Last updated on November 29th, 2023.
Embarking on a yoga teacher training course is a fantastic way to deepen your yoga practice. You’ll learn more about meditation, yoga breathing, poses, and more. And, if you are looking for a new career or a source of supplemental income to your current job, with the right yoga teacher training course, you can find success and help people improve their lives and health.
The yoga industry is growing. People all over want to improve their health, decrease stress, and explore natural healing. So, if you’ve been dreaming of guiding people down a healthy path, in-person or even online yoga teacher training could be just the thing. If you’re still wondering if online training is legitimate, check out our article.
Yoga teachers work varied hours; they generally don’t have a nine-to-five schedule. That could allow you to work multiple jobs or raise your kids without juggling your schedule. It’s a great career path if you want the freedom to make your hours and be your boss, mainly if you teach private clients instead of working in a classroom setting.
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5 Tips To Consider When Looking for "Yoga Teacher Training Near Me"
If you have been thinking about becoming a yoga teacher or learning more about the practice and philosophy of yoga, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Is there a great Yoga Teacher Training Near Me?” Because you must find the best teacher training for you. If you want to learn more about gentle yoga for yourself or teach future students, you wouldn’t want to attend yoga teacher training focusing on Ashtanga. Or, if you’ve dreamed of teaching an athletic Power Yoga class, teacher training with a focus on chair yoga may not be for you! As you can see, there are many different topics that individual yoga teachers’ training courses focus on. By reading the syllabuses of various classes in your area and contacting the schools with any questions, you’ll be sure to choose the proper yoga teacher training to help you meet your goals.
Below, we’ve listed five essential questions to ask prospective yoga teacher training schools. But don’t just stop with these five tips. You may have more questions concerning embarking on a yoga teacher training course. Don’t feel bashful about contacting yoga teacher training schools. They also want to make sure you are the right fit for them. If not, it would be a waste of time for you and them.
We’ve also looked at teacher training studio reviews for programs around. We’ve listed the best schools everywhere; hopefully, there’s one near you. Further, we’ve listed tuition costs, what days of the week the teacher training meets, and what, if any, niche topics they focus on.
So, check out the five tips to consider when choosing a local yoga teacher training program:
1) Do they specialize in a niche yoga subject?
I would appreciate it if you could find a local yoga teacher training program that teaches the subjects you are interested in. For instance, there are teacher training courses that focus on Ayurveda or natural healing or ones that may focus on a specific style of yoga, such as Yin Yoga or Jivamukti. If you dream of teaching niche yoga, finding teacher training to teach you about that niche is helpful.
But that isn’t to say that you shouldn’t learn about other types of yoga. It might be that your path takes you from one style, and you eventually migrate into multiple or expand into yoga therapy sessions. Sometimes, you must do whatever it takes to survive as a yoga teacher! So again, you may decide you’d like to teach another type of yoga in the future, or you may want to focus on natural healing. It’s up to you to decide, but know there are continuing education opportunities to learn a new subject.
2) Do they have weekend or evening classes?
If you have a full-time job or are a full-time parent, you may be unable to take time away from the office or your kids to attend yoga teacher training. So, looking for a training course that meets on nights or weekends is a good idea. Plenty of courses will allow you to study to be a yoga teacher without disrupting your schedule!
3) How much can you afford to spend on tuition?
Tuition for yoga teacher training classes can run from under $400 to over $7,000. That’s a wide price range, but there are a lot of reasonably priced courses out there for you. Midrange courses run from about $1,000 to $3,000, which is pretty doable. And some offer payment plans, so you won’t have to pay the entire amount simultaneously. Spacing tuition payments out may be just the incentive you need to follow your dreams and attend yoga teacher training.
4) Does Yoga Alliance recognize and certify the course?
Significantly, only yoga studios will hire you as a teacher if you are certified. There is no federal mandate that a yoga teacher must be approved, but again, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a job without certification. And the main yoga certification body is Yoga Alliance…it’s also the most preferred by yoga studios. So, when researching a potential yoga teacher training course, choose one certified by the Yoga Alliance. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and grief and know you’ll be getting an excellent yoga education because Yoga Alliance’s education requirements must be adhered to to gain that valuable certification!
5) How long is the course?
Yoga teacher training usually lasts around five months. That’s a reasonable time; you won’t be overwhelmed with living your life, meeting your responsibilities, and studying. There are some concise courses, around 21 days, but we’d advise taking a course over a few months. That way, you’ll have time to soak up all the teachings. It will be safer for you and your students if you have a handle on all the aspects of teaching yoga. A 21-day course may not allow you to learn everything you need to be a successful yoga teacher. Short intensives are usually not local; they are held in faraway locations such as Indonesia or India.
