Cost Of Living The Yoga Way

Dear Yogis!

Norman Blair, a senior Yin Yoga teacher, (I’ve written about him before when he released his book) has weighed in to the cost-of-living-crisis debate with an article, Headbanging/Headstanding, about the earnings of yoga teachers. He gives his own accounts and it’s interesting!

Norman started his yoga adventure in 1993 with a friend, Oz, who then went to Crete in 1995 to spend time with Radha and Pierre – John Scott’s teachers – and came back with an Ashtanga practice. (I only throw in those names to give some context for those of you who know the senior names in the Ashtanga world!). Norman came across yin yoga at the Manchester Buddhist Centre in November 2001 and has been studying with his teacher Sarah Powers ever since. That’s almost 30 years of training.

The reality of being a yoga teacher for him is this: ‘The number of enquiries that I receive about classes/workshops/courses has dropped by 40% in the last three years. My income from yoga teaching has dropped by about 35% from the pre-pandemic level to now (many teachers have had much greater income declines). Each year, my average costs (paying other teachers, book/course material printing, room rental, administrative costs, etc) are about 50% of my total income’.

‘This means that after teaching yoga full-time for more than 20 years, being committed to teaching and practice plus having my own home studio — my 2021-22 annual income (after costs and before tax) was £36,750. My income (after costs and before tax) in 2018–19 was £56,800.’

‘To give some contrast for those income figures, the average annual income for a postman in the UK is about £24,600; for a school teacher, it is about £32,000. The median average salary for full-time workers in the UK is £31,285 whereas the mean average salary for full-time workers in the UK is £38,131 (figures from May 2022).’

Blimey! (Shout-out for carers! Some carers get £69.70 a week if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get certain benefits. Not all of us do!) 

Classes

This coming Wednesday, August 31st, I have time off from my corporate class so I’ve added a one-off evening Ashtanga class to the timetable. Many of you have mentioned that you want the evening Ashtanga classes back – I used to Ashtanga on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Well, the timetable is building up slowly slowly and I’ll add classes in the next few months. You can book the Wednesday 7.00pm one-off Ashtanga here, online and in-person. You can book all classes here.

Also, I’ll be covering one of my teacher, Valentina’s, classes. It’s a one-hour class on Sunday 11th September 11:15-12:15 at Fulham Pools. I’ve covered there over the last 10 years and I love that space. (Just a note on the cost of living, following Norman’s article. An hour class at gyms, all gyms that I’ve taught in, was paid £30. Virgin Active now pays £28.50! Can you imagine!).

Yoga Retreat

I promised I would tell you when I go to Kythera, the Island of magic with Kapsali, the seaside village where the soul can rest! Well, I’m trying to book tickets and it is eye-wateringly expensive. I’m persisting, though. I’m planning to travel on September 21st and stay for a week or so at Porto Delfino (+30 2736 031940). I’m starting my search with Sky Express from Heathrow. Let me know if you want to come. We can research together.

Yoga In The News

The New York Times has: Yoga Chain Reaped Millions but Filed No Taxes for Years, Prosecutors Say. ‘Its instructors in the early years included a Swedish reality star, Sofia Kristina Hellqvist, who dated Mr. Gumucio and later married into the nation’s royal family in 2015, becoming Princess Sofia, duchess of Värmland. Hilaria Baldwin, the social media influencer and wife of the actor Alec Baldwin, also taught at the company before opening her own studio in 2010.’

Sakshi Post has: Akshar Yoga Aims To Create Guinness World Record with Dhanurasana. ‘Under the guidance of Akshar Yoga Founder, Himalayan Siddha Akshar, it intends to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for most number of people performing Dhanurasana or Bow Pose and sustaining it for 2 minutes straight for the first time ever. The event is slated to be held on Saturday, i.e. August 27, 2020.