Upon completing the 200+ hours of required training needed to become a yoga teacher, you may feel eager to start teaching and share all the skills that you’ve just learned.
Utilizing a sense of eagerness, you begin attempting to land a yoga teacher job anywhere.
Upon applying for numerous yoga teacher jobs, you realize very quickly that the market is saturated with yoga teachers, and getting a job will be competitive.
You may start to doubt yourself as you receive no response from the numerous applications you submitted, and wonder how you will stand out as a yoga teacher.
Step 1: To land a yoga teaching job you must first identify your niche.
This article serves as an introduction to identifying your niche as a yoga instructor and why it’s important for yoga teachers to have a niche and ways that you can use your identified niche to make money.
The Definition of a Yoga Niche
“A yoga niche is the specific thing that makes you and your yoga teachings unique.” Your yoga niche can also be identified as a certain brand, specialty or type of yoga.
Identifying a niche is essential for attracting students that will benefit from your instruction and finding enjoyable teaching jobs.
Some examples of yoga niches are “yoga with goats”, “yoga for weight loss” and “yoga for flexibility”.
The process looks like this:
You’ve selected your niche (ex. yoga for weight loss), and then you will need to determine what overweight yogis need. So that you can provide the best skills and resources to assist them. Overweight yogis might want to lose weight, eliminate their muffin tops, and cure depression and anxiety.
Upon gaining an understanding of what would help overweight yogis the most, you can begin designing and advertising your class to meet the needs of yogis that want to lose weight.
Then you will eventually become known as the expert attracting all of the overweight yogis within the area.
Importance of Having a Niche as a Yoga Teacher
Over the years, yoga has become extremely popular.
There are thousands of yoga teachers throughout the world, and the; market is competitive, although you feel persistent and you are eager to share the skills you’ve learned with the world.
We believe that having a yoga niche will greatly increase your chances of success as a teacher.
Potential Niches for Yoga Teachers
- Yoga for Athletes: Boxers, Cyclists, Football, Soccer, Tennis, Hockey, and Basketball players, Gymnasts, Surfers, Golfers, Bowlers, and Runners.
- Yoga for Mental Health or Physical Therapy: Anxiety, BackPain, Bullying, Core Strength, Depression, Domestic Violence, Drug Addiction, Fibromyalgia, Grieving, Knee Pain, Paraplegic, Pregnancy, and PTSC.
- Yoga Styles: Ashtanga, Bikram, Kripalu, Hatha, Hot Yoga, Iyengar, Power Yoga, Restorative, Sivananda, Yin, Yoga Nidra, and Vinyasa.
- Yoga for Specific Groups: Beginners, Couples, Introverts, Mom and Babies, Seniors, Special Needs, and Women Only.
Note that these potential niches for yoga teachers are only examples. We think that the options are almost endless and only truly limited by your imagination.
7 Reasons for Identifying a Niche as a Yoga Teacher
- You will stand out amongst the over-saturated yoga market.
- Attempting to please every yogi, results in no one being pleased. It is impossible to provide something that benefits every student. Niching down helps your focus on specific needs.
- Potential burn out risk decreases, due to increased fulfillment and job satisfaction.
- Marketing becomes much easier because you will be targeting a specific group of people.
- You will become an expert in your identified niche.
- Students that match your skill set will be attracted to your class.
- You will be genuine and authentic all around.
As you grow as a yoga teacher, your authentic, unique style will begin to shine and this will attract students. Students will connect with your personal style and follow you from different studios, they may someday attend your training for future teachers.
Figuring Out Your Yoga Niche
New teachers often feel that they can’t stand out amongst all the other teachers, but the best way to reach students is to pull from unique experiences.
Each teacher has their own journey from discovering yoga to becoming a yoga teacher, and everyone has life experiences that shape their worldview.
Think back to your teacher’s training, was there ever a moment where you felt like you started to unravel?
Did you notice an increase in intensity as you peeled back layers and noticed something that had been there all along?
Was there a time where everything effortless when you were aligned with your best self?
To attract students to your class, you must first develop a niche. To develop a niche, you must notice how you see the world and notice your life experiences.
A niche is determined based on how to communicate/ interact with students, how you instruct, and how you advertise your services.
Tips On Identifying Your Niche
- What do students say about your class? Do students leave you reviews?
- Teach in different environments (i.e. at the park, at school) and teach different population (i.e. kids, pregnant women, young adults, elderly).
- Think about your personal experiences and how they could help others succeed.
- What are you good at? What interests you?
- Write down whatever comes to mind, whenever it comes to mind. Keep a journal.
- Talk to your teacher trainee network for feedback and advice.
- Research other teachers to gather ideas.
- What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
- What are some things that yoga pairs well with? Be creative.
Past Niches That Have Been Successful For Yoga Instructors
Niche: Yoga for Surfers – Deep Stretch for the Hips
Niche: Yoga with Goats – Yes, Goat Yoga is a Real Thing!
Niche: Yoga for Rock Climbers – Sports Related Yoga
These are only a few examples, but the options are nearly endless. For additional inspiration, check out this article on the best yoga teachers in the world. Using your niche, there are several ways you can put your newly identified niche to use:
- Make a class themed around your niche
- Continue your education about the niche to become an expert in the area
- Speak about your niche in workshops and conferences
- Advertise about your niche, communicate what you are trying to do
Now, it’s your turn. I would love to hear from you in the comments. How did you choose your niche as a yoga teacher? Let me know in the comments.