While steeped in rich traditions, yoga is also very much alive and adapting keenly to the needs of our modern humanity. There are bountiful opportunities to share yoga in every corner of the world. Yoga Trade aims to inspire instructors and wellness professionals to find purposeful work, create and build relationships that nourish themselves, their communities, and the world as a whole. We make it easier for organizations and businesses to connect with quality people to work and collaborate with. 

It seems that everyone is or knows a yoga teacher nowadays, and it’s true there are definitely more than ever. But likewise, and fortunately, everyone is a student as well. Yoga is being taught everywhere – community centers, offices, stand-up paddle boards, mountain tops, churches, high schools, prisons, and now more than ever, online. It seems to find a following wherever it is taught. This is the incredible state of yoga today and there is no end in sight.

The founders of Yoga Trade (Erica Hartnick & Pat McMahon) met in Southern Costa Rica in 2011. This was the year Erica first participated at the Yoga Farm as a volunteer, and Pat and his beloved were managing the center. Erica had spent years traveling, working remote + seasonal jobs, and teaching yoga abroad. Pat and his wife had a lot of experience hosting work traders and volunteers within the wellness and permaculture industry. They soon became great friends and connected over common interests of yoga, wellness, sustainable living, and surfing. 

In 2012, they crossed paths in Bali exploring lifetime adventures. It was while enjoying dragon-fruit smoothies at a cafe in Canggu, they discussed the observation for the need of an online platform and community where yoga instructors could connect to jobs and opportunities. Overflowing with gratitude for the lives they were living, the channel to grace was open and it was here that Yoga Trade was born.

They committed to this passion project and collaboration diving in with diverse skill sets. The first site launched in 2013, and it began to grow naturally and organically into what it is today. The process continues to be an evolving journey as we grow together with the community. 

We often find ourselves saying to friends that the world is full of amazing opportunities and possibilities – that there is a path for everyone, if you follow your heart.

Easy to say, you might think, but it couldn’t be more true as far as we’re concerned. We can’t make it happen for you, but our goal in creating Yoga Trade is to make it easier for you on your own path, wherever it may be taking you next.