How to Become a Yoga Instructor

If your experience with yoga has revamped your life, you may feel the drive to help other people transform their lives through yoga. If you absolutely love yoga, have good communication skills and the patience to teach others, then training to become a yoga instructor is the perfect option for you! It is recommended to have some years of yoga practice before opting to become an instructor. Of course, you also need to decide what yoga style you want to teach once you become a yoga instructor so that you can focus on perfecting it during your training.

Basic yoga training programs require 200 hours of training for the instructor to be recognized by the Yoga Alliance. Advanced training programs require 500 hours of training.

Yoga Training Options

There are three different training options for aspiring yoga instructors!

Ashram Yoga Training

Ashram yoga offers the chance to train away from home. Yoga training in ashram programs takes place at a yoga retreat or a yoga studio. This training program offers numerous benefits! Aspiring instructors not only get a chance to learn about this ancient exercise from the gurus themselves, but they also get to travel to exotic and peaceful yoga retreats. Not only do yoga trainees benefit from the quality education and training being offered, but their yoga certification also carries a lot of weight and credibility.
However, Ashram yoga training is a relatively expensive and time consuming option and may not be suitable for everyone. Moreover, if you have trouble with travelling, then Ashram Yoga training is not a feasible option for you.

Yoga Studio Training

A less exotic option is the training program conducted at your good old yoga studio. Yoga studio training programs offer quality education from professionals too, and the yoga teacher training certificate is highly credible! However, you will still need to devote a considerable amount of time and money to this training program.
If these two options seem to be unfeasible either due to time or money, then the last option may be the optimal one for you.

Online Yoga Training

Yes, you may not get to train directly under the great gurus of yoga, or fly off to a beautiful retreat, but you will be able to enjoy other great benefits of becoming a yoga instructor through online training programs!
Online yoga training programs allow you to fit your yoga training into your busy schedule at your own convenience, and that too minus the hefty fee. Most online programs cost less than a hundred dollars, and come equipped with access to excellent training material. The best part is, however, that you can pause and restart your training course whenever you please! This flexibility and emphasis on setting your own pace is one of the greatest features of online yoga training.
There are a few things that you need to remember before you opt for online training programs. To become a yoga instructor you will have to rely on self motivation: you will not have any teachers or gurus pushing you through the course. As an aspiring yoga instructor you will have numerous questions in mind. If your chosen program makes it a point to give speedy responses then you are one of the lucky ones, otherwise you may have to wait for those answers.

Conclusion

You can choose from any of the aforementioned yoga training programs to become a yoga instructor. Qualities that will set you apart from all the other yoga teachers are patience, passion and undying dedication to your students and to yoga. Happy Yoga Training!