Paris, Feb. 16 (Yu Jin) -- Élisa, who teaches yoga classes in the Paris region, told Le Parisien about a career that is highly competitive and has no job security, but which she loves immensely.
Élisa (not her real name) is a self-employed yoga teacher. Driven by the yoga boom in recent years, she has been working in this physically demanding profession since 2018. She now serves dozens of clients: yoga studios in Paris, businesses and small private yoga classes.
After a month and a half of training in India, she quickly launched her own business and packed her schedule.
She's had a hard time the last few years. In March 2020, yoga studios closed their doors as the pandemic brought the world to a standstill. Like other PE teachers, Elisa made adjustments. She teaches yoga asanas to more than 250 students behind a screen through an online sports platform. "It saved my life," she recalls. I can continue to earn between 1,800 and 2,000 euros per month. ”
To make up for the losses of the past few years. In 2023, she teaches about 20 hours a week and earns more than 4,000 euros a month. Famous studios hired her, and some sports brands also handed her olive branches. So, in addition to the intense pace of work, she had to travel to and from different clients by public transport every day, which made her in her early thirties tired.
Elisa bluntly admits it is a "dangerous profession": "We do a lot of teaching to make ends meet. Some yoga teachers can earn 6,000 euros a month, but their bodies are ruined. Elisa had also sprained herself from fatigue, "I knew it was necessary for my profession to have supplemental insurance to cover the loss of income in the event of an injury, but they were very expensive. Not to mention that all costs, including health insurance, are rising. ”
To take care of her precious work tool, her body, she spends 200 euros a month on massages or spa treatments. She also needs to spend money on other yoga training courses (such as yoga before and after pregnancy) from time to time to improve her skills and offer more classes to her clients. Elisa insists: "Yoga is not a diploma and you need to continue learning it for the rest of your life. ”
Six years after starting teaching, she decided to slow down, even if it meant a reduction in business. Now, she teaches only 15 hours a week, with a monthly salary of between €3,200 and €3,400, depending on the time period. In the summer, her business also slows down, as many companies and studios close their doors. So she will also enjoy her hard-earned vacation in August. For the first time in five years, Elisa began to give herself a day and a half off a week: "It's important. ”
The Instagram account opened at the end of January this year balance_ton_yoga exposed some of the shortcomings of the yoga industry: instability, "contempt" for labor laws, etc.
"Since September 2023, yoga classes have been 'Uberized,'" Elisa complained. She believes that the proliferation of various on-demand sports apps has pulled prices down. "Well, it makes sports more accessible to people," she lamented. But people are starting to use fitness consumption habits to take yoga classes, and there is no way to follow up on the situation of students, and there is no way to form a community. ”
The schedule of yoga classes is increasing and the pace is accelerating. "We had to attend classes consecutively because we could only get paid a maximum of 55 euros per lesson. Add to this the Ursaf fee, which is taxed at 22% (the amount of social security contributions that apply to each microbusiness owner), and we actually get paid only 40 euros per class. Even though we sell health to people, our own lives are in trouble. ”
Not to mention, if the gym deems the class unprofitable, it will also cancel the class at the last minute. "They run dozens of time slots, testing for 3 to 4 weeks. If there are not enough students, they will be suspended immediately. It's stressful, and the job is insecure. ”
She now makes ends meet by teaching classes in companies, which pay more "up to about 150 euros after negotiation". This is slightly higher than the cost of a private lesson of 70 to 90 euros.
In addition to the financial aspect, Elisa also disagrees with the development trend of the industry. "The trend right now is to add nightclub music to the background music. I found myself teaching a class on stage with a microphone...... This is no longer yoga. We were graded by students like a cafeteria: for example, I only got 4 stars because the classrooms were not heated. This kind of thing has to be stopped. ”
Like millions of Frenchmen, inflation is eroding his purchasing power. The gas bill for her 30-square-meter apartment has risen to 200 euros per month. She was also overwhelmed by the increase in the price of the Navigo Pass, which is essential for public transport in the Paris Region. As a freelancer, she considers herself lucky. Because of her "good relationship" with the landlord and the support of a reliable guarantor, she was able to rent this apartment.
Now, Elisa wants to give herself more peace of mind. She's thinking about paying a community manager to manage her Instagram account. "It will cost me between 400 and 500 euros a month, but now I don't have time to post and get money from the new algorithm. ”
Despite all these restrictions, Elisa was reluctant to change her career. "When I'm in class, I forget everything," she said. "She just recently returned from a yoga retreat where there were only beginners. "It's a real pleasure to introduce them to yoga and build trust," she says. One day, I don't like it anymore, and I stop. ”