What’s Your Dream for Your Yoga Teaching Business? (And why having a vision and knowing your “WHY” matters if you want to be successful)

Do you have a dream of teaching yoga? 

Did you do your yoga teacher training course in the hope that you would be able to quit the rat race and set up this lovely business where you control your life, teach yoga and earn an income which  helps you pay the bills your current job does? 

Then you’re not alone! 

Of the thousands of students who register for a yoga teacher training course each year, probably at least half of them or more are hoping they might be able to use this skill to help them develop into a new career. 

The trouble is, very few of them actually see that vision become reality. Why? 

Having a dream is great –  

Making that dream happen is the challenge!

One of my mentors once said this to me: A dream or goal, by definition, is outside of your comfort zone, because if it was inside your comfort zone you’d already have it! 

2 keys to making your yoga teaching dream a reality

1. Develop a clear vision of what you actually want
   Seriously – this may sound obvious – but I have run lots of strategy calls with aspiring yoga teachers now and when I ask them to give a clear picture of just what their ideal yoga teacher career looks like for the next 12 months many of them struggle!                                                              So try answering the following questions I’d ask you if I were coaching you 1-1:
   In your ideal world: 
   a) What days and times are you teaching? 
    
   b) How many weeks a year will you teach – and when do you want to take leave? 
    
   c) Who do you want to teach? (And please don’t say anyone! If that’s your answer to that question please check out this article: The truth about teaching yoga: you need to stand out) 
    
   d) How much money do you want/need to earn as a yoga teacher? 
    
   e) Where do you want to teach? How far are you prepared to travel? 
    
   f) Do you want to teach private yoga sessions as well as classes? How will you split your time in your ideal world? 
    
   Getting clear about the answers to these questions is a good place to start to help you create the career you’ll actually love – otherwise, if you’re not careful you find yourself doing things which don’t actually fit your plan. And all that does is create frustration! Believe me – I’ve been there! Don’t do it! 
2. Get clear about your “WHY”
   I'd like to ask you another question. On a scale of nought to 10 with 10 being I'll do whatever it takes to make that yoga teaching dream a reality, how much do you want this?  
    
   Really! What’s your score? And how quickly did you give your score or did you hesitate before deciding? 
    
   I'm really serious when I ask that question. I've been coaching for 16 years. And I've coached hundreds of people and I ask this question all the time.  If somebody hesitates before they answer and if somebody gives me an answer with a number that's lower than eight, I will really challenge them and say, "Do you want this badly enough?"  
   

Because you know what, anything less than 10 means you don’t want it badly enough!  It's a "Well, it'd be kind of nice to do that" 
 
And “nice to do’s” generally don’t ever materialise!! Especially if there’s work involved or there’s a chance you might have to do stuff which takes you out of that comfort zone you’ve built up around you for the last few years!​

All sorts of things will take you out of your comfort zone as you try to build your yoga teacher career and there are loads of things which will arouse a sense of fear and discomfort: from fear of making a mistake, of being judged, of losing money….the list is endless. 
 
And the trouble is – it’s those very fears which will cause you to wobble: to tell yourself it’s too hard; or you’re not good enough, confident enough, qualified enough etc.  
 
The truth is, if you let those fears stop you, you will never achieve your vision.   
 
But, if you know your “WHY” – it can motivate you to keep going.

Think through the following 3 questions to help you get clear about your why:

1) WHY do I want to teach yoga?   
 
2) What will it give me if I achieve this dream I have? (Literally write down everything you can think of – will you be able to quit your job? Spend more time with your kids/partner? Be your own boss? Do something you love instead of something you hate?) 
 
3) What will it COST me if I don’t achieve this dream? 
Look back at the answers to question 2 – these are the things you stand to lose if you do not achieve that dream. How would that make you feel? 
 
The other thing to realise is, whatever your vision was for the amount of money you hoped you’d earn from teaching yoga – if you don’t make that dream happen – that’s the amount of money it’s cost you! So if you hoped to make £20k from teaching yoga – but you don’t work on making that dream happen – you just lost £20k! Ouch!!  

So, the next time you are on the mat, take time out to reflect on what you really want and why you want it. Connect with the feelings you would have if that dream became a reality for you. Let that drive you. 

And watch that dream become a reality!

Good luck!  Let me know how you get on!

Namaste, 

Shona

An action you can take: