Today, I want to talk about why so many people are struggling to make money as a yoga teacher.
And I know this might trigger some of you, so let me make it clear—this is just my personal opinion and experience. Your experience might be completely different, and that’s okay.

I’m not a yoga teacher myself, so take all this with a grain of salt. But I’ve been in the yoga industry for over a decade, and I’ve built a yoga brand that’s reached tens of millions of people.

I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the yoga industry, and through my agency, Impact, we’ve helped yoga teachers get over 147,000 signups for their online programs this year alone. I’m not saying this to brag—just in case you’re wondering why you should even listen to me.

And before you jump in with comments like, “Yoga isn’t supposed to be a business, you greedy motherf**,” keep an open mind for a moment. Read this post and watch the video above, and if you still feel like dropping hate comments, go ahead.

Okay, so first off, let's look at the problem.

The Harsh Reality: Why Many Yoga Teachers Struggle Financially

Let’s be honest—no one becomes a yoga teacher to get rich. Most people start teaching yoga because they love helping others, they’re passionate about the practice, or they’re drawn to the lifestyle.

And that's not surprising, right? Because looking at Instagram, you get the impression that yoga teachers are living the dream—travelling the world, doing yoga on the beach, sipping kombucha. Everything’s great and dandy, but behind those picture-perfect moments, the reality is that many are struggling to make ends meet.

Here’s the hard truth: the average yoga teacher in the U.S. makes about $25 per hour, which adds up to roughly $2,000 a month—and that doesn’t even include commuting between clients and studios. Most of them don’t get benefits or bonuses either.

I talk to yoga teachers every day who are stuck in this struggle. It’s heartbreaking to see teachers pour their heart and soul into their work, only to end up financially stressed. They either start blaming themselves or have massive imposter syndrome…

…“I’m not good enough.”

…“I'm not good at social media.”

…“I suck as a teacher.”

…“I need to be some kind of next-level acrobat super yogi to succeed.”

…“Society is to blame.”

…“There are too many yoga teachers today.”

…“I can’t compete with all these big influencers.”

…“The market is saturated.”

…“I’m never going to make it.”

But here’s the thing: This logic is flawed. These aren’t the real reasons many aren’t making money as a yoga teacher. I’ve seen regular, everyday yoga teachers make six figures or more, despite the competition.

So what’s really going on?

The Deeper Issues: Why Yoga Teachers Aren’t Making Money

‍

Reason #1: The Influence of Society

Let’s start with society. Think about the biggest, most influential industries in the world. Many of them are involved in food and pharmaceuticals.

Companies like Walmart, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s are on one side, while pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, Merck, and Johnson & Johnson are on the other.

One industry is selling you the most toxic food ever created—Big Macs, Coke, and Lunchables—literally giving you diabetes, obesity, and heart attacks. And the other industry, Big Pharma, is selling you pills to treat the diseases caused by those foods.

Ironically, the top ten highest-paid jobs are the ones that help us fix ourselves after we’ve wrecked our health with Big Macs and Fanta—doctors and medical professionals.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m super grateful for what doctors do. I don’t want to die either. But we’re brought up to worship medical professionals who treat us when we’re sick, while those who actually prevent us from getting sick get barely any recognition.

And as long as this continues, we'll always pay doctors more than we pay yoga teachers and wellness coaches.

This mindset is one reason yoga teachers struggle to make a good living. Society doesn’t value prevention and wellness as much as it does treatment and cure.

‍

Reason #2: The Yoga Industry Itself

Now, let’s talk about the yoga industry. According to Future Market Insights, yoga is a $120 billion industry, and it’s expected to triple in size over the next decade. This includes yoga studios, online programs, and certifying bodies like Yoga Alliance.

Remember that yoga teacher dream that I mentioned in the beginning? Now, the very first step to making that dream come true is, you guessed it, to complete the yoga teacher training.

As you know, it costs thousands of dollars to go through a yoga teacher training, and most yoga teacher trainings are Yoga Alliance certified.

Yoga Alliance charges annual fees to certified schools and teachers. The more teachers they certify, the more money they make. And just to give you some perspective, currently there are over 100,000 teachers certified by Yoga Alliance, and they all pay membership fees every year.

Plus, with so many big businesses entering the market, you can now get certified on platforms like Udemy. The result? A flood of new teachers with minimal experience, struggling to build sustainable careers.

But here’s the catch: these certifications don’t necessarily prepare people to make money as a yoga teacher. The focus isn’t on improving teacher quality but on increasing certification numbers.

Yoga Alliance and many schools churn out teachers with minimal experience and no real understanding of how to build a sustainable career.

I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy in the yoga industry––I'm just going to assume that Yoga Alliance have the absolute best intentions.

But the system isn’t designed to help teachers succeed financially. It’s designed to keep certifying more teachers.

Now, you might be wondering, what about yoga studios? Well, they benefit from this system too.

And yeah, this might annoy some people, but hear me out.

Yoga Alliance is pumping out teachers by the thousands. Newbies are desperate for experience, so the supply far outweighs the demand. This means studios don’t need to offer competitive salaries because there’s always another teacher willing to take whatever they can get.

