Breaking Down the Good & the Bad – With Love
I’d like to start this article by first acknowledging how much Yoga has changed my life. I transformed from a stressed out New Producer into, (a hopefully more chill) Licensed Massage Therapist and 200-hour Certified Yoga Teacher; this evolution started with my own personal Yoga practice in college. I’ve written about this journey often and you’re free to check out that article here.
The main goal of this blog post is to be transparent. Truthfully there are both good and bad things about teaching Yoga – especially as a Black woman. My intention is to shed light on both of these aspects. Hopefully any person, especially someone of color can gain a full understanding of what being a Yoga Teacher is really like – at least from my perspective. So with that said – let’s dive right in.
I Stopped Teaching Yoga for a Simple Reason
This story begins, (and sort of ends) with the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. Before the pandemic hit I was teaching Yoga full-time at multiple studios throughout Nashville, TN. Teaching Yoga full-time meant teaching anywhere from 15-20 studio classes a week, in addition to teaching private yoga classes, working the front desk at Yoga studios, plus providing physical assists during yoga classes. Keep in mind this was my routine EVERY WEEK.
Here’s truth #1 about teaching Yoga full-time – it’s hard work. I was constantly using my voice, my body, my energy and my time. Truth #2 about teaching Yoga, the pay kinda sucks. Most Yoga Teachers are independent contractors meaning there are no health benefits, studios set their own pay rate and lastly taxes are not deducted from your pay; so if you’re not careful you could end up owing a ton – come tax time.
Let’s circle back to pay for a moment. Most Yoga studios pay either a flat rate per class or pay the teacher per student that attends the class. On some cases the studio may also offer a bonus if a certain ‘attendance threshold’ is met. For example if I get more than 20 people to attend my class, I’d receive an additional amount of money or bonus on top of the flat rate of the class. For the record I’ve worked at studios that offer all three avenues of pay. The most I’ve ever been paid for teaching a studio Yoga class is $60. The least I’ve been paid for teaching is $0.00 – only because the class may have been donation based or simply a free offering.
Being paid $60 or more for teaching may seem alluring at first but I want to paint the full picture for you. This pay rate is often the same no matter what the time length of the class is. This means you’d make $60 no matter if the class was 60, 75 or 90 minutes. Additionally, teachers are not paid extra for staying after class to talk with students about questions they may have. Teachers aren’t paid to clean up after class or to set-up beforehand. Heck, Yoga teachers aren’t even paid for the time it takes to sequence the poses needed for class or to plan the music. All of this is done on your own time – for free. Once one class is completed, teachers often have to jump in their vehicles, use their own gas and drive to another studio to repeat the same process.
Personally the #1 reason I stopped teaching Yoga is because I was beyond jaded with this experience. Teaching Yoga began to feel like a chore, for which I was underpaid. On top of being straight up tired with teaching Yoga – I happened to find massage therapy and chose to go in a different direction professionally. It just so happened that I stopped teaching Yoga just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and every studio in town shut down anyway.
Teaching Yoga While Black – It’s an Experience, to Say the Least
Next I want to peel back the layers a bit more and talk about my experience as a Black Yoga Teacher in Nashville. Truthfully there’s been beautiful moments and not so beautiful ones.
Let’s start with the not so beautiful moments.
I’ve literally been told to my face by a Yoga studio manager in Nashville – the only reason they hired me and kept me on the schedule was because I was black. As you can imagine this was beyond hurtful. For the record I stopped working at this studio very soon after. It’s not nice to be treated as the token black person. Looking back when I see this studios’ old marketing it’s very clear they were using me for my race. At the time, I was the only Black teacher the studio had. Still to this very day there’s only one or two minorities on their regular teaching schedule.
To be fair, I’ve never brought this issue up to the studio owners where this incident occurred for many reasons. One of which is because I was shocked that it even happened. At the time, I saw this Yoga studio as the pinnacle of peace and healing. I simply couldn’t believe I was being used and this revelation shifted my reality completely. I have confronted the individual who said this to me personally. Still to this day I haven’t mentioned it to the studio owners because the person in question isn’t the studio manager any longer and this person happens to be a very beloved teacher in the Nashville community. Plus I’ve moved on and healed from it.
I have to be completely honest – apart from the above mentioned situation, many times it was off putting to always be the only Black teacher or the only Black person in a Yoga class. I often felt isolated or on the reverse end – put on a makeshift pedestal for being in class. Simply put there’s a tremendous lack of diversity in the Yoga community period. Studios everywhere, not just in Nashville have some serious work to do. I do dive deeper into this lingering diversity issue here.
Let’s End on a High Note
I do believe teaching Yoga as a Black woman has encouraged more people of color to be open to trying it.
I feel this way because so many of my Yoga students of color have said this to me personally. Let’s face it – it does help to see someone who looks like you do something you’re curious to try. This is why representation absolutely matters. What wrong about this process is to exploit or use someone because of the color of their skin.
When these interactions have happened naturally and organically it’s made my heart so tremendously happy. The truth is – the Yoga world isn’t very diverse at all. There should be more people, especially those of color, who discover how powerful and healing Yoga is. The most beautiful memories of my time teaching Yoga are those where I was able to introduce this amazing practice to those who may have never considered taking a class.
While I absolutely loved my time teaching I’m hesitant to teach in-studio classes again mostly because the time and the effort it takes to teach aren’t of value to me any longer. On top of this reason, while I have seen more inclusive Yoga studios establish themselves in Nashville, it’s still a hard pill to swallow that the Yoga community isn’t as inclusive as I’d like it to be.
While I may no longer teach Yoga in studios any longer I’m always teaching private events and personal one on one sessions. I’ll always love Yoga and I’ll always teach in some way – but teaching in studios are sadly a thing of the past; at least that’s the way I feel in my heart now.
I personally want to thank each of my Yoga students that have ever taken a class from me and thank you to each and everyone of you who has taken the time to read my thoughts here.
Until next time – I wish you all the best.
