I teach yoga. I’ve rolled mats in quiet church basements and loud city gyms. I’ve taught in Portland, Los Angeles, and a small town near Kansas City. This is what I got paid. No fluff. Just my numbers and the stuff people don’t say out loud.
If you want another set of raw deposit slips to compare against mine, the breakdown at It’s All About Yoga is a solid mirror—sometimes flattering, sometimes not.
Where I’ve Taught (So You Know My Lens)
- Studio classes: Vinyasa, gentle flow, and a few hot classes.
- Privates: one-on-one in living rooms, parks, and one guy’s garage gym.
- Corporate: lunch flows at offices and a few hotel “wellness” weekends.
- Online: Zoom on Sundays and a tiny subscriber group.
If you’re flirting with turning up the thermostat and diving into 105-degree rooms, my first-person take on hot-yoga teacher training walks through every sweaty mile.
I hold a 200-hour cert, then added prenatal and mobility courses. Nothing fancy. Just steady.
Studio Class Pay: The Base, Plus “Per Head”
Most studios pay a small flat rate. Some add a “per head” bonus after a set number of students. It sounds fair—until an empty room happens.
Real numbers from my gigs:
- Portland: $35 base + $4 per student after 5.
- Class of 14 = $35 + (9 x $4) = $71. Felt great.
- Class of 6 = $35 + (1 x $4) = $39. Not so great after gas.
- New York (subbing): $60 flat, no bonus.
- Packed room of 28 still paid $60. I sweated for free, basically.
- Kansas City gym: $28 flat.
- Class of 10 felt busy, but pay didn’t move.
Average studio class for me lands around $40–$60. Some weeks it’s higher. Some weeks it’s crickets.
Industry-wide data backs that up; the national breakdown in Gymdesk’s deep dive on yoga instructor earnings pegs most studio classes in the $30–$75 window, with outliers on both ends.
Private Sessions: Where It Actually Adds Up
One-on-one pays better. It also takes more energy. You plan, you bring blocks, you smile, and you mean it.
What I charge (and got paid):
- LA: $110 per hour. Folks there expect house calls.
- Portland: $80–$90 per hour.
- KC area: $65–$75 per hour.
One month, I ran 6 privates a week at an $85 average. That was 24 sessions x $85 = $2,040 before taxes. My legs were toast, but my rent was safe.
Tip: Packages help. I sell 5-session packs for a small discount. People stick with it. I get steadier weeks. Win-win.
Finding those private clients, by the way, is 80% of the game. I’ve landed a few by word of mouth, a few through Instagram, and—surprisingly—by posting a clean, professional blurb on open classifieds sites. Think Craigslist, Nextdoor, or even some of the more adult-leaning boards teachers usually ignore. To see how one of the largest of those bulletin boards functions (and what safety filters are built in), skim this practical walkthrough of Mega Personals — it explains the sign-up flow, posting rules, and local-search tips so you can decide whether a platform like that could send a few additional clients your way without unwanted headaches. For an even more concrete example of how location-specific listings look to potential customers, browse the live postings on Adult Search Apple Valley — you’ll see how photos, rates, and availability are displayed, giving you a clear idea of how your own profile might appear and attract nearby clientele.
Corporate Classes: Short Time, Bigger Check
If you can get these, do it. They’re not always fun—bright lights, carpet smell—but they pay.
What I got:
- Tech office, LA: $200 for 50 minutes. They paid parking. Bless them.
- Bank downtown: $180 for 45 minutes. No mats, so we did chair flow.
- Hotel “wellness” weekend: $1,000 total for 4 classes over two days. Meals included. I snuck an extra banana.
These gigs filled gaps when studio pay dipped. But they come and go. You need relationships. And you follow up. A lot.
Online Stuff: Small But Real
Zoom Sundays saved me during slow months.
- Donation class: Average $8 per person. One Sunday had 18 people. I took home about $144 after fees.
- Members group: 40 folks at $12 each = $480 a month. Tiny, but it paid my phone and insurance.
YouTube money? For me, pennies. Maybe coffee money if a video popped. But I liked the practice it gave me with a mic.
Seasons Matter More Than You Think
January is “New Year, new me.” July is “I’m at the lake, sorry.”
My actual swings:
- Best month (January): $4,600 gross. Packed classes, extra privates, one bank gig.
- Slow month (July): $2,100 gross. Heat. Vacations. Empty rooms. I taught a class to three people and a golden retriever. He was an angel.
Snow days in Portland? Total wipeouts. I learned to keep a little buffer. Not fancy—just one extra rent saved.
Costs People Forget
Money in is nice. Money out can sting.
- 200-hour certification: $2,500 (mine).
- Continuing education: around $300 a year.
- Insurance: $180 per year.
- Music license: $15 a month.
- Booking software and Zoom: about $20–$30 a month.
- Props, mic, and mat cleaner: small stuff adds up.
- Gas and parking: depends on your city.
- Taxes: I set aside 25–30%. If I don’t, I cry in April.
One of the most unexpectedly grounding investments was brushing up on the language behind the poses—I unpacked the whole Sanskrit study rabbit hole right here.
One more thing: your voice is a tool. I blew mine teaching five hot classes in three days. Tea is cheap. ENT visits aren’t.
Schedules That Paid My Bills (And When They Didn’t)
Part-time season (while I had another job):
- 5 studio classes a week at $45 average = about $900 a month.
- 2 private sessions a week at $85 = about $680 a month.
- Total: around $1,580 before taxes. Enough for groceries, not a full living.
Full-time stretch (my best mix):
- 12 studio classes a week at $50 average = about $2,400 a month.
- 6 privates a week at $90 = about $2,160 a month.
- 1 weekly corporate class at $200 = about $800 a month.
- Online subs = about $480 a month.
- Total: around $5,840 before expenses and taxes.
After costs and taxes, I kept roughly $3,900. Some months more, some less.
City-to-City Paychecks: Three Snapshots
- Portland studio: $35 base + $4 per head after 5.
- Class of 14 paid me $71. Felt fair.
- LA boutique: $50 flat per class; privates $110; corporate $250.
- Long drives, high rent, solid rates.
- KC area gym: $28 flat; community center classes at $45 (grant helped); privates $70.
- Lower pay, but lower rent and great regulars.
Do Extra Certs Raise Pay?
Sometimes. I got a bump teaching prenatal and restorative. Studios liked filling those slots. But the big bump came from trust, not paper. Show up on time. Say people’s names. Remember the runner’s tight hip. That, oddly, pays more than another badge.
Things I Love, Things I Don’t
- Love: when a student nails their first crow. The quiet right after savasana. The little “thank you” at the door.
- Hard stuff: early mornings, late nights, and stacked days. Long commutes. Voice strain. Cancellations that hit an hour before class. You learn to breathe through it—kind of like, well, yoga.
Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner
Whenever I need a no-fluff reality check on the business side of teaching, I skim the free articles over at It's All About Yoga to keep my numbers (and mindset) honest.
- Set a 24-hour cancel rule. Say it out loud. Keep it kind, keep it firm.