How I Found the Time, Money, and Courage to Become a Yoga Teacher

As someone who has practiced yoga for 10 years, I sometimes wonder how I am just getting to this point. The truth is, I've always entertained the idea of sharing my practice with others within my community but didn't have the time, money or courage to take on that commitment. So, what changed?

I Quit My Job = Free Time

For those who spend countless weekends over the span of several months completing their Yoga Teacher Training, in the United States, I commend you. I knew that no matter how much I entertained the idea, I could not, and would not, commit to the duration of YTTs here. I feared I would end up resenting my practice if I had to work a job I did not like during the week and devote the little free time I had to cramming 200 hours of training into my weekends.

When I quit my job earlier this year, it Ioccurred to me that this might be the only free time I'll ever have again, so I committed to the idea of pursuing my certificate in India. It was always something I wanted, getting certified where the practice originated, but couldn't see it becoming a reality because of work. So, shortly after quitting, I hopped on a plane to India where I spent one month training every single day as opposed to a training broken up over the course of several months to year.

P.S. - This is not to encourage you to quit your job if you're pressed for time, but a reminder to take note of when an opportunity to pursue something you've desired for a long time presents itself.

An Affordable Option

At first glance, booking a trip to India where I spent about two weeks between Delhi and Kerala, and then a month in Rishikesh for training, wasn't a smart move financially. But trust me when I say, the amount of money I spent for those six weeks came out to less than what I would have spent to take my YTT here in the U.S.

In my vicinity, the cheapest YTT I've seen was close to $4000. My training in India cost $1600 and I believe there are some that cost even less. My flight was around $1200 which was such a steal because I stayed in India for 6 weeks. Adding on my travels through Kerala and my stay in Delhi, the trip still didn't cost me what the cheapest YTT here would've cost. Of course, this is due to cost of living in India compared to that of the U.S,. but if money is the one thing getting between you and becoming certified, you may want to consider going abroad.

Many other countries heave teacher trainings (Costa Rica, Indonesia, Portugal) but do your research. Many trainings are simply expats charging U.S. prices on someone elses beautiful land....conversation for another day.

I Found the Courage

Having found the free time and an affordable option for getting my certification, the only other obstacle was my fear.

I feared I shouldn't be yoga instructor because of my inbility to do a handstand at the time of training. (P.S. I still can't and currently have no interest in changing that). I also feared that I wouldn't be successful because I didn't look the part. Here in the West, yoga is dominated by wealthy, white, middle-aged women. Hence my fear of committing to this space only to potentially find myself at a roadblock because of factors I cannot change. But I used my own practice (yoga, journaling, praying and therapy) to boost my confidence and came to the conclusion that if I'm in this space looking for something, someone just like me is doing the same. What we're waiting on is one of us to make the step to create it for us. I stepped up.

"I believe in myself!" - 2nd grader during my yoga class

Yoga does not have one look and it's not for just one demographic of people. It truly is for everyone who is open to it, and if you believe you have something special to share with people through your practice, make it happen.

The decision to pursue my certification to become a yoga instructor meant standing up and screaming "I believe in myself!" like one of my students during a 2nd-grade yoga class. I simply had to believe that this 32-year-old Black woman who cannot do a handstand, doesn't have financial wealth to fall back on, or a wealthy husband, will find her audience and her way.

Many people and things have come to test that faith and yes, sometimes I have my doubts. But majority of the time, I genuinely believe that I will be okay. And guess what? It's been five months since I quit, and I'm okay! You will be too.