Getting Your Yoga Teaching Certification

Training for your yoga certification to teach is a common next step for people with at least a year of yoga lessons. There are a number of ways to get your certification, but the simplest is to find out if the yoga class you already attend offers a teacher training class. A good teacher training class that justifies the commitment you may spend on instruction must be certified by a national regulatory body, such as Yoga Alliance in the US. Being approved by a recognized organization of yoga teachers shows future students, if you do pursue a career, that your training is of standard quality with the majority of yoga instructors in your studio. An additional feature of belonging to a recognized organization is that you will have a means of communicating and learning from other yoga instructors. You will also stay informed about future yoga-related events which may be interesting.

Before you take the step to be certified, you should be sure that you are informed about the different practices of yoga, and the degree of effort that will probably be required for your chosen school. There are a large number of different styles of yoga taught by different yogis: while some styles of yoga, like Bikram or "Hot Yoga" rely on only certain postures as a method to increase your physical condition, other types like Iyengar yoga call for the use of many pieces of equipment such as blocks and straps to achieve correct alignment. You should be aware that some styles of yoga require the trainee to study Buddhist or Hindu teachings, which may be a issue for those with other religious beliefs.

Before deciding on any school of yoga to get your certification in, it is important to be acquainted with at least a couple distinct yoga teachings and to be conscious of the disparate opportunities for learning in your area. Also, you should decide the period of time you are willing and able to designate for your classes, as some programs take only a couple weeks or months, while other programs can potentially take years to complete. Even after you go through the initial training, it’s necessary to continue your practice on a frequent basis, attending workshops and classes to deepen your understanding of yoga. Yoga is really a lifetime activity, and your practice should change to suit your needs: a teacher training class is one of the methods you can make use of the benefits of maintaining a yoga practice.

For more information on yoga practice and training in general, please visit Your Yoga Practice on the Web.