How To Become A Yoga Instructor

Teaching yoga is a continuous learning process and requires a lot of discipline, education and training.  In the United States, if you want to become a yoga instructor, there are numerous things you have to consider.  For those looking to find out how to become a yoga instructor, here is some information to get you started:

Types of Yoga you intend to learn and teach.

There are a lot of yoga styles that you can practice. The most common are: Ananda, Bikram, Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar, Kripalu, Kundalini, Integral, Power, Sivananda & Vinyasa

Find a yoga instructor to learn from.

You and your instructor will be working closely together until you finish your training so it is best to work with someone who you feel comfortable with.

Choosing a specific group to work with.

As a student, you can choose whether you want to specialize and learn how to teach yoga to the elderly, children, for pregnant women or yoga therapy.

Learning Preferences.

You have the option to choose if you want to learn with a group or individually. You can also suggest personal ideas on how to go about classroom instruction.

Where to hold yoga lessons.

Yoga instructors have their students choose their learning environment and the most common are in private homes, studios, or ashrams.

If you have decided on the major concerns of learning yoga, you can start looking for a school. In the US, there are over 1,400 accredited yoga schools to choose from. The Yoga Alliance is an accredited yoga education and support organization in the US.

The other thing to consider is whether you are willing to travel for your instruction.  Many people considering to be a yoga instructor take into account the positive experiences they can receive by traveling around the world to learn how to be a yoga teacher.  Of course, the most company place to travel to for this purpose is India.  However, if you just want to vacation to another part of the US you can search for instruction in places such as Miami or Los Angeles.

You can often find courses that allow you to reach the 200-hour Standards in just four weeks.

Yoga curriculum varies depending if the program you enroll in follows the 200-hour standards, 500-hour standards, Prenatal Standards or Children’s Standards.

200-hour Standards 

• Learn the basic yoga techniques (100 hours)
• Learn principles of demonstration, observation, correcting, teaching styles and the process of learning (25 hours)
• Learn human anatomy and physiology and application to yoga practice (20 hours)
• Learn the philosophies of yoga, ethics and lifestyle of yoga instructors (30 hours)
• Practice Teaching (10 hours)
• Electives (15 hours)

500-hour Standards 

• Learn the basic yoga techniques (150 hours)
• Learn principles of demonstration, observation, correcting, teaching styles and the process of learning (30 hours)
• Learn human anatomy and physiology and application to yoga practice (35 hours)
• Learn the philosophies of yoga, ethics and lifestyle of yoga instructors (60 hours)
• Practice Teaching (40 hours)
• Electives (185 hours)

Prenatal Standards 

• Learn general information on pregnancy (5 hours)
• Learn specific yoga techniques & exercises for pregnant women (25 hours)
• Constructing lesson plans (10 hours)
• Learn human anatomy and physiology during pregnancy and application to yoga practice (10 hours)
• Learn the philosophies of yoga and its application to pregnant women (5 hours)
• Practice Teaching (20 hours)
• Electives (10 hours)

Children’s Standards 

• Learn the developmental stages of children and the appropriate lessons for their age group (12 hours)
• Learn specific yoga techniques & exercises for children (20 hours)
• Familiarize with teaching techniques appropriate for children, constructing lesson plans and selecting age-appropriate exercises (15 hours)
• Learn human anatomy and physiology with focus on the development of children (10 hours)
• Learn the philosophies, ethics and  lifestyle of a yoga teacher for children (12 hours)
• Practice Teaching (18 hours)
• Electives (8 hours)

Yoga graduates from accredited schools are automatically registered and given certifications according to their length of training and education. Registration fees range from $80-$150 for RYT and E-RYT instructors and $25 for RCYT & RPYT instructors. Yoga students who can be awarded as follows:

 

The advantage of registering is that you will be known as a professional and an expert in your field. Since there are thousands of yoga instructors in the US, being registered will be your best marketing tool.

Continuing Education (CE)

All registered yoga instructors are required to undergo continuing education courses every 3 years. These courses can be for updating on new yoga techniques or learning new information about the practice of yoga. These courses include 30 training hours and 45 teaching hours.