I first came across Lauren’s account when I started getting more into Ayurveda. I loved her informative content against the beautiful backdrop of her tropical home. When she started shifting her focus more towards online classes, I took part in one of her challenges. Surprisingly, I was lucky enough to win a spot in her program “Yogipreneur Academy”!

She started this program because she wanted to help others achieve what she’s built for herself: Making a passive income with online courses to have more time to travel, visit loved ones, and – yes! – teach in person.

In this interview, she shares her first steps, her learnings and all the perks of teaching online.

Dear Lauren, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! First, let’s give the readers a little intro about yourself. You’re American, but you live in French Polynesia. Could you share a little about your journey?

Hi! Thanks for having me :)! Yes, I am American, from New Jersey, but I’ve been living in Tahiti since the end of 2018! I met my now husband while traveling in Portugal in 2017, and he is from Tahiti.  We traveled together for a few months, then he came with me while I was working in Bali, and then we came to Tahiti and we’ve been here since then!

How did you get into teaching yoga online? Tell us about your first steps.

I first got into teaching yoga online because when I first arrived in Tahiti, I realized really quickly that it was going to be really hard for me to still share yoga and Ayurveda in English with the community here because the language spoken here is French!  I also realized that I wouldn’t learn French overnight. So that’s when I had the idea to try to offer something online, in English, that people could sign up for from anywhere in the world. 

In what way does teaching online feel different to you than teaching in person?

The beauty of having online offerings is that you’re able to connect with students all over the world! That is one thing that I really love about online teaching.  I still feel connected to my students online, because we have a private group for members, live Q&As, and we stay connected! I also still teach 2 yoga classes in person every week because I still enjoy teaching classes!

Why did you decide to get more into online courses?

I decided to go more into online courses because I realized how much I love my freedom!  That includes being able to travel, work from anywhere, create my own schedule and still share what I love – yoga, wellness, Ayurveda – but in a more passive way.  I also saw that it worked! I was able to bring in income every month thanks to online courses. There are many people who like to learn and study online from the comfort of their home.

What were your biggest learnings during the process?

I think getting all the tech set up was one of my biggest learnings in the process! Making sure students were able to sign up, gain access to the course, get a welcome email, upload all the course videos, edit the videos, etc.  🙂

Your focus went from sharing mostly ayurvedic tips to sharing advice about creating a passive income as a yoga teacher. How did that come about?

This came about because I already had some online programs at this point. I had a prenatal yoga course and an Ayurveda course. Then, other yoga teachers started to ask me how I was able to travel for 6 months last year. They wanted to know how I created online offerings, how I was able to stop teaching so many in person classes, etc.  That’s how it all started!

What does your life look like now, compared to before teaching online?

Before teaching online, I was either working full time as an elementary teacher and teaching yoga on the side, or teaching yoga full time. That meant meaning 14+ classes every week.  I was tired and constantly felt like I had to prove myself, never feeling like I was earning enough money.  Now, I teach 2 classes per week in person because I like to. The rest of my work is online! I love being able to go to the US and visit my family, go to Bali, create my own schedule and work for myself.  I’m still working, but it’s less physically demanding and I’m able to do it on my own terms. 

How did your work focus shift since teaching less in person?

Now that I’m only teaching 2 classes per week, I feel like it’s made me a better teacher both in person and online.  When I was teaching full time, by the end of the week I always felt like a broken record, not always remembering what I had already said to which class, if we had already done the right side, etc.  Now that I’m teaching less, I’m more present and happy to show up and teach, instead of feeling tired and burnt out. The same goes for online. 

Why would you recommend teaching online as a yoga teacher?

I would recommend having an online component as a yoga teacher. It allows you to still share yoga, but without having to physically teach tons of yoga classes every week.  I know a lot of yoga teachers experience burnout from having to teach many classes in order to earn enough money each month. By having an online component you can eliminate some of that!  Sometimes people think that it has to only be one or the other- ONLY online or ONLY in person classes. But personally, I love a combination of the two.  I love to see my students in person, and I love to have online offerings and have that more passive style of income coming in. 

Tell us more about how your program “Yogipreneur Academy” came to life.

Yogipreneur Academy is a program that I created to teach other yoga teachers how they can create, launch and sell their own online courses.  It came to life because other yoga teachers started to ask me how I was able to travel, how I was offering things online, etc. so I decided to put together a program to show them how they could do the same thing.  I love helping other yoga teachers and wellness professionals create their own online programs so they too can have a more freedom-based lifestyle!

What’s your favorite part about teaching that program?

My favorite part of Yogipreneur Academy is seeing my students selling their first online courses!!  It’s so fun to see and be a part of. 

What’s the most important tip you would like to share with yoga teachers who are thinking about creating a passive income with online courses?

Getting something done and ready to share with the world is better than it being “perfect”! Just start!

Thank you so much, Lauren!