6 Reasons Why Full-Time Yoga Teachers and Other Wellness Instructors Should Consider Joining a Network Marketing Company

Are there any other professional yoga teachers or wellness instructors out there thinking about how we’ll pay our bills during the stage of life when more common careers are transitioning into retirement? You know, the time when we’re crawling on the floor with our grandchildren, or sipping tea on a quiet afternoon remembering the good old days when we instructed classes?

My hope is there are several of us, a motley crew of spiritual renegades whose mission to create peace and love superseded opting for traditional vocations. I get it, trust me, I’m in the same boat, but the fact is, although we’ve consciously avoided the conventional path of earning a living, none of us can avoid the inevitable transition into our later years. With this in mind, my wife and I, as yoga studio owners and teachers ourselves, have added network marketing into our business model to hedge the risk of not being prepared for retirement when the time comes.

Before we really get into it, let’s face it; whether its called network marketing, direct sales, or multi-level marketing the industry generally gets a bad rap.  It’s often labeled as a pyramid scheme or get rich quick scam.  Howbeit, after diving a bit deeper and investigating trends with this business model, I have come to a very different conclusion. One that actually suggests the industry is poised for explosive growth and can play a crucial role in how comfortably professional yoga teachers and other wellness professionals successfully transition into retirement. Here are six factors to consider.

Unavoidable Physiological Changes: I believe Dharma Mittra said it best, “There is nothing we can do to prevent this” as he pulled his loose aging skin from his face to demonstrate the process of getting older. We all try to postpone it, disguise it, and in some cases even reverse it with medical procedures, but aging is part of our lives. Is it plausible to assume we’ll have the physical stamina to teach in the same capacity in years to come as we have today? While running from studio to studio teaching classes from dusk to dawn may feel feasible in our bodies now, will it feel the same way 10 years from now?

Parinamavada (Life is Constantly Changing):

In moving with this 10-year projection: As a person blessed to be in their early forties, I can personally vouch for the fact that a lot happens in ten years. Life changes in so many unexpected ways. In my own life, over the past ten years, I’ve evolved in so many capacities, both with our yoga studios and in life in general. I’ve experienced ups, and of course downs, I’ve gone right when I should have gone left. My point in all this is that life is always happening, and at any moment it can change drastically. Consider the impact of family growth or transitioning into home ownership for the first time. Ultimately, at some point, all of us need to evaluate if our current lifestyle (including factors such as compensation, flexibility, ability to save money, and general lifestyle) is preparing us for what’s to come further down the road.

Risk of Overspecialization:

Humans naturally have a tendency to desire change in their lives to feel significant, and I would argue this premise is especially relevant when applied to our careers. Are the skills we’ve been crafting as professional yoga teachers transferrable to other career paths if we decide to go in a different direction? As a studio owner and yoga teacher myself, I would argue “yes,” however, if there is one thing I’ve learned over a decade of convincing people they should try yoga, it’s that it doesn’t matter what I think.   People have their own values and beliefs, and nine times out of ten, if they are not already exposed to the amazing benefits of yoga (not just asana classes) people don’t really value the practice or our industry in general. For all of us in the industry, this is great because we are truly a part of an emerging market with unlimited potential. Conversely, for those of us seeking a career change, we may be faced with the sad reality that employers don’t always take our profession seriously.

Retirement:   Unless we find a golden unicorn, the industry standard is a fee-for-service model meaning no bees, no honey. No work, no money. My contention is that instead of focusing our energy on being one hundred percent in the moment, with respect to our career’s direction, we need to be navigating eighty percent in the present and twenty percent in the future. What we do today directly impacts where we’ll be in the future. Gone with the days of learning a trade, working with a company for a lifetime, and receiving a pension until we reach the afterlife.

Nowadays, we must be extremely creative in our preparation for retirement, especially in the wellness industry. The system of stashing a nest egg aside that is sustainable for thirty years has proven to be broken, and in the yoga industry, it is also unrealistic. Keeping this in mind, if network marketing is viewed as a portion of our retirement plan, an investment in our future similar to a deposit in a high yield money market account, it may start to make sense.   It becomes evident that it might not pay off immediately, however, with consistent deposits in the form of time and effort, it may pay off well in the future. Even if we don’t rise to the top of the ranks, network marketing offers us an opportunity to build a residual income that will be paid out monthly throughout our later years, and in some cases, depending on the company willable to family members we leave behind.

We’re Already Skilled Teachers:

According to Paul Zane Pilzer, economist, and best selling author, while most people think successful network marketing companies are focused on moving products, where they really succeed is in their ability to distribute information. Think about it, network-marketing companies have mastered the art of teaching people how to teach others to improve their lives using their said product. Taking this into account, for the most part, yoga teachers are already in the practice of using the skills required to be successful in this industry. In our teacher-training program, we place a significant amount of weight on the idea that our calling to teach yoga is also a calling to be of service to others. For us, this means in our teaching we provide direction that is sustainable, accessible and meaningful to each participant in the class every time we show up. Skilled yoga teachers are really good at connecting and educating people of diverse backgrounds with a clear and concise message. In effect, these are the skills vital for success in network marketing.

The Ability to Help Others:

One of the greatest perks of being a yoga teacher is how rewarding the profession is as a whole. People from all walks of life gather together in a solemn space to engage in mindful movements that are both healing and spiritually uplifting. Often people have approached me after class to share feedback about their experience on the mat, and each and every time, I’m always surprised. While I can’t take credit for the work people experience during the practice, it feels great that somehow when class is over they’ve attributed a portion of their transformation to me.

The interesting thing that most people miss about the major connection between network marketing and teaching yoga is that once you strip out the financial aspects and yoga postures, a synergy between the two career paths emerges. In both scenarios, we are helping people to tap into a side of themselves that either they didn’t know existed, have forgotten about, or just lost all together somewhere during the unpredictable journey of life. Additionally, in both settings we’ll find enthusiastic people constantly in the act of reading, posting, and sharing inspirational ideas.  They have goals, vision boards, and are generally practicing their craft and/or using the products they are sharing with others to improve the way they look and feel about themselves. Regardless of the path we choose, if our intentions are pure, by being of service to others, helping them to ignite positivity in their lives, and teaching them actions they can easily duplicate on their own to yield the results they desire: we are making a positive impact in peoples lives.  Isn’t that why we were called to this industry in the first place?

At some point, sooner or later we’ll all have to assess our retirement strategies. Regardless of which path we choose, there is a tremendous opportunity on the table if we’re open to including network marketing as a piece of that plan. For those open to the challenge, I’ll offer some friendly advice. First and foremost, engage in extensive due diligence; I mean really, it’s so important to do your homework. Although, the industry has made tremendous strides over the last several years and companies are becoming more reputable, there are still plenty of pitfalls to avoid. As a rule of thumb, I’d avoid working with companies that require high membership fees and/or hefty inventory requirements. They’re generally the companies that give this industry such a bad reputation.

A great opportunity should cost the same price as a Lululemon outfit (pants and shirt), which was the case for us. By making a seemingly small investment in our futures with a risk versus reward ratio that is strongly in our favors. Coupled with consistently investing our time and energy which is the great equalizer given no one has more time than another person, we all get 24 hours per day; we may find the addition of network marketing in our career plans to provide a Zen-like transition into the later stages of our lives.

Namaste Yogis

Comments