When You Just Want to Teach Yoga, But Life Has Other Plans

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Shelly Coffman - Facilitator

Member for Over a Year

You became a yoga teacher because you fell in love with the practice. Maybe it changed your life in small, steady ways. Or maybe it cracked you wide open and offered a new way to live. Either way, you said yes—to the mat, to the training, to the calling.

But now that you're certified and ready to share it with others, the dream doesn’t always match the reality.

Instead of flowing through your dharma, you’re stuck Googling “how to make a Canva flyer” at midnight. You’ve got notes for three workshop ideas scattered in different journals, a half-written email draft to your (tiny but mighty) list, and a vague sense you should probably post something on Instagram today… but about what?

Sound familiar?

You are not alone.

One of the most common things I hear from yoga teachers—especially new ones—is how overwhelming it feels to actually build a teaching practice. Not the classes themselves. You’re golden once you're in the room (or on Zoom). It’s everything else that feels murky.

The Myth of the Solo Teacher
There’s this quiet myth in modern yoga culture that good teachers should be able to do it all. Create sequences. Design workshops. Write newsletters. Make reels. Set up a website. Run a retreat. Oh, and stay grounded, grateful, and regulated through it all.

No wonder so many teachers burn out before they even get started.

Here’s the truth: you don’t have to do everything on your own. And you shouldn’t have to.
Because your magic? It lives in the teaching.

It’s in the subtle pause you take before guiding someone into stillness. The way your presence alone helps others soften. The heartfelt theme you wove through class that someone needed to hear that day.

That’s where you shine.

Let Support Hold You
Imagine this: what if you didn’t have to figure out every tech platform on your own? What if the workshop outline you’ve been dreaming about already existed—structured, organized, and ready to make your own? What if your next offering didn’t begin with a blank page?

There are quiet helpers out there—tools and templates, frameworks and outlines—created by yoga teachers, for yoga teachers. Not to take away your voice or creativity, but to give you a starting point. To clear the fog. To help you begin.

When your nervous system isn’t fried from decision fatigue, you get to be a better teacher. More present. More playful. More connected to why you started in the first place.

You’re Allowed to Receive
In yoga, we talk a lot about the balance between effort and ease. But too often, we apply all the effort to our teaching career—and forget we’re allowed to lean into ease too.

You’re allowed to receive support. You’re allowed to take shortcuts (the ethical, aligned kind). You’re allowed to want structure that simplifies the behind-the-scenes, so you can spend more time doing what lights you up.

And here’s the beautiful thing: the more supported you feel, the more people you can reach. The more energy you have to hold space. The more sustainable your teaching becomes.

Because your presence in this world matters. Your teaching matters. And you deserve to build it in a way that honors your time, your energy, and your heart.

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