Have you ever experienced setbacks, or what we casually call “flops”, in your journey as a yoga teacher? These flops, far from defining our failure, can become instrumental in shaping our path to success. Today, we’re delving into these less-discussed aspects of a yoga teaching career, the ones that occur behind the Instagram photos and the fully-booked classes.

As a yoga teacher, I’ve had my fair share of flops. I remember launching my initial offerings with high hopes, only to be met with silence, zero buyers, or perhaps a couple of dedicated students. These flops, while initially disappointing, allowed me to reevaluate and realign my approach. They taught me a crucial lesson – my target market did not want what I was offering. Instead of allowing this realization to discourage me, I took it as an opportunity to reshape my offerings, to align with what my students truly needed and wanted. The result? A complete transformation in the way I created offers and taught yoga.

It’s important to understand the common misconceptions new yoga teachers might have about this profession. One widespread belief is that successful yoga teachers are merely teaching more drop-in classes to larger groups of students. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality of yoga teaching is not just about packing classes but about building authentic relationships with your students.

Social media often paints a glamorous picture of yoga teaching, showcasing advanced practitioners or incredibly flexible teachers. Yet, the real world of yoga teaching doesn’t necessarily translate into an overflowing retreat or a massive following. My clients, even those with thousands of followers, often struggle to make the income they desire. Success in teaching yoga is more about fostering genuine relationships with your followers, communicating with them, rather than at them. For this, you don’t need thousands of followers; a couple of hundred dedicated students are enough.

The flops I’ve experienced have significantly influenced my teaching style. Instead of looking for more students, I now focus on serving my existing students for the long term, ensuring their consistent growth. I’ve also moved towards offering evergreen courses, which allows me to maintain a smaller, more intimate group of live students per year.

My advice to yoga teachers facing their own flops and feeling discouraged is this: Be patient and humble. Start small. You need multiple flops to understand your target market truly. These flops and failures can become your greatest stories and learning experiences in the long run. They allow you to connect authentically with your community of yoga practitioners, building trust and rapport. Authenticity is one of my core values. We should not shy away from sharing our mistakes and failures, as we grow collectively through these experiences.

So, the next time you do a flop, remember this: it’s an opportunity to learn, grow, and realign.

Every “failure” is a stepping stone to something else. And let’s not forget to call out the “get rich quick” narratives that are prevalent in the online yoga community. Building a successful yoga business takes time, consistency, authenticity, and an understanding of your audience’s real needs. Flops are part of this journey, and we should embrace them as such.

Lastly, all my flops, every single one of them, have taught me something valuable. And for that, I am truly grateful. And so should you be, for each flop you encounter on your path to becoming the yoga teacher you aspire to be.

To conclude, your journey as a yoga teacher is your own, unique, filled with triumphs and flops. And that’s perfectly okay. In fact, it’s more than okay; it’s the way it should be. Every flop is a stepping stone to a better understanding of your practice, your business, and your students. So don’t shy away from flops. Embrace them, learn from them, and let them guide you to becoming the best yoga teacher you can be.

This process of learning and growing is a journey that doesn’t end. It requires constant reflection, adaptation, and above all, compassion towards yourself. As yoga teachers, we all share the same goal: to bring positive change to our student’s lives through yoga. And if we’re to be authentic in this goal, we must be willing to admit our flops and grow from them.

Remember, no matter how many flops you experience, each one brings you one step closer to success. They help you refine your offers, better understand your students, and, ultimately, become a more effective yoga teacher. So, don’t fear the flops; they’re not a sign of failure but of growth.

So, let’s celebrate our flops together. Let’s share our stories, our learnings, and our moments of transformation, and together, we can elevate our yoga careers, one flop at a time.

I’m looking forward to hearing your flop stories and how they have shaped your yoga teaching journey. Share your stories in the comments below, and let’s build a supportive community of yoga teachers who are unafraid to share their flops and their growth. Here’s to embracing our flops and growing together in our yoga teaching journey.