The 3 Big Yoga Mistakes Teachers Make When They First Graduate From Their YTT

Emerging into the yoga world with your Yoga Teacher Training qualifications complete is a feeling like no other—the possibilities are endless, the opportunities are all for the taking, and you’ve got every chance to change the lives of every yoga student you meet.

How could you not? You’ve just achieved something you’ve worked hard for, something you’re passionate about, something that you’re committed to. Nothing stands in your way to becoming the yoga teacher you’ve always dreamed of becoming. 

Right? 

Unfortunately, that’s not the way it always works. While receiving your credentials to become a qualified and licensed yoga teacher is definitely a feat worth celebrating, it’s not a guarantee that you’ll be able to enter into the world of teaching yoga, starting a business, and building a yoga empire—all of those things take even more work.

But we know you.

You’re not afraid of the dedication and commitment—and you’re certainly not afraid of putting in the time, effort, and sweat it takes to become the yoga teacher of your own dreams. That’s why we’re here to make it a little easier for you and give you a shortcut to success.

While everyone’s path toward their yoga business and career is unique, there are some common mistakes make of us make along the way that we think can be avoided.

Why do something the hard way when you could do it the smart way and equip yourself with information?

To that end, we’ve created this blog to dive into some of the most common mistakes most yoga teachers make when they first graduate from YTT and begin their path toward their yoga careers. 

The Top 3 Yoga Teacher Career Mistakes to Avoid 

Don’t get us wrong, making these mistakes certainly doesn’t make you a bad yoga teacher whatsoever—but these can be avoided to help you expedite your career and get things on track from the very beginning. 

The thing about these mistakes? They can be costly if you make them. Read on to learn about how to best mitigate these common risks and ensure that your yoga teacher career takes off smoothly. 

Avoiding or Ignoring Yoga Liability Insurance 

Whether you’re opting out intentionally or you just weren’t aware of yoga liability insurance, skipping out investing in this protection can ultimately be an enormous career mistake. 

Yoga liability insurance is designed to protect you from the unlikely, the unforeseen, and the unintentional—that means even if you do everything right and something bad does happen, yoga insurance is supposed to have your back, cover your costs, and keep you afloat. 

Liability exists no matter what career you choose, but especially when it comes to something like yoga where you’re working hands-on with people, advising them on physical activity, and recommending products to them. Liability insurance protects you from things like general, professional, and product liability claims for the off-chance that something goes wrong (or someone alleges that something went wrong). 

The tough part about all this? Claims do happen in the real world—whether this means you’ve actually done something wrong or someone just says you do. Without insurance, dealing with that stress can be really messy. 

And this applies to every type of yoga teacher out there—from part-time and full-time to online-only or solely in-person. Ultimately, if you’re working with students in this realm, you need to view yoga insurance as an investment—not just another expense. If something happens, you’ll have the support, coverage, and financial protection that’s necessary to keep your career going. 

Skipping Out on Business Education

Believe it or not, being a yoga teacher isn’t just about the yoga side of things. Think about it—you’re running a yoga teacher. That means the business part of it all is just as important as the rest. Many teachers who opt out of the business education portion of, well, running a business, ultimately experience a lot more hardship than the teachers who prioritized it from the start.

There are so many business aspects to learn that it can be kind of overwhelming. You’ll need to focus on marketing yourself, bookkeeping, business strategies, referral programs, taxes, finding your niche, and so much more. The good news? The sooner you start, the sooner you’re on your way to running the yoga teacher business you’ve always wanted to. 

We’ve got tons of helpful information that’s specifically dedicated to yoga teachers right here. This can be a great starting point for newbie yoga teachers, but that’s just the thing—it’s a starting point! Don’t stop there—learn everything you can, constantly.

Because ultimately, one of the biggest business mistakes anyone can make is to believe they know everything and there’s no room left to grow. Business is evolving—that means your knowledge needs to be, too. 

Forgoing Building Their Unique Brand 

Not taking the time and marking the effort to build your unique brand and find your niche is an enormous, missed opportunity. 

Building a yoga brand is about so much more than just coming up with a killer website and a logo that’s nice to look at—it’s about finding your niche, connecting with your target audience, establishing your voice, and setting yourself apart from the rest of the yoga teachers out there. It’s also a hugely important step for marketing yourself and what you offer. 

Invest in Your Career with the Right Partner

Not finding your niche and creating a unique brand can make it easy to fall through the cracks—set yourself up for success by investing time and energy into this from the very start. 

At the end of the day, there’s no single, right way to direct your career path—but there are a few things that everyone should aim to avoid. Not having insurance, well, that’s the biggest one, in our opinion. If you’re ready to opt for coverage you can count on and team up with an insurance partner who has your best interest and your protection at the forefront, then we can help.

Check out our beYogi all-inclusive yoga insurance options right here to see how we can support, protect, and grove your yoga teacher career together.