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Have you ever thought about becoming a yoga instructor? I hadn’t really considered it until about six months ago when I saw a flyer for yoga teacher training at my studio. At this point, I had been doing yoga consistently for about two years and I was looking for a new fitness goal for 2024 so I signed up.
My training program is 11 months long and I just finished up month four. Over these past few months, I’ve learned SO much about myself and what it takes to be a good teacher. Now I want to share what I’ve learned with you!
Here are the 9 things you need to know (that I wish I had known!) before starting yoga teacher training.
1. Teacher training isn’t just for experienced yogis.
I had been doing yoga consistently for about two years before signing up, but I still wasn’t sure if that was enough experience to become a teacher. I reached out to the program director and she assured me that there would be a wide variety of experience levels in the class. And she was right. There are several people in my training who have only been doing yoga for a few months all the way to some who have been practicing for decades.
Even if you’ve only been doing yoga for a short amount of time, teacher training is still a good option for you. The program covers SO MUCH more than just how to be a teacher. It really helps deepen your knowledge and yoga practice, regardless of where you are in your yoga journey.
2. It may be an emotional experience for you – which isn’t a bad thing!
This is something I wasn’t prepared for at all. I just (naively) assumed that yoga teacher training was going to be all physical, but I was very wrong. Within the first 15 minutes of our first meeting, we were doing some seriously deep journaling exercises that stirred up a lot of emotions. There have been several instances where someone in the class has cried or shared vulnerable parts of their life which I definitely wasn’t expecting.
I don’t consider myself to be a very open person, so this part of the training was difficult for me at first. However, after our first few meetings, I have gotten a lot more comfortable with my classmates. It’s actually been really nice to share and discuss personal things with other people. I don’t know if all yoga teacher training programs are like this, so yours may not go as deep, but it’s something to prepare yourself for just in case.
3. Be prepared to practice yoga at every training session.
I consider myself to be in pretty decent shape but when I tell you that EVERY single muscle in my body was aching after each session, I’m not lying. If your program is like mine, you’ll practice anywhere from an hour to 6+ hours in a session. This can really take a physical toll on your body. Make sure you drink plenty of water and pack a lot of snacks for those long days of training!
4. You’ll feel like you’re learning a second language.
Yamas, niyamas, and asanas – oh my! Yoga was developed using Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, so learning to “speak yoga,” really is learning a second language. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you’ve probably heard some Sanskrit, but yoga teacher training opens up a whole other world of words and phrases. I remember leaving the first training session super overwhelmed because I felt like I’d never be able to pronounce everything correctly.
Thankfully, almost every yoga posture has both a Sanskrit name and a more modern name (which is much easier to pronounce – whew!). Most yoga instructors use the modern names, so I’m a lot less stressed about it now. It’s been a challenge to learn Sanskrit words, but it’s also been really fun to expand my yoga knowledge and learn about the history of each posture.
5. Teacher training isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it.
Training programs vary in cost, but you can expect most of them to be relatively pricey. For example, my program was $2,950 for a year of training. We meet twice a month for one 3.5 hour session and one 8 hour session and check in online throughout the month. This is a pretty standard price for a 200-hour training, but I’ve seen some small variations between different studios and cities. There are also a lot of immersive style trainings out there where you can do your training in exotic places like Bali or Mexico. Obviously these programs are going to be more expensive due to travel costs.
I get free unlimited classes at my studio for the whole year while doing training. This would end up costing me around $1,500, almost half the price of the training. Most studios offer perks like this in combination with their training programs. If you’re going to pay for a membership anyway, it definitely helps offset the price of the training. And even if it didn’t include a free membership, I’d still say it’s worth it!
6. There are a TON of programs out there so do your research before choosing one.
Even though yoga is a somewhat standardized practice, programs vary slightly depending on the studio offering the training. For example, my studio only offers hot yoga, so the training program is structured around teaching heated classes. If you’re currently practicing at a studio and think you might want to teach there, check and see if they offer yoga teaching training. It’s much easier to get hired as a yoga instructor if you’ve been a member and complete your training at that studio.
With that being said, it’s not impossible to do your training at one studio and end up teaching at another. I know a lot of instructors who teach at multiple studios, especially if they want to teach full-time hours.
7. Fully commit to the experience – you’ll get more out of it.
I’m not going to lie. When I first started doing yoga, I was only in it for the physical benefits. As a cardio junkie, I was looking for a way to supplement my runs and gain some flexibility. Yoga was great for that, but I quickly learned that it’s much more than just physical movement. Yoga involves tuning into your body and focusing on breathwork, which is arguably more important than the postures themselves. I used to think that breathing and meditation were a bunch of mumbo jumbo, but yoga teacher training has shown me otherwise.
Teacher training emphasizes the importance of meditation and self-discovery. If you start a training program with the idea that you’re just doing it to get a good workout, you’ll miss out on so many other important aspects of training. Before starting your yoga teacher training, fully commit to all of it, even the parts that are out of your comfort zone. I promise you will get so much more out of it that way!
8. You don’t have to be able to do every pose perfectly.
Man I wish I had known this before starting my training! I was so worried that the other students would judge me because I couldn’t do a handstand or a full split. This fear was quickly put to rest when I realized that every single student in my class has at least one posture they can’t do perfectly. And honestly, that makes you a better teacher. As a student, I respect the instructors who give modifications that they like to take for certain poses that don’t serve their body. That makes you human! So please, don’t let this deter you from doing yoga teacher training. We’re all learning together!
9. You’ll learn way more than just how to teach yoga.
Yoga teacher training is a deep dive into all things yoga, not just how to teach it. I’ve learned about the history of yoga, modifications for every posture, how to pick a class theme, and the business side of working as an instructor. And that’s just in the first four sessions. Even if I ultimately decide that I don’t want to teach yoga, this training has been such an amazing experience. If you’re on the fence at all about signing up for a training program, I highly recommend you go for it!
This post was all about the top 9 things I’ve learned so far in yoga teacher training that I wish I had known before I started. I hope it was helpful if you’re considering a future as a yoga instructor!