Yoga Teacher Certification

Have you always wondered what it would be like to become a yoga teacher? If you have been practicing yoga for some time and want to advance your personal practice and also begin to share your love of yoga and your practice with other people, perhaps teaching yoga would be a great idea for you!
What is the first step in getting a yoga teacher certification ? The first thing to do is to decide what type of yoga you would like to teach. Certain types of yoga such as Bikram, Ashtanga and Iyengar have specific trainings for their style of practice that can only be done in one place and with certain teachers. It is necessary to do your research to determine how and where you can complete the type of training needed to obtain your yoga teacher certification.
If you practice and would like to teach a general hatha yoga style, such as power yoga or vinyasa flow, there are many different schools you can enroll in to earn your yoga teacher certification. A comprehensive list of schools approved to offer courses and certifications can be found on the Yoga Alliance website . There are options for courses in your local area or for programs in remote locations of the world. Decide whether you would like to stay close to home, or if an intensive study abroad program would work better for you.
In order to be certified by the Yoga Alliance, which is the main governing body for yoga instructors, you must complete an approved course of study. Each course must be at least 200 hours in length and cover a certain number of hours of study for different categories including teaching techniques, philosophy and anatomy. The course must also be taught by an approved teacher who has completed all of the requirements set forth by the Yoga Alliance. A list of teachers approved to teach yoga teaching certification programs can also be found on the Yoga Alliance website. It is important to do your research on the teachers that you are considering studying with.
Each teacher has their own focus and teaching style. Be sure to find one that offers a course that is consistent with what you practice, and also that will be beneficial to your learning style. Also make sure that the course you are looking at covers all of the areas you are interested in learning about. Some courses include information on Ayurveda for example, while others will not even mention it. There is an abundance of courses to choose from, find one that will work for what you are looking for!
Becoming a yoga teacher is not as simple as just completing a course. To become certified you must apply to the Yoga Alliance and pay fees and provide information depending on the course you take. This is the technical side of things, but yoga is much much more then learning how to show physical poses and getting a piece of paper that allows you to teach. It is important to live your life in a way that is consistent with the yoga teachings. Yoga is not simply a physical practice, but a way of life and to be a good teacher this should be a main priority for you. Daily asana practice, meditation and observing the values taught in the ancient yoga scriptures are very important to be a respected teacher.
Teaching yoga is a very rewarding and challenging career that allows you to work almost anywhere in the world and with a very diverse population of people. If yoga is a big part of your life and you feel like you have a lot to share with other people who are interested in making yoga a part of their lives too, you should consider becoming a yoga teacher!