There’s a quiet shift that happens when you go from student to instructor. One day, you’re moving for the joy of it, tuning into your breath, your rhythm, your body. And then slowly, almost imperceptibly, your own practice begins to take a backseat to the ones you lead.

You show up for others. You carefully plan out sequences that build upon the last. You cue the breath with intention. You get to know your students so your classes can support their lives outside of the studio. You motivate, guide, hold space. You really do it all. But somewhere along the way, you might stop holding space for yourself.

At some point, every instructor realizes their personal practice is not the same as it was before they started teaching. And sometimes, it completely disappears.

It happens more often than we talk about, or if we do, it’s jokingly. But it’s no joke. Losing your personal practice takes a toll on your body, your mental health, and your ability to teach.

Many instructors lose sight of their own practice once they start teaching but it’s never out of laziness or lack of care. We convince ourselves it’s a noble sacrifice: “If I teach just one more class, then I’m helping more people.” But one class becomes two, and two quickly becomes adding another day of teaching to your schedule.

It’s a slippery slope. We love teaching, so why wouldn’t we want to do it all the time??? But the reality is, foregoing your own personal practice to teach more is a recipe for burnout. When you trade in your own movement practice for others’ wellness, you end up forgetting that your well-being matters too.

Here’s the truth I wish every fitness instructor knew starting out: your personal practice is not a luxury, it’s the root of your power as a teacher. It’s a non-negotiable.

The reason it’s essential we don’t lose sight of our personal practice has absolutely nothing to do with “looking” like a fitness instructor or even maintaining stamina to teach back-to-back classes. It’s not even about filling our cup so we can fill others. And while losing your personal practice can fuel imposter syndrome and take a toll on your physical and mental health, I think the real reason goes beyond this. We need a consistent practice to stay connected to the reason we became instructors in the first place.

In my opinion, one cannot exist without the other, at least not for long.

If your teaching schedule has eclipsed your own practice, you are not alone. If you can’t get through another instructor’s class without mentally taking notes on how you’d teach things, you’re not alone. If your yoga mat sits collecting dust yet your body is exhausted from the number of Sun Salutations you do in a week, you’re not alone.

This is unfortunately all too common within the fitness industry, but there is hope. I promise you can get back to your personal practice, even if it looks a little different from before.

Here’s how to reclaim your personal practice:

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1. Redefine What Counts

Your practice doesn’t need to look exactly like the classes you teach to be valid. It doesn’t need to be structured. It doesn’t need a plan. Sometimes the easiest way to return to our personal practice is to turn on some music and move however it feels good. Move intuitively, allow your mind and body to come together like old friends, and find a flow that works for that moment.

Or if you’d rather rest your mind and not have to think of what comes next, follow along with an on-demand class or check out in-person classes near you. Either way, do something that lets you drop the “teaching hat” and come home to yourself.

2. Let It Be Just for You

This isn’t a time to brainstorm new class ideas (though yes, they’ll pop up, just let them pass or have a notebook handy to jot down ideas real quick). This is sacred time to reconnect with your body without any other expectations. You don’t need to capture it on camera. You don’t need to improve it. You just need to feel it.

Sometimes in order to keep your practice just for you, that means exploring new styles and formats that are nothing like what you teach. I personally, have a few class formats and workouts I have promised to keep just to myself, no matter how much I’d like to teach them. I love getting sweaty and emotional on a spin bike, but I’m resisting the urge to pick up a new certification, at least for now.

Commit to building a personal practice that is just for you. Not for class prep, not for content creation, just for you.

3. Accept That It Will Fluctuate

Your personal practice will change. It will ebb and flow. Some weeks you’ll be very consistent, and others it’ll feel like all you can do is breathe. That’s okay. Consistency doesn’t mean rigidity. It means returning again and again, even if you’ve drifted.

What’s most important is that you remain curious and look for ways your personal practice may show up differently at this point in your life. Consider what you share with your students that are just beginning to add more movement to their day (i.e., start small, look for short moments that are opportunities to move) and gently remind yourself of your own tips.

