Others simply do yoga as a unique form of workout but most of yoga practitioners who love the concept of it always want to try something deeper than typical yoga routines. These are the people who are willing to immerse themselves in a yoga teacher training course.
What is Yoga Teacher Training?
Although yoga teacher training sounds like it is a requirement for yoga practitioners who want to venture yoga teaching, the truth is it is a typical type of training that aims to introduce in-depth yoga covering its philosophy, anatomy, asana, and proper execution to yoga practitioners and yogis.
Yoga teacher training are available in a range of forms. In terms of duration, they are classified as intensive which only runs for weeks or up to a month, or long which can last for up to a year but with classes running once to thrice a week. Regardless, these are accounted for in terms of the number of hours the trainee has spent. Between the two, intensive may be shorter-termed but since practitioners must attend classes five to seven days a week, the focus required and spent in it is far superior to in long yoga teacher training which meanwhile prioritizes consistency. Intensive training basically requires practitioners to totally neglect the world and plunge themselves into the whole concept of yoga. Long yoga teacher training, on the other hand, are designed to make yoga a normal part of every trainee’s life.
In some internationally acknowledged yoga teacher accreditors such as Yoga Alliance, 200 hours is the minimum required yoga teacher training duration but if you do not intend to teach Yoga after the training, then this should not matter.
Is Yoga Teacher Training for You?
You need not have spent years or a decade doing yoga to be qualified for yoga teacher training. Body type, background, or age does not matter either. All it needs are your spiritual determination and mental and physical preparation. As with the latter, that means if you are interested to enroll in a yoga teacher training course, you will want to be in decent physical shape to keep up with the incredibly intense routines.
With yoga teacher training courses, you will be required to work on your physical endurance and mental ability at the same time. The journey will not be easy; breakdowns are common. Thus, it is vital to be committed and determined that you really want to do it.
Specifically, here are what you can expect in a yoga teacher training…
Theories
- You will be asked to memorize Sanskrit words and their translations. This will likewise cover names of hundreds of yoga poses, or also known as asanas.
- You will have in-depth knowledge about the philosophy of yoga, including chakras, energy points, energy locks, concentration points, breathing techniques, and a lot more.
Execution
- You will learn how to put together the safest sequences of Vinyasa-type classes to reduce injuries without compromising or affecting the benefits of yoga.
- You will be taught about the anatomy of yoga, e.g. how damage is prevented, how bones, muscles, and joints must work together, how each pose is properly done, etc.
- You will be taught about the poses that are uniquely beneficial to the different systems in a human’s body.
- You will likewise be taught about the common mistakes that yoga trainees make and how you can avoid committing the same.
All in all, yoga teacher training courses will help you attain more consciousness while doing yoga. The aim is to engrave the concept to you so that doing it will become more natural. It is not easy and it not cheap but it can be a great investment if you are truly dedicated to improving your yoga journey.
How to Prepare Yourself for Yoga Teacher Training
The concept of yoga teacher training has always been so appealing to yoga lovers but the intensity of the course usually tops the reasons why some chicken out. The good news is; you can always prepare yourself for it. How?
Experts have advised these tips:
- Do not expect the obvious.
While you will want to know what is exactly going to happen in the training, the fact is, it always has something surprising in store for you which can either leave you thrilled or, otherwise, disappointed. Because every yoga training journey is different, experts always tell the yoga lovers who want to enroll in yoga teacher training to always keep expecting the unexpected and keep an open mind not just about what the training can offer but also about the trainees, themselves, can become.
- Self-care is important.
Self-care is crucial for your training’s success because it will not only be a pain physically but may also be challenging spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. That said, you need to stay healthy all throughout the duration of the course. Part of doing this is accepting the intensity of the training instead of downplaying it. Sleep plays an important role in staying healthy, thus, you also have a lot of rest and recuperation to go through.
Physical injuries can also happen in yoga teacher training; therefore, it is important to listen to your body closely.
- Step up your asana game.
Prioritize more on learning to practice steady asana poses as this will help you understand how your own body works. Consistency in your asana practice is what you should achieve before immersing yourself in advanced yoga training and this is something you can achieve by attending two to three classes of yoga a week. Diversifying will also help so you will discover which classes appeal the most to you.
Remember, though, that yoga is not about competition. You should keep your focus on yourself and your journey to improve. Do not base on others’ progress. It is your body that you should listen to.
- Do your research.
Although everything about yoga will be taught in yoga teacher training courses, it will also help if you do your research in advance. This will help you appreciate yoga more and eliminate the wrong reasons you have for enrolling in the course.
- Be generous enough in trusting yourself.
Nobody will love and believe in yourself the most but you. You have to trust your potential and stop focusing on others. Let yoga be your gift to yourself.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.