Teaching yoga is your passion — but turning it into a sustainable, full-time business can feel like a stretch. There are only so many hours you can teach in a day, and only so many students you can fit into your studio. Eventually, your income hits a ceiling, and burnout starts to creep in.
That’s why more yoga instructors are moving their businesses online. In this guide, we’ll cover:
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Why teaching online can help you scale your business without burnout
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How to turn your yoga business into an online yoga business
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The simple system you can use to find more clients and customers for your programs
In less time than you think, you can complement your in-person yoga classes with digital products and online sessions, working with students all over the world and creating consistent, recurring revenue streams.
I want to grow my yoga business, but the burnout is real
You got into yoga to help people feel better, not to end up exhausted yourself. Between driving to studios, managing class schedules, filling workshops, and trying to grow your student base, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly in motion — and not the mindful kind.
When your income is tied to how many classes you can teach in a week, scaling your business is really tough. You’re stuck trading time for money, and the only way to earn more is to do more. That’s not exactly what you imagined when you started this path, and it’s probably not sustainable long-term.
But what if your classes could keep working for you, even when you’re not actively teaching? What if your yoga business could grow without requiring more of your time and energy?
That’s where teaching yoga online comes in.
As an online yoga teacher, you can offer live virtual classes and sell replays of your previous classes so students everywhere can access them anytime. Your audience base is significantly bigger, and you can repurpose the hard work you’ve already done so it brings you money while you’re doing other things.
I just did a quick search through our database for “yoga” and found over 200 entrepreneurs selling all kinds of yoga programs like courses, memberships, 1:1 sessions, and yoga teacher training resources.
One of these business owners is Rachel from Ahimsic Health Yoga. Thanks to her online yoga sessions, Rachel was able to move to another country and keep her business going without losing income.
She says, “I teach Zoom classes and store pre-recorded classes for my members. I also run online yoga and meditation courses. I’ve created my dream, an online yoga platform that I can take anywhere in the world with me!”
Simply put, there are so many ways you can set up your business to match your style and passions, and you can get everything up and running in a weekend.
Here are the three things you need to do to set up your yoga business, as well as an easy system you can follow to find new customers on autopilot — so you can make money while you meditate.
And sidenote: Podia is a great option for teaching yoga online because everything is included, so you can focus on your practice instead of managing a bunch of tech.
As Abby Turner of Yoga Traveler Online puts it, “It saves me so much time to have all my business in one site — programs, website, email marketing, and blog! I love to watch my membership grow because of Podia!”
But these steps work no matter what tools you use, so if you have other platforms you prefer, have at it!
How to teach yoga online step by step
To have a successful online yoga business, you need a digital product, like an evergreen course or live video class that people can join. You’ll also need a business website to tell people who you are and what you do, as well as an email list for finding and connecting with new students.
Step 1: Set up your yoga offers and digital products
First, think about what kind of virtual classes you’d like to offer. There are lots of different ways you can format this based on your preferences and the type of yoga you teach.
Live or pre-recorded webinars: Offer webinars if you want to teach live classes online and then sell the replay recording as an on-demand option after the class is over. This is the closest option to a traditional yoga class where people come together at a set day and time. But the benefit is that you have unlimited “studio” space, and you can keep selling your webinar after it’s over by uploading a video replay.
For example, International School Functional Yoga Teachers runs periodic webinars that students and yoga practitioners can join. Customers can sign up for the live session or buy it after the date has passed to access a replay. They also sell a membership that includes access to all past webinar recordings for a monthly fee.
Online courses: Another option is to create a course with lots of yoga videos and flows that your students can work through at their own pace. You can make different courses for different ability levels, yoga disciplines, or focus areas, and you have the option to bundle them together into bigger offers.
Kathy Cook from Desa Yogi Iyengar Yoga does this by offering a variety of online courses and workshops that cover different topics like heart health, spine care, and posture. She also has a bundle where students can save 30% when they buy all six course programs together.
Yoga membership community: You can set up a community membership where members get access to a library of videos they can watch at their own pace. Your community can include a live element where people can join a Zoom or video call for real-time sessions, and you can make free and paid tiers with different content on each tier.
Andrea Russell runs a yoga and wellness business with a large yoga membership program. Her membership has +200 on-demand class recordings that people can watch anytime, and they can join unlimited live classes for as long as they’re a member.
1:1 Coaching: We also see online yoga teachers offering private coaching sessions to work with clients on their yoga technique, mindfulness, meditation, or other projects. You can offer one-time sessions for private yoga classes or create a bundle of coaching sessions for ongoing support.
Suzanne Martin offers 1:1 Vedic coaching sessions where students can get questions answered and discuss their holistic well-being. Clients can also book personalized Ayuryoga sessions online or at her in-person studio.
Sell digital downloads: Another option is to make guides, ebooks, journals, or printable cards with yoga positions or affirmations for your students. This is a great way to supplement your yoga classes and training materials, and you can also use these resources as upsells or add-ons to give your clients more value.
Teach Yoga for All, for example, has yoga teacher trainings and workshops geared toward instructors, healers, and students. They also sell an ebook of meditation scripts and prompts that other yoga teachers can use in their practice.
As your business grows, you may want to experiment with all of these product types, but let’s start with something simple.
Pull out your phone, film a short yoga session, and upload the video as a digital product. Then you can add a price and description, and press publish to make it live. You’re officially online!
Step 2: Create your online yoga website
Next, you need one cohesive place to tell everyone about your yoga business. I recommend making a website because you can customize it however you want, and you’ll have plenty of space to talk about your products, classes, and teaching philosophy.
You can also share information about your in-person classes (times, studio address, booking info) and other programs you offer, like retreats.
