What is it actually like to complete yoga teacher training?

An honest reflection, one year on.

Almost a year ago now, I completed 200 hours of Hatha yoga teacher training. I don’t mean to sound trite, but it really did change my life.

I thought it might be, you know, nice to look back and reflect on the 12 months that have passed since then. And if there are any keen yogis/What’s Cooking readers who hold an interest in training as a yoga instructor, well this may help you decide whether it’s right for you. Or not.

I personally decided to crack on with yoga teacher training for a few reasons. The first is kinda obvious, in that I love yoga. I initially liked what it did for my body (who knew stretching was so good for you!) and over time, I’ve enjoyed the knock-on effects it’s had on my mind.

I’m a better, calmer person for having a regular yoga practice and if I don’t go for a spell, I notice the difference in both my body and my being.

The second is quite simply, that learning things is good fun. One of the greatest joys of being an adult is taking control of your education.

If you have the time and the means (acknowledging this isn’t the case for everyone), there’s so much you can learn during your time on earth!

And if courses aren’t an option, there are always books, our greatest teachers. I believe everyone can carve out a bit of time a day for reading. Here are a few tips, if you’re in a bit of a reading funk:

How to read more every single day

Anyway, I digress. By last year, I’d been practising yoga long enough that I’d heard all about things like your dharma, mantras, bandhas, but didn’t quite understand how everything pieced together.

I wanted to dive deeper into my own practice, but as the course progressed I realised that I actually quite enjoyed teaching. It threaded together a few passions – storytelling, crafting (in the form of sequences), meditation, creative movement and generally helping people.

Why do yoga teacher training?

Honestly, who knows. I’m sorry for the drop of a cliche here, but if this is something you want to do, you’ll know when the time is right for you.

I first came to yoga when I was 19, some sixteen years ago, at my university gym. I practised sporadically for a few years, dropping into odd classes when I lived in Sydney and London, but didn’t get serious about it until I settled in Melbourne a few years ago. So, I guess I’d had a regular practice for six years, before I decided to take the plunge.

There were others in my cohort who’d been practising for 2-3 years, but decided that was long enough for them and they were keen to pursue accreditation.

It’s really up to the individual and where they feel they are in their own personal journey. You know, this wild journey of life.

Do I have to start teaching after I complete a YTT?

No! You most certainly do not. I do teach a couple of classes a week now, but it wasn’t my initial intention to follow that path.

Teaching for me enhanced my practice, but I heard feedback from others that it took something away from theirs (a quote from one of my fellow trainees: ‘I realised I didn’t actually have to monetise all of my hobbies’, a problem that is particularly common for Generations Y and Z and something I mentally chew on, regularly). I reckon you’ll get to a point where you’ll know whether it’s the right move for you.

And if you don’t teach, it’s not by any means a waste of time. As I said, it’s nice to ground down into knowledge, see how things piece together.

Yoga is so much more than just the poses (asana); without meaning to sound like I live and love full-time in Byron Bay, it can be a framework for the way you structure your entire life.

Do I need to be accredited to teach?

Well, here’s the funny thing. Technically, no. Yoga is a bit wild west. Any Joe-blow could go out and start running classes, tomorrow if they wish.

There are bodies you can gain accreditation from, such as the Yoga Alliance. Many studios do require you to have at least your 200YTT, alongside insurance and First Aid qualifications.

Getting properly accredited is generally the right thing to do, and more helpful to you in the long run.

Considering doing yoga teacher training?

All right! Here are a few little tidbits that you may find helpful.

Pick the right place and program

I’m really stoked I waited as long as I did to do my teacher training, as I ended up training under the tutelage of a teacher I first met when I first moved to Melbourne. I knew I liked her style and there was a fair amount of trust there, that she’d lead us down the right path.

Plus the training was held at a studio I really like, which has lots of natural light and a generally jolly vibe. Important when you’re spending almost every weekend for four months in a particular place.

Some people do their training overseas, which would be a fantastic adventure. I’m kinda glad I didn’t to be honest – cracking on with training for four months was a lot, but I liked that I still had my life taking place as per ‘normal’ in between.

I’d go to work and my usual exercise classes, see my friends, spend time with my dog and boyfriend, and then my weekends were all about yoga. It felt like there was more time for what I was learning to properly marinate, to sink in.

For me it was better than doing an intense three week stretch where every day was infused with yoga, but perhaps that’s what you’d prefer.

Don’t let a perception of doing yoga ‘the right way’ stop you

There’s a way in Western society that we believe a teacher should look and operate (bendy Wendy’s in Lululemon) and this is completely incorrect. Nothing wrong with the bendy Wendy’s (and you can make up your own mind about Lululemon), but you don’t have to be young, blonde, tanned and lithe to teach yoga.

One of my favourite teachers is in her sixties and let me tell you, her classes are ferocious (in a good way!)

I have been doing yoga, as I said, for sixteen years and while I’ve achieved a degree of flexibility, I am certainly no bendy Wendy. I don’t love inversions, I can’t do plough because I have boobs that get in the way, and my hamstrings are so messed up from my desk job, that I can’t really straighten my legs.

And you know what? That’s okay. I’m still a student first and foremost myself – any asanas that I can’t currently do, I work towards and I feel confident that if my body can’t get there, I can at least cue others into them.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to stop!

This was something we were semi-warned against during my own 200 YTT – particularly if the endgame is to teach. To not get excited and run around gathering further qualifications (unless you did truly enjoy learning and this was all to complement your own practice).

I decided I wanted to give myself this year, to try and teach and see what I wanted to take further. This is despite desperately wanting to train in yin yoga (because, as one of my closest pals says, ‘Yin is life’.).

I’m really glad I slammed the breaks on in this regard, gave myself time to let everything sink in and think about where I wanted to go with my practice in the future. Learn a little somethin’, then give it the space to breathe and be.

Real talk: Is YTT just a pyramid scheme?

Honestly, I have asked myself this question many times. There can only be so many yoga teachers, right? Is this just some kind of do-gooder MLM scheme?

Well, no. Yoga was designed to be passed down from teacher to teacher. In an ideal world, teachers would pass down this knowledge for free, but the world we live in doesn’t operate like that. Thanks, late-stage capitalism!

Not everyone I completed my 200YTT went on to teach, mostly because a lot of them just didn’t want to. Yet those who did (and I believe there were four of us) managed to pick up classes here and there.

It can be quite hard to get started. You need to get a bit creative. One of my cohort started their own business. Another put a lot of effort into social media, which helped them get on the radar of studio owners. I pursued a lead at a local gym and got in that way. You gotta hustle a little, but it isn’t impossible.

Ultimately, it’s up to you whether yoga teacher training is the right or wrong move. Maybe you’ll jump headfirst in and discover you love it, that you’ve opened up a whole new career path or placed another egg in your basket. Or you’ve just added 200 hours worth of 5,000 year old wisdom to your own knowledge pool, which has further enhanced your own practice.

I don’t think any learning, particularly as an adult, is time wasted or lost. It’s a travesty to not open yourself up to new experiences.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments. If you’ve done any kind of YTT, I’d love to hear about your experience too. Did you go on to teach? And if you didn’t, why not?

Anyway, I’ll leave it there for now. Will be back in your inbox next Thursday with a bit of a spooky literary list.

‘Til then, stay well and well-fed.

-Celine

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