SOCIAL MEDIA
I tried to use social media for posting pretty pictures with unrelated
inspirational quotes. I realised how cliché and unlike ‘me’ that was.
Then I started using a personality-based approach, such as posting
my yoga fails and ‘bad side’ photos. This connected me to a new
world of like-minded individuals, some of whom I’ve collaborated
with to create retreats and training programmes. I’ve found using
Instagram and Facebook can be a powerful way to advertise an
event. Recently, I joined forces with my friend and strength coach
Sam Hall. Our Mobility for Weight Lifters workshop sold out through
an Instagram post. If you connect with the right people, it can be an
efective business tool. Plus, I made some great friends too.
YOUR NICHE
I trained as a Functional Range conditioning mobility specialist to
better understand how to incorporate functional movement into my
classes. My body never enjoyed passive stretching, and I have always
disagreed with common yoga assists that force more range out of
people as they do more harm than good. Creating strength and
control in the range you have and safely increasing the joint range
is the basis of my classes. People are used to seeing more unusual
props, like tennis balls, Jenga blocks and weights. We frequently
ditch the mat and wear lufy socks to have more loor-based,
explorative movement play.
WHO DO YOU ADMIRE
Cecily Milne of Yoga Detour and Jenni Rawlings are huge inluences
and heroes of mine. They use science-based methods and other
non-yoga movement inluences and I believe these are pivotal in
changing how yoga is being taught: respecting yoga traditions but
making asana more suitable for the modern human, by illing in the
gaps from more traditional yoga trainings.
SECRET TO MAKING A LIVING
Don’t panic! Know when to drop the stuf that isn’t working (low class
numbers etc.) and learn from it. Building a reputation takes time and
not everyone will like you. Find your community.YOGA RETREATS
I know many new teachers who want to jump right into running
retreats and workshops. Give yourself time to learn and grow. Find
your niche (this might take years) and your own voice. Collaboration
is fantastic, working with people you admire and creating products
with them. I start the year with a loose plan of workshops, retreat
dates etc. but I also try to be adaptable and take opportunities as
they come up. But sometimes it’s the baseline stuf like the gym
classes that keep you going! Full-time teaching doesn’t work out for
everyone. It took me ive years teaching part time before I had the
guts to ditch my day job.HARDEST LESSON
Don’t say yes to everything, unless you are looking for a guaranteed
way to burn out and become very grumpy. It’s tempting to want to
take every opportunity when you irst go self-employed, as earning
enough money can be a concern. I took on every class I was ofered
and didn’t give myself a day of. It’s also unwise, when you lose
your retreat caterer just weeks before, to attempt to cook food for
24 people as well as teach the yoga yourself! I also once booked
a retreat venue verbally and lost all my money as they refused to
receipt it. I am not allowed to be in charge of venue booking!Written and compiled by Claudia Brown (yogabyclaudia.com)Tips from the experts to help you grow the yoga business of your dreams.
Te acher zone
MyYogaBiz
his month’s mentor: Hannah Stewart, 35,
of Finding Yoga (indingyoga.co.uk)