Have you ever wondered what those $300 online teacher trainings were like?

Well, I asked someone who both teaches online and also has looked through more than one of these.

What really makes a yoga teacher training “good”? In this episode, we explore the realities of online vs. in-person YTTs, why pacing and feedback matter, and how affordability impacts accessibility in the yoga profession.

Katlyn Greiner and I delve into the myth that higher costs equal higher quality, the role mentorship can play in shaping new teachers, and the financial realities of studios running training sessions. Plus, we unpack the tension between brand cohesion and creativity in the yoga business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Online vs. in-person training
Asynchronous, low-cost YTTs aren’t inherently “less than.” We need to rethink perceptions of online vs. in-person education.

2. Pacing matters
Dumping all the content at once isn’t effective. Pacing supports integration and embodiment of teachings.

3. Feedback is essential
Integrated feedback—live or asynchronous—is key to learning, relationship-building, and quality in online trainings.

4. Financial accessibility
Low-cost trainings expand access. Eliminating them would reduce opportunities for many aspiring teachers.

5. Mentorship as the missing link
Imagine affordable online YTTs paired with paid local mentorship—a model that supports both new teachers and experienced guides.

6. Rethinking “quality”
High price ≠ high quality. Metrics for strong training should include teaching skill, student engagement, and practical business acumen.

7. Teacher trainings ≠ cash cow
For many studios, YTTs aren’t highly profitable—they’re a labor of love or a way to train new teachers.

8. Creativity vs. brand cohesion
Studios must balance cohesive branding with honoring yoga as a creative practice. Navigating that tension is key to sustainable growth.

RESOURCES

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Katlyn’s IG

This week I am chatting with yoga trainer, studio owner, and data maven, Gina Ward.

Gina ran some data for yoga studio owners, so she could better inform her yoga teacher trainees what the realities of studio ownership are like.

Wanna know what the data said? Yeah, I did too.

Take a listen find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Studio profitability isn’t guaranteed
Profitability means revenue exceeds expenses—but 20% of yoga studios never reach that point. Only 25% are profitable in year one, while 55% take 1–5 years. Most studio owners earn less than people assume.

2. What studio owners really earn
52% of yoga studio owners make $12–60K per year, often working 40+ hours a week. Only 12% earn more, while 18% make less than $12K. These numbers show two truths: (1) owners aren’t the “big winners” of the yoga industry, and (2) we can’t fix money problems we refuse to discuss.

3. Headcount ≠ success
For membership-based studios, headcount is often a vanity metric. It looks good on paper but doesn’t always reflect real revenue or financial health.

4. Pay for prep time
Gina compensates teachers for reading emails and prep work—a small but powerful shift that values teachers’ time. This should be an industry standard.

5. Rethinking hiring culture
Studios often expect teachers to “fit in” socially before being hired. This mindset undervalues professionalism and holds the industry back. Fair, transparent hiring practices are essential for credibility.

6. Professionalism vs. friendship
In wellness, blurred boundaries between “boss” and “friend” are common. But leaders set the tone: if owners expect professionalism from teachers, they must model it themselves

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Gina’s Website

For those of you following the topic of licensure in the yoga space, this is for you.

Should we be a licensed profession?

Should we leave it all up to self-regulation within the industry?

What would that even mean for us?

I ask a literal licensing expert, Kris Maul, and he provides us with all the details.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Gatekeeping with integrity
Not all gatekeeping is bad. We need clear professional standards to differentiate yoga therapists from yoga teachers offering “therapeutic yoga.” At the same time, licensure must remain accessible to neurodivergent practitioners and those who struggle with standardized testing, as well as those who might need financial access. Professionalization should include equity and inclusivity.

Public protection matters
Licensure creates accountability. Right now, a yoga professional could abuse a client, move towns, and start over with no consequences. If we truly care about student welfare, we must create systems that reflect that responsibility.

Licensure ≠ Insurance
Being able to bill insurance could expand access, but it should be addressed separately from licensure. First, we need clear definitions of our scope of practice and how yoga therapy fits into healthcare systems.

Financial sustainability
Currently, yoga professionals are split between “high-ticket clients only” and “self-sacrifice for service.” Both models are unsustainable. We need a third path that honors our education, ensures fair pay, and expands accessibility without burning us out.

