15/07/2025
The Value of Yoga vs. The Cost: A Love Letter to My Fellow Teachers
By Emily Bruce | Yoga Therapist & Teacher | Hampshire, UK
When I posted a breakdown of what it actually costs to teach a £9–£12 yoga class, I didn’t expect the flood of responses that followed.
Every comment, DM, and share came from fellow teachers—some with decades of experience, some just beginning—who all said the same thing:
“Thank you for saying what needed to be said.”
So, this post is for you. For every yoga teacher who has felt invisible, underpaid, or quietly frustrated that the depth of what we offer is so often misunderstood.
This is a love letter. A values statement. And a gentle reminder—for the public, for the profession, and maybe even for ourselves—of the real value of yoga.
🌱 It’s Not Just a Class. It’s a Lifetime of Practice.
Let’s begin here. The class your student attends might be 60 minutes, but the journey behind it is lifelong.
For many of us, it began with a personal crisis. A health breakdown. A moment where we needed yoga, and it changed something fundamental in us.
We then chose to train—often at great cost.
We study anatomy, philosophy, trauma theory.
We learn how to hold space, not just lead poses.
We continue to learn, year after year, unpaid and unseen.
Yoga Therapy Diploma (Yogacampus): £6,000+
BWY 200hr Teacher Training: £4,000
Ongoing CPD: £500+ per year
That’s just to do this work responsibly.
💸 The Costs of Holding Space
Your £9–£12 class fee doesn’t go straight into our pockets. In fact, by the time the class is over, most of it has already been spent.
Here’s where it goes:
And that’s before we’ve prepped the class, planned the sequence, responded to messages, set up the space and followed up with care.
🫶🏼 What We Offer Goes Far Beyond the Mat
Yoga teachers are often the first responders of the emotional body. We don’t diagnose, we don’t treat but we witness. We hold. We notice.
We remember birthdays.
We notice when someone seems off.
We create playlists, set up sacred spaces, wash mats.
We offer modifications and encouragement.
We absorb emotion and quietly let it move through us.
None of that is charged for. But all of it is offered.
🤍 Yoga Is Not Expensive. It’s Valuable.
Let’s reframe the question.
Instead of asking “Why does yoga cost so much?”
Let’s ask: “Why do we expect this kind of care to be cheap?”
Because yoga, when it’s taught with integrity, is:
A sanctuary for grief and recovery
A tool for nervous system regulation
A practice of remembering who you are
A space where silence is sacred
A relationship built over time, not a transaction
No, £9 isn’t “too much.” It’s a radical bargain.
💬 To My Fellow Teachers
Your work matters.
Your commitment to safety, inclusivity and embodied practice matters.
Your hours of unpaid preparation matter.
The space you hold—even when you’re exhausted or grieving—matters.
You are not “just a yoga teacher.”
You are a vessel for healing. A weaver of presence. A keeper of sacred time.
🌍 And to the Public, With Love
If you’ve ever questioned the price of a yoga class, I invite you to see it differently. When you pay your local teacher, you are:
Taking radical responsibility for your own wellbeing
Joining a community of like minded (usually lovely) individuals
Supporting ethical, embodied care
Sustaining someone who has likely changed your life
That £9 isn’t just for the hour. It’s for everything it took to create the space you now feel safe in.
And that is priceless.
So whether you're a fellow teacher pouring your soul into each class, or a student who’s found healing on the mat—thank you. Thank you for valuing this work, for showing up, and for being part of something deeper than just exercise. Yoga is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline. And when we honour its true value—time, training, care and all—we help keep this sacred exchange alive.
