If you’re deciding on a yoga school for your first 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT), you may want to ask some very important questions to make sure that your school aligns with your purpose as a student and a future teacher.
You want to be sure you are personally ready to spend the money and take the leap toward becoming the best teacher and leader you can be. If you find a great school with fun, inspiring and proficient teachers, then the experience and outcome can be second to none. Below are some tips and questions to consider.
- Find out the style of yoga the school teaches. The teachers leading the YTT should be versatile and familiar with teaching various styles of yoga. This is important because some students may be drawn to teach slower Hatha Yoga classes while others may want to teach faster, stronger flow classes. In a YTT a teacher should support the students interests and be able to teach the students various styles.
- Make sure that the Yoga training has a unique theme or niche that you are interested in. There are many YTTs to choose from. What is different or sets out this one training from the rest? For example, our school specializes in teaching the healing art of ayurveda, as well as mindful meditation to help cultivate presence and peace. Be sure to ask the school this question and investigate into it more.
- Find out the background and experience of the teachers that are leading the training. As teacher who leads and facilitates a YTT should not only have many years of experience teaching yoga but also should have studied with a variety of renowned senior yoga teachers and masters. Look for Trainers who have at least 7-10 years teaching experience in workshops and training setting. The more teaching experience the better.
- Ask if there is a spirituality factor in the program. Spiritual doesn’t mean religious. Spiritualty is an important component of yoga because it teaches you how to connect with others in deeper and more meaningful ways. It also allows you to discover you own inner truth so you can live your purpose and awaken to your highest potential regardless of your religion, background or tradition.
- Ask how many hours of practice teaching are included in the course. Getting hands-on teaching experience is one of the most critical parts of your YTT: Many students, teachers and schools underestimate its importance. Creating sequences, linking postures and providing corrections to alignment and transitions are all valuable skills that are best practiced under the experienced eye of your teacher trainer. They can provide great feedback, advice, and critiques.
- Check to see if the Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) is registered with the Yoga Alliance (YA). It’s important that the school you pick is accredited with the Yoga Alliance because it shows that they have a regulated curriculum and syllabus. As a graduate you can also register with the yoga alliance and it’s a great asset to be listed in their directory and make use of all the resources they have to offer. You can also check out their ratings and reviews on the Yoga Alliance web page.
- Find out if there are a maximum number of trainees in the program. Teacher to student ratio is important. The school you choose should be aware of this so that each participant gets enough individual attention. My recommendation is that about 14 to 16 students for one teacher should be the maximum. You want your experience to be thorough, intimate and supportive.
- Make sure your teachers can take you own personal yoga practice to the next level. Part of a yoga training is not only learning how to teach others but also to enhance and strengthen your own practice. Find out the various ways the trainers can help improve your personal practice.
- Ask is the YTT is geared to teaching how to work with both individual clients in addition to yoga classes. Like personal training, private yoga classes, is a new and exciting opportunity to teach in a more individualized way.
- Find out if there are any required readings and written assignments that need to be completed. Part of your non-contact hours (without the presence of your lead teachers) should include these to enhance the learning experience. It’s nice to know what books the school uses. Written assignments are just as important because the assist with your own-self discovery and enhance your creativity, giving you more insights as a yoga teacher.
- Find out how many trainings the school and teachers have already completed – More experience often equals better results for you the student. If a school has graduated thousands or even hundreds of students as well as completed dozens of trainings, they’ve probably worked out all or most of their problems.
- Ask if the school provides any help in landing yoga teaching jobs and if there is any contact once the training is completed. For example, our schools provide heads-ups on potential teaching positions and we also have Facebook communication pages for our graduates. Many schools don’t provide any follow-up or ongoing support for new teachers wanting to teach and/or continue their education.
- Ask if the school provides scholarships or any financial assistance. Not everyone has the financial resources to pay up front the full cost of a YTT. Therefore, a payment plan or a scholarship could be beneficial. Also, some potential students are already full-time university or college students and therefore would appreciate a student discount or scholarship.
- Ask if you can talk to former students – Although sometime a student’s experience is subjective, this can be significant because you can ask a few important questions about the course. If you are unable to connect with a former student, you can use any of the questions above and ask the school directly.