How do you pick the right yoga teacher training?

Yoga teacher training (YTT) courses can be a life changing experience, helping you deepen your own practice, broadening your knowledge about this ancient tradition, and teaching you how to practice and share yoga safely. But how do you pick the yoga teacher training that is right for you?

There are endless yoga teacher training courses on offer around the world – a multitude of yoga styles; taught by yoga teachers of very different backgrounds; in different formats, such as online, as a 4-week intensive program, over weekends or as a long-term residence in a yoga school. And everyone you ask will have a different opinion on what is best. If that variety isn’t confusing enough, you may also be surprised to learn that there is no effective regulation or accreditation for yoga teachers available, which might help you decide if the teacher/program meets certain standards. Being German, I am OCD about looking for standardized, internationally recognized accreditation… and there was none. (More on Yoga Alliance in another post – in the meantime, I suggest you read up on what they actually do.)

When I looked for a YTT, I spent countless hours over several months in front of my computer, reading about teachers and different yoga teacher training programs around the world. I wrote emails and made phone calls, read reviews and asked friends around the world about their experiences, hoping to somehow find the right yoga teacher and yoga teacher training program for me. In the end, many things in the universe aligned and I ended up traveling from New Zealand all the way to Scotland to do my 200+ hour Vinyasa Yoga teacher training with the fantastic Steph Wall, owner of the Kali Collective in Glasgow. I count myself very lucky that I found a teacher and a yoga teacher training that was right for me, but the search that led me there definitely didn’t feel easy.

Now, that I have completed my YTT, I have a better idea of what questions I should have asked, while I was looking for a teacher and a suitable training course. I hope that these insights will help you on your journey of figuring out how to pick the right yoga teacher training:

Find teachers of the style of yoga you are interested in, who offer YTT programs in cities/countries that you can travel to. 

Once you identify a couple that resonate with you, check out the following things:

• What level of training does the teacher have?
• Do you like their style of practicing/teaching? Check out YouTube videos and blogs/websites to learn more about them.
• How many yoga teacher training courses has this teacher offered? Are there any reviews online?
• The world is a small place – ask friends or use social media to ask about reviews.
• Are they themselves teaching the yoga teacher training course they are advertising, or are other teachers/students doing the teaching?

Contact the teacher and ask any questions you have about them and the program. 

• What is your first impression about their response to your contact/questions?
• Are they friendly and willing to invest time to help you ascertain if the course is right for you?
• Are they just trying to sell you a course, or are they asking questions about you to determine if you are the right type of person for the course they are offering?

What topics will be covered, how many hours will be spent on them, and will they be covered as contact or non-contact hours? 

• Is the course built around the 8 limbs of yoga?
• Ensure topics covered are broad, to give you a good understanding of the whole tradition of yoga. Look for self study, mindfulness, ethics, philosophy, history, mythology, subtle energy and eastern medicine, anatomy, asana clinics, business, etc. …
• Check that a significant number of hands-on hours are allocated to anatomy and asana clinics.

How much practical teaching experience will be gained during the course, and in which setting? 

• You want to walk away with a significant amount of teaching experience, covering the preparation of classes and sequencing, effective cueing, safe assists, and how to modify for different abilities/anatomies/health issues.

How much time do you need to invest? 

• Gain clarity on the hours during which the training will take place.
• Investigate how many non-contact hours you will be expected to complete to meet the course requirements (eg reading books, doing online courses, preparing classes and doing homework, etc).
• Are you required to teach a certain amount of hours during the course or after the course is completed, in order to complete your training?

How will you be examined in order to obtain your yoga teacher certificate? 

• What will you need to complete to obtain your certificate? This might include written assessments, teaching assessments and teaching practicums.

What is the facility like where the yoga teacher training will be held? 

• Check location, accessibility and reviews.
• What will be provided at the facility, and what is included in the price?
• Has the yoga teacher used this facility before? This might suggest that the teacher knows that the facility is suitable for the purpose and of good quality, and you might find reviews from past students.

Detailed breakdown of the fees. 

• What exactly is covered and what is not (books, certificate, accommodation, food, free access to other classes held at the studio during your course, etc).

This looks like quite an extensive list, but signing up for a yoga teacher training is quite an investment. As there is no organization that regulates yoga teachers or yoga teacher training programs, YTTs do not have to adhere to any standards and can vary widely in what they cover. So I do recommend you spend a fair amount of time assessing your needs and researching potential options. It may make the difference between you having the time of your life, or wasting quite a lot of time and money.

Do you have any recommendations regarding how to pick the right yoga teacher training? Please feel free to add your suggestions to the comments below – I am sure many yoga students would benefit from this advice. I look forward to reading your feedback!