As I've travelled this year teaching yoga internationally, I've learned a lot about the different options for teaching yoga while traveling. I've cobbled together a number of opportunities and had the chance to travel across four continents. However, I should say up front, I didn't make any money. In exchange for teaching, I've received excellent accommodations, beautiful vegan meals, and been able to take my friends and family on vacation at high-end resorts. But, I came into the year with savings and considered the year a bit of a break from my career. Having that cushion, I was allowed to take positions based on my sense of adventure rather than my sense of obligation. Here's what I did:
The Yoga Trade website is a message board that you pay a small membership fee to in order to be able to access the job postings submitted to the site. Many of the postings ask you to work for room and board. Many more of the postings ask you to do many things in addition to teaching yoga, such as manage the social media of a retreat center or help make meals. If you are willing to take on these responsibilities, this might be a good option for you!
I responded to a posting in Australia because I'd never travelled there and was excited to use this as an opportunity to explore there. I wrote about my experience here. If you'd like to work at Swami's Yoga Retreat in Sydney, Australia, you can also just contact them directly.
As the world continues to work more remotely, the digital nomad community has continued to expand. There are many houses where digital nomads are now living and working together. Some have formal yoga teacher positions that include accommodation, like Nine Co-living.
You can also reach out to a digital nomad community living space and offer to teach yoga even if they don't have anything formally set-up already. I stayed at Cloud Citadel in the French Alps and casually taught yoga while there. I believe they may be open to hosting a yoga teacher. Staying in these community is really something special. The people are smart, innovative, experienced and cool. It felt like college, but everyone was older and cooler.
Fit Bodies Inc. is a company that sets up what they call teaching vacations. For a yearly fee, you can book a teaching gig one week at a time (but it is easy to book more than a week) at a long list of resorts. You also pay a fee per week that is about the equivalent of one night at the resort. You teach 1-2 yoga classes a day to guests and can spend the rest of the time enjoying the resort just like any other guest. These are all-inclusive resorts, so that includes drinks, activities, food. And, the best part, you can take someone else along.
I did this four times over the year, three in Mexico and one in Turks and Caicos and was able to take my overworked friends and family along for a relaxing vacation. The classes are usually full of yoga newbies and they appreciate a lot of gentle flow classes designed for relaxation. I will continue to book these even as I go back to work full-time in New York City. These teaching vacations end up being a great deal and a chance to take people to places they might not normally go. The company is very organized and helpful.