There’s a comparison I keep circling around whenever I look at the modern yoga landscape. One that feels uncomfortably accurate:
Yoga teachers are the new MLM recruiters.
Not because they’re bad people. Not because they’re intentionally predatory. But because the system they’ve been trained in functions almost exactly like a multi-level marketing structure.
Table of Contents
There Are Simply Too Many Yoga Teachers
No one wants to say this out loud, but it’s the truth:
We are wildly oversaturated.
Every studio runs a teacher training. Every training graduates 10–30 more teachers. Every year. Everywhere. There are now more yoga teachers than the market (or the profession) can absorb.
It’s not a pipeline; it’s a conveyor belt. Just like MLMs, the entire system depends on:
- constant recruitment,
- constant expansion,
- constant production of new “leaders,”
- and the belief that anyone can turn yoga into a career with enough passion.
But mathematically? That’s impossible.
And spiritually? It’s irresponsible.
The System Only Works If You Keep Recruiting
Yoga teacher trainings are the cash cow of the industry, not the classes, not the community. Studios survive by selling more people the dream of becoming a yoga teacher. Just like MLM reps survive by enrolling more people beneath them.
Most yoga teachers don’t make a living teaching. But they’re encouraged to believe that if they just “stay dedicated” or “keep showing up,” their break will come.
It’s not empowerment. It’s indoctrination in hustle culture
Teachers Are Taught To Sell Something They’ve Barely Understood
MLMs teach people to sell:
- wellness products they don’t know the science behind
- business systems that don’t work
- dreams of financial freedom that only exist for the top 1%
Yoga teachers are often taught to:
- teach practices they don’t fully understand
- quote philosophy they’ve never been trained to interpret
- instruct bodies they don’t know how to assess
- repeat lineage myths as if they’re fact
They’re not malicious, they’re undertrained. And the system encourages overconfidence, not self-inquiry.
The Marketing Is Identical: “This Changed My Life…Join Me!
MLM pitch: “This product changed my life…you should try it too.”
Yoga teacher pitch: “Yoga transformed me…come to my class, it will transform you.”
Both rely on:
- personal testimony
- emotional appeal
- aspirational imagery
- a promise of belonging
And both avoid discussing the structural problems behind the scenes.
Everyone Is Selling A Lifestyle Rather Than Substance
MLMs sell:
- essential oils
- collagen
- dissolving powders
- perfect skin
- perfect femininity
Yoga teachers sell:
- glow
- calm
- flexibility
- wellness
- moral enlightenment
It’s all lifestyle branding with a spiritual bow on top. And because there are so many yoga teachers, everyone is performing the same curated version of “yoga personality” to stand out.
It’s not depth…it’s aesthetic.
The People At The Top Do Well. Everyone Else Struggles.
In MLMs, the top 0.1% earn money. Everyone else barely breaks even.
In yoga? A tiny fraction of teachers:
- lead retreats
- publish books
- get sponsorships
- run profitable trainings
- become “leaders”
Everyone else teaches:
- for $20–$35 a class,
- with no benefits,
- no stability,
- and no path upward.
This is not a profession…it’s a pyramid model
And Then There’s The Pressure To Stay Positive
MLMs require:
- relentless positivity
- never questioning the system
- calling failure “mindset”
- ignoring the structural imbalance
Yoga culture demands the same:
- “Be grateful.”
- “Trust the process.”
- “Don’t be negative.”
- “Your energy creates your reality.”
- Anything critical gets labeled “not yogic.”
- Anything analytical gets labeled “negative.”
- Question the system and suddenly you’re “difficult,” “angry,” or “not aligned.”
This is why the analogy works: it’s systemic, not personal. The issue isn’t that yoga teachers are shady. Most are sincere, kind, and doing their best.
The issue is: Yoga in the West has been built on a business model that mirrors an MLM:
- high turnover, constant recruitment, and the illusion of limitless opportunity.
- And the oversaturation of teachers isn’t an accident, it’s the backbone of the industry.
Why This Matters Now
We’re at a moment where:
- lineage myths are crumbling
- abuse histories are being exposed
- the teacher pipeline is breaking
- studios are closing
- students are disillusioned
- teachers are burnt out
The old model isn’t sustainable. And pretending it is, pretending that every 200-hour graduate is suddenly a “leader”, only harms everyone involved.
What Comes Next?
We’re in limbo.
Lineage used to provide guardrails, however flawed. It offered a way to legitimize teachers, trace accountability, maintain standards.
Now those structures have collapsed under the weight of abuse scandals, commercialization, and their own lies. But we haven’t built anything to replace them.
So we’re left with:
- Follower count as the new credibility
- Workshop culture as the new hierarchy
- Personal brand as the new lineage
- Trauma bonding as the new community
- Everyone self-declaring expertise with no accountability
This isn’t post-lineage — it’s chaos
What We Actually Need:
- Real standards that aren’t based on who you studied with but what you actually know
- Transparent accountability that doesn’t protect abusers or pyramid schemes
- Depth over volume: Fewer teachers who know more, not more teachers who know less
- Actual apprenticeship: Decades of study, not weekend certifications
- Community discernment: Not guru worship, not influencer metrics, but genuine peer review
We need to stop pretending everyone can be a teacher. We need to stop selling transformation like it’s a product. We need to stop confusing capitalism with spiritual practice.
Until then? We’re just MLM recruiters with better flexibility. Yikes!
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