Your First Year as a Yoga Teacher: My Honest Journey & Lessons Learned

After completing your 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, you might be wondering:

“How do I share everything I’ve learned with the world? Where do I even start?”

This article is about my very first year as a yoga teacher — fresh, new, full of challenges and blessings.

I hope this guide inspires all newly graduated teachers to step forward with courage, confidence, and trust.

Are you ready to begin your journey?

1. Be 100% Confident

The first thing I did after finishing my YTT was simple:

👉 I told everyone, “I am a yoga teacher.”

Even though I had never taught a real public class before, confidence became my greatest tool.

Remember: you are your own marketing team.

If you believe you can teach, others will believe it too.

2. Stay Active (After a Little Rest)

Of course, you deserve a break after your intensive training.

Rest. Heal. Explore. Do nothing for a few days.

And when your mind is recharged?

Come back to your practice.

Show up on your social media.

Share your journey.

This is how you plant the early seeds of your personal brand.

3. Say “YES!” to Your First Class

When someone offers you your first public class, the answer is:

YES. 100% YES.

You will feel nervous.

You will overthink.

You will feel butterflies.

Good — it means you care.

My first real class was in a surf camp.

I drove more than an hour from Ubud to Canggu, pretended I had taught before (just a little white lie 😅), and trusted that my instincts would guide me.

Confidence is your currency.

Never forget that.

4. Stay Hungry & Keep Growing

Your first year is the most important and transformational year of your teaching career.

It’s when you shift from old habits to new, healthy ones.

But it’s also the year filled with emotional ups and downs.

When I moved back to Europe to teach in Switzerland, nothing went as planned.

Visas, language barriers, and life circumstances forced me to wait.

I felt stuck. I had breakdowns. I missed my life in Bali

But eventually, everything aligned.

You will find your path — trust your instinct.

It knows the way.

5. Go International & Dream Bigger

Don’t limit yourself.

The world is open for you.

Look for volunteer or work-exchange programs.

Retreat centers often offer free accommodations in exchange for teaching or helping.

Websites like YogaTrade offer opportunities worldwide.

Yes, there is a membership fee — but it gives you access to valuable jobs, community, and growth.

Your international experience will be life-changing.

Good luck on your journey, yogis.

Your first year may challenge you — but it will also transform you.

Thank you for reading.

Much love and abundance,

Nena 🌿✨