Are You At Risk? Insurance for Yoga Teachers is a Must

There’s no greater joy in your career than taking a proactive approach to helping your students find peace, mental and physical strength, and the practice of yoga itself.

Being able to guide your students on this journey is probably one of the reasons you chose to be a yoga teacher in the first place, right?

It can be hard to find something more rewarding than watching one of your students master a pose or self-adjust without being told. 

That being said, being a yoga instructor or yoga teacher isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

Unfortunately, like any career that deals with human contact, advice, and guidance, yoga teachers assume a certain amount of risk (or liability) when they opt for this job.

And even more unfortunate, that risk can sometimes be more than overwhelming—it can be career-changing.

So what's the good news?

Insurance for yoga teachers exists for a reason—to help shoulder the financial burden and combat that risk so teachers like you can do what they do best. Insurance for yoga teachers is a must. But do you know why? 

Still, it’s important to have a foundational knowledge of why this type of yoga teacher insurance is necessary and, perhaps more importantly, understand exactly what this type of insurance is protecting you from in the first place.

Scary Scenarios Yoga Teacher Insurance Can Protect You From: Why Insurance for Yoga Teachers is a Must

Slips, Falls, and Yoga Accidents

Yes, yoga is supposed to help your students find balance and inner peace—but that doesn’t always mean it’s a lesson taken off the mat in every scenario.

No matter how carefully you design your studio or class, how conscious you are of obstacles, or how much work you put into keeping the studio space safe, the reality is that people are humans—they’re going to trip, fall, and have accidents that vary in severity.

Is that fact out of your control? Certainly.

But the issue arises when someone has an accident under your supervision—suddenly, it can be partially your responsibility.

Let’s envision a scary scenario here...

Class has just begun. A slightly late but enthusiastic yoga students runs in to the studio doing their best to move quickly and silently. As she moves quickly to get to the only open spot to lay her mat but she slips from excess water on the floor from someone's water bottle condensation and breaks her ankle. 

Whether it’s your “fault” or not doesn’t matter all that much—it happened on your property during your class and now, you need to deal with the repercussions, damages, and injuries.

Thankfully, any quality insurance for yoga teachers will offer general liability coverage, otherwise known as slip and fall insurance, which covers you for injury or property damage.

That means you’re not on the hook to solely deal with the financial repercussions that result from the accident if your yoga student files a claim against you.

Yoga Student Accusations & Allegations

Some folks aren’t as honest and “good” as we’d like them to be, and that means you need to be prepared to deal with allegations and accusations that are, under no uncertain terms, blatant lies.

Listen closely, we don’t mean to imply that every yoga teacher out there is going to deal with a student or class member who accuses them of something totally off base for example, an uncommon injury that was caused by your instruction. All we are saying is that some may be seeking punitive damages or money to take advantage of the system. 

In other words, this type of situation isn’t nearly as uncommon as you think it is.

The best thing you can do?

Opt for yoga teacher liability insurance that will cover the cost of investigating these claims, known as professional liability. 

Detective work to verify claims takes time, money, effort, and energy—on your own, that’s a lot to handle.

With insurance that covers you in this situation, the bonus isn’t just on you to get the matter solved—you’ll have financial and professional support to remedy this circumstance.

Accidental Mis-adjustments & Class Injuries

No one is perfect.

You could be the most amazing yoga instructor in the world and still make a mistake.

Why? Well, for starters, because you’re only human and you only have 2 eyes. 

Secondly, because you’re dealing with people’s bodies directly and everyone is different.

You cannot always predict how someone’s body will react to a certain pose, what might happen if you encourage your students to reach, or know what pre-existing injuries or conditions they’re dealing with if they don’t tell you.

All that to say, you could—unintentionally—cause someone pain or injury during your class.

That’s just a risk you assume when deciding to become a yoga instructor, no matter how careful you are.

If you do indeed cause or catalyze an injury, it could be your responsibility to cover those damages—and on your own this could be financially devastating.

This is where having a high-quality yoga teacher insurance policy comes in handy... you’re much less likely to deal with the financial and legal repercussions on your own.

At the end of the day, you could a highly skilled and educated yoga therapist who follows all the rules, cares deeply for students, and pays attention to injuries however accidents still happen.

Unfortunately it is apart of life and that is the risk you take when you invest yourself in any career, not just yoga.

The good news is the burden of risk doesn’t have to fall squarely on your shoulders.

With yoga teacher insurance coverage that thoroughly protects you with general, professional, product liability insurance, you can rest easy and practice with peace of mind knowing that you and your career are protected, no matter what might come your way.

Want to learn more about how insurance for yoga teachers can safeguard your yoga teaching career, why it’s important, and how you can kickstart your own yoga teacher liability insurance policy?

beYogi has you covered.