It may be tempting to skip the website and rely on social media or YouTube, but this can limit you. You don’t really own your audience on a third-party platform, and algorithms can change at any time. With a website, you have a distraction-free space to connect with customers that’s fully in your control.
If this is your first time building a website, keep it simple.
Here’s a quick 5-page layout you can set up:
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Homepage: This is the main page of your website, and it should include information about you and your yoga story, featured products/classes, and an email sign-up form.
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About: Here you can go more in-depth about your experience and certifications. You can also answer FAQs and let people know how they can contact you.
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Online Yoga: On this page, share all your virtual programs so people can buy them and participate any time they want.
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In-Person Yoga: If you offer in-person classes along with your virtual ones, create a page with information, like your class schedule and studio address.
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Blog: If you enjoy writing, a blog is an awesome way to expand your reach and find new customers. Share written articles or embed YouTube videos, audio files, podcasts, or other types of media to turn casual website visitors into paying customers.
Take a look at this yoga business website by Mirabelle D’Cunha. Mirabelle offers online and in-person yoga classes, corporate programs, meditation sessions, and workshops. She uses a blog to share her expertise and connect with new readers.
Mirabelle also links her main pages in her header navigation so her visitors can easily find what they’re looking for.
For your website, start with a simple layout using the five pages above, and you can always add more as your business grows.
Step 3: Set up your email list
Next, you’ll add an email list to your business. This is important because your email list or newsletter gives you a consistent way to stay in touch with your students.
When you post on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, you’re competing with thousands of other yoga creators. But your email list? That’s a space you own.
You can talk directly with people who are interested in what you have to offer, and let them know about any upcoming classes, events, and products you’re making. It’s a powerful tool for making sales and building bonds with your students long into the future.
To set this up, you’ll need an email marketing tool. (If you’re using Podia, email marketing is built in and free for your first 100 subscribers.)
Your email list is essentially just a list of people who have said they want to receive emails from you, and to get people to join, you can add a newsletter sign-up form to the website you set up in Step 2.
You can also add your sign-up form to your link in bio, blog posts, or anywhere else you’ve got an online presence. (We’ll talk about how to get even more people onto your list in the next section.)
Here’s a look at how Suzanne Martin gets signups for her newsletter. On key pages of her website, she has a sign-up box that tells people to sign up for information about upcoming classes, retreats, and workshops, as well as special offers.
It’s also important to think about what to include in your newsletter. You can share information about your live classes and virtual classes, new programs you’re building, promotions for your evergreen products, links to blog posts and YouTube videos, or other helpful tips and advice your audience would enjoy.
Decide on an email cadence, like once a week or once a month, and go ahead and set up a calendar reminder now so you don’t forget to send it.
Your newsletter goes out to the people who have opted to hear from you, and it’s a great way to stay in touch with your most engaged fans. It’s also a key ticket to building recurring revenue in your business without the hassle, which is what we’ll talk about in the next section.
Finding customers for your online yoga business (while you sleep)
When you’re teaching yoga in person, students probably find you by walking by or seeing your studio on Google Maps. With a virtual yoga business, you lose out on foot traffic and map visibility, but you also open up your classes to anyone, anywhere in the world.
So, how do you find these seemingly endless droves of eager students?
You build a system where you give away something for free (called a lead magnet) in exchange for a website visitor’s email address. Then you send an automated series of emails that tell them all about you, your virtual yoga business, and what you offer.
Over time, you point them to your paid products and sessions, and all this runs behind the scenes while you’re teaching, creating, or enjoying some well-deserved time off.
Here’s how to set this up in Podia:
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Create your free lead magnet. There are tons of ideas you can use for your lead magnet in this guide, but an obvious one is to give away a free on-demand video class. Record a video of yourself doing a yoga flow or tutorial so viewers can see your teaching style.
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Add your product. Next, you’ll add a new digital download product and upload your yoga video. Give your free training a title and description, then set the pricing to “Free email delivery”. This will let your audience sign up and watch your video instantly, and they’ll also be added to your email list.
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Make a landing page for your lead magnet. This page should tell people why they should sign up for your freebie and what benefits they’ll get from your program. You can link to this page anywhere you have an audience, like your social media bios, video captions, website footer, and blog posts.
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Set up an automated sales funnel. After someone signs up for your freebie, automatically enter them into an email campaign that runs over the next few days. This series should give them info about you and your business and also point them toward your paid programs. You can say something like, “Hey, if you enjoyed my free class, I actually offer more classes as part of this course/membership/bundle/etc. You should check it out if you’d like to continue working together.”
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Keep sending regular newsletters. After they’ve completed your sales funnel, they’ll also be on your list to receive your newsletter with product updates and promos. Even if they don’t buy right away, they could be a client in the future.
This funnel gradually takes people from strangers to students without being too salesy or pushy. You’re giving away something for free and building trust, and if they like what you have to offer, they can join your digital programs without a bunch of manual work from you.
And the best part is the more you share your lead magnet, the more the system grows. There’s no limit to the number of people you can work with, so share that lead magnet far and wide to get more fans, more subscribers, and ultimately more paying customers.
Teaching yoga online gives you space to grow without maxing out your workload
If you’re looking for ways to reach more students without being limited by location and time, teaching yoga online could be a good way to expand your business.
With an online element, you have space to grow with digital products, courses, live virtual sessions, coaching, memberships, and pre-recorded classes. And it doesn’t necessarily require more work on your end because after you’ve made your products, you can build a system for finding new customers on autopilot.
You can set everything up in Podia, the all-in-one platform for solopreneurs and small business owners. Your website, digital products, courses, landing pages, email list, newsletter, and customer details are all connected in one tool, so scaling is as simple as Adho Mukha Svanasana.
Start your 30-day free trial of Podia today to start building your dream online yoga business. We can’t wait to see what you make.
