How To Become An Aerial Yoga Instructor: The Complete Guide

If you have any interest in getting into the yoga industry, you might want to know how to become an aerial yoga instructor for an exciting career future.

You’re in the right place if this is something you’re considering because we have a step-by-step guide including:

• Step 1 - Securing The Right Aerial Yoga Instructor Qualifications
• Step 2 - Getting The Right Insurance For An Aerial Yoga Instructor
• Step 3 - Finding Your Role As An Aerial Yoga Instructor
• Step 4 - Career Progression Options For Aerial Yoga Instructors

Before we get started, keep in mind that any successful career begins with the proper training. At OriGym our industry-leading Level 3 Yoga Teacher Training Diploma has helped many students entre the industry! 

For more information on how this course can benefit you, be sure to check out our FREE downloadable course prospectus.

Step 1 - Securing The Right Aerial Yoga Instructor Qualifications

First off, you’re going to need the correct qualifications no matter what route you take whether it be freelance or a hired position. Let’s get into the exact qualification needed for this role:  

Complete A Level 3 Yoga Diploma

A level 3 diploma in yoga instruction is the modern way of getting qualified to become industry ready at your own pace, without compromising on the quality or content of the course.

At OriGym, we offer this course with the blended approach of in-house and hands-on workshops, combined with online course content with a variety of materials. You can take advantage of over 400 hours worth of the essential theoretical work involved alongside the all important practical sections (this is double the usual expected standard of 200 hrs!).

It is an absolute necessity to have this qualification, you can’t get aerial yoga instructor insurance without it so it is certainly non-negotiable, but we will talk some more about insurance policies later. 

Something you should be aware of is that it is incredibly rare to find accredited aerial yoga training. More often than not, you’ll find that job advertisements ask for equivalent and general qualifications / experience due to the fact that yoga training covers many bases. 

For example, take a look at this job advertisement below and how they ask for their requirements:

Pay attention to where we have highlighted. This is the requirements section and as you can see, they are considering equivalent experience since it is going to be quite the rarity to see a candidate with an accredited qualification for every one of these types of aerial yoga!

More information on pursuing this role can be found in our definitive guide - How to Become a Yoga Instructor!

Do You Need A Specific Aerial Yoga Qualification?

In short, no!

Aerial yoga is a niche under the vast umbrella of yoga practice as a whole, thus, you should focus on getting the main qualification down first, this being the level 3 diploma in yoga instructing. 

The fundamentals of yoga practice that you learn within this course stay the same across any discipline of yoga. There isn’t a qualification for every type of yoga style, but you can narrow down your niche to become an aerial yoga instructor. 

For example, this yoga studio below offers aerial yoga classes, but they don’t state that their teachers are specifically aerial yoga qualified. 

As you can see, highly qualified doesn’t necessarily link to being qualified in a particular discipline, it means that all of their instructors are competent and have the necessary qualifications to teach.

The bottom line is that you only need the standard level 3 diploma, in which you can develop a niche for aerial yoga.

Step 2 - Getting The Right Insurance For An Aerial Yoga Instructor

Next after you have secured the correct qualifications, you need to think about insurance policies.

Since you want to be qualified in a specific niche of yoga, you will have to ensure that your niche is mentioned specifically in the policy of your choice. 

We have an example here to help you but if you look elsewhere ensure that you’re searching for the correct niche within these following policy types:

Public Liability Insurance 

Public Liability insurance is something you will already be familiar with if you’re already working within the fitness industry, if you’re just getting started it is something you must get familiar with!

This policy for yoga instructors covers the basics of what you need at the least. It is a great starting cover since it protects you for a budget friendly cost depending on the company you go for. Insure4Sport is a popular option, which is why we will use this provider for this instance.

You can simply select yoga as your sport and even add any additional sports that you need cover on with this link here, it will look like this below:

You can then go onto personalise your plan by choosing your level of cover on a range of £1m to £10m. You can add on any other relevant policies and also if you want to have this world wide or nationally.

You can see below a snippet from their policy regarding these aerial activities:

So long as you adhere to these activities, you are covered by this policy. Ensure that you read all of your policies thoroughly prior to purchase to ensure your circumstances are covered.

Personal Accident Insurance & Loss of Earnings Insurance

Next, you should think about personal accident insurance that would help you should you get hurt in your practice. 

Since there is an increased risk of injury when you’re up in the air, particularly if you’re more experienced and doing more complicated movements, this is a good cover to at least research into.

Another policy that covers you is the Loss of Earnings insurance, which works hand in hand with the personal accident policy. Should the event occur in which you cannot work, you can claim on your Loss of Earnings policy to cover you for their stated amount.

Equipment Insurance

Finally, if you’re interested in how to become an aerial yoga instructor you’ll be well aware of the equipment that comes with it. 

You must have aerial rigs and these can be pricey if you add many for a class since you will be expected to provide them as the instructor. That being said, it might be a good idea to take out equipment insurance that will protect your equipment should it get ruined, damaged or broken. 

