With the massive increase in yoga's popularity over the past decade, yoga and yoga teacher trainings have become more accessible. If this increase in options make choosing a training overwhelming for you, this post is for you. In this post, we’ll explore the first two factors I recommend taking into consideration when picking the yoga teacher training that best suits you.
Type of Yoga Teacher Training
Whether you're getting your first yoga teacher certification or an additional certification, understanding your goal of who you want to teach and how you want to teach will help you decide the type of training that best suits you. The only way, in my opinion, to do this is to practice. Practice at home, practice at studios near you and practice at studios when you travel. See what's out there and go with what resonates.
Aspiring instructors, whether you’ve been practicing yoga for 10 years or one, are generally advised to take the 200hr yoga teacher training. This is because the 200hr training covers the foundations of yoga and permits you to teach to a wide range of clients. But let's say you already have your 200hr certification and you’re looking for more. You're in luck because every day, there's a new form of yoga popping up. Whether it’s the traditional 300hr, Bikram, or the new kid on the block, Inside Flow; the options are truly endless. Your only job at this point is to revisit the questions of who you want to teach and how you want to teach and then practice. Let your practice guide you to your next certification and once you pinpoint the type of training, then you can focus on where that training will be.
P.S. Most trainings require trainees to have a 200hr certification so never forget to read the requirements prior to committing to a training.
Location of Yoga Teacher Training
Determining the location of where your yoga teacher training will be the second most important question to answer.
Local Studio
For those considering staying local, you may want to consider the time it takes to commute to and from the studio and the cost of your commute. Whatever the duration of your training is, you always want to make sure you are comfortable with how long the commute to the studio will be during the week, the weekend, in the morning and the evening. Don't forget to then factor in the little costs such as bus/train fare, gas, lunch, parking and tolls. These things add up and can be a significant inconvenience during your YTT.
Virtual Training
Maybe there are studios near your home or work location, but you literally cannot squeeze in another commute in your busy day. You're in luck because one of the benefits of the pandemic was the surge of online yoga teacher trainings. Online trainings have doubled in size, becoming the most accessible form of yoga teacher training across the globe. Yes, there are downsides to this that I'll discuss in another post but, if you are limited with location, time, or even budget, an online/virtual YTT may best suit your needs. The major benefit is the ability to train in the comfort of your home and in many cases, the training is not live, so you can attain your online yoga certification as fast or slow as you wish.
Training Abroad
For travel enthusiasts like myself, pursuing a yoga teacher training outside your state or country may be a great option. Being the birthplace of yoga, India offers numerous options for yoga teacher trainings. But India is not the only option! Some other popular countries for teacher trainings include Costa Rica, Indonesia, Portugal and Thailand.
When selecting a program abroad, I recommend understanding what type of experience you're seeking. Do you want to be eating a certain type of food? Most trainings abroad only provide vegetarian/vegan meals with local ingredients. Maybe you want a certain geographical layout. Or maybe you're considering the activities that will be available to you when you're not training. Whatever it is, here are some factors other than cost you'd like to take into consideration: cultural differences (clothing, religion, gender/race discrimination), your diet, language, lodging, accessibility of medical facilities and transportation. Become really clear on where you are with these and it will help you narrow down the perfect international yoga teacher training for you.
P.S. I would be remiss not to share one of the key factors for why I chose to train in India. I wanted to learn the foundations of yoga (asana, meditation, pranayama and more) from Indian instructors. This was key for me, given the gentrification of yoga in the western world. We will talk about this further in another post but if this is what you're feeling, I promise you, you are not alone.
Conclusion
As you may notice, when deciding between the type and the location of your training, the most crucial thing to understand is the type of experience you're looking to have. Only you have that answer and your everyday practice (on and off the mat) will help you find the answer. Once you determine the type and location, then you're ready to tap into other factors such as cost and duration which I will discuss in my next post.
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