How to Earn a Yoga Teaching Certification

I had been practicing yoga for three years when my husband finally expressed an interest and asked me to teach him a couple poses. I thought, sure, I can teach him a sun salutation, how hard can that be?

Well, it turned out to be harder than I thought. I could demonstrate the poses and repeat a few phrases I remembered from my favorite teachers. But before we had even reached the first downward dog I realized that my words weren't exactly conveying what I wanted. And as he struggled to understand my directions, I struggled with his alignment, knowing it was off but not sure how to fix it.

A year later when I decided to earn a Yoga certificate, these two issues ended up being the focus of the program: alignment and communication. Through the Yoga teacher training program, I learned how to effectively deliver the cues for poses and to understand the anatomy and alignment to keep students safe during their practice.

Step One: Research Your Preferred Style

If your favorite local Yoga studio has a teacher training program, check into it first. If it doesn't, ask your favorite teachers where they received their training. The general entry-level Yoga certification is a 200-hour program, and advanced programs are generally 500 hours, which include 300 hours on top of the initial 200. There are also specialty teacher trainings and continuing education courses.

Many Yoga studios teach a blend of styles, simply labeled "Vinyasa," "Hatha," "Power," etc., but if you are interested in a particular Yoga style such as Anusara, Ashtanga or Forrest, look into the specific requirements for that style. Anusara Yoga Certification, for example, requires a 108-hour immersion and then a 300-hour teacher training with the style's founder John Friend or one of his senior teachers. Forrest teachers must be personally trained by Ana Forrest and meet other requirements such as clocking teaching hours and creating class plans. Find out more about the style of Yoga you enjoy most and decide what training you need to teach that style.

If you want to teach Yoga to a certain population, such as children, seniors or pregnant women, look into specialized training programs. YogaKids and Rainbow Kids offer great programs for children's Yoga training and there are a variety of gentle Yoga and chair Yoga programs designed for teaching Yoga to senior citizens.

Check Yoga Alliance for a list of registered teacher training programs near you. There are plenty of quality Yoga certification programs that aren't registered with Yoga Alliance, but the YA list may be a good way to find Yoga schools in your area.

Step Two: Consider Time and Location

Some Yoga certification courses take place over a couple weeks, with intense long days that require you to put everything on hold and dive into Yoga. Other programs last for several months and meet only a few times per week. Depending on your schedule and other commitments, one of these schedules may be better suited for you than another.

Some Yoga certification programs require travel. Kripalu teacher trainings are all conducted at the Kripalu Center in Massachusetts, and Ana Forrest only offers a few teacher training programs per year in major cities. Baptiste trainings are conducted in Mexico or other exotic locations. There are a few distance programs that require minimal or no travel. Most of these require the submission of a video-taped class to evaluate your teaching. If you live in an area where there aren't a lot of Yoga studios but you can't afford to travel far, look into YogaFit to see if there's a training scheduled in your area. YogaFit offers quick weekend workshops around the country at levels 1-5. In general, I recommend an on-site Yoga certification program because of the invaluable hands-on experience and the support you'll gain through a community of teachers and teachers-in-training.

Step Three: Apply

Applying to Yoga school isn't exactly the same high pressure experience as applying to graduate school, but it's still an important step and you may be asked to write an essay or several lengthy answers to specific questions about your Yoga practice and teaching goals. Yoga teacher training applications serve a couple of purposes. First, the application allows the program directors to decide whether applicants fit with the program. For example, if you're applying to a restorative Yoga teacher training and your application talks about how much you love power classes, then you might not be a good match for the program. Second, Yoga certification courses are looking for people who are willing to think deeply about their Yoga practice. No matter what you say in your application, the fact that you were willing to carefully consider the questions shows that you are a serious yogi.

Step Four: Complete the Requirements

While earning my 200-hour Yoga certificate at Vital Yoga in Denver, I attended at least five classes per week (some of which were 3-5 hours of asana), underwent an Ayurvedic cleanse that completely changed my eating habits and attended a cadaver lab to study the human body. In addition to asana, class sessions were discussion-oriented and poses were individually work-shopped so we could understand the intricate details of alignment. We learned and practiced a set sequence of poses, and spent a good deal of time teaching each other before we led two free public classes which were filmed and critiqued. A business discussion offered us insight into the paperwork side of teachers and studios. And throughout the entire training I felt supported and encouraged by my teachers and fellow teachers-in-training. It was a wonderful place to face challenges and grow.

Yoga certification programs are very individualized and requirements vary. Some programs focus on the philosophical aspects of Yoga and its history and lineages, while others focus on anatomy, alignment and practical teaching experience. All programs require a high number of on-the-mat hours, so expect to be practicing Yoga every day, or nearly every day. Most programs require 100% attendance, but some offer a little wiggle room. Yoga certification courses that claim to be 220-hour programs, for example, sometimes include those extra hours so that students may miss a class and still earn their certification. Some programs require heavy reading and ask for written assignments, while others simply ask for full enthusiastic participation. No matter what the requirements of your chosen Yoga certificate program, learning to teach Yoga is a physical intensive and philosophical process of self-discovery that will change your life.