Day in the life of
Yoga Instructor – Jewell Singletary
I am a yoga instructor and the founding owner of Gratitude Griot LLC, a well-being-based business providing a trauma-informed approach to alleviating chronic stress and pain using yoga, meditation, and therapeutic arts.
No two days are the same or even typical. My days are a combination of class preparation (researching and creating sequencing), networking to attract new corporate clients, or creating social media assets and promotions to appeal to individual consumers. Creating marketing materials takes the most time.
I’ll give you an example of this week.
Monday: I spent 3 hours recording yoga classes for my digital library, 1 hour attending a neuroscience webinar so I can learn more about how meditation impacts the adolescent brain and apply that knowledge to my youth yoga class. Monday evening I spent 30 minutes meeting with the director of Peace Thru Culture in preparation for my youth yoga series with her organization.
Tuesday: This morning I am prepping my space to teach a 10:00 am youth yoga class. Once my space is prepped I practice my sequence, and break down my setup once the class is over. I am working towards expanding to Spanish-speaking clientele, so this afternoon I will be translating my yoga and meditation classes. Later this evening I am attending a networking event with the marketing director of the NJ Devils and the owner of Flo’s Tasty Treats to learn more about advertising with major brands and sports teams.
Wednesday: I am meeting with the director of an artist residency program based in Tanzania to talk through an opportunity to teach yoga internationally in May and June. The rest of Wednesday I have blocked off to apply to grants and other wellness/artists-based funding opportunities. I also need to create marketing materials (short yoga/wellness videos) for my contract to teach yoga to the Fibromyalgia Care Society of America’s digital community. The classes start at the end of this month.
Thursday will look like Tuesday (minus the evening networking event) and on Friday I have doctor’s appointments and plan to rest.
In May my contracts with Newark Center for Meditative Culture, Newark First Fridays, and Spring Lake Day Camp start. I will be teaching yoga and art classes for all three organizations (a combination of virtual and in-real-life) so my “typical day” will look much different as we get deeper into Spring/Summer.
I teach 8-12 classes weekly and traveled to various sites (yoga studios, gyms, schools, government offices) across North Jersey and the Burroughs of New York to teach yoga so a large part of my week was spent prepping for, traveling to, and teaching the classes.
Pros
The pros include having the flexibility to create my own schedule and the work itself is not physically tasking. The pandemic has also created another pro in that I can now teach online and connect to a global audience. Since instructors are paid as contractors I started my own wellness business with yoga as one of the main services I offer. Developing my business acumen has been another pro. As an owner, I have earned my credentials and more authority to negotiate higher-paying contracts.
Cons
The top cons is unpredictable income. Many fitness professionals are independent contractors, however, some gyms and studios are not open to rate negotiations. Gyms typically pay the least ($25-$35 per hour), and national chain gyms have different pay rates by state, for example, LA Fitness has a lower pay rate in NJ versus in NY. As an advanced level instructor, when I work with private clients or am able to negotiate my contracts my starting rate is $120/hour. Also, burnout can be a real issue traveling from site to site to teach; it was very difficult for me to prioritize my self-care prior to the pandemic and traveling to 12 classes per week.
