Summer Musings of a Yoga Teacher

This week on Yoga Insider podcast, I'm reflecting on self-employment, a recent yoga retreat, and the rhythm of the yoga industry during the summer months. 

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Instagram: @alexandria.waycott

YouTube: @yogainsiderpodcast

Website: www.alexandriawaycottyoga.com

Send me an email! alexandriawaycottyoga@gmail.com

Music & Production by Kyler Pierce

Photography featured in cover art by Colton Muma

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome back to Yoga Insider Podcast. I'm your host, Alex Wakott. If you're new here, I've been a yoga teacher for over 14 years, and today I run a fully independent yoga business that doesn't rely on studio classes. I offer pre-registered yoga series in my community as well as continuing education for yoga teachers who want to refine their skills. Over the years, I've learned a lot about what it takes to run a yoga business that is actually sustainable. And part of my mission is to have real conversations with yoga teachers around the world about what it's like to work in the modern yoga industry. That is exactly what Yoga Insider Podcast is here for. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and let's dive in to today's episode. And it feels like I actually I don't even quite have a break yet because I'm teaching yoga tonight as well. So there's been lots of teaching going on. But you know, if you are a regular listener of the podcast, I have talked about this before, but my husband and I are both self-employed. So he is a professional musician and a producer. And I'm obviously a yoga teacher. And for, you know, the past few years, especially, summer has historically been like a very busy work season in our household. And it feels like things are kind of like full throttle right now between like both of us being self-employed and just our work like really, really picking up right now. Um and like it just kind of feels like we've barely been home. Like I know that I've been home every night to like sleep in my own bed, but it feels like it, the sleep hasn't been long enough. Um and uh yeah, it's just like that's kind of like what this season is for us. Um, and you know, it's it's temporary. Like if it was like this all year round, it would obviously not be sustainable. Um, but we both know that, you know, July and August, especially, this is just kind of how it goes. And then and then things will will ease up and not be so busy. Um, but I think it's just especially because of like where we live here in British Columbia, Canada. Um, summer is so fleeting. And like for most of the year it's dark, it's rainy, the weather gets cold, and like, you know, these nice months where the weather is beautiful, there's only a couple of them. Like it doesn't last very long. And so it feels like there are a lot of things that just like people in general want to kind of cram into the summer months. And so for the music industry, it means that this is when all of the yoga festivals, oh not yoga, my bad, this is when all of the music festivals happen. It's also when yoga festivals happen. Um, but yeah, this is when the music festivals happen. This is when like all of the community festivals and community events happen. This is when people have parties that they want to hire bands for. And it's just like that this is what it is right now. And so on Saturday this weekend, my husband played literally three gigs in a row. Um, and I went to the last gig of the night to help sell merch for the band. And then I like, you know, come back late from the show. I'm unloading gear from the vehicle and then like loading up my vehicle because the next morning I'm teaching a yoga retreat. And um I feel like like the contrast between our lines of work is so funny sometimes because, like, you know, I'll be out at a gig, you know, like I was this weekend, like helping to sell merch, and it's obviously loud, and it's in like a bar setting, and people are drinking and dancing and staying out late and like having fun. Um, and you know, then I have to leave to make sure that I can go to bed and sleep. And and just for like background context, like I'm obviously not drinking and you know, doing all those things because I have to teach the next morning, but I'm still in that environment. Um, and and then yeah, it's like I gotta get up the next morning because I have to go teach like early morning yoga and meditation. And um yeah, I I just feel like it's it's funny to me, like the the contrast between like the the nature of our work, whereas like his work is often like super late at night and it's loud and busy, and mine often starts in the morning and it's like very calm and quiet. Um yeah, and so, anyways, our our household just feels like it's constantly moving right now uh between the both of us because it's summer. And what's interesting is that like summer hasn't always been my busy season as a yoga teacher. Um, this year it definitely is, though, between teaching an international training and retreat to running my pre-registered yoga classes all summer long, doing outdoor events this year, which is something that I haven't done a ton of like the past few years, pop-up classes, like it's just been really full. And then yesterday I taught a day retreat, and it was actually so enjoyable. When we were kind of wrapping up at the end of the day, a student commented, commented to me when she was leaving, and she was like, that