I once received an email from a yoga teacher who wanted to teach at “Triangle Yoga.” That was our competition down the street. The email was clearly a mass copy-paste job, and it went straight to the trash.
As co-owner of Carrboro Yoga Company, I’ve been fielding teaching inquiries for over 20 years. Most follow the same pattern: generic, templated emails from teachers who’ve never taken a single class at our studio. They mention how much they need the work. They list every certification they’ve ever earned. Some even include headshots doing advanced poses, as if that’s what determines good teaching.
But every once in a while, a teacher gets it exactly right. And when that happens, the hiring decision is easy.
In this guide, I’m sharing the exact seven-step process that gets yoga teachers hired at studios—the same approach I detail in The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook. This isn’t about luck or having the right connections. It’s about professionalism, intentionality, and understanding that you’re entering both a community and a business.
Why Most Teaching Applications Get Deleted
Here’s what you need to understand from a studio owner’s perspective: we are drowning in applications from new teachers.
Every teacher training program graduates cohorts of newly certified teachers multiple times per year. Many send mass emails to every studio they can find online, asking if we’re hiring. Most have never visited our studios. Most have no idea what we teach, who our students are, or what our culture looks like.
When you approach a studio without having been a student there first, what you’re really saying is this: “I want something from you, but I haven’t invested any time or energy into understanding whether I’m even a good fit for what you do.”
That’s not appealing. And with an overabundance of qualified teachers, we can afford to be selective.
In The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook, I include the stock response we send to teachers who contact us cold. It goes like this: “We have an overabundance of teachers right now, both on our schedule and on our sub list. When we do hire, we like to choose from among the folks who have been practicing at the studio regularly. If you’re interested in teaching at Carrboro Yoga Company, that’s a great place to start, so that we can get to know each other and so that you can understand the studio culture and student needs.”
Even with this clear guidance, most teachers don’t follow through. They move on to the next studio on their list, hoping for an easier yes. The ones who do follow through? Those are the ones we hire.
The Gold Standard Approach: A Success Story
A few years ago, a graduate student named Lauren moved to our area. She was going to be in town for at least two years, and she was a certified yoga teacher looking for work.
But she didn’t email me right away. She didn’t show up with her resume in hand. Instead, she became a student.
She bought our three-week unlimited intro pass and used it fully. She came to different teachers’ classes, tried different styles, showed up at different times of day. She was present—genuinely there to practice yoga and understand what our studio was about, not performing or trying to impress anyone.
After three weeks, she approached me after class and said, “Hi, I’m wondering if you’re the right person to talk to about possibly teaching here? If so, would you prefer to set up a meeting, or should I send you an email?”
That simple question told me so much. She was respectful of my time. She understood professional communication. She wasn’t assuming anything.
A few days later, I received an email that was absolutely perfect. She opened by mentioning specific classes and teachers she’d enjoyed—not in a schmoozy way, but genuinely. She shared that she was newly relocated for graduate school and would be in town for at least two years. She mentioned her specialties: prenatal and yin yoga, two areas where we were looking to expand. She said she was proficient in MindBody, our scheduling software. She included her resume and offered her teacher trainer as a reference.
I hired her immediately. She taught with us until she finished her degree, and she was professional, reliable, and deeply present with students the entire time.
The Seven-Step Process for Getting Hired
Here’s your roadmap for approaching studios in a way that stands out from 95 percent of other applicants.
Step One: Choose Your Studio Strategically
Don’t apply to every studio in town. Be selective. Look for studios where you genuinely want to practice, where the vibe feels right, where you can see yourself fitting into the teacher community.
If you have a specialty—prenatal, yin, yoga for athletes, restorative—look for studios that already offer those classes or seem open to adding them. If your schedule is especially open or you love teaching early mornings or late evenings, those are valuable assets worth highlighting.
Focus on one or two studios where you really want to teach, and give them your full attention.
Step Two: Sign Up for the Intro Offer and Actually Use It
Most studios offer introductory deals for new students—often a week or month of unlimited classes at a discounted rate. Buy it. Use it. Take at least three classes, but ideally more.
Go to different teachers. Try different class styles. Show up at different times of day to see how the energy shifts. And be present. Be a good student. Don’t try to impress anyone or workshop your teaching skills. Just practice yoga sincerely and observe what’s happening around you.
Notice how teachers interact with students before and after class. Notice the front desk culture. Notice the energy in the room—is it warm and community-oriented, or more anonymous and drop-in focused? Notice how teachers handle music, adjustments, and class structure.
Pay attention to the students too. Ask them about their experience. Which teachers do they recommend? How long have they been coming? What keeps them coming back?
All of this is reconnaissance. You’re building genuine understanding so that when you approach the manager or owner, you can speak intelligently about what you’ve experienced.
Step Three: Speak to Teachers After Class
This isn’t about networking in a schmoozy way. It’s about building authentic connections.
After class, approach the teacher. Give a genuine compliment about something specific you appreciated. Then mention you’re interested in joining the teaching staff and ask who’s in charge of hiring and how the scheduling process works.
