Becoming a certified Yoga Teacher

You have been practicing yoga for a few years and now you want to complete a yoga teaching certification course. Whether or not you plan on teaching a certification class can teach you more about anatomy, the philosophy of yogis, proper sequencing and alignment. These classes can help you get more out of your practice even if you never plan on teaching.

There are typically minimum requirements for completing a certification class. While it depends on where and with whom you are taking the course, some of the requirements include several years of practice, ability to do a headstand and some familiarity with the teacher you intend to train with.

Many yoga lovers dream of leaving their day jobs to be a full time yoga teacher. You should consider the fact that yoga teachers do not make very much money before you decide to make this your dream. It is also a profession that lacks benefits such as health insurance, paid vacation and retirement. Many people manage to teach a few classes a week and still keep their day jobs. This is a good arrangement if you are truly passionate about teaching yoga.

Yoga teachers who are registered hold their registrations at the Yoga Alliance. This is a nationally recognized organization that has two designations. The certificates are the 200 hour and the 500 hour. These refer to the length of the programs and the 200 hour program is what most yoga studios require to teach. Specialized forms of yoga such as Bikram have their own teaching requirements.

There are many things to consider when choosing to get certified as an instructor. You can find many classes available at yoga centers, but make sure that they are Yoga Alliance certified.  It will be hard for you to teach when you are finished if it is not. You should also factor in the cost. These programs can run upwards of $3,000 and you should make sure this is something you really want to do before you make that big of a financial commitment.

Two other considerations are the time involved and whether you can get along with your instructors. You will be spending every day for a couple of months learning. There are some programs that meat for several months and you only need to attend nights and weekends. This means that you will be spending a great deal of time with your instructors, so make sure that your personalities gel.