OM Yoga UK – June 2017

Te acher zone

Teacher’s Tales:

I

get it. Everyone likes a freebie. But how would you feel about

being asked to do your job for free?

Yes, teaching yoga is much more than a job for many of us.

But unless it’s a situation where one is teaching karma yoga,

doing something for a charity, or there is a mutual agreement

where yoga is being offered in return for another service, I feel it is

unacceptable to be expected to teach for free.

Professionals advertise and charge for their services. Yoga teachers

are professionals too, so why would we feel guilty about doing the

same? There can sometimes be an assumption that we should not be

(or are not) interested in earning money, because well, it’s not yogic,

surely. For the full-time yoga teacher whose income is dependent on

their yoga related work, this notion is laughable. When you’re living in

the west and not a cave in the Himalayas, goodwill, however lovely and

appreciated, is not going to pay the bills.

An experience that comes to mind is with a large well-known

corporate firm. I had been booked to teach a number of classes for

them. Everything had been arranged and a fee had been agreed for

weeks. Then days before the sessions were due to begin I was told that

Is making money from yoga wrong? Paula Hines thinks not

there wasn’t a budget to pay for the sessions but I should still come

along and teach them for the experience. My (polite) answer was, “No,

thank you.” Inside, I was thinking something else. I laughed afterwards

at the sheer cheek. And I did wonder if it had ever been their intention

to pay. Over the past several years I’ve encountered a few instances of

businesses being under the impression that yoga teachers won’t mind

not being paid, with one individual even remarking, “Oh well you lot are

all peace and love and a bit hippy-dippy, so I didn’t think you’d be that

bothered about money.”

It is also notable that on the whole fees for yoga teachers in gyms

and studios – where I live, at least – have not gone up for well over

a decade by all accounts from teachers who have been teaching for

longer than me. Though that’s a discussion for another day.

It’s an energy exchange. I give my time and expertise and it is right

and fair to expect payment in return.

Paula Hines is a London-based yoga teacher and writer. For details of

her free yoga resources online visit: ucanyoga.co.uk

Te acher zone

Money Matters