How do I chose the right yoga teacher training?
Deciding that you’d like to join a yoga teacher training can be an exciting step in deepening your practice, and opening up the possibility of sharing it with others. With an abundance of teacher trainings out there, we’ve collated a few considerations to help guide you in selecting the right teacher training for you.
1. Decide on the format
Most 200 hour yoga teacher trainings are offered as one-month intensives - typically in beautiful locations - or are spread across the span of a number of months. While a one-month intensive might be great for those who can take a longer break from studying or work, it might be very difficult to arrange for others. Be realistic on what you can manage without pushing yourself too hard. Both formats have their benefits, with a one-month training allowing you to really immerse in the materials, and a format spanning across multiple months allowing you to implement what you are studying in practice. Your preference might be personal and linked to how you best study, as well as to your every day commitments and budget.
2. Online or offline
Since the global pandemic, a number of yoga teacher trainings have shifted to online formats, some of them running synchronously, and others offering pre-recorded contents. Although an offline training might be the best way to learn in terms of gaining real-life teaching experience and being able to practice hands-on adjustments in person, for some this option is not realistic due to their other obligations. If you do choose to complete a training online, make sure to look for opportunities to complement the studies in-person, e.g. via an in-person study group or an apprenticeship.
3. Understand the styles
What you study will have a shaping impact on how you teach so make sure you are picking a training that aligns with your personal practice. Whether Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Jivamukti or Yin, it should resonate with you the most. You can always decide to branch out and complete more trainings as you progress in your teaching career, but ideally your first training should give you a solid foundation in preaching what you already practice.
4. Check if your own school offers a training
The best place to study is the one you feel connected to. If your favourite yoga school offers a training, we’d always recommend checking out whether that one fits your schedule and interests. Being a part of a yoga community means you will find it easier to start teaching and you will likely have more opportunities upon graduation.
5. Check for recommendations
A good way to understand what the training experience is like is from participants of prior trainings. Don’t be shy to reach out to ask for advice from people who have already been there, chances are they will be more than happy to share a few words on what they felt the training was like. Google reviews or reviews submitted on the school’s Yoga Alliance page are also good starting points, but remember that a first-hand account is always more genuine than a generic online review.
6. Certified by Yoga Alliance. Must have or nice to have?
Most yoga teacher trainings aspire to meet the certification requirements of Yoga Alliance, which is the association responsible for packaging yoga teacher trainings into a set of unified standards. Many yoga studios (more so in the USA than in Europe) require that their yoga teachers demonstrate that they have completed a foundational training that is approved by Yoga Alliance. Whether or not you choose a training that is certified by Yoga Alliance can be navigated by two factors: promise of quality and promise of opportunity.
Regarding quality, Yoga Alliance does require that schools meticulously demonstrate their curriculum before they receive the approval to use the Yoga Alliance seal so you can be assured that being certified with Yoga Alliance brings some value to your training. With that said, there are plenty of high-quality trainings out there that are not registered with Yoga Alliance for various reasons, that do not have anything to do with the lack of quality. As an example, some schools decide to distance themselves from the organisation in an attempt to demonstrate that yoga training should not be commodified.
When it comes to opportunity, while it may make sense to start with the broadest options available (which would mean choosing a training approved by Yoga Alliance), your individual teaching aspirations should be the determining factor. If for instance you are looking to teach at a specific studio, that runs its own yoga teacher training programme that is not registered with Yoga Alliance, you are probably best off training with the team you aspire to be a part of.
7. Real-life teaching experience
For those who wish to become teachers after the training, the most valuable part of the curriculum is real-life teaching experience. Make sure the training offers ample time to practice both during the training and perhaps even outside of it (e.g. in the form of an apprenticeship). Having further education opportunities in the same school is also a plus.