The recent influx of people of all ages to the yoga industry may be in part due to the versatility of yoga. It is a method of keeping the body flexible and agile while simultaneously cleansing the mind. Yet, yoga manages to leave out the gasping for breath, sweaty hassle of high energy exercise, making it appeal to those who aren’t particularly fond of conventional workout methods. At the same time, it attracts people who identify as athletes by offering intensive stretching, which aids in preventing injury and increases agility. The broad demographic participating in yoga may be a contributing factor to why so many young people are becoming yoga instructors, and better yet, why the majority of them stick with it.

Becoming a yoga instructor is actually quite simple, but requires a bit of time, money and commitment. There are programs all over Boston that offer yoga certifications in exchange for compensation. The average cost of 200-hour yoga training ranges anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000, though some teacher training programs cost significantly more, with some charging up to $10,000 per course. Once the student obtains this certification, they are free to begin advertising themselves and instructing yoga courses as desired.

Most 200-hour instructing courses occur over a five-month period. These programs require application, and in order to gain access, applicants must have completed serious and consistent yoga practice. Students that are accepted and will participate in these programs are taught about the ideals of hatha yoga (the system of physical exercises and breathing control), yogic philosophy and lifestyle, and the comprehensive anatomy and physiology of the human body. All of these fields require thorough understanding in order to be considered qualified to teach a safe and intelligent yoga class. Although the process requires a substantial amount of time and effort, current yoga instructors around Boston offer nothing but positive reflections on their experiences and maintain passionate and optimistic attitudes toward their careers. What follows is a testimony from yoga instructors around Boston, along with information about the studios that have influenced their love for the job.

Yoga Works – Back Bay

364 Boylston St., Boston, Massachusetts

(617) 375-9642

This studio is located adjacent to the Public Gardens, and offers two-hour street parking directly on and around Boylston from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., as well as parking garages (Boston Common Parking and Motor Mart Garage). There are also bike racks along Boylston Street, and multiple T stops (Park Street, Boylston, Charles MGH, Chinatown, Arlington) that make for less than a mile walk to the studio. Yoga Works offers programs for every type of customer. Beginners and advanced practitioners alike are welcome. Their broad class selection offers beginner classes, Vinyasa flow (movement between yoga positions, usually accompanied by regulated breathing) classes and multiple other fun, relaxing programs that lead to better stress management and health. The studio itself creates a unique feeling. Long windows draped in billowy white curtains take up the entire length of the wall, letting the natural light filter in at its own will. The adjacent brick walls produce a distinct urban feeling that is surprisingly calming when paired with the lighting and peaceful individuals who lead the classes here. This studio also has showers for any hygiene-conscious or tight scheduled customers, and also features a boutique for Yoga Works gear.

Cara Gilman, a 27-year-old instructor at Yoga Works, speaks animatedly of her class, entitled “Beyonce’s Bootylicious” Hip-Hop Yoga. “The people I see come through that class range from teenage girls to middle-aged women. Once everyone’s in the room, there are no age barriers, it’s just people getting a workout in while having fun and listening to divalicious Beyonce songs. My friends are always complaining about their office jobs, but I get to call dancing to Beyonce songs work.” This class is offered on Thursdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., and Gilman is always energetic and enthusiastic about new faces.

Karma – Harvard Square

1120 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts

(617) 642-9081

This studio has two other locations on Newbury Street and in Allston. Each studio offers a regular gym with machinery, which costs $15 per day with full facility use, including showers, locker rooms and saunas. Along with the gym, the Harvard Square location also has a massage and bodyworks room. High-quality, eco-friendly yoga mats can be rented at the studio for $3 each. As if this wasn’t enough to attract customers, Karma also houses a Zen-inspired tea room and café, which serves a large selection of organic and fairly-traded teas, coffee and healthy snacks. In addition, the studio features an eco-boutique that sells environmentally conscious yoga and fitness gear and various accessories and items from around the world.

Seeing as this is such a unique, all-encompassing studio with so many great benefits, being a yoga instructor at Harvard Square’s Karma is an incredible experience. A 42-year-old teacher, Lucie Kasova, places emphasis on both yoga and mindfulness. She focuses on awareness to the physical sensations, emotions and thoughts that arise throughout the practice. Kasova has been teaching yoga for over a decade. She has completed extensive studies on the practice of yoga at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and has taught in both the USA and Europe. She is currently pursuing advanced certification in the Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts and Teacher Certification in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kasova speaks fondly of her experiences, “I have met so many interesting people through yoga, and they have taught me so much about what it means to be aware of one’s self and environment. I couldn’t have imagined any other career for myself”.

Radiant Yoga

516 E 2^nd St., South Boston (in the Distillery Building), Massachusetts

(617) 610-9642 info@radiantyogaboston.com

A happy customer of Radiant Yoga says, “The atmosphere of the studio provokes a calm feeling as soon as I step inside, regardless of how out of control my life may seem at any given moment.” Beige hardwood floors and chic red bamboo mats with complementary striped pillows add color to an almost entirely white room. At the front stands a golden statue of Buddha, watching over the yogis inhabiting the space before it as a symbol of mindfulness and renewal. Radiant Yoga offers a plethora of class options for customers with varying levels of experience, including community classes for $6 (cash only). They have an interesting aesthetic that coincides with the inner calm that yoga elicits, offering $2 Mason water jars with free refills rather than your everyday Poland Spring.

A 28-year-old teacher with fluorescent white teeth and wavy brunette hair down to her waist, Katie Gentile, speaks fondly of her first encounters with yoga. “I took my first yoga class in 2007. I walked out of the studio feeling like I was floating; I knew I’d just been a part of something awesome.” This feeling never faded, and inspired Gentile to pursue a yoga certification of her own. She was taught by a fellow Radiant Yoga instructor, Chanel Luck, who is the co-creator and director of Yoga Three and the Radiant Yoga School in Boston and its other location in Sydney, Australia.

A quote from Luck encompasses why many individuals, such as Vendetti, Gilman, Kasova and Gentile, would feel motivated to work as a yoga instructor: “My greatest wish as a yoga instructor and bodyworker is to help my students and clients feel powerful in their bodies, find their inner strength, heal and connect to their hearts.” Therefore, becoming a yoga teacher infuses a consciousness of one’s self along with a regard for others that influences countless other actions and attitudes.