was like the most unstructured retreat that I've ever attended. And she meant it like in a complimentary way. And I was like, yes, like my preference when I'm offering retreats is for there to be fairly minimal programming, which I know isn't the norm. Um, I always intentionally bookend the retreat with structure. So, like we will start the day with, you know, either some kind of an opening circle and then like a yoga practice, like something along those lines, depending on the nature of the retreat. And then we'll end the day with something structured as well, just to kind of close the container. So, like yesterday we started with a beautiful outdoor yoga practice all together, and we ended the day with a guided yoga nidra practice. But I intentionally like to keep the middle of the day like relatively open for people to enjoy the way that they want to. And that is done on purpose because I feel like one of the gifts of a yoga retreat is the opportunity to connect to a bit of spaciousness. And my hope is that people will take that space and like do whatever their heart desires during that time. Um, basically, for yesterday, we were at a beautiful lavender farm, like wellness retreat property. And so obviously, there's a farm, it's like in the mountains, there's this beautiful A-frame cabin, there's saunas, there's cold plunges, there's outdoor showers. Um, and the property was like theirs to explore. So there was this spaciousness, this time in the middle of the day for people to just spend how they wanted. Um, but it wasn't packed with any sort of extra programming. It was like everything is here for you, and then you go do what you want. And like obviously there's food and there's snacks, but I'm not gonna try to program every minute of it. And it was really nice to see people just kind of go at their own pace and and do their own thing their way. Like it unraveled really nicely. Um, and I just think it's so easy to like do too much or pack in too much programming when we're organizing retreats, and like obviously we want some structure, and like I'm all about structure, especially when it comes to like a yoga teacher training or something where there's a curriculum to deliver. Um, but with retreats, it's nice to find a bit of a balance and give people some space too, where you know, we don't need to have like an activity going on every second of the day and like constantly entertain people. Um, and something I feel proud of, so this is like a little personal win, is that I feel like I got to enjoy some of that spaciousness of the middle of the day alongside everyone else. And in the past, like even a couple of years ago, I would have probably been in like work mode and I would have been running around and like there's always work to do. There's always something that needs to be done, something that needs to be like cleaned up or taken care of. But I actually got to enjoy the sauna yesterday. I got to go in the cold plunge tubs, I got to like cycle back and forth between all of it and like actually just relax and chat with people and enjoy myself. And that felt like a win. That felt like it was really important. Um, because I have definitely been the person in the past where I'm just like stressed, like running those kinds of things and just constantly keeping myself occupied and busy. Um, and it's yeah, it's nice to be in a place, like again, I'm not sure if this is something that just comes with a little more experience or or what it is, but it's nice to be in a place where now I'm like, okay, not everything needs to get done in this moment, and I can actually relax and enjoy the experience and and be part of the experience in that way as well. Um, so that was really nice for me. And I feel like this really relates to the mindset that I'm carrying with me like this summer. Um, and it's just that like not everything can get done. It's not possible. In a household where both of us are self-employed and we are in the midst of our busiest work season, it means that not all of the chores are gonna get done. It means that laundry piles up and like just little things like that, it just is what it is, right? And it's temporary, it's not forever, but it's just like how things are right now. And I think that's actually a really nice segue into what I wanted to talk about just a little bit today, because while my summer happens to be quite full this year, I know that's not the experience of a lot of yoga teachers. And I have certainly experienced, you know, other summers in the past as a yoga teacher where it was not my busy season. It was my slow season. It was that season where like classes were being canceled and you know, work felt like it was almost being taken away. And for so many of us, summer sometimes brings what we call in yoga land like the summer slump. So if you've been teaching for a while, you know what I'm talking about. And I think it's like especially prevalent in places where summer is more fleeting. Like if you live, I mean, you can let me know because we have listeners from all over, but if you live in a place where the weather is like really nice and sunny all year round, can you tell me if attendance in your classes changes during the summertime or if it stays consistent all year? Um, because like I said before, here where we live in British Columbia, it's dark, it's rainy for so much of the year, the sunny weather doesn't last long. And then when it finally shows up, like people really want to embrace