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Have you ever dreamed of doing something different with your life?
In January this year, my boyfriend and I decided to take a Yoga Teacher Training Course in Goa, India. The one-month course was a real challenge, one full of laughter, tears and some very sore muscles! By the end of the month, we found ourselves able to teach a one-hour yoga class, and guide the rest of the class through a 15-minute meditation. A feat that would have been downright impossible before taking the course! (You can read our daily diaries of the course here).
On the final day, exhausted and very proud of ourselves, our group sat in a circle with garlands of flowers around our necks, and thought about what we would do next? Clutching our new certificates in hand, we all couldn’t quite believe that we were now qualified yoga teachers, able to start careers as yoga teachers if we so wished. It took a while to sink in as we discussed our future prospects…
Some people had taken the course for personal reasons and had no intention of teaching, others were going straight back to their home country to start classes! Some of us (myself and my boyfriend included) weren’t quite sure what to do with our newfound skills. However, as we chatted with the other students, we slowly began to realise that a world of opportunity was now open to us…
A world of possibility…
We soon discovered a website called Yoga Travel Jobs, that listed volunteer, work exchange and paid job opportunities all over the world! It was really exciting to see all of the positions available in beautiful locations from beach resorts to mountain retreats… It seemed that Yoga Teachers were really in demand!
I discovered a volunteer position for a yoga instructor working at a grassroots non-profit organisation in Lima, Peru, teaching yoga to women, teens and children in an after-school program. I found an opening for a yoga and meditation teacher in a fun-sounding place called ‘Pipa’ in the north of Brazil, Rio Grande, at a yoga, party and surf hostel looking for a volunteer to teach yoga every morning in exchange for food and board. There was also a paid position for a yoga teacher at a boutique fitness studio in Cuenca, Ecuador. There were different roles to suit different personalities and different time-scales, commitment levels.
The requirements for some of the jobs state that you do not need to be a qualified Yoga Teacher, just have a good level of Yoga ability and be able to lead a class. There are also opportunities for non-yogis too, from kitchen staff, to English teachers, to actors and actresses!
The benefits of working abroad rather than just traveling from place to place…
When you stay in one place for a while, you gain a deeper insight into the culture of the country you’re living. You get to know people, from your local grocer to the people serving in your favourite coffee shop down the road. You’ll make local friends as well as fellow expats who are living in your area, and overall you will have a much richer experience of South America. Plus, thrown into a work environment – you’ll improve your Spanish language skills no end!
Many of the opportunities that we looked at offered free food and accommodation as part of a work exchange deal. However, if you are interested in a paid job with accommodation not included, renting an apartment in South America on a monthly basis can also be much cheaper than paying for a hostel every night.
The Yoga Community
As well as browsing the job opportunities, you can also join the Yoga Travel Jobs Community for free, which is a great way to meet like-minded people all over the globe. Here, you can chat with other yoga teachers, ask them advice about the locations of the jobs and get tips for teaching and volunteering. You can even join specific interest groups such as Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga (SUP)or Yoga Teaching ‘Writers’. If you fancy it, you can even create your own Yoga Community Group. Are you interested to learn Spanish with Yoga? Perhaps, you want to create a specific group for yoga with children? Or, maybe you are a Yogi who has a particular interest in diving? Whatever you’re into, here you can find someone who is as enthusiastic about it as you!
Who created Yoga Travel Jobs?
Nicholas Schneider is 29-year old German traveler and entrepreneur who loves to create inspirational online worlds for backpackers and digital nomads. He wants to connect like-minded people all over the word and support those who are keen to pursue an alternative lifestyle. We had the pleasure of meeting Nicholas five years ago in our office in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
So is Nicholas a yogi himself? When he started Yoga Travel Jobs, Nicholas had never before set foot on a yoga mat! He’s since been inspired by the amazing stories he’s heard from people using the website and is planning on doing his first yoga retreat in Thailand at the end of the year!
So are you ready for a change?
Join the Yoga Travel Jobs Community today for free.
After creating a profile on the site, you can browse all of the job opportunities and join the Yoga Travel Jobs Community to start meeting people! (This is known as a Yoga Visa.)
With this membership, you can only browse jobs. To see the full description of the job and to contact the employer or submit a job application, you must register to the website and pay a small sign up fee for the whole year. (Therefore gaining a full Yoga Passport!)
So sign up now and discover all of the opportunities waiting for you!
Nikki Scott | Founder & Editor
Nikki is the founding editor of South East Asia Backpacker. At age 23, she left the UK on a solo backpacking trip and never returned. After six months on the road, she founded a print magazine about backpacking in Asia. The rest is history.
