How To Become A Yoga Teacher

Have you ever attended a yoga class or practiced along to a video and wondered what it took for the person leading you through the asanas to become a yoga teacher? Have you ever wondered if you could possibly teach yoga classes? Teaching yoga can be a lot of fun and very rewarding at the same time!

The path to becoming a yoga teacher first begins with practicing yoga. As you practice you will develop an understanding of what yoga is and how the practice of yoga impacts the body. Your teachers will introduce ideas to you as you move through the asanas and breathing exercises that illustrate how you can apply yogic principles and techniques to other areas of your life. Developing this awareness is crucial to being able to teach it to others.

Training is the next step towards becoming a yoga teacher and there are a variety of ways in which you can be trained. Many yoga studios offer teacher training programs. These programs vary in styles of yoga taught as well as in the amount of time their programs take and the certification that is offered upon completion.

Each training program is unique to the studio, yet you can expect to cover the same general areas of knowledge no matter where you choose to be trained. Those areas may include anatomy and physiology, yogic philosophy and mythology, postures and adjustments, class sequencing, breathing, and safety. Other areas such as knowledge of sanskrit, the Eight Limbs of Yoga, the layers of growth, yoga for pregnancy and the business of yoga may also be included in the training.

If a studio is not immediately available to you or if your daily commitments don’t leave room for you to attend classes and lectures, there are correspondence courses and online courses available. An online search with your favorite search engine will give you lots of organizations and teacher trainings for research to see what will suit your interests and needs.

While there are many ways to learn how to teach yoga, certification and professionalization are key factors to consider. In the United States there is no government-mandated process or procedure for people to go through in order to be certified to teach yoga. There is instead an industry supported organization called Yoga Alliance that sets guidelines for schools and individuals to follow in order to become certified. These guidelines have become the industry standard and encompass two different levels of certification: a 200-hour level and a 500-hour level.

As you research teacher training programs you can ask if a program is registered as an RYS, or a Registered Yoga School, by Yoga Alliance. Completing a teacher training program from a Registered Yoga School will provide you with certification that can be applied to your own registration with Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga Teacher. These are the only professional credentials currently available in the industry and to hold these credentials illustrates your level of training and professionalization to potential employers and clients.

Being a yoga teacher can be either a hobby or you can create a whole career for yourself through teaching yoga to others. Wherever you are on the spectrum of teaching, you can be absolutely certain that becoming a yoga teacher will take your own practice to a whole new level. For more information about Yoga Alliance and how to begin researching teacher training programs visit the Yoga Alliance website at http://yogaalliance.org

Namaste′