become a certified yoga instructorBy Sangeetha Saran

You think you’ve got an original idea about teaching corporate yoga classes during the day. It seems like a great idea, but other teachers have the same idea. You do a little research, make a few inquiries, and then you give up, because it will require an investment of research, time, and money. This is what 95% of the average yoga teachers do, because you are going to rub elbows with managers and executives. Additionally, you may become well skilled at how to market your services.

If you haven’t got the stomach for marketing, business, and talking to corporate power players, then you should read no further, because in the words of Paulji, “You have to be all in, or walk away right now.” I don’t want you to waste your time, and for that reason, I want to be up front about teaching corporate classes. This is an all or nothing venture.

Here’s What Everybody Knows

Yoga has been around for thousands of years. Yogic methods have a variety of health benefits for men and women. Corporate yoga has become increasingly popular and a number of managers will actually put together training programs for businesses and organizations. Teaching corporate yoga to employees can offer a variety of long-term benefits to employee as well as employer. Yogic exercise is an excellent way to stay in shape however, corporate yoga offers a host of advantages for everyone involved.

Yoga can vary from gentle to challenging. When students are trying yoga for the first time it may be wise to start gentle and eventually work their way up to more challenging yoga exercises. Yogic techniques can help an employee to control stress within the workplace. In addition, it can help employees to maintain a positive attitude while in the work environment. Corporations can benefit from employees who regularly participate in yoga exercises. Regular yoga participation can actually increase employee performance as well as overall productivity. Therefore, in the long term companies can benefit economically due to employee participation in yoga.

Regular yogic exercises can increase focus on work tasks and decrease pain. Yoga can help to decrease pain in a variety of areas such as the neck, hips, back, legs and shoulders. When pain is decreased a person is better able to focus and perform required tasks especially where the workplace is involved. Yoga can help a person’s physical well being in a variety of ways. Therefore, an employee may not have the need to frequent a physician’s office thus lowering company health insurance premiums. When a person is in ill health they require more physician and possibly hospital care. Participation in yoga training sessions can reduce the need for hospital visits, physician’s consultations, and expensive medical testing.

Why Did We Have to Go Over That?

You better have an elevator speech prepared for an interview, you should have a brief handout prepared with features and benefits explained. What’s the company going to get out of this? That’s what they’ll ask you. You have to know the studies that back your claims and have them prepared. You need a resume, benefits handout, and a sheet or brochure that covers real studies about yoga for health.

It’s not enough to say that yoga can improve breathing, lower overall blood pressure, help control migraines and can significantly reduce depression. You better know the studies, universities, medical centers, and dates of the research. That’s why you need the proof in writing and you should have it memorized like an attorney facing a judge. Why is this so important? If you know your facts, you are more likely to get the job. If you come across as a hippie, with anecdotal information, you can forget about getting hired.

Teaching corporate classes will produce excellent results for those instructors who choose to participate. The reason is simple: Success is there for yoga instructors to take, if we want to apply ourselves. When more companies become involved with yoga for prevention, back health, stress management, pain reduction, improved lifestyle, and knowledge of body alignment, they will be pleasantly surprised with the  results. If they don’t do it, another competitive company will. Labor, health insurance, and worker’s compensation is too big of a financial burden for any company to ignore. For this reason, you have to spell it out for any company that invites you to talk.

Here’s What You Shouldn’t Teach

Yoga can also provide a path to “spiritual enlightenment”. Spiritual enlightenment can actually help a person to become more aware of their spiritual being and surroundings. Stop it! If you’re going to say this, forget about talking to local businesses. To companies the word “spiritual” means religion and they just don’t have time for that, unless they let everyone leave the building to visit a religious center. Does it make any sense for a company to be concerned with religion or spiritual health? Corporations want to make a profit and that’s it!

What Can You Do?

Break the ice with direct mail. Get a targeted mailing list for local businesses, design a post card, and start sending cards out as soon as possible. Be prepared to get a low response rate. Your post cards and marketing methods will improve as you continue. Eventually, everything will improve, but you have to expect that some doors will close in your face. You will see success as you continue. One mailing is not enough. Some yoga teachers or their staff, give follow up phone calls, but be prepared for hang ups, because these are like cold calls. The person who answers probably didn’t see your post card and may not have time. If you start with 10 cards a week, that’s 520 inquiries a year and that’s much better than no inquiries. Don’t spend your life savings on direct mail, but do get it off the ground.

© Copyright 2013 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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