Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Nkeek, fill in the blanks. My average is 2 sessions per day of Iyengar. Need to know what style you teach and what your current level of practice is to even guess at giving you an answer.

How Many Hours per Day do Yoga Instructors Work?

Many people who practice yoga on a regular basis have entertained the idea of becoming an instructor. If they decide to follow through with this particular ambition, then they may be wondering about how often they will work. Many potential instructors focus on the amount of time they will spend teaching after they have received their certification, but they will have far more work to do behind the scenes and outside of the classroom.

The number of hours per day that a yoga instructor works can vary. Some instructors teach yoga classes in addition to holding down a regular job. Others commit themselves to working as yoga instructors full-time. Neither one is better than the other, and both groups will have their good instructors as well as their great ones. A person who has a 9-5 job may only teach one class a day a few times a week. A full-time yoga instructor may teach three classes a day if they choose to do so. There is also the fact that yoga instructors work on demand. Their schedules may vary from week to week, meaning that their income is inconsistent as well. In addition to time constraints, there are space constraints as well. Yoga instructors may teach at more than one studio, or they may not have a large enough space in which to teach more people.

Ultimately, the number of hours that a yoga instructor works per day encompasses much more than actual in-class time. A good instructor will spend additional time and effort on planning their classes and practicing the asanas and transitions. They will drive to different studios and gyms each day in order to teach different classes. They may offer private workshops, or special group lessons for people celebrating life events. Instructors will have to answer business queries and student questions outside of the classroom. Even if they only teach a couple of classes each week, a yoga instructor might find themselves working on those classes for at least a couple of hours every day. If they teach yoga full-time, then they can expect to work for at least seven to eight hours every day and even more if they offer more lessons.

Whether an instructor teaches one class a week or owns their own yoga studio, they are providing a valuable and rewarding experience to their students. Instructors should focus on making their in-class hours count as much as possible so that they can positively encourage practitioners to deepen their study of yoga. If they are doing something that they truly love, the hours tend to go by rather quickly!