How Much Time Do You Need To Become A Yoga Teacher?
I was walking on the beach with my friend and we were talking about yoga and how he was curious about taking his 200-hour teacher training course but felt that he wasn’t “yogic enough”. After listening to him, it dawned on me how much yoga has this persona that you have to be a certain way or live a certain way in order to be welcomed into the courses. I am here to completely debunk this for you!
What Is Teacher Training?
I think in this day and age, people have this idea that you have to come from an extreme background of yoga before you can begin your instructor course — so I am here to tell you, that is not true. The whole point of a 200-hr teacher training is to gain knowledge and the most important knowledge there is, is the knowledge of the self. The experience mainly gives you the tools to dive deeper into your own practice. I actually took a year off after my initial course and just indulged in my own self-practice in order to really absorb what I just spent time and money on. Instructor training is here to help certify your 200 or 500 hours while also dive deeper into what the 8 Limbs are. It’s hard to just compile this Vedic lifestyle into one thing, hence the hundreds of hours of training. No matter where you come from or your prior knowledge, your training will be different and personalized for you.
What Can You Do Prior To This Journey?
Begin taking asana classes. I came from a class of extreme addiction and dove into a drop in class that helped me familiarize myself with what to expect. You can also buy books, listen to talks online, take online courses, volunteer at a studio — whatever you want! This is about your journey and like I said above, I came from an extreme place of addiction. I personally sobered up and changed my life around completely in order to prep myself for this journey through self-discovery. So just listen to what you need and want in this transitional period and remember that you have everything that you need and you are exactly where you're supposed to be!
Why ‘Time’ Matters
The reason why time matters in this sense is because time means experience. The more time you have, the most experience you can achieve with your path to Ananda. I have met people that are just born to be teachers while others have spent countless time and energy with classes, workshops, and education but it still doesn’t resonate in their hearts. Everyone is so different so don’t allow numbers to dictate your life anymore. If you want ‘time’, then go out and experience and live it. You don’t have to be or live a certain way to become a yoga instructor, sometimes it is just there inside us. All you have to do is wake it up!