As a yoga enthusiast, you might have pondered on this thought as to how long does it take to become a yoga teacher? Well, following your dream of becoming a certified yoga teacher certainly requires a good amount of passion and dedication and may seem a daunting goal to achieve .
Whether you are in a full-time day job and looking to teach yoga part-time or have just completed your school or college and looking to pursue yogic sciences as a full fledged career option, it’s pertinent to have an idea about the time investment and requirements of becoming a certified yoga teacher.Also, it’s important for you to analyse whether yoga is your true calling or you simply want to take it up as a part-time gig or hobby. But, you will need to sort out your own goals and have enough information to arrive at a decision especially related to the effort and time requirements for becoming a yoga instructor.
This blog talks about the basics and outlook of becoming a yoga instructor and delves into other aspects revolving around how long does it take to become a yoga instructor.
Let’s discuss these in some detail.
Basics And Prospects Of Taking Up Yoga As A Profession (Yoga Teacher)
To begin with, a yoga enthusiast must fully understand the fact that preaching yoga requires passion, dedication and a strong will to impart yogic knowledge to others. It’s another thing to perform intense yogic twists at your home, but it’s altogether a different ball game to preach yoga to others in varied formats and environments. You will truly need to have love for yoga and loads of patience while imparting yoga knowledge to even novices in yoga. But, even for naysayers, seeing your students grow mentally, physically and spiritually will provide ample motivation to keep moving forward as a yoga teacher.
Mostly, especially when one has just forayed into teaching yoga, you can work as a part-time yoga teacher while still keeping up with your full-time job. Many yoga instructors work part-time and look at teaching yoga as a second job. Making yoga as your full-time career requires business knowledge of the yoga industry, deep knowledge of various yoga styles and a passion for teaching yoga.
Is Getting Certified An Essential Requirement To Teach Yoga?
If you intend to teach yoga professionally and consider yoga as your future, then investing in getting certified as a yoga instructor is a foolproof way of stepping into the competitive arena of teaching yoga. However, before you enrol yourself in any yoga school for yoga teacher training certification, you will need to gain some knowledge and at least a couple of years of regular yoga practice to ease into the gruelling yoga teacher training programs.
Also, It’s important to keep in mind to register for such certification programs only from a Yoga Alliance registered yoga school that trains aspiring yoga instructors. Yoga Alliance USA is the highest governing body that oversees regulations and upgrades revolving around yoga teacher training programs. People and organisations who are Yoga Alliance registered become part of a global proliferating yoga community having access to the latest tools and resources in yoga. As a Yoga Alliance certified trainer, you become eligible to teach yoga professionally anywhere in the world.
However, without such accreditation, it’s still technically possible to teach yoga without certification. But, getting hired, applying for a loan for opening up a yoga school and most importantly attracting students becomes an uphill task. Hence, getting certified in yoga from a Yoga Alliance certified school such as Kerala Yogashala in itself is a standard of skill, trust and safe yogic practices that students in yoga look for.
How Much Time Does It Take To Become A Certified Yoga Teacher?
The time required to become a certified yoga teacher actually depends on what level of teacher training you are aspiring for. Overall, most yoga teacher training has a duration of about four to eight weeks. Let’s take a look at each level of training and the effort and time investment required at each level.
The 100 hour YTT certification
The 100 hour YTT certification is a stepping stone for anyone who wants to explore the world of yoga in a structured and holistic way. The program covers the basic foundations in yoga and is suitable for individuals who are beginners and perform yoga as a hobby.
Lasting anywhere between 10 days to 15 days, essential subjects like asanas, pranayama, meditation, relaxation techniques and yoga philosophy are touched upon.
The 200 hour YTT certification
A 200-hour yoga teacher training course is the mandatory foundational step toward teaching yoga professionally. This certification level is ideal for yoga enthusiasts who have been practising yoga regularly for a while. Also, the 200-hour YTT certification is suitable for people who want to teach yoga at a professional level.
Lasting anywhere between four and weight weeks, any 200-hour YTT certification includes intensive study comprising yoga philosophy, yoga asanas in different styles, yoga physiology and anatomy, meditative practices, Shat Kriyas, Mantras, various Mudras and lastly teaching methodology to teach safe yet effective yoga techniques.
The 300 hour YTT certification
This level of certification in yoga is for those individuals who have completed the foundational 200-hour yoga TTC and are looking to further deepen their knowledge and skills in yoga. For purposes of enrolment, you will need to have some required number of yoga teaching hours under your belt besides gaining the 200-hour yoga teacher training certification.
The 300 hour yoga teacher training course helps further deepen your understanding of different yoga asanas and also perform challenging and advanced yoga postures. Furthermore, a profound knowledge of yoga philosophy including different yogic scriptures is required. Also, the deep inner workings of our bodies and how each asana affects our physiology is taught through intensive body anatomy and physiology classes. Furthermore, longer and deeper meditative practices are quite a significant part of the curriculum.