Some of the Best Yoga Teacher Schools in the US
We’ve poured over reviews and checked ratings to give you the best yoga teacher training schools in the U.S. We’ve looked at the different geographical sections of the country to find those top-rated schools in the Midwest, East, South, and Southwest. The schools below offer exceptional classes so that, when finished, new yoga teachers can teach standard yoga or even delve into niche topics such as Ashtanga, chair yoga, and power yoga. There’s something for everyone here, and hopefully, there’s a class for you in your area of the U.S. Take a look below!
Yoga Teacher Trainings in Texas
For Texas, there are a couple of studios we recommend. The first is one of our favorites, doing so much to build a community and offer excellent services; that is My Vinyasa Practice out of Austin, Texas. In addition to having our highest rates online yoga teacher training course, they also have a fantastic Yoga Therapy program. My Vinyasa Practice is a world-class brand.
Another of Texas’s highest-rated yoga teacher training schools, Practice Yoga in Austin, offers prospective yoga teachers a unique Waking Yoga 200-hour teacher training taught by yoga instructors, therapists, and community activists. The goal of the course is to encourage feelings of self-authority, inclusion, and body positivity in teacher trainees so that they can promote those feelings in their students. The course, priced at $2,950 and running for three months, teaches a classical style of yoga and aims to awaken students to the world within and around them. The class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Yoga Teacher Trainings in New York
New York-based Yogamaya’s 200-hour teacher training spans ten months (the class meets on weekends) to guide future yoga teachers through investigating 40 yoga postures, sacred text, and practice teaching. Students will also learn meditation, sequencing, alignment, chanting, and chakras. The course hopes to inspire student teachers and help yoga practitioners deepen their practice and learn more about themselves. Tuition is $3,150 if paid in full. There are also options for paying in installments.
Yoga Teacher Trainings in California
Caroline Klebl’s 200-hour yoga teacher training will immerse students in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga to allow them to teach Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Power Yoga safely and effectively. The class meets Monday through Thursday, with home practice on Fridays and Sundays. Topics include mediation, Mysore-style Ashtanga, adjustments and teaching techniques, anatomy, Ayurveda and Philosophy, and Restorative Yoga. Tuition for the course is $2,900. The program takes place in Topanga, California.
Yoga Teacher Trainings in Florida
Heartwood Yoga Institute offers a 200-hour yoga teacher training for people over 50 to train them to teach students over 50. The need for teachers with the training and sensitivity for older students is growing as America’s population grays. The course will allow trainees to teach students of all ages, but there is a focus on yoga that is gentle and accessible, such as chair yoga. The class will cover anatomy, alignment, posture, methodology, energy, yoga philosophy, and more. The course is a 15-day intensive or six-month class that meets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tuition runs from $2,500 to $3,495.
Yoga Teacher Trainings in Illinois
Yogaview, in the Chicago area, features a $3,450 yoga teacher training run for three and a half months. The class focuses on meditation, alignment, sequencing, anatomy, yoga philosophy, and breathing. The classes meet on Saturdays and Sundays and will teach trainees to find their voice, learn how to earn money as a yoga teacher and chant Sanskrit words. The course requires trainees to have two years of yoga practice before applying.
Educate yourself
Before jumping into the first yoga teacher training you find near you, it’s advisable to educate yourself. Figure out what you can afford in tuition. Ask yourself if you can take off work or need weekend courses. Do you want to spend the next ten months studying, or would a 15-day intensive be more your speed? And what kind of yoga would you like to teach? As you saw above, yoga teacher training runs a few thousand dollars, so you want to ensure you get the most from your money…even if you aren’t planning to become a yoga teacher. So, even if you want to attend a yoga teacher training course to advance your practice, looking at all your options to find the right program near you still makes sense.
We hope you find our five tips for choosing a yoga teacher training school near you to be helpful to you. But those tips are just the start. When researching the best yoga teacher training for you, add to our list. There are probably questions pertinent to your own life. These could be questions that not all prospective yoga teacher trainees may have. Drop in on some yoga classes and talk to your teachers. Find out what they think is essential in choosing the suitable class.
And we also hope you had a chance to check out the yoga teacher training courses we highlighted for you from across the U.S. With any luck; there is one near you. We discussed if the program had a niche focus or taught their students various yoga topics. We also included information on which days the classes run. That’s very important for people working nine-to-five jobs or raising their kids home. Not all teacher training classes meet on weekends. If you’re lucky and need a weekend class, you’ll find one near you.
On the other hand, some excellent teacher training courses meet during the week. It could be tough to do, but don’t discount them if there is some way you could swing it. You’ll notice that tuition prices are steep; think of all the information you get in just a few months. It makes the tuition pretty affordable when you realize you’ll be able to start a successful, in-demand career when you finish your studies.
So, when you ask yourself, “How can I find a Yoga Teacher Training Near Me?” if you take your time and do your homework, you will find the right fit. Good luck!