What does a yoga instructor do?
A yoga teacher or instructor is an individual who teaches yoga lessons and works at yoga studios, gyms, or fitness centers. Yoga teachers are wellness and fitness professionals who lead yoga classes. They teach their students a variety of practice meditation, promote mindfulness, and stretching poses. It is expected of them to know about mindful meditation and Chakra system implementation. They should be equipped with energy, inspiration, authenticity, attention to detail, and diligence.
Yoga instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real yoga instructor resumes:
- Manage operations, develop and teach the syllabus for group/private classes.
- Recognize by the gym ownership for utilizing a CPR certification and managing an on scene emergency.
- Manage general fitness center cleanliness and coordinate group fitness instructor schedules
- Lead adult fitness classes involving yoga & Pilates classes.
- Educate the community in the philosophy and practice of yoga as well as the physical practice of Asana.
- Instruct students on Pilates, TRX and HIIT principles.
- Maintain CPR and a certifications.
- Utilize Facebook as a means of spreading awareness.
- Design and organize PowerPoint presentations for use as study aids.
- Design musical playlists to match the energy level throughout class sequences.
- Apply leadership skills by presenting health lectures and leading fitness classes.
- Relay new laws/regulations pertaining to their CDL licensing and renewal of endorsements.
- Work regularly to develop and implement original ESL curriculum, both basic and advance.
- Plan and run events including camps, birthday parties, festivals, and fundraisers.
- Instruct and run career days and job fairs for student placement with local business.
Yoga instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 42% of Yoga Instructors are proficient in CPR, Customer Service, and Class Attendance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Communication skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Yoga Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPR, 42%
Maintain current Group Fitness Instructor, CPR, AED, Oxygen, and First Aid certifications.
- Customer Service, 20%
Provide exceptional customer service and communicate effectively to create a positive, welcoming experience for all students.
- Class Attendance, 8%
Increased membership sales by providing tailored membership pricing options, health wellness information and encouraging class attendance.
- Teacher Training, 5%
Continued involvement in CPY programming: Coached two terms of Hot Power Fusion Teacher Training and its Extensions program.
- Pilates, 5%
Lead workshops for Beginner Pilates and taught a series of Partner Yoga classes.
- Yoga, 4%
Led Yoga classes for all skill levels, beginning to advanced Motivator Created Yoga lesson plans Practiced and taught aromatherapy relaxation methods
Most yoga instructors use their skills in "cpr," "customer service," and "class attendance" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential yoga instructor responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a yoga instructor to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "many fitness trainers and instructors sell their services, motivating clients to hire them as personal trainers or to sign up for the classes they lead." Additionally, a yoga instructor resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "performed in a customer relations role by interacting with the lyons yoga community. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform yoga instructor duties is communication skills. Yoga instructors responsibilities require that "fitness trainers and instructors must be able to clearly explain exercises that they demonstrate to clients." Yoga instructors also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "use of computer and excellent customer service as well as intercommunication skills. "
Listening skills. yoga instructors are also known for listening skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to yoga instructor responsibilities, because "fitness trainers and instructors must listen carefully to what clients tell them in order to determine the clients’ fitness levels and desired fitness goals." A yoga instructor resume example shows how listening skills is used in the workplace: "provide inspired yoga instruction, emphasizing safe alignment and listening to one's body"
Motivational skills. yoga instructor responsibilities often require "motivational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "to keep clients coming back for more classes or to continue personal training, fitness trainers and instructors must keep their clients motivated." This resume example shows what yoga instructors do with motivational skills on a typical day: "crated a series of motivational lectures and designed a unique blend of chair yoga and pilates classes for seniors. "
Physical fitness. Another common skill required for yoga instructor responsibilities is "physical fitness." This skill comes up in the duties of yoga instructors all the time, as "fitness trainers and instructors must be able to lead classes and to demonstrate exercises to participants or their clients." An excerpt from a real yoga instructor resume shows how this skill is central to what a yoga instructor does: "participated in continuing education related to pilates and teaching group fitness. "
The three companies that hire the most yoga instructors are:
- CorePower Yoga155 yoga instructors jobs
- EXOS27 yoga instructors jobs
- Xponential Fitness7 yoga instructors jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable yoga instructor resume templates
Build a professional yoga instructor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your yoga instructor resume.
Compare different yoga instructors
Yoga instructor vs. Life skills trainer
Life skills trainers are personal health professionals who provide training assistance and supervision to patients, such as personal care, financial management, and social integration. These trainers are required to assist their clients with disabilities with daily living activities while documenting their behaviors and personal hygiene. They can organize therapeutic activities for individuals or groups to maximize their quality of life. Life skills trainers must also assist in meal preparation as well as perform tasks that include glucose monitoring, insulin therapy, and diabetes management.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a yoga instructor are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "class attendance," "teacher training," and "pilates." On the other hand, a job as a life skills trainer requires skills like "medication administration," "therapeutic recreation," "medical appointments," and "direct support." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Life skills trainers tend to reach similar levels of education than yoga instructors. In fact, life skills trainers are 4.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Yoga instructor vs. Fitness specialist
A Fitness Specialist is focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle through exercise and working with clients in various settings. They teach individuals or groups how to properly perform exercises and use exercise equipment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that yoga instructor responsibilities requires skills like "class attendance," "teacher training," "pilates," and "ryt." But a fitness specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "fitness assessments," "acsm," "sales floor," and "blood pressure."
On average, fitness specialists earn a lower salary than yoga instructors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, fitness specialists earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $34,687. Whereas yoga instructors have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $49,905.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Fitness specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than yoga instructors. In fact, they're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for yoga instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Brittany Helmbrecht
Assistant Professor, Chadron State College
Yoga instructor vs. Fitness trainer
The job of a fitness trainer is to instruct and motivate individuals and groups in physical activities, including stretching, cardiovascular exercise, and strength training. The typical duties of a fitness trainer include demonstrating how to perform various exercises, guiding them during the exercise to improve fitness and minimize injuries, and monitoring their progress. As a fitness trainer, you are also responsible for explaining and enforcing safety rules on exercise equipment usage, recreational activities, and sports, and giving clients resources and information about weight control, lifestyle issues, and nutrition.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, yoga instructors are more likely to have skills like "class attendance," "teacher training," "yoga," and "ryt." But a fitness trainer is more likely to have skills like "cleanliness," "physical fitness," "fitness equipment," and "blood pressure."
Fitness trainers earn the best pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $30,324. Yoga instructors earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $49,905.fitness trainers typically earn lower educational levels compared to yoga instructors. Specifically, they're 5.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Yoga instructor vs. Skills trainer
Skills Trainers are responsible for creating and teaching courses that are specialized for employees of an organization. Their duties include conducting initial analysis through questionnaires, surveys, and focus groups, create program budgeting, design training courses, organize the class schedule, produce study materials, and implement trial run. They track key performance metrics, create progress reports, and continuously improve training methodologies to deliver better results. Skills Trainers also work with outside vendors in using instructional technology to facilitate teaching.
Types of yoga instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
