Yoga Teacher Training

If you're passionate about health and fitness and enjoy practicing and teaching others about yoga, then a job as a yoga teacher may be right for you. Read on to learn more about professional certificate programs, employment options and salary potential for aerobic, fitness and yoga professionals.
<h2 id="section---IsYogaTeacherTrainingForMe">Is Yoga Teacher Training For Me?</h2>
<h3 id="section---CareerOverview">Career Overview</h3>
<p>Yoga is a form of exercise that involves an array of balancing and breathing techniques intended to promote relaxation, reduce stress and strengthen the muscles. As a yoga teacher, you may work with students of all ages and physical abilities, teaching them different warm-up exercises, yoga poses, breathing patterns and meditation practices. You may also serve as your students' guide to the different forms of yoga and their origins, helping them find which types of yoga may work best for their condition or lifestyle. Yoga teachers may find employment at wellness centers, hotels, private yoga studios or community colleges. Some yoga teachers even choose to start their own yoga centers.
</p>
<h3 id="section---EmploymentAndSalaryInformation">Employment and Salary Information</h3>
<p>If you're interested in <a href="https://learn.org/articles/Whats_the_Salary_of_a_Yoga_Instructor.html">teaching yoga</a>, now may be a good time to enter the field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment for <a href="https://learn.org/articles/Fitness_Instructor_Career_and_Salary_FAQs.html">fitness trainers and instructors</a> in general is expected to grow by 13% nationwide between 2012 and 2022. As of 2012, there were approximately 267,000 fitness instructors and trainers in the United States, including those who were employed by Pilates and yoga centers. In May 2013, fitness trainers and <a href="https://learn.org/articles/How_Do_I_Become_an_Aerobics_Instructor.html">aerobics instructors</a> earned a median hourly wage of $15.88, or $33,020 a year, as reported by the BLS (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). According to <i>Payscale.com</i> in April 2014, yoga instructors in particular were paid a median hourly wage of $24.00 (<i>www.payscale.com</i>).
</p>
<h3 id="section---HowCanICompleteYogaTeacherTraining">How Can I Complete Yoga Teacher Training?</h3>
<p><a href="https://learn.org/articles/Yoga_Teacher_Training_Online_Program_FAQs.html">Yoga teachers</a> must spend many hours training to obtain certification. Aspiring teachers are instructed in yoga techniques, <a href="https://learn.org/articles/Anatomy_and_Physiology_Courses_Your_Questions_Answered.html">human anatomy</a>, exercise physiology, <a href="https://learn.org/articles/Free_Online_Philosophy_Courses_Where_Can_I_Find_Them.html">philosophy</a> and even <a href="https://learn.org/articles/Free_Online_Nutrition_Courses_Where_Can_I_Find_Them.html">nutrition</a>. Other important components of the curriculum include learning how to plan and teach a class, how to provide posture corrections and how to instill confidence in students. Yoga instructors are most commonly trained during either a 200-hour or 500-hour certificate program offered by the Yoga Alliance.
</p>
<p>The 200-hour program is the minimum level of training required to become a yoga teacher, as mandated by the Yoga Alliance. Once teachers have completed a Yoga Alliance program, they are allowed to use the term Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) following their name. If you start with the 200-hour course, you can go on to further your education with additional instruction courses.
</p>
<p>You may attain different levels of recognition according to the number of years and hours you teach yoga, eventually being able to teach the training courses yourself. Furthermore, you might take specialty training classes to qualify to teach yoga to children or pregnant women. The Yoga Alliance website offers the names of approved yoga instruction facilities (<i>www.yogaalliance.org</i>).</p>