Yoga Trade has opened up my mind to the infinite possibilities for creating a career living and teaching yoga. The community of teachers offer an endless source of inspiration with creative ways to blend yoga & meditation, travel, bodywork, nutrition, philanthropy, digital media, art, music, education and more to serve the global community.

With help of the Yoga Trade, I’ve connected with and hired incredible Yoga Teachers for retreat centers and resorts and recruited volunteers for service projects. I’ve also been able to share personal insights from my experiences on the Yoga Trade blog and offer a Mentorship program which is designed to empower new teachers with the tools to create a sustainable career as a traveling yoga teacher and retreat leader. I’m infinitely grateful for a YT Blog Post by Founder Erica Hartnick, which led me to Yandara Yoga Institute where I completed my 300-Hr Yoga Teacher Training and Life Coaching Course, a pivotal  step in my journey where I not only was able to deepen my practice and hone my skills as a yoga teacher, but also met a best friend and business partner who I now partner with on retreats. Most recently, I had the great honor of teaching on the Deep Ecology of Wellness Conference, where I shared about Yoga for Sustainable Addiction & Trauma Recovery, and gained so much valuable wisdom from the other presenters.

In my experience, choosing to live an alternative lifestyle as a traveling yoga teacher, despite all of the benefits of fulfilling my passion, has also led me to moments of self-doubt and fear about what the future holds. Having a support network of friends, mentors and teachers to connect with, uplift me and truly understand all of the highs and lows has been an essential part of the growth process and made the journey that much more rewarding! 

– Mary Tilson,  Retreat Leader and Travel Designer // @marytilson