How do you react to life’s challenges? Do you stay rigid and unchanging? Or do you ‘bend and flex’ with life? Making the necessary changes so that you continue to flow?

I’m a firm believer that our ‘practice’ teaches us solid life skills that we can take with us off the mat and having the metaphorical ‘flexibility’ to roll with life’s punches is one of those skills. It not only teaches us to be mentally (and physically) stronger but it makes us more resilient and better able to cope with life’s challenges as they arise.

And never has the ability to ‘meet life’s challenges as they arise’ been more evident as it has in recent months where, due to the global pandemic, every Yoga Teacher across the globe (yourself included I imagine) have jumped online in order to make sure that they can continue to make an income from teaching classes during Covid. This has required a complete change of business model and a great deal of reskilling to do so and seriously, I say, hats off to Yoga Teachers everywhere who, so eloquently ‘bent and flexed’ to meet these changing times! Kudos to you my friends!

The metaphor to ‘bend so you don’t break’ is so apt really because companies and businesses break down every day because they resist change and the ‘business of teaching yoga’ is no different.⁠

By moving your classes to Zoom during Covid, you have already proven your ability to be ‘flexible’ in changing times. And perhaps, the move to ‘Online’ has opened up your eyes to the opportunities that are available to you in the ‘digital world’? 

My eyes were certainly opened to this in recent times. This time last year, I had no idea that there were other ways I could make money from my passion besides teaching classes. This year, however, I started to educate myself. I started to RESKILL so that I could ‘bend and flex’ with life rather than staying stuck. 

I began to realise that more and more of our world was shifting online and with every new day that passed, WE WERE DEPENDING more and more ON THE INTERNET for every part of business including the ‘yoga business’. 

I realised that most ‘well known’ and ‘successful’ yoga teachers were using the power of the internet to support themselves, in addition to teaching classes/ trainings and I was determined to discover what they were doing and better yet, how I could also do it too.

Do you know what I discovered? I discovered 5 ways Yoga Teachers or Yogipreneurs (as I like to call us) can make an income online that can support you while they teach, travel and even sleep (Yes, you read that correct, even while you sleep!). 

This was groundbreaking for me because, apart from the global pandemic which knocked everyone for six, it’s well known that teaching yoga is not well paid, it’s seasonal (who wants to come to class in August or at Christmas??) and what happens when you get sick, well you know the answer to that…. Nothing… You don’t get paid when you can’t teach! So finding out that there were other ways to make money besides returning to a corporate career was…. well….. A lifeline! (Full disclaimer: I did return to my corporate career and this was my ‘lifeline’ to stop doing what I hated and return to doing what I love).

So…. What are these income-producing activities I hear you ask?? Ok… Here we go…..

5 WAYS TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE AS A YOGIPRENEUR:

1. Start a Youtube Channel⁠ (With a commitment to growth and monetizing)
2. Affiliate marketing⁠ paid advertising (Low, medium and high ticket)
3. Affiliate marketing organic (Blogs, social media)
4. Sell Physical product via Amazon FBA⁠
5. Selling courses online (Course creation)⁠

I know I have put affiliate marketing twice above but I feel these two (paid and organic) are quite different ball games which require different skill sets. They have similarities without doubt but I still believe they are quite different and can suit different people and different pockets, something many yoga teachers may need to consider starting out.

I’m personally exploring both types of affiliate marketing both paid and organic, along with Youtube and course creation. I have plans in time to go into physical products but I’m not ready for that just yet.

I have to say though, I feel so compelled to share my discovery with every yoga teacher that I meet. These are certainly not skills that we learn in yoga teacher training but yet I feel they are such an important part of building a sustainable yoga business Im ready to shout it from the rooftops. 

I just feel these are essential skills for us to learn not just so that we can ‘bend and flex’ with life’s challenges but so that we can shift our lives and our businesses from ‘barely surviving’ to really ‘thriving’ and help us to find true balance in all areas of our lives.