Want to Teach at a Yoga Festival? Here’s How to Land a Teaching Gig

Music festivals aren't just about the music anymore. Each year, more and more festivals are adding wellness activities like yoga, meditation, and breathwork to their programming.

At the same time, there is an increasing number of dedicated yoga and wellness festivals popping up, designed to help communities unwind, recharge, and reconnect. 

For us teachers, this creates an exciting opportunity. Yoga and wellness festivals can be a powerful way to expand your reach, grow your audience, and network with others.

Intrigued?

Read on to learn how getting involved in a yoga festival could boost your career and how to land a teaching gig at one. 

What happens at a yoga or wellness festival?

Yoga and wellness festivals are often grouped together, but they are very different.

Yoga festivals are deeply centred around yoga. The programs typically feature various yoga styles, along with meditation, breathwork, sound healing, and other holistic practices. 

Yoga festivals also tend to have a more spiritual vibe and may include traditional yogic practices like Kundalini, Bhakti, and Kirtan.

Wellness features are much broader. They include a wide range of yoga programming, as well as other wellness practices, such as Pilates, ecstatic dance, cacao ceremonies, and wellness talks. 

Unlike music festivals, yoga and wellness festivals are typically sober events. There may be music and dancing, but most events do not sell alcohol. Instead, you can buy health drinks like cold-pressed juices, turmeric lattes, and ginger shots, alongside wholesome, organic, vegan food.

Why teaching at a yoga festival should be your next career move

If you’re looking to expand beyond your usual studio classes, yoga festivals are a fab idea. They offer the chance to teach in a different environment than usual and reach a bigger audience. 

For newer instructors, teaching at a festival is also more accessible than teaching at a retreat, since you don't need to have your own following.

Let’s take a closer look at what you could get out of it:

Exposure 

Yoga festivals, like the World Yoga Festival in the UK, tend to have a more intimate feel with around 1000 attendees. Wellness festivals are often more wide-scale, like Wellnergy, which sees over 5000 wellness enthusiasts attending.

Because of this, yoga and wellness festivals are a fantastic opportunity to teach in front of a larger group than you’re used to. It’s not uncommon to have over 100 students in a yoga class at a festival.

What’s more, festivals can offer the chance to showcase your unique teaching style and expertise. Many festivals allow you to host specialised workshops, such as yoga for menopause or burnout. 

Business growth

This exposure can lead to more online followers, private clients, and sales of your yoga courses and offerings. It can be particularly beneficial if you’re trying to grow your email list, are planning to launch a retreat, or are running a teacher training.

Networking

In addition to potentially finding new students, you will meet tons of other yoga and wellness professionals. Wellness festivals are an ideal place for making new connections; you might come across an opportunity to collaborate on a retreat, get offered a brand sponsorship, or even get hired by a studio manager.

Inspiration and self-care

When teaching at a yoga or wellness festival, you’ll likely get a free festival pass, meaning you can attend sessions yourself. With such diverse programming, you will surely come away with tons of fresh inspiration and feel more grounded and recharged. 

Do you get paid to teach at a yoga festival?

It entirely depends on the festival. 

Some large, well-known festivals pay all their instructors and workshop facilitators, regardless of their experience or following. Others may pay only teachers with a large following, many years of experience, or an established reputation in their niche. 

For newer and lesser-known teachers, most festivals offer free admission in exchange for your time and energy. Some will also offer compensation for meals and transport, and even offer lodging.

In my opinion, teaching at a festival for free is worth it for the additional benefits, such as increased exposure and networking opportunities. What’s more, teaching at a festival in a different country can be a great way to combine some summer travel with a unique teaching experience.

How to teach at a yoga festival

The first step is to find a festival you want to teach at. This will depend on many things, such as the audience you’re looking to connect with and your current yoga business setup.

For example, if you primarily teach in person, it makes sense to look for a local festival where you can attract new students to your studio classes or workshops. 

However, if you’re building an online yoga business, teaching at festivals further afield will allow you to expand your audience beyond your local area. 

Most festivals hire instructors several months in advance, but the major ones start processing applications a year before. Therefore, now is the time to start looking for festivals in summer 2027.

You can usually find information about teaching at a festival on the festival’s website. Check under sections like ‘work with us,’ ‘partner with us,’ or the FAQs.

On the application form, you'll need to provide details of your teaching style and experience and propose your specific session/workshop idea.

Festivals receive a high volume of applications, so to increase your chances of being accepted:

Propose a unique workshop idea: Organisers are looking to create a diverse lineup of offerings, so you’re more likely to get accepted to teach something like ‘yoga for nervous system regulation’ rather than simply ‘vinyasa yoga.’

Detail your teaching experience: In particular, demonstrate how you have a deep understanding (and ideally, an established presence) in your specific niche.

Explain why you want to teach at that specific festival: This makes your application feel more authentic. Research what the festival’s theme and values are (such as connection or community) and explain how they align with your own values. 

Attach a short introduction video or teaching sample: This will help organisers get a clearer idea of your teaching personality and make you stand out in the sea of applications.

Want to organize your own mini yoga festival?

If you own or manage a yoga studio, hosting a mini yoga festival is a fantastic way to bring your community together while introducing new people to your classes. And summer is the perfect time to do it.

During the summer, people naturally spend more time outside and are actively looking for outdoor events. So why not organise a yoga festival in a local park?

With Momoyoga's event scheduling feature, you can easily create the event, sell tickets (or offer free registration), and manage attendee bookings all in one place.

A community festival can help to establish your studio as a wellbeing hub in your local area, leading to many new students and studio members!