Yoga Teacher Training (RYT200) – a sudden peak in your teaching skills or a personal journey?

First things first. What does RYT200 stand for?

RYT 200 – Registered Yoga Teacher whose 200 hour training in “yoga studies” meets the requirements of Yoga Alliance, a non profit organization based in the United States.

Writing about my first yoga teacher training course (yttc) almost five years later makes me feel nostalgic but also makes me laugh knowing how far I’ve come!

..I was at a low point in my life and it did feel like an escape or a last minute desperate need to “find myself”.

When I booked for my yttc I was risking losing my position as a teaching assistant in the computer engineering department at a private university. I was 3 months in the position and hadn’t completed my notice period. I wasn’t eligible yet to apply for a 30 day vacation especially that I was going to miss a week of the spring semester. Luckily management in HR granted me the vacation after I implied that I was going either way, wether I was welcome back to the department or not.

My intention was to be certified so I could continue teaching yoga. (I had already started teaching privately friends, acquaintances and family members). But more than anything I was at a low point in my life and it did feel like an escape or a last minute desperate need to “find myself”.

I thought this would be a milestone and I would learn everything I need to know about teaching yoga. After this, I would be a great teacher. And it was a milestone in my life but I would later find out that I had just taken the first step into my teaching journey.

Reading about great teachers I realized one thing they all have in common; humility no matter who they are or how long they’ve been teaching.

I only truly started to find my “inner” teacher after some experience teaching. Even that is still a work in progress. The more you teach and the more experience you have teaching the closer you get to that inner voice. The teachings of yoga are traditionally passed on from teacher to student. They are passed on gradually, at the right place and time through consistent learning and practice. Just like your personal yoga journey is a practice in progress, so is your teaching. A.G Mohan, one of Krishnamacharya’s disciples (and my teacher’s father) spent years being a student prior to teaching and only started teaching after being asked to do so. He had been teaching for a while before Krishnamacharya asked him to give a lecture once on yoga postures for pregnant women. Mohan was hesitant and only agreed after Krishnamacharya helped him prepare. Reading about great teachers I realized one thing they all have in common; humility no matter who they are or how long they’ve been teaching.

So why might one decide to take a yttc, knowing that it might not add much value to their teaching skills?

Receiving your Yoga Alliance Certified qualification after 200 hours of training does not necessarily mean you are ready and qualified to teach. It is ridiculous enough to believe that 200 hours of comprehensive training (sometimes compressed into a timeframe of 3 weeks) is enough to prepare you to guide a room full of yoga students hoping to transform their lives through this ancient practice. This isn’t a bad thing – it’s a relief! Don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s completely normal if you still don’t feel ready to teach at the end of your yttc.

In reference to Pattabhi Jois’ saying “yoga is 99% practice, 1% theory”, what you learn in the yttc is really just the theory – even if you do practical work. For example, after 60 hrs worth of studying and practicing the breath and its effect on internal medicine I still wouldn’t call myself an expert. Only after I practiced the breathing techniques we learned for months did I start to feel more significant changes. Every new client I meet carries new lessons and challenges for me so I am constantly learning. Consistency – in your personal practice and your teaching is key.

So why might one decide to take a yttc, knowing that it might not add much value to their teaching skills? A lot of students do it to deepen their own practice. Many studios hiring yoga teachers request that they have received certification from a school registered with Yoga Alliance. The initial 200 hours of training allows you to continue your education and apply for other more advanced and specialized courses.

You will develop deeper connections with one or a few more people. Connections that will force you to share the depths of who you truly are.

They say the secret to your future lies in your daily routine. And a good teacher training helps you constitute daily rituals that will turn your life around. Rising early in the morning, practicing mediation and yoga, nourishing your body with the best the earth has to offer will boost your immunity levels to say the least. For my 200 hr ttc I went to Sampoorna Yoga School in Goa, South India that provides a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Registered course in Ashtanga Vinyasa. Practicing daily made me stronger and more flexible. I remember feeling energetic most of the time and being surprised at how scars and scratches would heal too quickly it was almost like magic.

Your immune system may feel at its best, but the ttc will definitely exhaust you mentally, emotionally and physically. By the third week my knees could not take the daily practice anymore. I was on my mat weak and watching everyone else practice, along with a few other students who also had their own injuries.

