MyYogaTeacher Community

Member Spotlight: Binu Kurup, 51 | California, USA
“Small, steady steps with the right teacher can lead to lasting well-being.”

Before joining MyYogaTeacher, Binu’s life was a whirlwind of work pressures and family duties, with little time left for herself. As someone navigating a high-stress job and the onset of perimenopause, her health—both physical and emotional—had quietly slipped down her list of priorities.

That all changed in January 2024.

In her search for more than just a yoga class, Binu discovered the heart of our platform: teachers who truly see you. After trying a few sessions, she found her way to Priya Choudhury, Nitisha and Arashdeep—teachers who brought not just expertise but presence, empathy, and real-time, personal guidance.

Among them, Priya became a constant. Whether in group classes or 1:1 sessions, Priya curated each session with a thoughtful blend of structure and creativity. What stood out most? Her memory for each student’s needs—offering quiet modifications for back pain or shoulder issues without missing a beat. “Her classes are intentional, grounded, and alive,” Binu shares.

🧘‍️ The Results?
• A stronger, more flexible body
• A calmer, more balanced mind
• A renewed sense of self-care and consistency
• A deeper respect for yoga as a spiritual practice

Despite business travel and a busy schedule, Binu now makes her practice a priority—not a chore. And in Priya, she found not just a teacher, but a guide rooted in the values that make this practice so powerful.

Binu’s Advice for Others:
“Find a teacher who sees you—your needs, your pace, your potential. You don’t need big leaps. Just small, sincere steps, taken with the right guidance, can change everything.”

Just wanted to share our newest reels that we’ve been posting on the MyYogaTeacher Instagram channel. We’re always aiming to inspire and connect with our audience through engaging content.

If you enjoy these reels, we’d be so grateful for your support with a like and a share with your family and friends. Every bit of engagement helps us reach more people!

Are you following us already? Fantastic! If not, we’d love for you to join our community on Instagram

Hormonal Changes for 40 - IG Live with Meenu Preethi Balaji : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMqKajmyGrc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Yoga for Pain during Menopause: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMMI-elxP7V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

How MyYogaTeacher Coaches can help with Asthma: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMblr2itwrt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I agree the teachers I asked about the pay are happy, they get more than teachers could get locally I India As well they seem happy and are given class flexibility. As you said know one is bullied or forced to work here, and more teachers seem to join. I am impressed that the teachers tell me they are happy and there is enough to go around for admin and help teams.

Anupama,

Our teachers are freelancers - we have no ability to bully anyone - they work based on their choice and make a lot of money, with flexible hours while working from home. This is great - this is what we wanted to build. Top income of the teacher on the platform is about 8-10X of what a typical full time time yoga teacher job pays. Average pay is about 2X of full time pay - full time pay which requires fixed hours and commute…We know because we are hiring a few full time teachers.

We are not trying to lose any teachers - we love them all - And we intend to keep most of the classes that are doing reasonably well (5+ avg attendance including recording views) - but at the same time we have the responsibility of ensuring teacher’s long term income and delivering on our commitments to students and employees. This means we do have to follow the laws of economics…

Really appreciate your understanding and support.

Best, Jitendra

Urmila Thank you for your thoughtful note.

On #1 - we did propose this idea to the teachers but we rejected it after they pointed out that taking only 50% credit from students will make them more likely to do no-shows which will not be great for anyone.

On #3 - Look, we have hired each of our teachers with great deal of love and care and attention. We are building the platform to be the best place for the best teachers and we are the highest paying platform for teachers by a lot…

Being fair has always been a key part of our thinking - its something we care deeply about and think a good deal about - and we do believe that we are being fair and equitable here.

But change is hard - really appreciate all your help with the transition.

My membership is due for renewal soon. I will only go month to month instead of yearly. Whatever is happening in MYT is very upsetting. There are many other platforms where we can join for standardized classes

Jitendra,
I am writing to express my serious concern regarding the bullying of teachers. If this continues, you will not only lose the invaluable teachers who were instrumental in building and succeeding this platform, but you will also alienate dedicated, long-time students like me.

Thanks guys for your concern and care. This is indeed what makes our platform special.

Paying teacher 50% for no show means that teachers are paid 50% for about 25% of their time - as they are supposed to wait for 15 minutes. This is entirely fair. Teachers work from home so they get to do what they like with their time - play with their kids, have tea etc. etc.

In addition, we are working on options to rebook the late cancelled sessions - so that teachers can get another session at the time of late cancelled or no show session. You will see these changes roll out in a month or so … This will allow us to support more teachers and students who are looking for an instant session.

Look, our teachers are among the highest paid yoga teachers in India - some make more money than top engineers and MBA. We have always taken great care of the teachers. So how can we both be the highest payer and at the same time be accused of exploiting the teachers…

The other point was that we are taking the full credit from the students - Now, we give plenty of extra credits to students - for a variety of reasons - storms in the US, accident, sickness etc. etc. while continuing to pay the teachers - and so we need to break even as well.

