First: Tune in to Where is My Guru? today at 11am EST to hear a prerecorded interview with The Babarazzi’s own diabolical deliverer of dainty discriminations, Aghori Babarazzi. In truth, none of us can remember what he said, and are really hoping he didn’t accidentally slip into a K-Hole and start rambling about Hanger 18 or how ocean + forest = horses.
Second: Guess who’s got some Smarty Smartenstein readers? That’s right. Yesterday, Babarazzinis from all walks of yogic life gathered in the comments section to bat back-and-forth the pros and cons of being an “independent contractor-yogi” -vs- “employee-yogi” (W2), proving once again that Babarazzi readers are not always stumbling drunk or tricked out on ludes when they come around here. Well done, you bunch o’ crazies!
To get you up to speed:
@gross was the first to challenge the piece, stating that…
“[YFNY’s] new mission is to save the ass of the studio owners so they can get away with treating their “employees” like freelancers. forcing them into independent contractor status, despite being told what to teach, when to teach, to practice & be part of their studio, and shifting schedules around willy-nilly. possibly a handful of confused yoga teachers out there want to be on independent contractor status, but any teacher with a sense about finance will realize that its better to be treated at employees and get a W2, meaning the studio owners pay their unemployment taxes and SS.”
@lookingdeeper showed up and was like, yeah right…
“A local yoga studio in general is no cash cow. On average, most teachers at a studio teach 1-3 classes and/or make around $100 or less. For a studio to pay taxes on say 20 teachers would put them out of business. Honestly, would you consider someone making between $40-$150 / week an employee? Do you realize the repercussions on a small business? An employee connotes that one would be working at only ONE studio. That is not true as far I can see. Most yoga teachers are all over the place. That by definition is an Independent Contractor.”
Then, @The Babarazzi tried to chime in, but no one listens to us anyway, so @J Brown made his mark with retorts revolving around this idea:
“Having made a living as an independent yoga teacher for more then ten years before becoming a yoga center owner five years ago, I can say that the independent contractor status is definitely in the best interest of yoga teachers. There is no way that you are going to be able to teach enough classes at one center, you have to teach at more then one place and that’s why its better for you to be your own business.”
Then @Death and Taxes brought the heat and made everyone take out their calculators in order to crunch some actual numbers. S/he was all…
“But in exchange for that luxury, you are paying a guaranteed 6% extra on every dollar you make for social security. You are purchasing your own health insurance. At Equinox or PURE (same company), if you teach 5 hours a week you are eligible for coverage at a rate (last time I checked) of less than $350 per month. Tell me anywhere else in the country I can work 5 hours a week and get health care. Equivalent coverage on the private market averages $1000 per month. You are foregoing worker’s comp, and equivalent disability insurance on the private market is hundreds of dollars a month. Or you go uncovered. And unemployment insurance? Just forget about it.”
But, you could tell s/he was distracted by a lingering question:
“[W]hy does my avatar icon look like a dick with a smiley face on it? …Is that what I look like?!”
From our perspective, everyone seemed to make very very very strong arguments. Volleys were served. Strong replies were returned. This leads us to believe that what yoga teachers really need are………………options. (gasp!)
Also, yes, @Death and Taxes. The avatars on the site are computer renderings of each commenter’s true nature (upon waking up from a long night of binge drinking). Freshen up, son!
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The Babarazzi 
An employer simply matches your taxes. That’s the withholding action of your paystub. Your employer holds your taxes back then because they are an employer has to match a portion/percentage of that. “Overhead” it’s called. As an independent contractor you are welcome to buy insurance privately or join national groups or chamber of commerce and participate in their plan. Also consider write offs and expenses. It’s funny how so many want an employer to take care of their “business” yet when conflict arises they are “your students / paying customers”. Take responsibilty
how do we listen into the broadcast?
Yes, How do we?
Figured it out, click on the link in the first line….
i figured it out too.
love how you yawned (twice?) in the begining, must have been early in the morning I suppose….
personally, don’t think she gets it (as she admitted herself!)…
Oh Mother of God tell me who you are, tell me tell me tell me…I was so nervous to listen to the broadcast…like as though I was about to go on an actual date (although I can’t say I’ve actually been on an actual date…you know, been together with the same person since college, and in college we didn’t really “date”…just got right down to bizness) with … let’s say, Peter Sellers … and right before this imaginary date I think I would be so worried that I wouldn’t like Peter Sellers anymore…after I actually met him. Yeah, so that’s how I felt before I listened to the broadcast. I knew your voice would be changed, but, still…I thought I would be able to detect something… and I did. I have no idea who you are (though more than once I’ve been asked if you are me…of course, I said you are too smart to be me), but you sounded like I imagined you might sound. And I now I’m more crushed out on you than before. There I’ve said it. The whole cyber world knows now. Yes, the yawn. Your yawn. Your offer to have tea. Your sweet ability of offer a sincere “namaste” at the end of the interview. Of course I thought I could have interviewed you better…but that’s just how I am.
You sound like Elliot Gould circa M*A*S*H.
Thank you for the interview.
Oh my, Grandma, what a deep voice you have!
Good job!
Well, I finally listened to the recording of the podcast this morning. You provided the best explanation of “yoga bleaching” I’ve received from you, to date. Maybe it’s the way I learn (mostly by doing and listening, I think), but I finally detected no creeping hints of orientalism in your explanation of yoga bleaching. I take the term “bleaching” to have literal color references (maybe since I’ve done my own laundry all my life, for starters–wishing I could keep walk-of-life issues out of this for once, but I can’t).
Thank you for this. You could be a yoga teacher yourself.
Well, that’s great to hear, amphibi! Glad we could de-Orientalize the definition for you!
You know, this definition which comes from a newly resurrected blog that seems to have taken on quite a lot of depth .. http://yogaisforlovers.wordpress.com/2007/02/08/yoga-and-orientalism/
I thought your interview responses were great – thoughtful, clear, and dammit if I wasn’t cheering (my little children staring at me awkwardly). It really felt like a triumph to hear someone speaking about these issues that are so important to me. Also there was less snark than in your writing, it seemed stripped down to sincere ideas and beliefs (for the record, I love the snark/humor in the writing and it usually seems entirely appropriate). Anyway thanks for doing the interview. I’m so curious to know if people listening who had never thought about yoga bleaching or anything like it were intrigued . . . .
Thanks, Stacey! We’re pretty happy with the way it came out, too.
On a somewhat similar theme, we’re working on a weekly podcast featuring Aghori B and guests. So hopefully that will happen and pick up where the interview left off. (So to speak).