What Actually Helps Your Yoga Students See Transformation

“Identify the specific transformation that your student is looking for and have a passion for that transformation! You have to be passionate about it and have a desire to help.”
— Amanda McKinney

What does success look like for you?

What do you want to achieve with your yoga business?

When I ask you these questions, the answer I get all the time is “I want my students to see transformation in their lives” or “I want to impact people’s lives.”

I love this so much!

When I first started hearing this I wasn’t surprised (because you’re an awesome yoga teacher) but I always wanted to know more.

What kind of transformation?
Do you know the transformation they are after?
How do your students describe it?

Because every yoga teacher is different, the TYPE of the transformation you’re after is always going to be different.

For example:

• If you help people deal with low back pain, the transformation is going from pain to less pain.
• If you help people deal with stress, the transformation is going from super stressed out to empowering them with tools to manage their stress.

There are lots of different transformations that can happen, but when you really boil it down…what ACTUALLY leads to transformation comes down to just TWO things.

Are you ready to learn what those two things are? Awesome, because I can’t wait to share this with you today.

Let’s dive in!

1. You: A yoga teacher who wants to make an impact and help someone experience a transformation.

The first thing that someone needs when it comes to transformation is a teacher. That is you, my friend! This piece of the puzzle is within your control.

If you’re reading this, you’re already checking this box. You have the desire to help someone with the transformation they’re looking for. So as long as you show up and truly understand what they’re looking for, you’ve got this one. Your desire is what you can control, and as long as you have a strong desire to help that person, you’re doing great.

However: While you have the desire to make an impact, you could be stopping yourself from effectively communicating this.

The fact that you want to “make an impact” or “help students” is pretty vague. I know you can help me as your student with about 1,000 things in my life, but if you listed all those off to me I would get overwhelmed and not sign up for anything.

But if you said “Amanda, I know you’re looking for ways to destress after a long day of running your own business. I’ve got something that will help you step away from your desk at the end of the day and be fully present with your family after just 10 minutes.” Then heck yes, sign me up! That’s a clear transformation that (1) I want and (2) you stated clearly so I could understood it easily.

So even if you could also help my posture, strengthen my core, calm my mind, find my favorite essential oils, and give me recipes….you picked just ONE thing to focus on for that moment. You can help me with all those other things later but you got me to say YES by focusing on one thing at first. See how this can be helpful?

This all comes down to niching down.

Here’s the thing: I would love for you to pick a niche because I know it’s going to move your business forward; however, if you’re nervous, just pick something for right now. Pick something for a season.

Just pick ONE thing to focus on for a little bit, and it will be clearer to your students. Then you can take on something else. I’m not saying you’re in a box that you’re trapped in forever. I just need you to state things clearly so that your students can realize that they want what you’re offering them.

A lot of times people are overwhelmed with too many options. Give them one option, focus in on that, and state it very clearly so that they can say yes!

So #1 is you: Your desire to make an impact and help someone experience a transformation.

2. Them: Their own buy-in and commitment to the process.

This piece of the puzzle is not in your control.

You can’t force anyone to make a change; they have to want the transformation to begin with. And they have to really want it!

There are lots of people who say “it would be nice to…” but that’s not someone who is 100% bought in and committed to doing the work. The person has to be ready and committed.

To be clear, not everyone will want the transformation you’re helping with and that’s okay. The key is to find those who are looking for that particular type of transformation and then you have the pieces of the puzzle that fit together.

You want to give them to the option to say yes or no.

You want to state it clearly, give them the option to say yes or no, and if they say yes they’re all in. When these things fit together: You as the teacher, and a committed student — it’s amazing!

You’re probably thinking of someone right now (that’s your dream student by the way)! So we need you to find more people like that person. The person you use as an example all the time. The person who has the commitment that you rave about.

What’s different about that person? It’s most likely their commitment to the transformation. It’s not just a nice to have, it’s something they are striving for. When you give homework, they do it and you can tell.

That’s when both things work together and everyone wins.

The next time you want to host a workshop or start a class series or gain more private clients, focus on the transformation that (1) you have the passion and desire to help people achieve, and (2) the person who is committed to achieving that transformation.

I promise you the words you will use to describe that offering will be powerful and super clear, and that’s when marketing is so much easier! And fun! You can truly show up.

When you can truly show up with a clear A to B transformation plan, the person who is looking for that will sign up immediately! And you will have a successful story to tell because you will show up 100% for them and they will show up 100% for themselves. Win-win.

Your next step

Identify the transformation you want to help your students with in this season of your business.

Remember, you can do it all, but you can’t do it all at the same time. Period. So pick something for the next few months and talk about it.

Tell people you want to help them experience that specific transformation in their life. Share, teach, inspire and people will be ready to say YES when you open registration to that workshop, or private sessions, or class series. They will be ready!

Until next time, give yourself permission to focus on just one transformation for a season of time and grace along the way.

For more stories like this, listen to the Marketing Yoga with Confidence Podcast.

About Amanda McKinney (Marketing Coach for Yoga Teachers)

Amanda McKinney is a Marketing Coach with a passion for helping yoga teachers find the tools and the confidence within themselves to build the yoga business of their dreams. She does this through her podcast: Marketing Yoga With Confidence and online offerings. All of which focuses on building confidence and community with an extra dose of encouragement every step of the way.