The question here really is not about fairness - in fact most teachers will tell you that if we started with this policy there would be no issues as its a fair policy - the issue here is the change.

So why change now?

The reason is that we have never made a dime in our business. Now we are growing and getting into a place where to grow further we need funding to survive and thrive and for that we need to fix our economics. This has forced painful choices that we must make.

We considered a lot of things - and this seemed like the fairest option.

Re: Group classes - we are still rewarding great classes (12+) and we are looking at recordings data as well before making decisions about removing classes … We are just not rewarding classes that are not growing or doing well.

Now, I know that you guys love your teachers - we do as well. A lot of our teachers have bought houses and cars etc. etc. with the proceeds from the platform and we want to secure their future earnings and our service to you.

We love our students - we have been on the mission to improve the physical and mental well being of the entire planet and I am proud to say that through all these years we have stayed true to this mission. We might have made a few mistakes along the way but through all these years we have never taken a decision that is not consistent with our mission.

I appreciate your love and continued support for the teachers and the platform. Thank you for listening and understanding.

Thank you for your feedback. We are creating new GCs regularly. We have added 8 new GCs in in last month. We are aiming to have 24*7 classes. We would also consider this.

Absolutely agree with Sini. This policy is deeply unfair to dedicated MYT teachers.

A teacher who shows up on time and gives effort deserves full pay. Deducting half their earnings punishes the wrong party.

Thank you, Sini, for bringing up this important topic for discussion. Many voices align with the view that there should not be any deductions from teachers’ pay when the platform charges students the full amount. In my opinion, this does not appropriately value the time and effort of our esteemed teachers. We are fortunate to have so many exceptional educators on this platform, and I have personally been a regular student here for the past five years. I sincerely hope that MYT management will review this practice and take steps to ensure that we can all feel proud to be part of this community.

Sini Kumar Bonnie

The 20% reduction in the compensation for group classes was discussed in July 15 feedback session with Jitendra. It was mentioned that group classes with lower than an average of 12 students will be facing the cuts. It is unclear if and how they are considering the recording viewership in this.

Sini Kumar

If the student paid in advance for a private class but didn’t show up, the student loses that fee, and the teacher receives a portion of his or her salary.

There have been times when I have registered for a group class but could not attend and didn’t cancel. I didn’t know that was an issue.

said in Is 50% Pay Cut for 1-1 No Shows Fair?:

Bonnie
My understanding is if there a no-show or short-notice cancellation from a student for a 1-1 class, the student will be charged full fee. The teacher however will be compensated only 50% of what they would have been otherwise paid(i.e., if the class had gone as planned). This change penalizes the teachers if students are unable to make it to scheduled 1-1 sessions.

We could get on the feedback session with Jitender to get clarity on the percentage of pay cuts teachers may be facing.

Bonnie
My understanding is if there a no-show or short-notice cancellation from a student for a 1-1 class, the student will be charged full fee. The teacher however will be compensated only 50% of what they would have been otherwise paid(i.e., if the class had gone as planned). This change penalizes the teachers if students are unable to make it to scheduled 1-1 sessions.

I agree with many of the sentiments here. If the student is charged the teacher should be paid, that block of time cannot be filled with another. This is such a special platform, the teachers are by far the best, most are highly trained and are therapists as well, you can’t find teachers like that in a typical western yoga studio. One on One sessions are dear to me, cannot live without them!

Bonnie Yes with the current changes teachers who has been in the platform for a long time like 5 years plus or less has to take a pay cut.

Plus new rules on how to give teachers as less as possible. Like penalizing the teachers by taking 50% on 1-1 classes where there is no shows. In that case teachers lost their time slot, their time and money. That is an unfair system.

What not that we students are not aware off?
Hopefully they are not penalized for group class as lot of people go back and do recordings of their favorite classes due to back to work, family time constraints, summer vacation etc etc

Urmila

Please clarify. Is the teacher penalized 50% in a private lesson if the student doesn’t show up? Is 20% deducted from the teacher’s salary in a group class if a student doesn’t show up? This information was never made known to the students that I’m aware of. At least, I was never aware of it.

It’s unacceptable that teachers are penalized for circumstances beyond their control. If a student cancels last-minute or doesn’t show how is it a teachers fault ? But the teacher still prepared, set aside time, and lost the opportunity to book other work. Imagine any other professional being told, “You’re only paid if your client arrives.” This policy devalues educators’ time, effort, and commitment. Teachers should be paid for their availability and preparation — not just student attendance.

Dont see any logic behind cutting teachers pay for no shows. It’s not like you are getting less money from students. So this is just increasing your profitability. Teachers are why you have students.