A funny thought came to mind on Saturday when I was in a downward dog. I’d been to this yoga class 100 times, and I always enjoyed the recharge and the time out. Normally I keep my two worlds of personal-training education and yoga separate, like oil and water, but on this day, they combined. And it occurred to me: What if PTs communicated a little bit more like yoga instructors?
I sat down and thought about it after class, and I’ve come up with my top 5 reasons why yoga teachers make GREAT personal trainers. Read on to learn more.
Yoga instructors have excellent body awareness and knowledge
Yoga instructors know all about being aware of their own bodies. After all, yoga allows us to perfect the art of both slowing down and activating our minds. As a result, yogis become more aware of what the body needs.
This, in turn, makes us excellent observers of others and their bodies. Good yoga instructors grow accustomed to watching clients and tailoring their personal approaches to what individual clients need.
Yoga instructors are excellent communicators
They understand how to help people open their minds to new ideas and new attitudes. Personal training is also all about lifestyle changes and encouraging healthy new behaviours. However, sometimes speaking about how wonderful a healthy lifestyle is not enough.
Personal trainers must convince also clients, who sometimes lack confidence, that leading a
healthier life is possible for them, too. Fortunately, most yoga instructors understand how it feels to reach for the best versions of themselves and over time can articulate the process to eager students better than anyone else. They aim to encourage rather than to scold because they understand the journey and want to help others find their place on their bright path of vitality.
Yoga instructors are able to work with all levels of clients
Yoga instructors often see all levels of fitness. They also often work with a wide range age. Essentially, yoga instructors must be versatile and patient.
Most yoga instructors over time develop a deep understanding of others. They come to understand that most people are not like them, but they do not begrudge them for this. Rather, as instructors, they work hard to meet their clients where they presently are. Similarly, personal trainers must be willing and able to connect with all clients, even those with fitness levels and personal backgrounds vastly different from their own.
Yoga instructors often already have a strong customer base.
Yoga instructors have access to people who might already be attending a gym elsewhere or wanting to work with a trainer and have built up a level of trust with their clients. As a result, when they do earn their credentials as personal trainers, these yoga teachers will likely have plenty of people willing to come aboard as clients.
After all, who would not want to work toward their fitness goals with someone whom they already know fairly well and who also likely understands their aspirations, limitations, and concerns?
Yoga instructors know how to work with the human being, not just the human body
I have already addressed how well the typical yoga instructor understands the human body. As it turns out, seasoned yoga instructors also tend to know what it means to be a human being. And no matter what fitness goals clients may have, physical trainers must understand that people are not machines.
True, the human body may be a wonderfully efficient machine, and with hard work, it can be built up and strengthened in a reasonable amount of time. The person manning that machine, however? Only human, likely with a life packed with family, school, work, and other obligations. You can exercise the body to its capacity, but you cannot outrun an uncertain mind. Yoga instructors understand this. You cannot force a change to happen. You have to allow it to begin organically within a person. This level of understanding is all the more essential once you start your career as a personal trainer.
In short, you can really combine the skills and have the best of both worlds – a trainer who has the ability to meet the client where they need to be that day and the compassion to understand the emotions involved in the change process. I highly recommend PTA Academy as a great place for yoga teachers interested in becoming PTs to start a new chapter of their professional lives.
