Why Insurance is Essential for Yoga Instructors

When your job is making other people relaxed, it would be easy for casual observers – or perhaps even you – to assume that your day-to-day working life must be consistently soothing, almost like being on holiday permanently. However, teaching yoga can still spring stresses from time to time. For example, someone in your class could, in trying to follow a yoga move, fall short and hurt themselves as a result. There’s also the possibility of someone shamelessly stealing equipment from your yoga studio and leading you to have to replace it – potentially at very high cost to yourself. In situations like these, you could be full of gratitude for holding the right insurances. You might not know exactly what “the right insurances” are for yoga instructors, but this article is intended to enlighten you on not only what those covers can comprise but also why, for you, they are crucial.

Where are you in your yoga-instructing journey?

Maybe you aren’t actually teaching just yet, but aspire to do so. However, keep in mind that, even if you are about to become a teacher trainee, you should still take out yoga insurance for this, the yoga equipment seller Gaiam cautions. Indeed, implementing insurance is all about countering risk – and, the less experienced you are in teaching yoga, the higher the risks you would run in doing so. However, no level of yoga-teaching experience would justify you seriously considering omitting insurance. You could even have built up your experience to such an extent that you are now preparing to train other people in teaching yoga. Unfortunately, though, in training people far less experienced than you, there are obvious risks – and those would help to vindicate you taking out suitable insurance.

What injuries can arise in yoga and lead to a legal case?

As students of a new cohort prepare to listen to your words of wisdom for the first time, you might advise them to disclose details of any medical conditions they have. You might also emphasise how important is it for them to listen to your instructions carefully as the class progresses. Nonetheless, some students might still overexert themselves or simply not follow your instructions closely enough for a particularly tricky yoga move. In either situation, an injury could result – and then there’s the chance of a student failing to tell you about certain medical issues… Sadly, when an injury does happen, it could genuinely be your fault. Perhaps you didn’t provide the relevant instructions sufficiently clearly, or you forgot to raise the subject of medical conditions before the yoga itself got underway. Therefore, you might need to make a big compensation payout. However, even when you weren’t actually at fault, an injured student could still beg to differ and so decide to sue you. When they do, you would have legal fees to worry about, but that’s where liability insurance could save you, as the non-profit association Yoga Alliance points out. With our yoga teacher insurance policies, public liability insurance comes as standard – but what specific yoga-related injuries could lead you to dip into that particular cover? It’s a long list, but we can cite quite a few good examples… When you first attempted a few “asanas” or, as you might describe them to a beginner, body postures adopted in yoga, you could have felt like you were moving muscles you hadn’t realised existed. It’s unsurprising, then, that yoga can cause injuries to untested muscles. Yoga-related injuries can include a torn ligament or hurt back, yoga guru Rachel Scott notes on her website. Even a sprained wrist could give rise to a court case.

With insurance, you can stay covered while on the move

Your career in teaching yoga could take you to many exciting places. We’re not just referring to yoga studios and gyms here; you could find yourself providing yoga tuition in people’s homes or even in the open air. Imagine how a gentle breeze could add to your relaxation! However, that soothing feel could be abruptly shattered if something adverse happens and only then do you realise that, contrary to your original assumptions, your insurance can’t help you here. This can easily happen if you fail to notice some of the holes in insurance rules and coverage. For example, you can’t assume that a studio at which you are employed as a yoga instructor must already hold insurance covering you. Most studios do have insurance, but some policies might not extend to employees like you, so it’s worth checking that you have your own coverage. Indeed, having that coverage can come in hugely useful if you provide your services on a freelance basis or otherwise anticipate soon leaving one studio or gym for another. In short, you want insurance that goes with you as you take various routes in your career as a yoga instructor. Fortunately, the public liability component of any yoga teacher insurance policy from Salon Gold would cover you in a wide range of workplace scenarios. The other automatic covers included with that policy would be products liability cover, malpractice cover and financial loss cover. You could even find that many gyms and studios you approach to get work are unwilling to hire you unless you have the relevant insurance. Hence, sourcing that insurance in advance can save you from hitting a brick wall as you endeavour to develop your career. You might also see appeal in adding a few optional covers – like employers liability, legally essential if you go as far as employing someone. Meanwhile, stock and equipment cover would protect… yes, exactly, and personal accident cover could help if you inadvertently lose use of your hands or fingers. Our website makes it easy for you to fill in the successive forms necessary to apply for a yoga teacher insurance quote online. If you have lingering questions about the process or this area of insurance in general, don’t forget that you can phone us on 020 8655 0444 for expert guidance.