You will develop deeper connections with one or a few more people. Connections that will force you to share the depths of who you truly are. You are somewhere that is somewhat remote to where you live back home – away from family, friends, titles, clothes that define who you are in society. This will allow you to shed some of your layers and expose your deepest feelings and desires. This can be beautiful but facing it can get ugly!

I never really gained the confidence to manually adjust a student. How could I when I knew so little about specific physical and mental conditions..

As for the theory and physiology of the practice, that yes you also dive a little deeper into. Depending on what lineage your school is following you will study (or rather touch the surface of) the history and philosophy that define the building blocks of your practice. On top of investigating the anatomy of yoga postures I remember my school provided an optional “posture clinic”. We looked more closely at alignment of postures, do’s and don’t’s, and modifications. I’ll be honest with you I learned so much about what happens in each posture but I never really gained the confidence to manually adjust a student. How could I when I knew so little about specific physical and mental conditions, the benefits and consequences of manually changing someone’s posture? I think I started hands-on adjustments a little over a year after my first teacher training.

..the famous 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training is more of a personal journey rather than a sudden peak in your teaching skills. This should encourage those of you looking into doing a yttc without the intention of teaching after.

Other than the academics teachers often say what a life changing experience their teacher training was. What you experience is truly up to YOU. It will depend on the reason you are there, who you are and how you are feeling. After all, we do attract experiences and lessons based on what energy and thoughts we are emitting. Even if you don’t find what you are looking for, you will surely find something to reflect on.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that the famous 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training is more of a personal journey rather than a sudden peak in your teaching skills. This should encourage those of you looking into doing a yttc without the intention of teaching after. And please feel free to disregard what’s left of this post if you have no interest in teaching.

 

Speaking from my personal experience teaching is a journey itself. But you will only develop your skills by teaching. Even if you mumble, lack the confidence, are a beginner in your own yoga practice, just start teaching. You have to start somewhere!

My advice?

Find inspiration – in the trusted teachers that surround you. Not for the purpose of imitation – because you will never succeed that way but be inspired by how they speak their truth by just being themselves. I always say the best advice I received about teaching yoga is to be myself and teach from the heart.

Always be prepared. Especially in the beginning. Plan your class thoroughly and know what you want to deliver.

Look inward for inspiration. Don’t belittle the knowledge you already have. If something feels right it probably is.

Teach only what you truly believe in. If something doesn’t make sense to you don’t teach it just because!

Continue learning. The learning never stops. Read books, attend classes with other teachers even if you have a self practice, go on other teacher trainings and explore!

A Yoga Alliance Certified training is not the only way to go.

I don’t remember showing my certificates to any yoga studio owners or managers before they put me on their schedule. Maybe one studio asked for them but only after they already confirmed that they want me on board to teach. That doesn’t mean there was no “trial” class. Your passion, authenticity, voice, energy and other qualities unique to yourself will do a lot more for you than the certificate. Just make sure you know what you are doing and be REAL.

A Yoga Alliance Certified training is not the only way to go. I know many teachers around the globe that teach and have never done a yoga teacher training before. They studied and continuously study with a teacher following a certain lineage. A Yoga Alliance Certified training will however open doors for you to start teaching.

I cannot recommend any yoga school to anyone even the ones I studied with. Why? Because it depends on YOU. What location you are looking to be in, which lineage you want to follow..

As you may have guessed, I did not stop at my 200 hours ttc at Sampoorna Yoga School. I completed a 100 hr course in Yoga Therapy and the Art of Hands On Adjustments at Samma Karuna (Thailand) and taken intensive Workshops with Ashtanga Yoga Paris when they visited Kuwait. I also took a 2 day Workshop with Kashmir Shaivism School of Yoga on therapeutic practices for back pain. At the moment I am extremely happy to be studying with Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda and looking forward to completing my 300 hrs in Yoga Therapy next year.

I cannot recommend any yoga school to anyone even the ones I studied with. Why? Because it depends on YOU. What location you are looking to be in, which lineage you want to follow, what type of teaching, etc.. What I can advise is you should look for teachers that are authentically passing on the knowledge of this ancient practice. Preferably teachers that you can trace back to those that are globally known in the history of Yoga. All the schools I went/go to provide a safe and open environment for you to learn a little bit more about yourself.

And I think learning about yourself is the true purpose you may want to sign up for a teacher training, a purpose disguised by the desire to earn a license to teach.

حُب وكُنون

love & inner peace,

rawan