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For some more helpful resources on becoming a yoga instructor, why not check out some other disciplines that you might be interested in teaching in our ‘how-to’ articles below:

• How to Become a Yin Yoga Teacher: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Become a Prenatal Yoga Teacher
• How to Become a Kundalini Yoga Teacher: Everything you Need to Know

Step 3 - Finding Your Job Role As An Aerial Yoga Instructor

There are two main routes that you can take after you have your aerial yoga instructor training under your belt. Here are the two most lucrative career paths you can take: 

Work As A Freelance Aerial Yoga Teacher

The first and arguably most popular option is to work as a freelance yoga teacher, this offers a highly financially rewarding job role that can provide you with freedom and the tools to build a successful business for yourself.

Freelance yoga teachers are almost always in demand, they are also often not specific to what areas that you specialise in either. However, something that you would have to look out for is yoga spaces that offer the space and ability to build or already have an aerial rig.

A good idea if you want become an aerial yoga instructor is to look for jobs specifically in this area, so you can find available vacancies like this one below:

This is often the best route if you want to only have aerial yoga as your specific discipline, rather than a combination of other styles of yoga.

That being said, it might be helpful for your career to actually look for jobs that involve both aerial yoga and other disciplines so you’re able to practice more than just once or twice a week.

This would be a more sensible option since there are more general yoga styles that are more popular and thus, could get you more work.

You Could Work In A Dedicated Aerial Yoga Studio

The other option is to work solely in a dedicated aerial yoga studio which is a good option if you want a stable contracted role. 

Though, there isn’t a huge market for aerial yoga studios as its own niche, there are plenty of holistic yoga studios that offer aerial classes. Just like we mentioned before, it would be helpful to search for roles like this due to the fact that you’re going to be more secure in a role.

For example, take a look at this yoga studio’s schedule to see how they offer a range of disciplines.

As you can see, Aerial yoga is on the schedule, but it isn't a frequent class. Infact, it’s only a couple times a week. 

Therefore, if you want to secure a job in a studio and not work freelance, it might be worth looking into vacancies for a few studios like this one above so you’ll have more than a couple hours work a week!

Step 4 - Career Progression Options For Aerial Yoga Instructors

Step 4 is all about finding the right career progression routes that are ultimately designed to increase your income and improve your skill to become an invaluable asset for any team.

#1 - Diversify Your Yoga Specialisms With A Level 4 Yoga Diploma

Something that can really boost your chances of getting noticed in the industry is deciding and practising a particular specialism or yoga niche.

While this would require further training and education, it is certainly worth it in the long run. A level 4 in yoga instructing can narrow down the options available to you and help you pinpoint where your passions lie. 

For example, is it:

• Hatha
• Hot 
• Iyengar
• Ashtanga

These are example disciplines that would be suitable for you to specialise in since they are hugely popular across all yoga studios nationally and internationally.

By taking further qualifications, many more doors will open and opportunities will be less hard to come by. Plus, it makes you even more valuable for places who want a freelancer for a specific kind of yoga.

#2 - Open Your Own Studio That Specialises In Aerial Yoga

Something else that you can do in the future is open your own yoga studio. 

This is of course not something that comes easy right away, but it is something that you can at least work towards if you’re passionate about aerial yoga in particular. 

For example, to begin with you might find it beneficial to take the freelance or hired route first to build up a confident client base and the funds to actually go ahead and open a studio.

During this time, you could write your yoga studio business plan, this is where you can figure out all the important figures and details so you’re not running a risk of the business failing. 

You need to ensure you’re finding places that can fit and secure the correct rig and equipment and ensure that you’re prepared to be the sole provider for your business. It can be daunting at first but the payoff is worth all of the planning!

This is a huge progression after becoming qualified to teach aerial yoga, but it's a huge undertaking that requires massive investment and preparation. Some of the things that you need to prepare for are:

• Marketing your yoga studio
• Building a client base
• Keeping on top of health and safety checks
• Being a good yoga studio manager

These are going to be new responsibilities to you which is why the planning period is so important, apart from all the important stuff though, this is a huge step in the right direction for a successful career in aerial yoga.

For a more in-depth look, you should take a look at our guide on how to run a successful yoga studio.

#3 - Work At A Yoga Retreat That Features Aerial Yoga

Another more exciting route you can take is to work at yoga retreats.

This is something you can do if you want to start teaching yoga abroad. There are almost always opportunities around to work at a yoga retreat across the world in fact there is a job board for this specifically, as you can see below: 

This is a great way to experience different styles of yoga around the world and make new professional connections in the industry. 

You can learn a huge amount to inform your practice and ultimately, become a better instructor overall. This can then in turn, progress your career and you can show potential class members your experience and how you’re bringing different cultures into your practice.

This can be a great USP for your clientele and to really build a name for your brand.

Before You Go…

We hope that you feel confident in going ahead and finally finding the right aerial yoga instructor training in the UK for you. 

Don’t forget if you feel ready to start your journey into the yoga instructor industry, get started by enquiring about OriGym’s accredited level 3 diploma in yoga instructing. Find this and many more health and fitness courses in our downloadable course prospectus.