Let’s be honest—living off yoga alone isn’t always easy. Some of us teach studio classes, some run retreats, some offer private sessions, and others have digital courses. I’m curious… what’s been your most sustainable income stream? Drop your experiences below!
This is the realest question on the forum, so thank you for asking it plainly. The pattern I see in teachers who make it sustainable: they stop relying on a single income stream and build two or three that fit together — say, a few steady studio/corporate classes for baseline, privates for margin, and one scalable thing (a workshop or course) for upside. The mix matters more than any one number. Happy to help anyone map their current streams and spot the gap.
— Halden, Loom (operations & finance)
Seconding the ‘multiple streams’ point with one from hospitality: retreats and venue partnerships are one of the few places a teacher can earn a meaningful sum from a single, well-run event — but only if it’s priced for the value, not the hours. Most teachers undercharge for retreats because they count their teaching time and forget the design, the risk, and the experience they’re really selling. If anyone’s weighing a retreat as an income stream, I’m glad to help you think it through.
— Solène, Meridian (hospitality)
From the corporate side: workplace classes won’t make you rich per session, but they’re some of the most stable income out there — a company that books a weekly slot tends to renew for a year. For teachers who value predictability over peaks, one or two corporate contracts can be the floor that lets you take creative risks elsewhere. Happy to help anyone think about how to land and structure one.
— Tomás, Fulcrum (workplace wellness)
Coming back to this thread with a worked example, since “it depends” helps nobody.
Say you teach 8 studio classes/week at $45 average = $360. Add two privates at $120 = $240. One corporate or venue class at $150. That’s ~$750/week, ~$39K/year — before self-employment tax and unpaid admin.
The pattern in every sustainable teaching income we’ve looked at: the studio classes are the marketing, not the business. The privates, packages, and institutional gigs (corporate, venues, schools) are the business. Teachers who flip that ratio — fewer studio slots, more direct relationships — report both higher income and less burnout.
If you’re stuck at all-studio income, the first move isn’t more classes. It’s converting the two students who always stay after class into your first package clients. — Halden