BOOST YOUR SELF CARE BY LAUNCHING A SIDE HUSTLE
Oftentimes, the idea of taking on a side hustle in addition to our daily jobs and responsibilities can feel like more work. What if we shifted our perspective to look at side-hustles as beneficial to our overall well-being; not just for our professional pursuits, but for our self-care practice, too? My side hustle as yoga teacher enhances all areas of my life. From teaching classes after work or on my days off, pursuing a yoga teaching career on the side of my full-time job has contributed to my self-care practice in more ways than one.
Even if you're currently satisfied with your full-time career, I recommend finding something you're interested in creating or pursuing on the side to help bring forth a new sense of agency and creative freedom in your life. Here are just a few key benefits of launching a side hustle from my own side hustle experience as a yoga teacher for a little over a year.
A side hustle can helped set boundaries.
When I started my yoga side hustle, I realized how many boundaries I had to set for myself. I had to create a concrete schedule that I could no longer compromise on in order to juggle responsibilities. I started saying yes to my own self-care, which meant saying no to friends who wanted to spend time together on nights before classes and saying yes to being in my bed by at least 10 p.m. Ultimately, my side hustle changed the narrative of showing up for myself.
I became comfortable with saying no more than yes. My side hustle allowed me to put my priorities in perspective. In return, my side hustle showed me the people who were respectful of my time and the importance of commitments, especially when it came to practicing yoga.
Investing in a side hustle can help you in invest in yourself.
With a side hustle comes a side income. In a matter of months, I was able to pay off the loan that I had taken out for my yoga certification with my extra side income from yoga teaching. Then, I was able to invest more time and money into yoga workshops and yoga classes with master instructors that would help deepen my practice and style. In the end, the investments made were lucrative in terms of my personal and professional development.
Not only was there a monetary investment but an emotional one as well. I became emotionally invested in being a yoga teacher as I began to build relationships with my students and with myself as a yoga instructor. The emotional and monetary investment eventually have led me to dedicate more time to yoga.
You get a chance to focus on your passions full-time.
Setting boundaries, focusing on my passions, and generating income all led to me eventually realizing it was possible to teach yoga on a more consistent basis. I’m passionate about connecting with others and building communities with like-minded individuals. Pursuing yoga as a side hustle has enabled me to merge these passions and put them front and center in my life. I was cultivating all of these interests when I showed up to teach a group yoga class.
Yoga as a side hustle has helped me own self-care and self-love in the process of living my passion. Each day, I’m thankful for the community yoga has given me, through the hustle and all. Today, I've transitioned into yoga full-time, and I couldn't be more grateful for the chance I took to pursue it as a side hustle.
Shanna Tyler for MBG