Yoga is not just an activity for many—it’s a lifestyle. And when this lifestyle becomes such an important part of their daily lives, many people look to more private lessons than taking a class, which means you have the opportunity to teach your yoga students one on one with private yoga sessions. But what should you do to make sure your students get the most out of your lessons?
In order to best offer private yoga lessons, you must first fully understand the practice of yoga. You must also set up your business with the right legal documents, including your budget, and set your prices fairly. You need to find the right clients, which include people who can’t regularly go to classes or those who have exceeded the confines of a class and need more individualized instruction. The best private instructors make sure their classes are tailored to their students and communicate completely with said students to make sure they’re doing the best they can. Marketing through word of mouth is also a great way to continue to provide those private lessons.
When you’re offering private yoga lessons, it’s not just about the activity or the lifestyle—it’s about communication. So what do you need to do to make sure those classes are the best they can be? Read on to find out more about putting together your business and keeping those private clients.
Know your direction and why you want to teach privately.
Teaching private yoga lessons isn’t just about knowing each move or each flow. You need to decide exactly why you want to teach yoga privately. Is there a certain reason you got into teaching yoga? What do you want to share with your students? Why do you want to work one on one rather than in a class? When you can answer these questions, you can look forward and consider teaching your classes privately.
You should also know the history of yoga and all of the benefits, along with learning how to live a more authentic yoga lifestyle. While it’s not for everyone, you can bring many elements of that lifestyle into your daily life, and that can be brought into your classes with your private students.
- Set up your business properly.
If you decide to start teaching private lessons, it’s important to note that this isn’t just a side hustle or a hobby—this is your job, and you become the business. Make sure you put together a business plan and have the proper legal documents in place to be considered a business so you can make money off your private lessons. You should also make sure you have liability insurance, regardless of where you end up teaching.
This also means you need to set up a budget. Because you need to know how much to charge, you should be putting all your business expenses into a budget and estimating how much income you would need to make a profit. Higher prices mean more income, sure, but if your students can’t afford them, you won’t make enough to break even. While what you can charge depends on your skill level, location, and what you’re doing in the class, you may find yourself having to charge differently than you would for a full class. Make sure you’re prepared to quantify your time and your efforts in order to make a fair income.
- Find the right clients.
The hardest and most important part of offering private yoga lessons is finding the right clients. Because you’re going to be teaching typically one on one, you’re going to want the right people—and they’re going to want the right teacher. So what can you do to find those right clients? Who are those right clients?
There are many people who could fit the bill that may not want to take a structured class. Look for non-traditional students who may not attend like children or athletes. Another possible student base that you can look into are those who have been learning yoga for some time and are looking for a more personalized approach.
What you need to do is consider who your ideal client is. When you sort that out, you can start recruiting. In many cases, you can do that through word-of-mouth, but consider other marketing opportunities like posting on your social media pages, or, if you’re also teaching regular classes at a gym or in a yoga studio, consider sharing that you are teaching privately to your existing students. You never know who might be interested in furthering their education in yoga.
How To Best Make Your Yoga Studio Unique
- Create the best session schedule and makeup for each individual student.
Because you’re teaching privately, you have the opportunity to create specialized routines and flows for each particular student. This means you’re going to be essentially creating a class for each person. That means you’re also going to have the best equipment for your students. Yoga wheels, blocks, etc. are all integral to your and your students’ experiences, so make sure you invest in equipment that you like and will share with others.
This also means you need to determine where best to hold your classes. Whether it’s at a local gym or studio, their home or your home, you need to decide where you are both comfortable when it comes to teaching your lessons. Each location has its pros and cons. You can also teach in public spaces such as parks, but you run the risk of other people trying to join you. Regardless of where you teach, just make sure it works for the both of you, and make sure you stay flexible—that’s one of the benefits of teaching one-on-one.
- Communicate with your students.
How do you keep your clients on as students? It all comes down to communication. You need to make sure that you’re creating a yoga experience that is tailored to their wants and needs, and to do that, you must communicate with them. One of those questions to ask is why they want private lessons in the first place. Are they looking for more individualized instruction in general? Are they focusing on a certain type of yoga that you teach and provide? Find out why they want to work with you before you begin.
Another way of communicating with and teaching your students is making sure you’re helping them with the proper poses. Creating that relationship through communication is the best way to be comfortable working with each other, and correcting poses and alignments can be a relatively intimate situation. The more comfortable you are with each other on a one-on-one basis, the better.
You can also work with them to create the proper ambience for their sessions. Music, candles, incense, temperature all matter during your yoga sessions, and you can tailor each lesson to the needs and wants of your students.
- Use marketing and referrals to get more students.
While marketing on social media and other websites can be helpful to grab those potential students, this is one of those cases where word-of-mouth may be one of your best allies. Those looking for private lessons are usually talking to other people who seek out those private lessons, so make your classes the best they can be. Your students will talk—and others will listen. The better your lessons, the more likely they’ll share what they’ve learned, and you’ll have even more students flocking to your private yoga sessions.
Starting your own private yoga sessions can be daunting, but it’s easily surmountable. The main idea to have as you start your journey down this business model is making sure your work is valued and constantly communicating with your students. The sooner you can find out exactly what they’re looking for, the better you can tailor their classes to fit specifically them. When you can learn to do that, you will have very satisfied yoga students that will come back for more each time. And if you can do that—you are successfully sharing the practice of yoga with your students.
How Long Should You Practice Yoga Before Teaching Others
Frequently Asked Questions
Communication is key with the structure of any private yoga lesson, so the first step is checking in. What does your yoga student want or need during your class? Secondly, you should be making sure they are aware of their body and their breath. Start with your warmup, and then asana and savasana, and complete the lesson with meditation.
While the cost of private yoga lessons vary, it’s important to make sure that both you and your student are getting value out of those lessons. Depending on how long the classes are, you should still be charging about $30 to $75 per hour. Lessons typically range from a half hour to an hour. This cost can depend on your location, though, and the highest range of prices usually occur in larger cities like Los Angeles and New York City.
To learn more about starting your own Yoga Business check out my startup documents here.
Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.
Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Yoga Fan
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online yoga business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a yoga business owner in public at a studio or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Yoga Business Boss: I want to help future yoga business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.