it and they want to get outside. And so the summer slump is kind of like what I would say to describe that season when your regular students don't show up to class because they are camping, they are traveling, they are visiting their family, maybe they are paddleboarding at the lake one night. Um, and you you do start to see this show up in your class attendance. Uh, you might notice that classes that are normally packed suddenly have like six people in them. Um, workshops and educational offerings might not fill up as quickly. And you might even notice that like your email inbox gets a little bit quieter. Like maybe those inquiries or those opportunities that that you see, you know, other times during the year just like aren't coming through with the same frequency. That's kind of what I mean when I say like the summer slump. And again, I'm not sure if this is like geographical or if this is like just the case for summer everywhere. Um, but it's definitely something that I have noticed over the years. And when this happens, every summer I see yoga teachers getting a little bit discouraged and kind of wondering like, why is business slowing down so much? Am I a really bad teacher? And like most of the time, the answer is that it's just summer. Like, it's just summer, and the season passes, and when we get back to September, usually, you know, class sizes pick up and go back to normal. There was one summer where I taught yoga for a hotel, and it was just like a seasonal thing. Um, they had me contracted to teach there Monday to Friday, so like every morning, Monday to Friday, five days a week, all through, I believe, July and August. And it was a pretty good gig in the sense that it paid quite a bit more than studio classes or like rec center classes paid. Um, and like the thing about this hotel was that it was located on this beautiful lake that really attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world for boating, for fishing, for water sports. There's also lots of like hikes and walks and stuff like that in the area. Like it's a really, really beautiful area. Um, but the yoga program itself, I would say it was a flop. And I just remember that like the yoga classes were set in this really dingy old ballroom. And like it was just not the ideal space for yoga. And I know that like you can do yoga anywhere, but this is like a pretty expensive, nice hotel, and they was just like in the middle of this ballroom. And I feel like sometimes there would be people working in there, like still cleaning up from the night before when the yoga classes were supposed to start, and they're like cleaning spilled stuff off the floor, and like you can hear glasses like clinking in the background. Um, and I just remember like this one summer that I taught there, I would drive out to this hotel every single morning. It was about a 30-minute drive from where I lived at the time, and I would set up to teach yoga in this like dingy old ballroom, and I barely ever had anyone to teach. Um, so often, like I would drive out there, I would set up, and then there would be nobody at my class. And it was kind of interesting because, like, again, this is a super popular hotel, like lots of people go there. I'm sure it's totally booked up during the summertime. Um, but I really think that like people weren't there to do yoga in a dingy ballroom. They were staying at that hotel because they wanted to spend time in nature. They were there because the lake is the main attraction. They were there to go boating and to go fishing. And I actually think that those classes would have done a lot better. Even if they stayed in the dingy ballroom, I think they would have done better in the fall or the winter when guests were maybe looking for like an indoor activity, but the height of the summer wasn't it. And, you know, it was, it was just one of those things where it's like every morning I would get up and drive all the way there. And I kind of had it in the back of my mind, like, ah, like, you know, I'm putting all this work in and like nobody's even gonna come to my class. And and it was true, like, nobody was coming to my class at that hotel because like they weren't there for yoga at that time of year. They wanted to be outside, they wanted to enjoy nature. And, you know, I think it's important to carry the mindset that all businesses have seasons, and we can't necessarily expect yoga businesses to produce exactly the same results like every single month of the year or every single season. And it's so funny because as yoga teachers, we are often talking about, you know, honoring cycles and paying attention to energy and like paying attention to the way that things shift with the seasons in our minds and bodies and our energy. But then, like, as soon as our businesses sometimes get a little bit quieter during the summer months, we like forget about all of that, and we try to make lower attendance or canceled classes about us, and we try to make it mean something about ourselves. And what's actually happening is that our students are out living their lives. They are going camping, they are traveling, their kids are out of school, and maybe they have a change their routine, you know, temporarily. They're spending the evening like out at the lake or out of the river instead of coming to class. And like, I even see this in myself. And I feel like I had a good reminder just this morning where I canceled two fitness classes that I had signed myself