It’s not intentional—just supply and demand. But for the individual teacher, it’s tough.

You sign up for the yoga teacher dream, and suddenly, you’re lost and overwhelmed in a saturated market that isn’t set up for your success.

‍

Reason #3: Yoga Shaming

The third reason, and perhaps the most damaging, is yoga shaming. I’ve been working in the yoga world for over ten years. I’m not a yoga teacher, but I’m a movement practitioner—I do calisthenics, I meditate, and I consider myself a spiritual person.

When I started Doyou.com, I didn’t have any preconceived notions about yoga. I just loved the idea of becoming a better person and helping others do the same.

But as Doyou.com grew, I was shocked by the amount of negativity, judgment, and hate I received. And I see it everywhere.

As soon as anyone finds success in the yoga world—whether they’re building a brand, a business, or just finding personal success—the criticism starts:

…”Yoga is not a business."

…”You're destroying yoga."

…"This is not yoga."

Personally, I couldn’t care less about these internet trolls.

To me, yoga is one of many amazing tools that can lead to profound transformations—physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I don't know about you, but I prefer to live in a world where people get high on yoga instead of prescription opioids like OxyContin.

Think about it: thousands of years ago, yogis lived an ascetic life with no personal belongings, spreading yoga while being taken care of by the community.

They were given food and shelter by their students. But I don’t see any internet trolls offering yoga teachers shelter and food today. So what’s going on with this yoga police telling people what is and isn’t yoga?

It just makes me wonder, why would anyone ever prevent something as powerful as yoga from absolutely dominating every aspect of our life, including business.

I talk to yoga teachers all the time who are selling themselves for pennies because they're being influenced by this weird narrative.

Society tells them that teaching yoga isn’t a real job, the yoga industry is milking them, and the yoga trolls tell them they’re not “real” yoga teachers. Eventually, many of them start to believe it.

Well, I massively disagree with this narrative. I want yoga teachers to succeed and make money because I believe yoga is powerful as f**k. (Sorry, but there's no other way to say it.) I think yoga teachers should live just as comfortably as the rest of us, if not more.

That’s why I created Impact—because I know a ton of yoga teachers are broke or struggling, and we want to change that. Some people might say, “But you’re just like Yoga Alliance. You profit from yoga teachers paying you money.”

That’s not entirely true, because we actually take accountability for the yoga teacher dream everyone’s talking about. Our agency clients only pay us if we actually make them money, and that’s how it should be.

Now, let’s talk about how to fix things.

How to Succeed: The Four Traits of Financially Successful Yoga Teachers

Here’s the good news: despite all these challenges, it’s absolutely possible to succeed as a yoga teacher.

What do I mean by succeed?

→ They teach yoga their authentic way.

→ They actually help a lot of people.

→ They thrive financially at the same time.

Over the past ten years, I’ve observed four key traits that successful yoga teachers have. These traits allow them to thrive financially, help a lot of people, and stay true to their authentic selves.

Let me break this down.

‍

Trait #1: They Ignore the Noise

Successful yoga teachers tune out the negativity and the distractions and focus on their goals. They know not everyone will support their journey, and they’re okay with that. They’re not looking for validation from everyone—not everyone’s going to like them. They’re just focused on building their community and staying true to their mission. Negative comments? They delete them. People talking trash? They ignore it. Instead, they use the hate as fuel to keep going.

‍

Trait #2: They Have an Abundance Mindset

These teachers look at the world as full of opportunities. And that means they're not afraid of competition. They see it as proof that they're on the right path. They don’t envy other teachers—they get inspired by them.  When they see someone else succeed, they see it as proof that it's possible and not as a reason to doubt themselves. They collaborate, build together, and lift each other. And in doing so, they get to do awesome things in the industry and make a real impact.

‍

Trait #3: They Figure Things Out

When they hit roadblocks, they find a way around them. They get resourceful, whether it’s through YouTube tutorials, mentors, or online forums. They tinker, tweak, and keep going until they’re unstuck. And if they can’t figure it out themselves, they’re not afraid to ask for help. Communities play a big role here—successful teachers understand the power of coming together to solve problems and not do everything alone.

‍

Trait #4: They Take Ownership

Successful yoga teachers take full responsibility for their journey. They don’t blame the competition, the circumstances, or anyone else. They don’t victimize themselves. They understand that if something isn’t working, it’s up to them to fix it. They don’t wait around for someone else to solve their problems. They realize that nobody's going to save them but themselves. They take full responsibility and they get to work. They block out the noise, see abundance instead of scarcity, figure things out, and keep moving forward.

These four traits are insanely powerful. And the teachers who possess them achieve great things because of it.

‍

The Bottom Line

There’s a lot of opportunity out there, and anyone who tells you that the market is saturated or that you can’t make money as a yoga teacher has no idea what they’re talking about. In my humble opinion, every single yoga teacher can achieve whatever they want. It’s not about luck or talent—it’s about adopting the right mindset and taking action.

I hope this post was helpful—and if it ruffled some feathers, well, that’s okay too. I appreciate every one of you, even the trolls. Until next time, peace.