Will AI take over the job of yoga teachers?

Will AI replace yoga teachers? It depends on what kind of teachers we are talking about.

Reading time: 4 min 20 sec

Why consider AI in yoga?

You might be totally against AI, hoping this trend will pass. But the reality is, AI is here to stay. Governments aren’t stopping it, businesses are investing in it, and whether we like it or not, it’s already part of the wellness space. If we want to shape AI’s role in yoga, we first need to understand what it can do.

How AI works (and where it fails)

AI, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), learns by training on massive amounts of text—books, articles, and other sources. Then, humans refine it by correcting mistakes and setting boundaries (e.g., avoiding harmful advice).

But AI has one major flaw: its goal is to be helpful, not necessarily accurate. That’s why it sometimes "hallucinates"—filling in gaps with completely made-up but confident-sounding answers. It also introduces randomness, meaning it won’t always give the same answer twice.

So, what does this mean for yoga teachers? Let’s look at different scenarios.

AI & Yoga Teachers: Where are we standing right now

In-Person Yoga Teachers

At the current level of robotics, an AI robot replacing an in-person yoga teacher sounds like science fiction. Human connection, presence, and adaptability are irreplaceable. So if you teach in person, keep doing what you do best—your job isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Online Yoga Teachers

This is where things get more interesting. AI is already deeply embedded in the online yoga space, sometimes in ways we don’t even realize. Some parts of teaching yoga are already being done by AI—and in some cases, AI even does them better than humans.

AI is already in yoga

AI isn’t coming—it’s already here. Whether we realize it or not, AI is already shaping the yoga world in many ways, including:

AI-generated meditations & Yoga Nidra sessions

AI can generate entire meditation and yoga nidra sessions, complete with realistic human-like voices—including cloned versions of real teachers. In fact, some podcasts are already AI-generated, though few openly admit it.

AI won’t stumble over words. It can generate a script in seconds, personalize meditations to an individual, and deliver seamless recordings, free of pauses and hesitations.

AI-written blogs, social media posts, and course materials.

Guess who helped me remove typos and improve the flow of this blog post? That’s right, my assistant chatGPT.

The quality of the output depends on the prompt people use and I often see very bad, very AI-sounding content on social media, but when people get good at prompting and understand how to work with AI, you won’t even notice the difference.

AI-assisted video editing & content creation (subtitles, visuals, deepfake-style videos).

Do you add subtitles to your videos? You are using AI. But it doesn’t end there.

You might have seen AI-generated videos with humans that have too many fingers or strange, unnatural movements. That’s bad prompting and editing. But don’t be fooled—AI video generation is rapidly improving.

Some YouTubers already use AI to generate entire videos, including their face and voice. If you have great editing skills, you could possibly already create a simple breathing class using AI.

These tools are helping yoga teachers save time, create content, and make yoga more accessible. But as AI’s presence grows, we need to ask: Where do we draw the line?

The future of AI in yoga: where do we want to go?

Now that we know what is possible, we need to think about the future we want to create. Here are three scenarios to consider.

Scenario 1: AI as an Assistant

AI helps yoga teachers save time (e.g., writing scripts, generating ideas, automating admin work).
Yoga teachers remain the heart of the practice, using AI to enhance—not replace—their work.

In this scenario, we embrace working with AI, but keep humans in the loop. We use AI assistants to help us save time, even pass some boring routine tasks to it completely, but never letting it take over everything and always keeping an eye on what it does.

Scenario 2: AI takes over

AI-generated videos and voice clones fully replace some teachers.
Big companies flood the market with low-cost AI-led yoga content, reducing demand for real teachers.
AI "gurus" start offering teachings—some accurate, some dangerously misleading.

In this scenario, people realise how easy life can be if we let AI take over. People start to automate more and more of their yoga business, to a point where it is run by the AI. The biggest problem the arises is that AI will hallucinate and no human will correct its errors, leading us further and further away from true yoga. While this scenario raises concerns about misinformation and the loss of human touch, it also offers accessibility. AI-led content could bring yoga to people who might never have tried it otherwise.

Scenario 3: Human-Only Yoga

Some teachers reject AI entirely, choosing 100% human connection.
Yoga spaces become more intentional about preserving tradition & personal guidance.
However, AI-created content still competes, and human teachers must explain why their approach is worth it.

This scenario is already happening for some teachers who prioritize in-person, lineage-based teaching. While AI will continue to evolve, there may always be a place for those who consciously choose human-only yoga spaces.But there will always be someone who will use AI and will create better and faster content. There is no talking around this fact. If someone wants to run a human-only business, they will have to compete with others who use AI assistants.

The future of AI in Yoga: What we need to ask ourselves

AI is already shaping the yoga world, whether we like it or not. The question isn’t just what AI can do—it’s what we want it to do.

Do we want AI to replace human teachers in some areas? Are we comfortable with AI-generated meditations, philosophy lectures, and even full yoga classes?

Or is it the human touch—the imperfections, the pauses, the presence—that makes yoga, yoga?

And before you toss this idea in the trash: If AI could help you create more impactful content for your students, where would you draw the line?