up for like this coming week because I decided that I want to go camping. I want to go do midweek camping. And like, you know, this is probably the only spontaneous midweek camping that I'm gonna do all year. The weather looks great. I know that it's important also like to be able to embrace these opportunities when they come up. Like it's it's not a regular thing for me, but I did have a moment where I'm like, oh, you know what? Like when students who normally come to my classes cancel or no show or whatever in the middle of summer, like I have to remember that like I'm doing the same thing to my fitness studio that I go to. Um, so just to kind of like put things into perspective, I feel like I had a little moment with that this morning where it was like, right, you know, and again, like it wasn't that I don't want to go to those workout classes. Like I had signed up for them. I want to go to them. I feel really good when I go to my workout. I don't want to miss those classes, but I also know it's important to like be spontaneous and go outside and do those things like camping when you're able to do them, which for us where we live is just like not very often. Um, and you know, like when September rolls around, those students are gonna come back. They're gonna be looking for routine again, they will be excited to come back, they will be most likely looking to have some consistency again. And so instead of spending your summer like worrying about where everybody went and where are all your students, just think more about like how can I approach my business in a way that just works with the rhythm of summer rather than trying to fight against it or like you know, getting upset when your offering doesn't fill or your class has lower numbers this time of year. And so for me, like summer is not a season where I typically am doing any sort of huge like launch for lack of a better word. Um, if I'm planning to offer a bigger yoga teacher training, for example, or like a continuing ed module that requires a little bit more commitment and focus from people, I'm probably looking at like late September, October, November for those types of things, like when people are back in their um in their rhythm and in their routine. Uh, so summer is a season where I try to keep things a little bit more simple. And you know, some of the things that have worked really well. For me during the summer months, are things like outdoor classes and event style classes. And I don't want to perpetuate the thinking that, like, you know, everything is going to be slow during summer. Um, obviously, if you are teaching in a studio or a rec center, like you might see your numbers drop. I feel like with any kind of indoor physical activity, and this goes beyond the yoga industry as well. Like, I see it even in the fitness classes that I go to, like the ones that are normally waitlisted, there's like empty spaces in the classes right now because people don't want to be inside. Um, so yeah, you might see your numbers drop, but you might also be teaching in like a really popular time slot where you still have a wait list all summer, but generally speaking, like this is the time of year where things slow down a little bit. Um so like outdoor classes and pop-up classes tend to do really well during the summertime. Things like park yoga, beach yoga, experiences where people can be outdoors and still get their yoga practice, but not feel like they are missing really good weather is key. So, like that's a that's kind of a little thing to just kind of keep in the back of your mind if you are planning ahead for next year. Um, if you're a new yoga teacher and you are looking to get on a sub-list, I would say that summer is actually a really good time to make yourself available and take advantage of those opportunities. Because for a lot of studios, especially, there will be tons of teachers who are looking to take vacation, who want to take time off. If they have school-aged kids, that's obviously going to be a factor in this as well. And so if you're a newer yoga teacher and you're looking to kind of get your foot in the door at a studio or or anywhere really during the summer months, is a really, really good time to do that, to make yourself available. Um, you will be like a really valuable asset to places if you're able to do that, just because one of the biggest struggles of the summer is that like a lot of yoga teachers will want to take vacation all at the same time. So it's like there is some opportunity here. Um, and it doesn't necessarily mean that those classes that you sub are gonna be the busiest or they're gonna be the you know most well attended, but it is a great way to potentially get your foot in the door. Um, summer is also a really good time to run retreats and to run events that are more experiential, especially if you are giving people lots of notice about those things and they're able to kind of like put it into their calendar as a bit of a vacation for themselves to look forward to. Um, one thing that I've noticed from running pre-registered yoga classes for a long time is that I don't see a big slowdown during the summer months for pre-registered classes. Um I think if you build something really consistent that people start to plan their schedules around, they are going to want to keep their routine. And again, I'm just speaking from like personal experience, personal observations. Like, yes, people will go on vacation during the summer. Yes, students