What’s the Cost of Private Yoga Sessions?

There are plenty of reasons you may want to have private yoga lessons, one-on-one yoga at home or perhaps in your office.

But since you are here your primary concern is: what are the costs of hiring a private yoga instructor?  As a certified yoga teacher since 1994, my aim is to answer the question but also the questions behind it.  What does pricing reflect, how is it calculated and so on!  I hope this is helpful.

Private Yoga Teacher Pricing:

I’m based in NYC, and along with cities in California, and perhaps Boston,  the prices here are probably the highest in the country for the reasons you would expect.  One, the cost of living is really high in big cities like Boston, NYC, LA, and cost of trainings in those areas are also higher;  and the incomes of clients are also higher than elsewhere.  So average rates in towns or small cities will be less.

So the rates mentioned here hold generally for those areas, I’ll mention exceptions below.

Rates private yoga average:

$75-150* per lesson

Yoga teachers like massage therapists are heart centered they love what they do and have spent thousands of dollars to get trained (certified.)  That said, it is also very difficult to make a living as a yoga teacher. Most are part-time only, as yoga studios in order to break even, often pay rather low wages per class.  So the vast majority of yoga teachers, teach in several locations and may have some private clients just to make it to part-time.

Main private yoga page.

How are costs for a private yoga lesson calculated and why might they vary?  And why they may be even higher.*

Experience: costs vary depending in great part on how experienced the yoga teacher is.  A brand new teacher coming out of the teacher training should be on the lower end of the spectrum.  A teacher who has been at it for 5/10 or even 20 years-obviously brings more to the table and rates will likely be higher.

An experienced teacher has most likely taken extensive continuing education in yoga and related fields (see below,) and has surpassed 500 hours of training over the years.  Also obviously their personal practice of yoga has been for more years- that is a huge bonus they bring to teaching.

Training:  The basic yoga teacher certification is 200hrs.  Some teachers get an additional 300hrs, and so will show a 500 hour certification.  But there are other important factors to look for.

• A 200 hr teacher may be excellent, because of:  lots of experience teaching and working with different bodies.  As well as simply a better teacher by sensitivity and temperament than someone with a 500 hr. certification.  When I auditioned teachers this was sometimes the case.
• Also some yoga teachers have training additionally as massage therapists and that gives additionally hundreds of hours of training in the human body, anatomy etc.  I’ve studied more about working with the body via massage therapy and my program was 1,000 hours and cost five figures to attend.
• Some teachers have a dance, pilates, or other somatic related background that brings knowledge to their basic certification.

Reputation:  You will pay more for a teacher who is well known-perhaps they have released dvds, or been featured in the paper or Yoga Journal.  They will cost more, as the publicity has made them more sought after, higher demand.  The same way a star baseball player earns more.  Just like a star player, they may not be the best for you;  does their teaching style, temperament match your needs?  They may look great doing an advanced pose but if you have back pain, and are sedentary, will they be able to alter their teaching for you?

Distance/Time:  Another factor that plays in the pricing is your distance from the traveling yoga teachers home base.  If you are in a suburb where s/he has no other clients and transportation takes time- then it may be more costly.  If on the other hand you are in a city and they come in to see several clients, the cost might be less.  Also some teachers charge more if you require early morning sessions or later in evening.

Frequency:  A final factor is how often you are booking the yoga teacher.  It’s common practice just like with massage therapists, for 1 individual session to be the most expensive.

But buying a group of 6, 8 or even 10 sessions drops the price.   The reason for this is the practitioner has a better handle on their cash flow, and so they reward regular clients with discount. And honestly with time the yoga teacher will get to know you and be better able to support your health, wellness or other goal more specifically.

And for the client in the case of yoga you usually get a set time that they see their teacher every week, and that time like with a therapist is held for you.

Why do some teachers not have prices on website?

Hiring Yoga Teacher Directly:  Since yoga teachers may be working independently like other contractors- whether it’s  a home builder or other service- they may be reluctant to put a flat price.  After seeing above you can see that there are variables in pricing.  Also they may feel simply putting prices will put people off or is private and they prefer to meet you, perhaps offer a complimentary session and discuss your needs.  For example is this a one time event, like a party, how many students will be there etc.?

Yoga Studios- providing private yoga–  prices are usually on the website, and usually there is the option of a private session at the studio or in your location.  The same variables often apply, for example one popular studio here in NYC clearly states “senior” teachers cost more.  Usually you are invited to fill out a form to be contacted.

Got questions?  I do have a referral service where I’ve vetted, and auditioned yoga teachers from various styles.   They are available for private yoga sessions in NYC (Manhattan & parts of Brooklyn.)  Go to NamasteConcierge.com to see them or contact me here.

Yoga teachers in the NYC or even elsewhere do comment or email me privately, I’d love to know you thoughts re: pricing your services in your area.