This article is written for those who are considering the vocation of teaching yoga and eventually becoming a yoga therapist. It is a long commitment and good to consider what the average day looks like for a yoga therapy professional. Below I share a typical day and how I organize my weeks as a business owner, yoga therapist and trainer of yoga teachers and yoga therapists.
Morning
Rise and Shine before sunrise for personal practice and optimal health.
Visualize the best day/life that you are manifesting and co-creating with the universe.
Drink warm water with lemon and cayenne, currently adding ginger and chaga.
Review the calendar for the days/weeks appointments and commitments.
Teach a group yoga class in person or online live (record the class so that it can be used again).
Make notes about client awareness’ so that I can address them in the next class together.
Head to my first yoga therapy appointment – new client intake. This can take from 60-90mins so always booking 2hrs for new intakes – giving you time to decompress after particularly intense individual case histories.
Afternoon
Break for fresh air, sustenance, play.
1-3 clients in the afternoon.
Work on business of yoga therapy and group yoga instruction.
Evening
Break for rest, yoga nidra or fresh air, sustenance, play or chores.
Teach an evening group yoga class and/or private client.
reading before bed something that inspires me
This average day can be shorter or longer depending on the time of year, my travel schedule and life events. One of the things about yoga therapy is that you are designing your life around your ideal schedule. If you are a morning person – get up early and get going and be done by 2pm each day and relax and enjoy life. If you prefer to get up later and start later in the day get up and take time for self and start your work day at a time that feels grounded for you – could be 2pm – 8pm. There are clients and students for all of our different preferences. I have always enjoyed working 2 longer days and 2 shorter days each week and when I have programs that run through the weekend making a point of taking days off during the week to balance my schedule and energy levels.
You can work for yourself or for a clinic or studio. Know your goals and gifts. If you know that you do not want the responsibility of running a business then work for someone who enjoys that part of our industry. If you are a natural entrepreneur and enjoy all the aspects and potential of having your own business then strike out and build a world that gives you that joy.
Yoga therapy is an emerging vocation. At this point in time there are a limited number of yoga therapists out there. Here at Atlas Yoga School we believe that in the near future that there will be as many yoga therapists as there are massage therapist, chiropractors and physio-therapists. Over the past 20 years of training yoga teachers we have trained many teachers who have gone on to become yoga therapists due to the therapeutic nature of the practice and the technology of the discipline suiting the therapeutic model.
Many individuals have influenced modern day yoga and brought new approaches to the study of the human body, mind and spirit. In our program we look to train the individual – watching for opportunities to enhance the individual practitioner’s skill sets and to instill a mindset to observe the individual clients/students with fresh eyes and create therapeutic lifestyle programming.
If you are exploring your future vocation there is a sounds true audio course from one of my teachers, Stephen Cope (long time Kripalu yoga teacher and psychologist) that is brilliant to help you to discover your true calling. You can find it at this link,
https://product.soundstrue.com/your-true-calling/?sq=1#a_aid=5d36078ce164c&a_bid=69fa3e68
In the light of transparency, Atlas receives a small commission for our affiliation with Soundstrue, we believe that they are one of the best producers of audio and video teachings in our industry.