Identifying Money Mindset Blocks as Yoga Teachers

Breaking Free: How Overcoming Money Mindset Blocks Transformed My Yoga Teaching and Business - By Nikita Thakrar

Reading time: 4 minutes

In my first decade of teaching Yoga, I charged between £5-8 per person, per class. My justification for this was a) yoga was not my main source of income and b) I did not have high rental costs for the venue I was using.

As much as I had happy customers, who felt they were getting excellent value I was also finding it challenging to attract new ones, not realising at the time that some people were in fact cautious as my price was significantly lower than other yoga classes in the same area.

It was during the first Covid lockdown that I had my realisation. Like many teachers, I moved my weekly yoga classes to an online platform. At first, I felt guilty charging at all as they were not going to get the in same person experience, with hands on corrections. I was also concerned about Wi-Fi glitches and worried that if people could not see/hear me properly they may think the class was not good value. However, I reluctantly continued to offer my classes online, for £8 per hour. To my surprise every one of my students signed up!

They generally went well, with a few occasional times that the video or sound did not work but overall, my students said they would rather have something than nothing at all. A turning point was when a couple asked me if they could join, but only pay for one person as they would be together in their living room. By this time, I was a senior teacher, with a wealth of knowledge about areas of yoga including pranayama, chakra balancing and meditation. I went above and beyond in my classes and gave so much more than just postures, yet I was being asked to teach for £4. This hurt my ego, and when the restrictions lifted, and we resumed in person classes I decided to increase my price to £10 per person.

Not one of them bat an eyelid, still feeling as though it was great value and in fact even more new people started enquiring. At the end of my sessions, I go around giving gentle head massages and Reiki healing. Sometimes I read out one of my own poems, and often I share an insightful story with an uplifting meaning. When I heard phrases like ‘that was the best tenner I ever spent’, I realised then that I was charging far too less and in fact doing yoga a dis-service.

What was holding me back from charging more? This was when I identified that I had a money mindset block.

A money block is a barrier in one’s mind with their relationship to money. This can stem from growing up with scarcity and being told that money doesn’t grow on trees and is something one has to work very hard to earn. I realised I was carrying a belief from my parents that hard work = earning low amounts of money and even harder work = earning average amounts of money.

I suddenly felt awakened with this realisation that everything I was charging in all areas of my business was in fact a reflection of my own self-worth. I knew that the service and level of care I was giving went above and beyond, yet I still felt awkward, uncomfortable, and guilty for charging more.

I started reading the book ‘making money making change’ by Rha Goddess, and this ended up being a gamechanger. I listened to the audio version on my daily walks during lockdown, and soon started to unblock the patterns I had so deeply engrained within me. My relationship with money started improving and I stopped seeing it as something to be feared and passed under the table, but instead a beautiful energy that flows in abundance.

When all the covid restrictions were dropped and we were allowed to re-open the studio, I re-emerged as a confident yoga teacher with a strong sense of self-worth. I increased my price from £10 to £15, and although I had a few raised eyebrows nobody hesitated to pay, including the couple who had previously asked me to teach them for £4!

Since then, I have maintained the same fees, although I have worked with coaches who have asked me to consider rewording the offering to incorporate all aspects of what I teach. The word ‘yoga’ is very generic. It can vary from simply doing postures, to some breath work or as I offer, a holistic, well-rounded experience.

There are of course factors to consider, such as geographical location, if there is funding involved and the demographics of your ideal audience. However, unblocking my money mindset has been one of the best things I have ever done, and something I am now passionate about inspiring others to do.

Taking that time to work through it, has enabled me to flourish in other areas of my life. I now run group coaching sessions centred around supporting yoga teachers with their money blocks. This is particularly challenging during the current economic climate, inspiring people to invest in themselves for long-term gain.

However, the greatest lesson I took from the book, which I share in my workshops is the more we make, the more we can give back. When our cup is full, we can share more – that cup includes our financial security. Making money, making change is about charging our self-worth to be able to support more number of people in more ways.

To find out more about Nikita’s money mindset workshops visit: www.journeywithnikita.com