De-centering organizations
Professional growth should center on practitioners, not gatekeeping organizations. Recent leadership choices (like hiring non-yoga professionals to lead major orgs) show how disconnected these bodies are from our lived reality. Just as farmers need farmers to lead co-ops, yoga professionals need leaders who understand our industry firsthand. If orgs don’t reflect that, it’s time to build structures that do.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

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Kris’s Website

It’s a wrap, friends.

I have finished my talks about AI and tech, for now, and here is what I learned.

Working In Yoga Website

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Discussion Guide

How Yoga Competes With AI. An AI's Response

This final interview in our AI & Tech series is one of my faves. It isn’t often I meet someone so decidedly pro-tech in the yoga space, so chatting with Ram Bhakt was a true breath of fresh air.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*AI can undoubtedly help us with our businesses. Ram listed a whole lot of things AI can help with–marketing, emails, scheduling, and more. Which ones do you feel confident in implementing sooner rather than later?

*Colleagues who are using AI are going to pass you by. This is undeniably true. If you consider our market saturated or competitive, you might want to consider exploring how AI can help you stand out in your business.

*While AI yoga teachers are not prevalent now, they absolutely do exist. If you didn’t catch that article from NPR on nursing home facilities using AI yoga teachers in Colorado, I will link that in the show notes. And what I want you to think about is how you will offer something different than those AI teachers.

*Wearable AI and yoga is SUCH a good idea!! Is anyone doing this already? Dr. Steffany Moonaz, I am looking at you. Could we get Ora rings for everyone to measure biomarkers as they practice yoga from anywhere in the world? That could potentially have a huge impact on our research wing of the industry.

*Our orgs could help us with some of this!! They could be building chatbots for us to help folks looking for resources about yoga. I am giving a solid side-eye to you, International Association of Yoga Therapists. But let’s be honest, the org most likely to give us this is the American Yoga Council, the new kid on the block. So if you are listening, we want you to build us chatbots that help practitioners find their way to teachers, yoga therapists, and more. DM me, Andrew, and Scott–I could go on for a while on this. In fact, maybe I will do a final wrap-up episode and add more details.

*Self-actualization in business and yoga is something we need to talk about. Because we need to be careful as sincere yoga practitioners AND business owners. The improvement of both of these requires a path of self-actualization. I feel like I have made this joke on the podcast, but certainly I have said it in talks and in person–when you run a yoga business, it feels like you cannot escape self-improvement. And sometimes I just want to eat chips and scroll TikTok. So it is worth building up some practices to give yourself a break. Yoga folks, as I have experienced them, are often intense people, and we need to make sure that we are balancing out this dual journey of self-discovery with some hobbies (yoga is not your hobby, babe) and relaxation.

*Ram made a couple of comments on the over-intellectualization of yoga, and those folks who are deep sticklers for traditional yoga, and I want to mention that I have been, at one time, both of those things. For me, personally, some of that came from a place of feeling like I had learned all I needed to from yoga–a sure sign I hadn’t learned nearly as much as I thought; and the fact that it feels good to think we are morally superior to other people. That is a trap in thinking that I see a lot in the West. If you want to think your way out of it, then go ahead and wrestle with the idea that you and I have the same job as anyone who teaches hot, Buti, goat yoga with wine chasers. I am gonna gently hold your hand and remind you we all have the same job. K, love you. Truly.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

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Tell Us A Story! Funny Stories via SpeakPipe

Ram’s Website

AI & Tech Discussion Guide

NPR Article on AI in senior living facilities

Where do we see ourselves after the tech revolution happens?

Well, in one of the most thoughtful conversations I have had about this topic, Kimberly Searl and I get into it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*How do we discern what is “Real” and what is not? This is a huge question, and we need to unpack it. Especially as we look at marketing and online representations of our field, what benchmarks are you using to tell AI-generated content from non-AI-generated content? If you’ve never thought about it, maybe start paying attention to what you are seeing and have some mental guidelines for your online consumption of yoga content.

*IS the life cycle of our services ending? How do we speak to a new generation of people? I have joked more than once that “yoga teacher training” is a thing that millennials did, and let’s be honest, that is true. So, how do we make ourselves relevant to a younger generation who are all more tech savvy, and also expect us to answer their need for real life to exist in two spaces–both IRL and online? The answer to this question is going to define our future, friends. So let’s talk about it.

