Being able to do what you love for a living is something we all strive to achieve. This leads to greater contentment and a feeling that you are effecting the world in a positive way. At the same time, bills need to be paid and reconciling these two sometimes competing interests can be difficult. Further, leaving behind a “comfortable” job to become a yoga instructor can be incredibly stressful with many uncertainties along the way. If you are considering making a move, you may be wondering what kind of income you can expect to make.

For starters, there is a lot of potentially misleading information out there about yoga teacher pay scales. For example, CNNMoney ranked yoga/pilates instructor as number 10 on their “Best Jobs in America” list, offering up a hefty median salary of $62,400.  Aside from the obvious issue of combining pilates and yoga together into one vocation, this really paints the picture that being a yoga instructor is highly lucrative. But, is it?

While this question is tricky to answer given the wide variance in pay across the country, even in New York City most instructors only make in the range of $20-$50 a class, which, assuming they can get three classes a day, five days a week, comes out to about $39,000 a year (at $50 per class). But, as a new teacher you would most likely be on the low end (closer to $20 per class), which comes to roughly $15,600 per year. And remember these numbers do not include any benefits, such as health insurance, sick leave or vacation. Moreover, with the influx of Yoga Teacher Training graduates, the supply of instructors could drive the amounts studios are willing to pay even lower.

Now, while this may seem grim, there are yoga instructors that do make a decent living. With some experience and perseverance, it is not unheard of for a senior yoga instructor to make $75 per class, which would come out to around $62,000 per year. So, you may be asking, how do I go about securing these higher pay figures? Here are a few tips:

1. Know your market – research and be willing to relocate to an area of lower supply / higher demand.
2. Establish and build your reputation – this gives you the ability to negotiate with a studio.
3. Expand your practice – continue to enroll in teacher trainings (provided they are cost-effective) and look into niche markets, such as corporate yoga and yoga for seniors.
4. Generate income outside of the studio – relying on one source of income is always risky. Extra money can be made through participating in workshops, private lessons, and developing a web presence.
5. Be a self-starter – Becoming a yoga instructor means embracing entrepreneurship. If possible, try to find some enjoyment in the process of building your own brand.

At the end of the day, if making money is your only goal, there are perhaps more straightforward avenues than becoming a yoga instructor. However, there is a possibility of making a good living teaching if you can understand and even embrace the business side of yoga. Being highly flexible and adaptable to changes in your environment are the cornerstones to yoga practice, and incorporating these same values into your teaching career can have huge dividends. Namaste.