Gifts for Yoga Teachers: What to Give, What They Never Use, and When to Order

The best gifts for yoga teachers are the things they wear to teach in and would not buy for themselves: one well made piece of practice clothing, a props upgrade, or paid training. Teachers already own mats, blocks and water bottles. What they run short of is clothing that survives being demonstrated in, washed, and worn again the next morning.

I teach Kundalini Yoga and I design clothing in Bali, so I have been on both ends of this. I have been given candles I never lit and a mat I did not need. I have also been given one linen playsuit that I taught in for three years. The difference was not price. It was whether the person buying it had thought about what teaching actually does to clothes.

What do yoga teachers actually want?

They want one good thing rather than five small ones. A teacher demonstrating a posture is bending, kneeling and lying down in front of a room, sometimes six times a day. Clothing that gapes, rides up or goes sheer when stretched is not a minor annoyance, it is a whole class spent adjusting.

So the useful gift is a piece with coverage built in: a wide leg, a high or closed back, a fabric with enough body that it does not cling. Natural fibres matter here for a plain reason rather than a mystical one, which is that a teacher sweats and then stands in an air-conditioned studio, and linen and cotton knit handle that cycle better than polyester does. Everything in the gifts for yoga teachers collection was chosen on that test.

The other thing teachers want, and rarely say, is permission to own something beautiful for a practice they mostly perform in whatever is clean. A piece that looks like ceremony rather than gym kit changes how it feels to put it on at five in the morning.

What not to give a yoga teacher

This is the shorter and more useful list.

• Another mat. Teachers are particular about mats and already have the one they want.
• Essential oils, unless you know the studio allows them. Many do not, because students react.
• Anything with a mandala and a slogan on it. If they wanted it they would own it.
• Jewellery that rattles. It gets taken off before class and left behind.
• A class pass to your own favourite studio. Generous, but it reads as homework.

Five gifts for yoga teachers, by what they cost

Prices here are ours, in US dollars, and current at the time of writing.

• Around $224, the cold studio jacket. The White Golden Chain Jacket in cotton, for the hour before a six o'clock class when nobody has warmed up yet. Only three left.
• Around $234, the everyday teaching piece. The Kundalini Playsuit Linen, in 100 per cent stonewashed French linen, wide leg, side pockets. This is the one most teachers end up living in.
• Around $258, the one for the woman who teaches in the heat. The Vata Playsuit in linen, halter neckline with a tie back.
• Around $304, the winter answer. The Yin Yang Kundalini Knitted Playsuit in cotton knit, which has the weight the linen does not.
• Around $378, the ceremony piece. The Sat Torri Mahashivrati Playsuit, French linen botanically hand-dyed over several days, so no two come out the same.

If none of those is right, the honest answer is often the least romantic one: pay for a module of their next training. Teachers fund their own continuing education and it is the gift they would choose for themselves.

How do you choose the right size when it is a surprise?

Buy the piece that does not depend on getting it exactly right. Our playsuits run in S/M, M/L and XL rather than numbered sizes, and the wide-leg cuts are forgiving through the hip, which is why they work as a gift when a fitted dress would not. If you are unsure, size up: a teacher can belt a playsuit, she cannot let one out.

Exchanges are ten days from delivery for store credit, with no cash refunds, so tell her to try it on the day it lands rather than saving it for a special class. You can see the full range of fits in the gifts for yoga teachers collection.

When do you need to order so it arrives?

Everything we make is cut and sewn to order by artisan families in Bali, so the timing is not a shipping question, it is a making question. Lead time is 3 to 6 weeks from order to shipment, then 5 to 15 business days with DHL. Shipping is free worldwide over $350.

Which means, plainly: if you are reading this in late October and you want something under a tree on 24 December, a made-to-order piece will not get there. Our last safe order date for delivery by 24 December was 22 October. For December, give a digital gift card and let her choose and order in January, when most teacher trainings start anyway. If the occasion is a birthday, a graduation from training, or a studio anniversary later in the year, order about ten weeks ahead and you have room to spare.

Common Questions About Gifts for Yoga Teachers

What is a good gift for a yoga teacher? One well made piece of clothing she can teach in, rather than several small accessories. Teachers already own mats, blocks, straps and bottles. Practice clothing wears out and is the thing they replace most often and buy for themselves least often.

What do you get a yoga teacher for teacher appreciation? If the gift is from a group of students, pool it into one piece or one training module rather than a hamper. A signed card with a single good thing lands better than a basket of candles, and teachers talk to each other about which they received.

How much should you spend on a yoga teacher gift? For a single student, something small and specific is fine. For a group, or for a teacher who has trained you, a piece in the $200 to $400 range is the band where clothing becomes genuinely good rather than merely new.

What should you not give a yoga teacher? Another mat, essential oils without checking the studio's policy, jewellery that makes noise, and anything printed with a slogan. Avoid anything that needs her to change her routine to use it.

Is clothing a good gift for a yoga teacher if you do not know her size? Yes, if you choose a forgiving cut. Wide-leg playsuits and button-down gowns in S/M, M/L and XL sizing are much safer than fitted pieces, and exchanges are available for ten days from delivery as store credit.

The gift a teacher remembers is the one that made the next morning easier.

With love from Bali,
Myrah.

A Piece for This Threshold The Kundalini Playsuit Linen. One piece, wide leg, side pockets, nothing to coordinate at five in the morning. Cut from 100 per cent stonewashed French linen and hand stitched in Bali by the artisan families who have made it since the beginning. The piece teachers stop taking off. Shop the Kundalini Playsuit See every piece in Gifts for Yoga Teachers

More on the practice itself: what to wear for Kundalini Yoga and why the tradition asks for white, what to wear to yoga teacher training, and how to do Sat Kriya.

The Muse-Letter Dress for the woman you're becoming. Every week from Bali. Astrology, slow living, sacred feminine, and the pieces we make by hand. A letter, not a sales pitch. Join the Muse-Letter Unsubscribe any time. No spam, ever.