*Kimberly’s quote: “Will I have enough interest in the service I offer to ride out the 4-6 years that it will take for people to realize I am still relevant?” THIS is the question of the hour. There is no doubt in my mind that what we offer, the human connection we cultivate, is vital to our existence. But how many of us will be left by the time this realization reaches mainstream consciousness?

*We need to come up with solutions NOW for how we are going to work for the future. Financially, how we are working isn’t acceptable for so many reasons. Too many people in our industry are stuck in the 2010s, where it was easy for us to make money because we were the new, trendy, hot commodity on the wellness market. Guess what? We are not that anymore. So now what? Are we ready to stand up and shift our profession, or are we going to prove ourselves to be just a fad? I love us and want us to thrive, and in order to do that, I think conversations about this are beyond necessary.

*Can we agree that there needs to be some shifting in expectations on marketing and social media? Cuz Kimberly is right, the most prolific posting people on social media are using AI, which often gives an unrealistic expectation of what we do. Or uses bait-and-switch techniques in order to get people in the door. In fact, I was trained many years ago to use a version of bait-and-switch when I was a budding yoga therapist. We can do it differently, but we need to be realistic about how we show up.

And dear god, have a private link to free content to get jobs. I cannot say this enough. If you are applying for a job or contract, have a link to a private video on YouTube that demonstrates who you are as a teacher or yoga therapist. Let’s normalize having this with every single touch we give for new jobs. Please, please, please.

*What is our relationship with the apps? I really want to know what you are thinking about apps like Calm, etc. Do you love ‘em? Find a benefit for your students and clients? Find their competition? Seriously, I wanna know, so don’t hesitate to tell me!

*WHY DO WE NOT HAVE STANDARD BEST PRACTICES??? Dear god, if there is anything that our orgs could do, it would be to build best practices. Just saying. But since they aren’t doing it, I think I will. So again, email rebecca@workinginyoga.com if you want to contribute to the discussion.

SOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Tell Us A Story! Funny Stories via SpeakPipe

Kimberly’s Website

AI & Tech Discussion Guide

NPR Article on AI in senior living facilities

This conversation holds two places we need to talk about.

First, how can we use tech and still be human? What do we need to adjust in order to use what tech can give us, while also being our most human selves?

Secondly, what practical ways can tech help up in our yoga businesses?

Check out this conversation and find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Springboarding is one of the first ways I ever used AI for my own business. I really do find it useful to have someone or something else to bounce ideas off of, and asking AI for both creative prompts and time management solutions has been something I really value.

*This idea of the balance of artistry and practicality is one that we also talked about with J Brown on his episode for this series. There is a benefit to struggle, and from that struggle we can create beautiful things. However, practically speaking, we can use AI for ideas of things that aren’t necessarily needed to struggle. Did someone ask you to do a yoga class for kids, and you need ideas for crafts? AI can be a great place to gain inspiration quickly and efficiently.

*We have to add a human twist to AI content. Have you ever received an email from someone who is using AI to make the copy? It is often both weird and insulting. Make sure that any content you get from an AI source (be it ChatGPT, Gemini, or Grok) is also being vetted by your brain. Shift the language, make it seem less formal, and more, for lack of a better word, human.

*Individualizing our practice for people is one thing that AI is not competing with us on…yet. I know optimists are confident AI won’t ever be able to match our ability to create customized yoga therapy sequences, or anything else for that matter–I am not one of those people. I think AI’s ability to create customized anything will happen sooner rather than later. But right now, AI can’t do that, and we can. So lean into the idea that you can make something totally unique just for a particular individual, be it a yoga therapy plan or a custom yoga class.

*I think AI taking over alignment will happen really quickly for us. All those “alignment-based” classes and workshops we have sold will likely go away for a more AI-based approach. And thank goodness, honestly. We were focusing on the wrong things anyway.

*If AI takes over the physicality and alignment, this could be the move that gets people pushing us into more yoga-y yoga. We need to lean into our personal experiences and the philosophy and lifestyle portions of the practice in order to bring more of our human selves to the equation.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Tell Us A Story! Funny Stories via SpeakPipe

Justin’s Website

AI & Tech Discussion Guide

NPR Article on AI in senior living facilities