Julie Montagu

Job title Yoga instructor

Employer Self employed

Becoming a yoga instructor

Many people do not realise that a hobby or passion is the best way to finding a job/career path –  work and hobbies do not always have to be kept separately. No one knows that better than Julie Montagu…

Julie is a yoga instructor who quickly decided that she no longer wanted to be the student in classes, instead she wanted to be the teacher. The industry famous professional prides herself on spreading happiness, relieving anxiety and many other things – have a read!

“I felt so much better about myself,”

You are now a yoga instructor but how and why did you get into yoga?

I started practicing yoga because I had such low self-esteem about myself! And when I would finish a yoga class, I felt so much better about myself, so I just kept going to keep getting that feeling!

“Yoga makes me feel good about myself,”

How did you go from experiencing and practicing yoga, to extending that relationship with it and becoming a yoga instructor?

I decided to become a yoga instructor because yoga makes me feel good about myself, and the reason I became a yoga instructor is to make sure that my students don’t feel as bad about themselves as I’ve felt about myself in the past.

“I knew I wanted to make it more a part of my life”

Did you ever see yoga as part of your overall career? If not, when did that change?

Once I started practicing yoga, I knew it had to be a part of my life forever. So, at first, it was just practicing yoga every single day and then I knew I wanted to make it more a part of my life by becoming a yoga instructor once I saw the transformation that I had happened in life through yoga. And this transformation/change, I wanted to share with others who were looking for something too.

We often have job vacancies posted in our jobs sections looking for instructors of different classes and sports, if you have teaching qualifications then it is most definitely worth checking what’s available in your area. 

“Life is one big opportunity”

How did you manage to juggle life and other work with first becoming a yoga instructor, then a joga instructor able to teach other people to become joga instructors?

Growing up in America, you are told you can be anything you want to be, do anything you want to be if you just work hard. And this was instilled in me by both my mother and my father at a young age and it’s stayed with me ever since.

I’ve always believed that life is one big opportunity – it’s up to you take it or leave it. And it’s that drive and motivation that was instilled in me at a young age that allows me to juggle it all! Yoga is my passion after all, so it makes it easy!

“Take care of ourselves,”

What is involved in becoming a yoga instructor?

The whole self. All of you. I believe that one must be totally committed to taking care of themselves when wanting to become a teacher. Once we take care of ourselves, we can take care of and teach others.

“You just have to be you.”

As well as the yoga training qualifications, what other key skills or qualities do you need?

One word: authenticity. As a yoga instructor you just have to be you. The second you try to mimic another teacher, it shows. Students love teachers that are real, relatable and authentic!

“There are lots of opportunities in the health and fitness industry.”

Are there plenty of opportunities in yoga instruction?

Yoga is booming! And I don’t see this boom stopping anytime – ever!  So, yes, there are so many job opportunities in yoga. Whether you want to combine teaching with your current job or combine it with another wellness industry, like nutrition or meditation – the sky is the limit with what you can do with yoga. There are lots of opportunities in the health and fitness industry.

“Create more happiness in your life.”

Tell us about your yoga school and what it does…

My yoga school is different than your traditional 200-hour yoga training programme in that it focuses on the whole self. So, yes you will learn my Vinyasa Flow sequence (a combination of dharma, rocket and mandala) and you will of course learn the traditional Eastern philosophy teachings, but I have my focusing on their self-care, such as: managing stress, eating well for your body type, facing your fears, alleviating anxiety, finding your authentic voice, believing and building in your passions and how to create more happiness in your life. That to me is whole self yoga.

If this article has inspired you into turning a passion into a career then make sure you read our article on how to do just that here. Otherwise, if you don’t feel like health and fitness teaching is a career path for you then read our other profiles here. It is also worth checking out some of our recommended companies here, to see what they do and the career opportunities they offer.