Teachers are generally generous with this information. They’ll tell you when schedules are written—quarterly, monthly, whenever there’s an opening. They’ll tell you who to talk to and what the process looks like.
When you do approach the hiring manager, you might be able to say, “I’ve been taking Sarah’s Tuesday class and she mentioned you’re the person to talk to about teaching opportunities.” That’s a warm introduction, not a cold pitch.
Step Four: Approach the Hiring Manager Directly
After you’ve taken several classes and done your homework, approach the person you’ve identified as the hiring manager or studio owner after class one day.
Here’s exactly what to say: “Hi, I’m wondering—are you the right person to talk to about possibly teaching here? If so, would you prefer I send you an email, or would you like to set up a meeting?”
Simple. Respectful. Professional. You’re not cornering them or launching into your pitch. You’re asking permission for the right way to continue the conversation.
Step Five: Write a Stellar Email
If email is the preferred route, your message should be clear, concise, and error-free. Proofread multiple times. Use proper punctuation. Don’t write it like a text message.
Your email must include these seven elements:
- Your positive experience at the studio. Reference specific classes you’ve taken and what resonated with you. This proves you’ve been there.
- Who you are as a teacher. State whether you’re newly certified or experienced. Be honest about your level.
- Your specialty or scheduling strengths. If you have a specialty (prenatal, yin, kids yoga, yoga for athletes), mention it. If your schedule is especially open or you love unpopular time slots, say so.
- Your training and credentials. Mention where you did your teacher training and who your lead teacher was. Confirm your trainer is available as a reference before offering this.
- Your teaching experience. If you’ve taught anywhere—even just for friends or at a community center—mention it with specifics about settings and class sizes.
- Your willingness to substitute and audition. Emphasize your flexibility and availability to sub classes, which is often the entry point to regular slots.
- Your technical skills. If you’re familiar with the studio’s scheduling software (MindBody, Zen Planner, etc.), mention it. This makes you immediately more valuable.
Keep the email concise—aim for three paragraphs covering these points—and attach your teaching resume as a PDF.
Step Six: Follow Up Professionally
If you don’t hear back within two weeks, follow up once. Keep it brief and friendly: “Hi [Name], I wanted to check in on my previous email about teaching opportunities. I’m still very interested and available if anything opens up.”
Then follow up again in about two months. Timing matters—many studios write schedules quarterly, so someone who reaches out just before a new scheduling period is more likely to get attention than someone who contacts us right after schedules are finalized.
Step Seven: Be Patient and Keep Practicing
You might not get hired right away, and that’s not a reflection on you or your teaching. Studios genuinely have more qualified teachers than open spots.
But if you keep showing up as a student, if you continue being a positive presence in the community, if you’re professional and patient, you’ll often get a call when something opens up.
What NOT to Say in Your Initial Approach
Let me give you the red flags that make studio owners delete applications immediately:
Don’t mention how much money you need. Your initial pitch is about what you can offer the studio and students, not what you need from them. Compensation conversations come after you’ve been offered a position.
Don’t emphasize limited availability to substitute. If you can’t cover last-minute classes, don’t lead with that limitation. Studios need flexible teachers for emergencies and illnesses.
Don’t mention negativity about other studios. Even if you had a bad experience elsewhere, don’t bring it up. It makes you look unprofessional and difficult.
Don’t use generic, vague enthusiasm. “I just love yoga so much and want to share it with everyone” is not compelling. Be specific about what you bring to the table and what makes your teaching valuable.
What Happens During Auditions
Some studios do formal auditions where you teach a sample class. Others don’t. At Carrboro Yoga Company, we don’t do traditional auditions because they’re artificial—teaching while other teachers evaluate you creates a dynamic that doesn’t reflect actual teaching.
Instead, if we’re considering someone, I might invite them to guest teach a portion of a regular class, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. This gives me a sense of their presence without the pressure of a full audition.
What am I looking for? I want to see that the teacher has presence. That they’re comfortable holding space. That they can be quiet when appropriate and don’t fill every second with talk. That they understand the work is about serving students, not performing.
I want to learn something—even if it’s just one small cue or one interesting way to use a prop. And I want to see that they’re genuine, that they’re themselves rather than trying to be some idealized version of what they think a yoga teacher should be.
The Bottom Line
Getting your first teaching job at a yoga studio isn’t about luck. It’s not about who you know, though connections help. It’s not even primarily about your skill level, though you need to be competent.
It’s about professionalism. It’s about showing that you understand you’re entering a community and a business, and that you respect both.
When you take time to show up as a student first, when you craft a thoughtful and specific email, when you’re available to support the studio’s needs by subbing classes, when you’re patient and persistent without being pushy—that’s when you stand out. And that’s when you get hired.
All of this guidance—along with email templates, resume prompts, and exercises for developing your teaching voice—is covered in detail in The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook. The whole chapter on getting a regular class gig walks through these steps with concrete examples you can adapt to your situation. You can find it here: https://amzn.to/3X7XknB
Want to dive deeper into this topic? Listen to the full Yoga Teacher Confidential podcast episode!
