How to Protect Your Yoga Business with Yoga Teacher Insurance

Hey new yogis, many of you have asked me about insurance and why you need it. Check out this guest article from Canopy. They cover some important points and – for my yogis in the States – I wanted to hook you up with this really great rate!

– Rachel 

Have you ever thought of what would happen if one of your students were to sue you? The average legal cost of a liability claim is $35,000 not including damages if you’re found liable. Insurance Canopy can help you find the yoga teacher insurance that is flexible enough to fit within your budget and still provide you with the protection you need.

What Is Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yoga teacher insurance covers you in case you are sued for bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury.

You need this coverage for a variety of reasons. Let’s say, for example, you are a yoga teacher who routinely makes house visits. General liability coverage would cover damages to a client’s home if your yoga wheel indented their new hardwood floor.

Or, perhaps you are sued by a student because your instruction gave them an injury, such as a torn ligament or hurt back.

Do I Really Need Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yes. It’s essential to carry yoga teacher insurance for the following important reasons:

  1. It protects your financial assets and can help you with legal expenses if you get sued, medical expenses if you were found liable for a client’s injury, or the cost to replace something if you damaged someone’s property.
  2. People won’t hire you without it. Many gyms and studios require yoga instructors to carry insurance. Some gyms or studios may require you to add them as an additional insured in order to conduct sessions at their gym.
  3. It keeps your career as a yoga teacher going strong, even if you are sued.

What Should I Look For in a Yoga Teacher Insurance Policy?

In addition to comprehensive coverage and low deductibles, you should look for the following features:

No Membership Required

If you have been shopping for yoga insurance, you know that the annual premium for yoga insurance policies can range from $150 to $350. In many cases, to access lower premium for yoga insurance, you must also purchase a membership in an organization or subscribe to a publication.

Insurance Canopy provides yoga insurance for a low annual premium of $129 with no membership required, making our policy one of the most cost-effective out there.

No Hourly Requirements

Whether you teach full time, part time, or as a hobby, our policy is available to you.

Insurance Canopy offers a single-cost policy that covers both part-time and full-time instructors.

Multiple Services Allowed

If you are a yoga instructor who provides multiple types of yoga instruction, you may have noticed that other insurance agencies require you to purchase a separate policy for each type of yoga that you teach.

With Insurance Canopy, you can provide multiple types of yoga instruction that will be covered under one policy.

Buy Online & Download Documents Immediately

Online access is important for yoga teachers on the go. With Insurance Canopy, you can purchase yoga insurance online within minutes, without needing to wait for a quote. You can also download your insurance documents 24/7.In addition, you can add additional insureds and have your proof of insurance within minutes at anytime during your policy period.

Insurance Canopy offers yoga insurance through a no-hassle, online process that is available at your convenience.

Additional Insureds

You may teach yoga at a single studio or travel to different locations. Gyms, studios, or other venues may require you to add them as an additional insured to protect them from your liability. To add a single additional insured to your policy, the cost is only $15.

With Insurance Canopy, you can also purchase unlimited additional insureds for just $30.

Have More Questions?

We hope this helps you understand what Insurance Canopy’s yoga insurance offers and what insurance coverages your yoga teaching practice may need. If you have additional questions, our representatives are available during business hours. Please contact us at 844-520-6993 or by emailing info@insurancecanopy.com.

How to Sequence to Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise is a bound standing pose, where you balance on one leg and try to look like a stork. But, you know, an elegant stork. It’s a doozy of a pose, requiring balance, open hamstrings, external rotation, and deep hip flexion. Let’s take a closer look at how you can get your students there.

Component parts – what needs to be warmed up or educated to do the pose

  • hamstring opening – particularly inner leg/ groin
  • flexion and external rotation of the lifted leg
  • internal rotation of the upper arm and openness to the chest
  • balance
  • binding – needs to be intelligently educated for health of shoulder
  • standing up – needs to be intelligently educated so that the work is coming from the legs and you’re not “hauling” the leg up with the upper body

Props you need

  • Strap

For this pose, there are some actions that need to be educated: binding and standing.

How to bind

I often see people binding in such a way that their chest collapses into spinal flexion. Binding at the expense of the chest (or binding and “hanging on for dear life”) is not optimal. Use a strap to lengthen the arms when needed. Everyone has different length arms relative to their torso. A bind that is easy for one person may be challenging for someone else. Honour the integrity of the pose over the aesthetics of “getting it.”

How to stand

Also, in Bird of Paradise, you have to stand up onto one leg. I often see students hauling themselves up by their upper body – in particular, letting the heavy weight of their bound leg rest in the bind of their arms.  Poor rotator cuff and shoulder! The leg is bigger – and heavier – than the arm, so don’t let the shoulder do the work of supporting the bound leg. Instead use the legs to lift the legs. Let the arms be decorative – not hauling machines.

Sequence of yoga poses

  • Wide legged child’s pose (opening groin)
  • Cat/ Cow
  • Sun Salutations – use to thread the remaining poses for flow class. Or simplify for hatha.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonasana) with back shin down and parallel to back of mat (like a baby side angle) (flexion/ external rotation)
  • Low lunge (anjaneyasana) to half splits (ardha hanumanasana) (opens hamstrings)
  • Warrior two (virabhadrasana two) to side angle (parsvakonasana) (external rotation, flexion)
  • Humble warrior (extension and internal rotation of the arms)
  • Chair (utkatasana) shift weight side to side and balance on one foot (beginning to teach actions needed to stand up)
  • Chair (utkatasana) balance on one leg to step back into high lunge with hands clasped behind (extension and internal rotation of arms)
  • Tree (vrksasana) (balance, external rotation)
  • Lizard (flexion, external rotation)
  • Step forward to standing splits with top hip open (hamstrings, groin, balance) and stand up knee to chest (teach action of standing up)
  • Wide legged forward fold C (prasarita padottanasana c(hamstrings).
  • Add side to side shift (skandasana) for inner thigh stretch
  • Utthita hasta padangustasana b (balance, external rotation). This is bird of paradise without the bind.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonsana) with teaching bind, use strap (flexion, external rotation, arms to bind, use strap)
  • Peak! Bird of Paradise. Teach how to get up into it first, then play.
  • Cool down should include outer hip stretches (those guys have worked to stabilize you!), perhaps a hamstring stabilizer like bridge.

Check out my sequence below.  While I’m not teaching this exact sequence, it shows how I teach you to come up into the pose safely (at about 44 minutes) and will give a similar sequence for you to practice and explore.

Happy sequencing!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.