might even take the whole summer off, and I might not see them for a couple months and they kind of disappear, but then they come back in the fall. Um, all of those things are true, but for the most part, pre-registered classes are really well attended during the summer months. And I just think it's worth notice, um notice noting that I don't have my words today. I think it's worth noting that if you're wanting to build something sustainable that supports you long term, pre-registered series are one of the ways that you can achieve that, but you have to be so committed and you have to see it as like this very long-term project. Um, but that is just something that I've been noticing is that people seem to really like that routine that they've built and they're not like losing their routine during the summer months. So that's really cool to see. Um, you know, at the end of the day, like summer can also be a really great time to create a little bit of extra breathing room in your business if it's not your busy season right now. So if it's a slower season for you, this is a really great time to plant seeds for the fall or to catch up on some of the tasks in your yoga business that you might have been putting off. So this could be a really good time to update your website or build a website if you don't have one. This could also be a really good time to book a photo shoot or create content for future offerings while the weather is nice. So even if you don't have any big offerings coming up this moment, but you're thinking like, I've got some things, you know, some workshops I run want to run like in the fall, like bank your content now. You know, get those nice images and nice videos, like when the weather is cooperating, when the light is really nice. And then you're gonna have what you need when it's time for you to launch those workshops, for example, when September or October comes around. Um, again, you can use this time to map out future offerings. You can also use this time to rest, to take it easy, to like actually rest, especially if you find that the rest of the year is your busier season. Now, even yesterday I talked about how I let myself enjoy the sauna instead of like making myself busy at my yoga retreat. And it was definitely an important reminder that you don't always need to be productive to be doing your job well. And I feel like that is exactly what we teach our students. Like there are seasons of effort, and there are seasons that require us to like just put our head down and work really, really hard and get things done. And there are other seasons where we need to soften our effort. And I feel like we can apply that wisdom to our yoga businesses. And you know, it feels funny kind of saying this because like summer for me this year isn't necessarily a season where I'm softening my effort. And I'm almost like craving being able to soften my effort a little bit. Um, but I'm saying this because for a lot of us, summer is kind of a slower time of year where it comes to classes. It's also a time of year where like sometimes studios will preemptively like reduce their schedules a little bit because they know that attendance isn't going to be as high. And that might affect some of you listening. It might mean that, you know, normally you teach 10 classes a week during the rest of the year, and in the summertime you teach five or six classes a week. Um, so just thinking about, you know, taking that extra space and like taking advantage of it too, especially if you do feel like you need to slow down or you need to have a little bit of a rest. So if you're listening to this and your classes are feeling like they're a little bit quieter this month, like if you're listening, you know, in real time and it's July right now, um, just know that like it's probably not a reflection of your teaching. Um, you don't need to start immediately like lowering your prices or doing anything desperate to get people into class. Like, don't have a crash out. See if you can zoom out a little bit, look at the bigger picture, and remember that it is summer. Um, you know, I've been working in the yoga industry for a long time, and I see this every single summer. Like, things generally do slow down. Um, in the past, summer's also been a season where like I've taken on extra work, like where I've taken on part-time jobs or remote work that aren't necessarily related to like teaching yoga, um, but where I've taken on some extra things to just kind of fill the gap in terms of income. And that can be really helpful as well. Um, and you know, we just want to keep in mind that like our businesses have seasonal rhythms that often show up every single year at the same time every year. And if we remember that, then it gets a lot easier to plan ahead for those things and not, you know, start to get really reactive about it or upset about it when things potentially slow down. So I'll leave you with that to uh chew on for today. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Yoga Insider Podcast. If you have been enjoying these episodes of Yoga Insider, please make sure to leave a rating or review wherever you are listening to the podcast. It really just helps the algorithm kind of push the podcast out to potential new listeners. So that is like the nicest thing that you can do for me is just leave a five star review. I would appreciate it so much. Um, and yeah, once again, thank you so much for tuning in. I will see you next time.