AI For Yoga Teachers: Can Yoga Teachers Ethically Use AI in Their Business?

Regardless of our personal opinions on AI, it appears to be here to stay. So, it's something that, as yoga teachers, we should talk about and decide how we personally want to engage with, if at all. This article isn't here to persuade you to use AI or convince you to avoid it. Instead, it offers a balanced look at the ethical concerns and the potential uses for us yoga teachers. And if you do decide to use AI in your yoga business, I'll be sharing a few tips on how to do so authentically later in the article. But for now, let's start with the big question:

Is It Ethical to Use AI as a Yoga Teacher?

I know many yoga teachers who are strongly opposed to AI, arguing that it contradicts their core values. They ask… How can something generated by a machine possibly reflect the deep, intuitive, and personal nature of yoga teaching? This is a valid concern, one that certainly has some truth to it. Yoga is rooted in authenticity, community, and tradition, which are not exactly terms we would use to describe AI.

But let's zoom out for a second. Many yoga businesses already use automation; think class scheduling software, automated email reminders, or pre-built booking systems. These tools are accepted because they free up time, reduce admin stress, and help teachers focus more on students. In that sense, AI for yoga teachers could be thought of in a similar way: as a support tool rather than a replacement for real human connection. That said, if your core values as a yoga teacher centre around authenticity, presence, and being fully you, then it's also completely okay to choose not to use it. This is a deeply personal decision, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach.

How Could AI Support Your Yoga Business?

Using AI as a yoga teacher doesn't have to be drastic or impersonal. It doesn't mean a robot is going to roll out your mat and lead your classes for you. Nor does it mean you'll never use your own intuition again. Instead, think of AI as a quiet assistant in the background. It can help lighten the load when your brain feels tired, offer a fresh perspective when you're stuck, and free up time so you can focus more on teaching and connecting with your students.

Here are some of the most common ways yoga teachers are using AI in 2025:

1. Class Theme & Sequence Ideas

If you're lacking creativity or struggling to get into the flow state, you can use AI tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm class themes or sequence ideas. This doesn't mean you have to let AI create your entire class plan. It can simply offer new ideas in the same way as talking to a friend would. You choose whether its ideas align with you, keeping the creative control firmly in your hands. For example, you could ask ChatGPT to give you a list of class theme ideas related to the seasons, chakras, or emotional states. Or you could input your class sequence and ask it for suggestions.

2. Planning Workshops or Retreats

Aside from classes, AI can help you brainstorm and plan workshops and retreats. It can:

Give you ideas for names

Create draft structures/itineraries

Provide a to-do list of everything you need to do before you launch the offering

Write landing pages or other marketing content

This can be particularly helpful if you're running a workshop or retreat for the first time and feeling overwhelmed with the logistics involved.

3. Writing Social Media or Email Copy

As yoga teachers, we're not just teaching classes; we're writing class descriptions, crafting social media posts, and sending newsletters. If you're not a natural wordsmith, these tasks can feel daunting, be time-consuming, and take some of the joy out of what you do for a living. But if you find you're constantly staring at a blank page, AI could be helpful. It can generate captions, newsletters, or event descriptions in seconds, freeing up hours of your time. However, I want to point out that the content ChatGPT (or any other AI software) produces is not 'ready-to-post' content. Here’s why… You must review and edit it so that it reflects your voice, energy, and intention—I'll share some tips on how to do this later! If you enjoy writing your own marketing content but worry that it doesn't sound "good enough," you could also use AI to refine/polish it. This is not much different from running it through Grammarly or Hemingway. AI can make it sound sharper, more concise, and more compelling.

How To Maintain Authenticity When Using AI

When using AI in your yoga business, the most important thing is to ensure that whatever you create feels and sounds like you. Here are some tips on how you can ensure your authentic self continues to shine through:

Edit & Refine EVERYTHING

As I have already mentioned, AI is intended to be a tool, not a replacement for your own creativity and voice. Moreover, even the best tools can create errors, give off a robotic tone, or suggest language that just sounds "off" to yogis. That's why it's crucial to edit everything that you get AI to create for you, whether it's a landing page for your website or a short Instagram post. You don't just want it to sound human, you want it to sound like YOU. Still, that doesn't mean you have to heavily edit everything. In fact, if you train the AI software you're using, you'll only need to make light edits.

Train It To Match Your Voice

Many AI tools let you input sample writing and ask them to mimic your tone. The more you guide it, the more natural the result will be. To train your AI tool:

- Share some of your past content that you have written from scratch.

- Input your teaching bio.

- Describe yourself to it (your teaching style, personality, passions, etc).

- Tell it about your student base—who your target audience is, what they need help with, and how you can help them.

By "training" AI on your tone and style, the output you get will be much more aligned with who you are as a yoga teacher.

Stay Transparent (If It Feels Right)

If you're worried that using AI in your yoga business will make you look like a fraud, you can let your yogis know that you sometimes use it. You don't have to announce every time you use it. But if you're writing a larger content piece, like a blog post, which you've significantly edited from an AI draft, you could mention that you used a tool to support your process. This shows mindfulness and integrity.

Final Thoughts: Do What Feels Right for You

Using AI in the yoga industry is certainly a grey area. You might never feel comfortable using it. That's completely fine. Or you might find that using it in a small, supportive way allows you to reach more students, reduce burnout, or spend more time teaching and less time typing. That's completely fine, too. At the end of the day, the decision is yours. There's no right or wrong answer. Only what feels aligned with your values, your teaching style, and the kind of yoga business you want to build.