Here’s something that might flip your perspective on teaching yoga: your group classes aren’t your business model—they’re your marketing plan.
I know that sounds counterintuitive, especially when you’re hustling to fill classes and calculating how many $25 sessions you’d need to pay back your YTT investment. But here’s what I’ve learned after two decades of teaching and mentoring hundreds of yoga teachers:
You can’t build a sustainable career only by trading time for dollars in group classes.
The breakthrough comes when you stop seeing your Tuesday night flow class as your income source and start seeing it as your relationship-building tool.
Think about it this way: In your group class, you’re serving everyone’s general needs—a little hip work here, some stress relief there, maybe a balance challenge thrown in. You’re doing great work, but you’re solving surface-level problems for a room full of different bodies with different needs.
But what happens when someone approaches you after class and says, “I loved that hip sequence—I’ve been struggling with tightness from sitting at my desk all day. Do you have anything more intensive for that?”
Or when a student mentions they’re dealing with anxiety and asks if you offer anything specifically for stress management?
Or when someone says they’re training for their first marathon and wonders if you teach yoga for runners?
These conversations are gold. They’re your students telling you exactly what specialized help they need—and what they’d pay premium prices to receive.
Your group classes become the gateway where students get to know you, trust your teaching, and experience your unique approach. But your workshops, private sessions, and specialized programs are where they pay for targeted solutions to their specific challenges.
The yoga teachers I know who’ve built truly sustainable careers aren’t teaching more group classes—they’re teaching strategic group classes that lead to their specialized work.
Here’s the beautiful part: workshops solve this equation perfectly. They bridge the gap between your general group classes and expensive private sessions. Students can experience your expertise in a focused way without the commitment of ongoing sessions, and you can serve multiple people while commanding higher rates than your regular classes.
One workshop can generate the same income as 10–15 group classes, and best of all, those workshop participants often become your most dedicated students. They’ve experienced the depth of what you offer, and many will seek out your regular classes, book private sessions, or sign up for your next workshop.
Ready to transform your teaching from time-for-dollars into sustainable specialty work?
I’ve just updated the Workshop Workbook with fresh video lectures and an expanded workbook that walks you through creating, marketing, and pricing workshops that serve your students deeply while building your career strategically.
This isn’t about adding more to your plate—it’s about working smarter with what you already know. The workbook helps you identify the expertise you already have, package it into compelling workshop offerings, find the perfect venues, and create marketing that fills your sessions.
Plus, here’s something I love: everyone who’s ever purchased the Workshop Workbook automatically gets access to all updates like this one. Your investment keeps growing in value.
Your students are already telling you what specialized help they need. The Workshop Workbook shows you how to listen to those requests and turn them into workshops that transform both your income and their lives.
P.S. It’s September 2025. If you want to lead a workshop keyed to Thanksgiving or the December holidays, right now is the perfect time to get started. The Workshop Workbook gives you enough lead time to develop your concept, find the right venue, and promote it effectively—all while the seasonal energy is building. Holiday-themed workshops fill quickly when they solve real problems people face during these times.
