What does a yoga teacher do?

A yoga teacher is a fitness and wellness professional who leads group classes in yoga. They teach students how to perform the various stretching poses, practice meditation and promote mindfulness in addition to overall wellbeing. These professionals are also often referred to as “yoga instructors” and “yogis.”

The specific responsibilities often include:

- Instructing small or large groups of new, intermediate or experienced yoga practitioners

- Demonstrating stretching poses, including alternative, advanced and adjusted positions to provide more accessibility to students of different levels

- Advising students on ways to improve or refine their practice, including at-home routines, positions for certain benefits and techniques to make positions easier, safer or more challenging

- Helping individual students perfect their form, including offering manual adjustments during lessons

- Leading groups through quiet meditation by talking through the process of letting thoughts go and relaxing each part of the body
Sharing the basic spiritual and intellectual principles of yoga, including from the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and other teachings