Learning all these aspects and gaining proficiency requires considerable effort and time investment. The duration of this course can be anywhere between four weeks to 8 weeks depending on the yoga school and your skill level.
The 500 hour YTT certification
The 500 hour YTT certification combines the 200 hour YTT course and the 300 hour YTT level. Aspiring yoga teachers gain in-depth knowledge pertaining to teaching methodologies and techniques. In-depth knowledge of each asana with its various modifications are covered. Also, students are further trained in multi-style yoga such as advanced Hatha yoga, Yin yoga and Vinyasa flow yoga.
This level of certification should be taken up by the most ambitious and passionate yogis who are looking to take their yoga teacher careers to new heights.
Lasting anywhere between three months to six months and even a year, the 500-hour YTT certification is the highest level of yoga accreditation that a yoga teacher can achieve.
How Long Should I Practise Yoga Before Becoming A Yoga Teacher?
There is no standard as such to how long you should have practised yoga before you become a yoga instructor. But, you need to have a solid know-how of the basics in yoga, especially the traditional and most practised Hatha yoga style before you embark on teaching yoga. Also, many factors will affect how long you should be practising yoga before becoming a teacher.
Firstly, how often will you be teaching yoga? Also, if you are planning to teach yoga regularly, multiple times on a weekly basis, then regular and intense practice of yoga would be needed.
Secondly, which yoga format are you looking to teach? For instance, most beginner students look for Hatha yoga classes, but Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga are also quite popular styles of yoga requiring years of practice to actually teach professionally.
Lastly, every yoga school has different types of requirements for yoga teachers. For instance, you might be good at teaching certain yogic aspects like breath control and meditation. Then, do opt to teach such specialised practises to students although you may have an all-round overall knowledge of yoga gained through the certifications mentioned above.
When Will I Get Return On My Investment?
How long it takes to become a yoga instructor and get return on your investment actually depends on different factors. If you have paid a good amount of money, then it would take months and even years to break even. The number of hours each day that you should dedicate to your training, your workout quality and your previous experience are significant factors in getting return on your investment in becoming a certified yoga teacher.
Alternatively, if you have funds crunch then Distance learning and online courses are an affordable option to consider.
However, we would suggest that you enrol in a residential yoga teacher training certification program and experience physical, practical classes to hone your yoga skills as an aspiring teacher.
Availability Of Diverse Training Programs Influencing Training Durations
Yoga is practised worldwide and hence there is no dearth of yoga studios or yoga schools offering a plethora of options for becoming a certified yoga teacher. There are some programs that last only a few weeks while some programs, especially the advanced certifications like the 300-hour and the 500-hour YTT programs can even extend into years.
Hence, a yoga certification program for teaching purposes that best aligns with your needs and goals should be considered.
There are some programs that provide a certificate of completion while others simply provide the course and leave it up to the participants to pursue the certification. Also, online programs can also be considered which you can complete at your own schedule and pace.
Although we encourage getting enrolled into residential programs for getting certified as a yoga instructor, even short duration programs can be considered if they provide certification or are offered by reputed and experienced instructors.
Time Expectations
Let’s assume that you have some level of expertise as an already practising student of yoga. Answering how long it takes to become a yoga instructor can vary widely. Things like how many times you practise, how quickly you are able to grasp and learn new things and what type of training program you have chosen have a say in the duration of your training.
As already discussed, most yoga teacher training certification programs range between 200 hours and 500 hours.
Furthermore, the amount of time required also varies as per the style of yoga that you have chosen to teach. For instance, if you want to teach the Mysore style Ashtanga yoga , a very physically demanding yoga format, you will need to invest in more time and effort in acing just the Primary series of this six series yoga style.
Time Expectations From A Yoga Teacher Training Program
Overall, no matter which yoga style you choose, you can expect to spend anywhere between three to seven months prior to teaching for the first yoga class.
The 200-hour YTT program is the first step towards becoming a yoga teacher. However, you will be expected to get recurrent education credits to maintain your certification credentials.
You can choose to maintain or upscale your education and training requirements in yoga by attending residential programs or even opting for online programs. In fact, you can also choose to follow a hybrid program where you can complete part of the program by attending physical classes and complete some of your training by taking up online classes.
Regardless of the way you choose to receive yoga teacher training, be prepared to invest a minimum of 200 hours towards becoming a successful yoga teacher.
It’s worthwhile to note that getting certified as a yoga instructor does not stop your journey in practising and honing yoga skills. It’s an ongoing journey where even after receiving the acclaimed certifications in yoga teacher training, you continue to learn and grow as a yoga instructor throughout your life.
Closing Thoughts
Getting certified as a yoga teacher is a gratifying feeling. However, this level of skill and accreditation requires hard work and dedication.How long does it take to become a yoga instructor depends on the kind of certification program that you have chosen and the amount of time that you are willing to dedicate towards practising and studying. The journey towards becoming certified as a yoga instructor can be long given all the aspects involved.
But, ultimately it’s all worthwhile when you are able to change and heal people physically, mentally and spiritually.
