Are you an aspiring yoga teacher who is on the fence about whether you should take yoga teacher training online or in person? If so, this is for you! Have you been Googling ‘what to expect in yoga teacher training?' I've got the answers for you. As a CYT-200 myself who graduated from Briohny Smyth's Aligned online yoga teacher training, I've got some first-hand experience to share with you based on my own yoga teacher training experience.
As you may know, 2020 exploded with online yoga teacher training courses (also referred to as online YTT’s), and becoming a RYT-200 (Registered Yoga Teacher) online is now the way to do yoga teacher training.
If you’ve been considering becoming a yoga teacher in this new digital era, in this article, I am sharing five reasons you should get your yoga certification online + what to expect in yoga teacher training.
I will explain why becoming a certified yoga instructor online makes the most sense, and how to find the yoga teacher training program that is perfect for you.
As someone who graduated from a 200-hour online YTT myself and also being an online yoga practitioner for 8+ years (a practicing yogi for 15+ years), I think I can offer some good tips and tricks for successfully choosing and getting through yoga teacher training online.
Are you ready? Let's do it.
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IS YOGA TEACHER TRAINING ON YOUR RADAR?
Online Yoga Teacher Training Offers
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- Lifetime access
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What to expect in yoga teacher training
If you choose to get certified to teach yoga online, you can expect high-quality yoga videos, lustrous yoga pose images, and rich and expansive reading material and training manuals that give you the breadth and depth you need to graduate from the program with the confidence and skills to begin your yoga teaching career.
Yogi study tip – download a flashcard app to your phone, and as you’re moving through your online yoga certificate course create flashcards so that you can study yoga anatomy anywhere and everywhere!
Here are 5 things you should expect when you enroll in online yoga teacher training…
1. How you will login to the course & move through the modules
Once you’ve enrolled in your yoga teacher training you will be given login credentials to access the course materials.
The course will be split up into segments or learning modules. These modules are recorded lectures featuring the lead educators covering all of the required subjects of yoga teacher training, and more.
Each section or module will end with quizzes to test your aptitude. Don’t stress about the tests! What I loved about the online learning format is that I could zoom in, rewind and pause, and practice a pose over and over with the manual right there in front of me, and the video to watch multiple times until I felt I had it right.
I also appreciated the chance to watch some of the yoga theory lectures multiple times. Because frankly, some of these concepts are pretty deep and complex!
2. You will join a virtual & global community of peers also going through yoga teacher training
Most online Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Schools (also called RYS's) have created private Facebook groups or similar for students to join. In the FB groups you can interact with your peers and lead educators and ask questions about yoga poses, or even about the topics covered in the lessons. You can even use these groups to get study tips or to talk about yoga travel.
People posted their YouTube teaching videos for feedback in my YTT FB group.
I've noticed that many people will stay in these FB groups long after they've graduated and post about things like class sequencing, how to price their classes, how to create classes for certain demographics, and other topics that only come up among yoga teachers.
3. You will get lifetime access to course materials
Unlike in-person YTT where once the course is over, it's over (!), most online yoga teacher training courses offer a minimum of 12 months of access to the materials. Others offer lifetime access to course materials.
You’ll want to read all of the fine print and look at the terms and conditions before enrolling to discover how long you will have access to the YTT materials of each training.
Even though you have lifetime access, I recommend that you move through the course at a dedicated pace so that you give yourself an intense learning experience that will imprint your brain with the knowledge, and it will stick with you for years to come. Challenge yourself to complete the course in a reasonable time frame.
It's a little too easy to push a training out that has no deadline, so be mindful of this!
4. By choosing online yoga teacher training you can study under world-famous yogis
The opportunity to study under world-famous yogis might be one of the biggest reasons why people choose to get certified to teach yoga online. Briohny Smyth, Patrick Beach, Carling Harps, Janet Stone, Paul Grilley, Rocky Heron, Noah Maze, and many other well-known yoga teachers are now offering everything from the basic 200 hour yoga teacher training online to advanced yoga teacher training online.
After you’ve completed your basic 200 hour training you’ve then met the requirements to move onto special yoga training such as Yin, Kids, Special Needs, etc. The options are literally limitless!
5. You will learn how to create a global community & following
Yoga teachers like the ones mentioned above have perfected creating online global communities. Briohny Smyth, for example, is an Alo Moves instructor and an online yoga teacher training course creator with a huge Instagram following.
By studying under yogis who have mastered how to create online communities, you will learn how to create your own community in the business portion of the teacher training.
Once you are a certified yoga teacher, you too can teach online or become an online course creator if you really want to make the big bucks as a yoga teacher.
Brett Larkin, a pioneer in the online yoga teacher training space, has declared that her online yoga membership platform and online YTT courses have created a seven-figure business. You read that right.
So if you've been wondering, “how much money does a yoga instructor make”, in some cases, yoga teachers make a lot of it!
Read about my online yoga teacher training experience with Briohny Smyth
How long does it take to become a yoga teacher?
Yoga teacher training is typically completed within 6 weeks to about 6 months. Obviously, that is quite a range! The flexibility of online yoga training is certainly an appeal.
How long it takes to complete a 200 hr online yoga teacher training is determined by you, the student. An online YTT is your learning journey on your own time. You can complete an online yoga certification course in as few as three weeks if you have the time and dedication.
Use the table below to gauge how long you might take to complete yoga teacher training based on your availability.
Yoga teacher training completion timeline estimator
| How many hours/week you can dedicate to online YTT | How long it will take you to complete online YTT |
| 55hrs/week | 4 weeks |
| 25-30 hrs/week | 8 weeks |
| 20 hrs/week | 12 weeks |
| 12-15 hrs/week | 3-4 months |
| 10-12 hrs/week | 5 months |
| 9-10 hrs/week | 6 months |
| 6 hrs/week | 9 months |
After you’ve completed your basic 200 hour training you’ve then met the requirements to move onto special yoga training such as Yin, Kids, Special Needs, etc. The options are literally limitless!
Get certified to teach yoga online and save money
Ok, so in case you don't know, online yoga teacher training is way more affordable than a traditional yoga training course. You can save yourself hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by opting for an economical online yoga teacher training.
The lowest price you’ll find for a generic online teacher training is about $400. A high-end training like Brett Larkin’s training, is about a $2,700 investment. And there's every price point in between.
But you don't need to worry too much about the financial investment, because virtually all online yoga teacher training courses offer payment plan options with no interest or added cost to tuition.
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Takeaway on what to expect in yoga teacher training
I hope that after reading this article, you have a better idea of what to expect in yoga teacher training and you are feeling confident that you can look forward to an amazing, high-quality, affordable, and flexible learning journey in online yoga teacher training and there are a million opportunities that await you on the other side of certification!
If you are ready to take that next step in life towards ultimate success as a yoga teacher Join an online YTT to begin your yoga teacher training journey today for far less than you might expect!
If you still have more questions about online YTT check out this post that answers common questions about yoga teacher training – it might surprise you!
Discover THE PERFECT online yoga teacher training FOR YOU and begin your yoga teacher training journey today!
FAQ about yoga teacher training
Can a beginner do yoga teacher training?
A beginner can do yoga teacher training, but it is advised that you are very familiar with the basic yoga poses and that you have a consistent and established yoga practice.
How intense is yoga teacher training?
Yoga teacher training is pretty intense, but in a good way! Your yoga teacher training will cover topics like anatomy and physiology, and of course the physical practice aspect of yoga teacher training can make a YTT experience a pretty intense one!
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