Floating into a New Career with SUP Yoga

Jo’s Yoga Teacher Training Journey…

Thank you Jo, one of our fantastic 2016 Santosha Level 1 Yoga Teacher Training graduates, for today’s post. Jo has not only thrown herself into teaching Yoga – she was also the first one to bring SUP Yoga classes to her home-town! Jo shows you don’t need to wait for opportunity to find you, by putting herself out there she now has a thriving business and a fulfilling new career. An inspirational lesson for anyone who wants to start something new and follow their passion! Jo shares her exciting journey since graduating here…

Here are some words about what I have been doing since I finished my RYT-200 hrs with Santosha (coming on to 1 year ago!!)

The last year has been the most incredible 12 months of my life. I decided to do my YTT a while ago, particularly so that I could teach SUP Yoga in Canberra. I am a lover of SUP and really wanted to combine the two and no one was doing it in Canberra, so I figured I would!

I came across Santosha and booked my Level 1 RYT-200 hour training, Pre + Post Natal and Childrens + Teens YTT for August 2016 – and tacked on my SUP Yoga Teacher Training in Sanur straight after. So it was a huge 5 weeks.

I came back to Canberra a completely different person. Also felt a little lost and vulnerable without my yoga family, but landed back on my feet and everything else around me just fell into place. I was offered an amazing space at a pop-up shipping container village in the City for my beginner’s land Yoga Classes and the owner of the local SUP school approached me with the offer to allow me to hire his SUP boards exclusively and teach Yoga on Lake Burley Griffin.

So within a month of returning home, I launched Joga Yoga (the name seemed fitting with my name as Jo! I asked the August 2016 Santosha Yogis and they helped with the choice!) and hit the ground running. My beginner’s and SUP Yoga classes were full week after week throughout the season.

Local and national media picked up on the news that SUP yoga was in Canberra and my classes were featured in the Canberra Times, Tiger Airlines In-flight Magazine, ABC News and even had a mention from Ray Hadley’s radio station. Unfortunately with Canberra being seasonal, it means that I can only run SUP during the warmer months (we’re surrounded by the mountains and it’s just WAY too cold to be out on the lake in winter).

Once the cold weather hit, I continued on with my regular beginner’s class and in the background I developed a new business which I have just launched called Salti. Salti is an inflatable floating platform that comes with a custom carry backpack and pump. It allows individuals and instructors to move from the mat to float on top of water, but this time in swimming pools or any other sheltered body of water.

I am so excited about this because it means I can teach yoga on water all year round (and you can too!) Yoga on top of water has been such a great experience for me and my classes week after week (have you tried savasana on water?!).

I created Salti because I found that there’s a lot of instructors that are limited and don’t have the ability to run regular classes on SUPs due to the same restrictions I have – seasonal cities, living inland, or even living in areas that you just can’t go in the water! So I wanted to create a product and make it readily available in Australia so more people can teach and participate in such an incredible experience. Salti Floats are available to buy online in instructor packs or individually (perfect if you have your own pool!) via www.salti.com.au.

I know for a lot of people, turning yoga into a business can be difficult. But in terms of making a living out of it, if you put your mind to it, it can be really successful. A yoga class on top of water (SUP or Salti Float) can range from $25-$50 per person depending on your area so an early investment can pay off quickly!

My message to other Yogi’s who are unsure as to whether or not to do their SUP yoga teacher training… DO IT! It was one of the best things I could have possibility done after my RYT-200 hrs. If your geographical location inhibits you from being able to teach on SUPs, then check out Salti! Or why not teach both!

The last 12 months has seriously been incredible. My boyfriend has been supporting me every step of the way and last week I decided to give up my day job as an investigator for the Australian Public Service and focus full time on Salti and Joga.

Along with my Salti launch, I am also just about to open a studio to run regular yoga classes on the mat (including Mum’s and Bub sessions!) and then teach on water on Salti Floats in pools all year round and back on SUP’s when the weather warms up.

My Yoga Teacher Training was life changing and seriously re-directed my life. I couldn’t be happier!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to join Jo and be part of the fast-growing SUP Yoga revolution? Join us on our Yoga Alliance certified SUP Yoga Teacher Training. Over two fully packed days you will learn all that you need to teach fun and safe SUP Yoga classes. Find out more here!