the money.

Don’t get me wrong, everything comes at a price.

As a yoga entrepreneur, you are also in charge of finding your audience and managing your brand. This can be a lot of work and, truthfully, I put in more effort and hours into my yoga business than I did at my corporate job…

…but, hey, I’m my own boss. So it’s up to me how much I put into it. There are plenty of instructors teaching yoga while living on a tropical island somewhere, working minimal hours and still making a decent living.

You get to create your own experience.

3. Make more money, honey

Everyone’s yoga journey is different and beautiful, but if you want to make money, then teaching yoga online is the way to do it. Full stop. Without a studio expense to cover, your earnings for all of your hard work are 100% yours (well, minus taxes haha).

Because yoga is such a spiritual experience for many, a lot of yoga teachers are expected to not want to make lots of money. It’s almost as if the yoga industry expects teachers to be so self-actualized that they don’t seek fair wages for their skills or energy that they put into teaching.

It’s crazy! And crazy manipulative.

The truth is, earning more money will help you feel like you’re getting the most out of your yoga teacher certification. Not only that, but it will also allow you to fund your continuing education and attend more yoga teacher training courses so that you can continue your personal yoga journey.

And when you teach yoga online, you get to dictate how much you earn AND how much time you spend learning.

4. Creative freedom

This might be my personal favorite reason to teach online because it lets you take your yoga teaching to the next level and share so much more than the typical yoga poses. It’s your opportunity to break out of the typical 60-minute vinyasa flow box and nerd out on all of your favorite topics from your teacher training program.

For me, I really like to focus on Kundalini yoga and kriyas because that’s what changed my life and what I want to share with others. I also really like making morning yoga videos, especially for women, because it’s just what my students love. And I love helping them.

Every week, I get to decide what kind of video content I create and on which platforms I get to release it.

Maybe you want to offer an intro to Hatha yoga or an Ashtanga yoga session. Maybe you want to get super specific and teach kids yoga, prenatal yoga, yoga workouts for weight loss, yin yoga classes, health yoga, yoga postures for back pain, joy yoga, yoga nidra, restorative yoga, or a yoga anatomy and physiology workshop. You could create your own yoga class theme or play your own kind of music-based yoga class…

…the possibilities are endless and, frankly, mostly overlooked by the majority of yoga businesses.

Let your imagination run wild because teaching online is an incredible opportunity to help your students deepen and expand their yoga practice.

5. Awaken your inner tech god or goddess

If you’ve been hesitant about embracing technology, you’re not alone. In fact, so many yogis find themselves totally technology-averse, craving more the simple and grounded in-person connection that teaching yoga offers.

It’s a beautiful part of teaching, I get it.

But that means that there is huge potential for you to fill that gap by jumping online. There are tons of online learning programs to help you get started. Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare, and edX are all great online learning platforms that can teach you virtually anything, from how to teach a yoga class on Zoom to how to use a DSLR camera to editing to marketing analytics to how to get traffic to how to create your own website.

There is no secret to success when it comes to teaching online because ALL of the information you need is available to you online.

6. Expand your reach

Since the worldwide web lets us connect with people from all over the globe, your potential to reach students is unlimited. Rather than being confined to a single yoga studio or audience within driving distance, you can find thousands, if not millions, of other yogis who want to practice with YOU.

For example, a lot of my students are in small towns throughout the US but there aren’t many Kundalini yoga classes in those kinds of places. I teach Kundalini yoga, but I don’t live in those small towns so I can’t teach at their local studio.

But I CAN put my teachings online so that anyone can practice with me, no matter where they are. Besides the fact that it is incredibly beautiful to be able to connect with your students no matter where they are, it’s also a solid business model that gives you unlimited earning potential.

7. Location independence

Teaching online gives you the freedom to work from almost anywhere. All you need to set up your traveling online yoga studio is your yoga mat, your recording equipment, and an internet connection — how liberating is that!

8. Increase your impact

When you upload your video content on the internet, you make your yoga practice available to students for as long as that video is live. You can teach for an hour, yet your impact will last much longer as people will have access to your class over and over, and without any extra work from you!

Plus, more people will have the chance to find you online since you can leave your classes posted as long as you want.

When you teach in a yoga studio, you are limited to your weekly schedule and to those who attend. When you create an online yoga studio, however, the possibilities for your impact are limitless.

9. Embrace your inner humanitarian

Many of us become certified yoga instructors because we wish to help others and teaching online allows you to do more of that. Posting video content onto free streaming platforms like YouTube allow you to give some love back to the yoga community while ALSO monetizing the views. You can also offer free online mindfulness courses on your website, free guided meditation videos, or pranayama lessons on Facebook live, or even teaching kids yoga for free to help all the parents looking for something for their kids to do.

So, What Can You Teach Online?

Just because you’re a yoga instructor, that doesn’t mean that you’re limited to teaching just yoga postures. You can teach virtually anything you want and in any format you like.

Some types of yoga-related content that you can teach online are:

yoga philosophy
yoga and meditation
mindfulness
kids yoga
lessons on anatomy and physiology
pranayama
prenatal yoga
hatha yoga
restorative yoga
vinyasa yoga
classical tantra
yoga nidra

Some of the different formats that you can share your yoga videos as:

online courses
weekly lessons
private yoga classes
a training program
your own yoga app

Think about what kind of yoga community you’d like to create online and don’t limit yourself. The possibilities are ACTUALLY limitless. That’s the power of the internet 🙂

I’ve been teaching my students how to build their yoga business online for years, so if you have any questions please drop a comment below. I’m more than happy to answer and so are my students!

9 Reasons Why Teaching Yoga Online (After COVID19) Is Smart