Are there mistakes you can avoid when choosing a yoga teacher training course?
With the number of courses out there today, definitely!
Let’s say you’ve been practicing yoga for a while now and you’re ready to take your practice to the next level. Not only do you want to immerse yourself in the yoga lifestyle, but you want to share it with others! So it’s time to begin researching yoga teacher training courses. But how do you choose the right one for you?
There are so many yoga teacher trainings these days it’s hard to discern which one is the perfect fit. Here are some common questions you need to ask when choosing the perfect yoga teacher training for you.
1. Do you practice their style of yoga?
If you practice hatha and decide to do a vinyasa training, chances are you are in for a rude awakening! What if you start the program and then decide you don’t like the style of classes? Do you want to teach something you don’t like? Unless you want to study another style intensively and plan on teaching it, you are better off studying and teaching the style that you enjoy the most. So make sure you really know what style of yoga the training course will be in, and feel free to take classes in other styles if you think you want to change it- before committing to the training!
2. Have you checked the teachers’ background?
It is important that your yoga instructors are qualified to certify you in yoga. Make sure you check out the teachers’ information on the website of each training you look into. Is their background credible or relatable? It may also be useful to check out teachers websites and social media for more information about them. If what they are doing interests you and they have made a successful career teaching yoga for at least 5 years, then it will be a good match.
3. Is there a Business of Yoga Class?
What are the graduates of the yoga school doing? Make sure there is evidence of teachers getting jobs and working in the field of yoga. There should be a course on how you can market yourself and build your business as a new yoga instructor in the yoga training course curriculum. If you’re serious about your yoga teaching, this is an absolute must in any curriculum! Don’t overlook the business side of things just because it’s yoga. Yoga teachers need to earn a living, too.
4. What are the school’s credentials?
This is another big one! Today, Yoga Alliance is one of the biggest governing bodies of yoga teaching standards. When you choose a Yoga Alliance training, you can then register with them to become a Registered Yoga Teacher. Many studios require this standard when hiring teachers. The minimum number of hours to become a teacher is 200 hours. The advanced level is 500 hours. The school you train with should be registered with them at the 500 level, as well as all of their teachers (make sure you check this out when researching the instructors, too!)
If this is something not as important to you, there are also many other yoga teacher training schools in India and beyond that offer immersion-type programs that can certify you to become a yoga instructor. Traditionally, yoga was passed down over many teachers through the guru-student relationship, which has changed with the standardization of yoga in modern times. If this is something that interests you, then these types of programs are also valid ways of becoming a yoga teacher (just be sure to check out everything mentioned above!)
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