How To Become a Yoga Teacher

For yoga enthusiasts a career teaching yoga and sharing their practice with others seems like a dream come true. You get paid to be active, exercise, and do something you love. No sitting behind a desk all day. The flexible schedule is appealing to anyone who needs to balance work with caring for a young child, aging parent or other loved one, or pursuing another passion. Perhaps most important to these prospective yoga teachers are the connections to be made with future students, and the ability to make a difference through sharing the gift of a yoga practice.

So, just how do you become a yoga teacher?

Education

The importance of a high quality, thorough education cannot be overstated. Choose your yoga teacher trainingcarefully, and select a program that will give you a broad foundation of knowledge and allow you to learn from instructors who inspire you. Find a program that fits your schedule and your life…that may mean a series of daytime or evening classes, or a more immersive experience over several weekends. Explore the description of the training, tour the facility, and ask lots of questions. This will help you discover whether this is a place you will feel motivated, supported, and ready to learn and grow.

Remember that your education as a yoga teacher is never finished. There is always more to learn and explore in this fascinating field filled with incredible people. Take advantage of continuing education, advanced teacher training, and even retreats and conferences when you can to enrich your practice and your teaching, and commit to the pursuit of lifelong learning.

Practice

One of the most important aspects of your education will be hands on, leading yoga classes. Ideally your training will include an internship or other real world opportunity to teach classes. Teach as much as you can, and seek out a variety of levels, environments, and students to keep honing your skills. Volunteering to teach a class at a local elementary school, community center, or even among a group of family and friends can be great ways to get added practice as you are starting out.

Apply For Teaching Positions

This is the culmination of a lot of hard work, but also just the beginning of what will hopefully be a fulfilling and exciting career as a yoga teacher. When starting out you may find it’s easier to teach at a few different organizations rather than find one full time position. Your first thought will probably be to apply to teach at the yoga studios near you, but these are far from the only options. Many gyms, fitness centers, and athletic clubs also offer yoga classes. You may also want to look into the following types of organizations:

• large companies who may offer onsite yoga or exercise classes for their employees
• college or professional sports teams – they may be open to incorporating yoga into the training schedule for their athletes
• senior centers or senior living facilities
• resorts and spas
• medical practices offering a holistic approach integrating things like exercise, diet, massage therapy acupuncture, and yoga

Of course it’s also important to understand that along with the many benefits of the profession comes a lot of hard work. Being well suited to practicing yoga does not necessarily mean that one is ready to teach yoga to others. It’s crucial to be disciplined and creative when coming up with new sequences, and to be able to tailor a class to the ability level of the participants and also provide modifications for anyone who might need them to participate safely. You must be caring and sympathetic to those who are entering a class when it may be out of their comfort zone. It’s important to be confident, professional, and resilient in order to deal with the variety of personalities and situations you’ll encounter, and even criticisms you may face.

In addition to this you need to be ready to promote yourself within your community and build your business. Even if you work for a studio you may be expected to, or can provide extra value to your employer by, spreading the word about your classes and working to fill the room with students.

Ready for the challenge and fulfillment that a career in yoga brings? Congratulations, and we wish you all the best on your journey!