4. Remember Your “Why“

Lastly, know that you teach best when you are grounded in your own body and connected to movement. Keeping up with your own practice is essential to a sustainable career in this industry. An active movement practice (however that looks for you right now) can help you feel at home in your own body. A consistent practice helps you really connect with what you are teaching in a way that doesn’t just help you demo or cue better, but reminds you of what this is really all about: why you fell in love with movement.

When you have an active, ongoing relationship with your practice, your teaching becomes richer, more intuitive, and more compassionate. You move from “doing the job” to embodying the work.

What to Do When Your Practice Doesn’t Look “Productive”

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This one’s tricky, especially in a culture that celebrates pushing the limit and always striving to do more, better.

But your practice doesn’t need to beat PRs to be valid. It doesn’t need to be a challenging circuit, an advanced flow, a strict plan, or even a “workout.”

I found my personal practice transformed after I became an instructor. When I was teaching the most at 18-20 classes a week (don’t recommend), I felt drawn to “beginner” classes ad getting back to foundational movement patterns, not super challenging or advanced work. I encourage you to set goals for yourself, but if your personal practice has all but disappeared, let’s get back to basics first.

Sometimes your practice might look like:

• Finding stillness and breathing with a hand on your chest
• Stretching on the couch or at your desk
• Yoga in bed
• Rolling around on the floor
• Journaling before and after you move

And if you find yourself thinking, “Is this enough?” Remember, it’s not about doing more, it’s about coming home to yourself.

Your body and mind know the difference between performance and presence. So do your students, and they benefit most when you teach from a place of embodiment.

So let’s let go of the idea that your practice has to look a certain way to count. If it reconnects you to your body, it counts.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

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You’re not just leading workouts. You’re leading experiences, experiences that often hold emotional weight for your students.

You’ve felt it. That moment when someone stays after class just to say “thank you, I really needed that.” The unspoken vulnerability and sigh of relief in a quiet cool-down or the sweat turned to tears moments in an emotionally moving spin class.

Teaching in today’s world means showing up in more than physical ways. It asks for your energy and your empathy, making a personal practice needed now more than ever before.

Because you can’t sustainably hold space for others if you’re disconnected from yourself.

When you’re not rooted in your own practice, it’s easier to:

• Slip into autopilot while teaching
• Question your value as an instructor
• Burn out from constantly pouring into others without replenishing yourself
• Lose sight of of the impact you’re making

Reclaiming your personal practice is how you come back to yourself. Back to your breath. Back to your body. Back to the reason you started teaching in the first place.

Your students can feel the difference when you’re teaching from connection rather than depletion. So let this be your invitation to return to your personal practice, today. Even if it’s just for a few quiet minutes. Even if it looks totally different now.

And I know, it can hard to get back into a routine when the absence of your personal practice is accompanied with shame and guilt. This is one of the heaviest weight we can carry as instructors, and it’s because we care so much. But guilt is not a sign you’re doing something wrong. It’s a signal that you’ve been over-giving without tending to YOU.

Reclaiming your practice doesn’t mean you’re being selfish. It means you’re reconnecting with the source deep within you, one of strength, creativity, and inspiration. The part that needs tending to in order to show up fully for others.

Start small. If it’s been awhile since you had a daily practice, start with 15 min. today then see how you feel tomorrow. Maybe you’ll be up for 30min., maybe you’ll only have energy for 5 min. All of these are worth it. There’s no expectation, just space you’re allowing for yourself. Block off a window on your calendar for your personal practice. Treat it like any other commitment or responsibility you have, reschedule if you need to, but show up for yourself. When that “appointment” with yourself comes up, let yourself feel what you’re needing in that moment, not what others need or expect from you.

I say this all with kindness, as someone who’s personal practice has taken many forms over the years, from every day to nonexistent. Once you are able to let go of the expectation of “I should be doing this,” and shift to “This is where it all started,” your practice will re-emerge.

Your students don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. And presence is something we cultivate by returning to ourselves, over and over again.

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I’d love to hear from you:
How has your personal practice shifted since you started teaching? What helps you reconnect with movement just for you?

Drop a comment below and share your experience, your story might be the reminder someone else needs today.