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Yoga teacher vs personal trainer

The differences between yoga teachers and personal trainers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a yoga teacher and a personal trainer. Additionally, a yoga teacher has an average salary of $52,895, which is higher than the $37,214 average annual salary of a personal trainer.

The top three skills for a yoga teacher include anatomy, thai and asana. The most important skills for a personal trainer are CPR, customer service, and resuscitation.

Yoga teacher vs personal trainer overview

Yoga TeacherPersonal Trainer
Yearly salary$52,895$37,214
Hourly rate$25.43$17.89
Growth rate19%19%
Number of jobs52,68134,023
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

What does a yoga teacher do?

A yoga teacher is responsible for teaching yoga as an exercise to enhance general body wellbeing and fitness. Yoga teachers primarily focus on teaching students how to practice meditation, perform different body stretching poses and improve mindfulness, which leads to general body wellbeing. As a yoga teacher, you're required to have a university degree or certification from private training organizations that offer specialist courses. Yoga teachers are also called "yogis" or "yoga instructors."

What does a personal trainer do?

A personal trainer is responsible for monitoring the client's fitness goals by assisting the client with specific and customized routines and exercises to promote healthy well-being. Duties of a personal trainer also include evaluating the client's fitness progress, creating safe programs to improve the client's stamina, educating the client with workout benefits, suggesting on a client's best nutrition plans, and motivating clients with their capabilities. A personal trainer should have excellent knowledge of the fitness industry to support the client's needs.

Yoga teacher vs personal trainer salary

Yoga teachers and personal trainers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Yoga TeacherPersonal Trainer
Average salary$52,895$37,214
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $92,000Between $26,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-AEA Investors
Best paying industry-Retail

Differences between yoga teacher and personal trainer education

There are a few differences between a yoga teacher and a personal trainer in terms of educational background:

Yoga TeacherPersonal Trainer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorPsychologyKinesiology
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Yoga teacher vs personal trainer demographics

Here are the differences between yoga teachers' and personal trainers' demographics:

Yoga TeacherPersonal Trainer
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 14.5% Female, 85.5%Male, 63.3% Female, 36.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between yoga teacher and personal trainer duties and responsibilities

Yoga teacher example responsibilities.

  • Manage student supervision in various environments including classrooms, halls, cafeterias, schoolyards, gymnasiums, and field trip locations.
  • Teach adult yoga, barre, Pilates group exercise classes and workshops
  • Provide private yoga sessions addressing a variety of specialize client needs
  • Instruct CrossFit members how to incorporate flexibility and mobility through a supplemental yoga series additional to their weight training
  • Develop innovative PowerPoint presentations used to incorporate creative lessons for daily teaching consistent with teaching multiple grade levels at once.
  • Create curriculum, syllabus and lesson plans for each class.

Personal trainer example responsibilities.

  • Help clients achieve fitness goals through diet and heavy weight lifting with HIIT cardio.
  • Achieve high customer satisfaction and budget efficiency in the group fitness department and yoga department.
  • Provide market research and generate leads using social media (facebook) in order to target prospective clients.
  • Shape the social media aspect of the facility which include Facebook and Instagram.
  • Ensure trainers and team members are consistent in punctuality, dress code, compliance, and customer service.
  • Follow ACSM guidelines ensuring safe and healthy exercise technique for strength training and cardiovascular activity.
  • Show more

Yoga teacher vs personal trainer skills

Common yoga teacher skills
  • Anatomy, 37%
  • Thai, 24%
  • Asana, 8%
  • Pilates, 8%
  • Yoga, 5%
  • Front Desk, 4%
Common personal trainer skills
  • CPR, 23%
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Resuscitation, 7%
  • Fitness Programs, 7%
  • NASM, 5%
  • Physical Fitness, 4%

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