Article Content:
Understanding 500-hour online YTT
How to navigate this guide to 500-hr courses
5 reasons to do yoga teacher training
3 Incredible 500-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training Courses
Our rating system
The cost of 500 hour yoga teacher training online
500 hour online yoga training duration
How to choose the right course
FAQ about yoga teacher training
Hey yogi! If you are serious about getting yoga certified at the highest level and finding the best 500 hour online yoga teacher training, you're in the right place!
Currently, only a handful of online yoga schools, including YogaRenew, Siddhi Yoga, and My Vinyasa Practice, offer 500-hour yoga teacher training online.
As you probably know, a 500 hour yoga teacher certificate is the highest level of certification recognized globally and by Yoga Alliance. Your ambition to enroll in a 500 hour online yoga training tells me you are extremely dedicated to your future career as a yoga teacher!
I am a CYT-200 (Certified Yoga Teacher 200-hr). I did yoga teacher training online with Aligned Yoga. I have been practicing yoga for over 15 years, and I switched to practicing yoga online over nine years ago when I moved to Thailand and left my favorite yoga studios in the U.S. behind!
That said, I have some great insight to help you discover your ideal 500-hr online yoga teacher training certification course that speaks to your body, budget, and soul that you can join now. If want to discover the best advanced yoga teacher training course, this is for you.
As a Certified Yoga Teacher, I share my insight as a yoga instructor and recommend the most worthwhile 500-hr Yoga Alliance accredited online yoga teacher certification programs that are highly rated and worth it based on my analysis and alumni reviews.
I've included each school's Yoga Alliance review scores, my personal evaluation of each yoga instructor course, what each includes, the price, and more.
Understanding 500-hr yoga teacher training
In 500-hour yoga teacher training, you’ll study advanced yoga philosophy, how to be successful as a yoga business owner, advanced pranayama and advanced yoga anatomy, and so much more.
Whether you choose online or in-person, the programs will all cover the required subjects for certification, which are:
- Techniques, training, practice: 150 hours
- Teaching methodology: 30 hours
- Anatomy & physiology: 35 hours
- Yoga philosophy lifestyle & ethics: 60 hours
- Practicum: 40 hours
How to navigate this guide to 500-hour online yoga training
This guide lists the trainings by price from lowest to highest, ranging from $749 to $935.
To help you make an informed decision, I included the following criteria for each of the Yoga Alliance Registered Schools included in this article:
- Yoga Alliance Overall School Rating & NPS (Net Promoter Score)
- Google and/or Facebook reviews of the school
To ensure that you have the most important details about each online YTT, I also included all of the need-to-know information, including:
- The price
- What’s covered in the syllabus
- Course access allowances
- Style of yoga taught
- The materials each course includes
- The credentials of the yoga teacher trainers
- The refund policy
500 hour YTT can be done in two ways
There are two ways to meet the required 500 hours of training to become a RYT-500:
- By completing one 500 hour yoga teacher training certification program.
- By completing a 200 hour and a 300 hour yoga teacher training certification course separately for a combined total of 500 hours of yoga teacher training.
5 reasons to do yoga teacher training
While there are many reasons to do YTT, here are 5 top reasons I recommend doing a yoga course:
- Deepen mind-body awareness: Yoga teacher training encourages a heightened awareness of the mind-body connection, helping you become more in tune with your body’s needs and mental patterns. This awareness can lead to healthier lifestyle choices and a more mindful way of living.
- Explore yoga's therapeutic benefits: You’ll learn about yoga’s potential for healing and how it can be used as a tool for stress relief, injury recovery, and mental well-being. This knowledge allows you to incorporate therapeutic elements into your teaching or personal practice.
- Develop a holistic approach to wellness: Yoga teacher training often includes modules on nutrition, Ayurveda, and holistic health. By learning about these complementary practices, you can create a more balanced, well-rounded approach to your overall wellness.
- Challenge yourself physically and mentally: Teacher training pushes you to go beyond your comfort zone, both physically through advanced postures and mentally through self-inquiry and deep study. This challenge fosters growth and resilience, helping you break through personal barriers.
- Contribute to a greater purpose: Completing yoga teacher training gives you the tools to share yoga’s benefits with others. Whether you’re teaching a community class or offering yoga as a service, you become part of a movement that promotes physical health, mental clarity, and emotional well-being.
Our rating systems for online yoga teacher training courses
We determined that these are the best 500hour online yoga teacher training courses by analyzing key data points to understand each course comprehensively. The main factors we considered for each training are reputation, materials and support, and the final practicum (exam) process.
We derived our rating system, which assesses the above aspects of each school’s training and assigns a score. Details about our rating system.
Reputation grade | Materials & support | Final practicum |
A – C | ★ – ★★★ | Easy – Hard |
This guide to 500-hr yoga certifications will help you choose the right online yoga course, which is an important decision.
After reading this, you'll be able to make an informed decision and avoid a YTT that doesn't offer exceptional training. One thing you don't want to do is take a 500-hour training twice because the first one wasn't good enough!
So without further ado, let's get to it.
⬇My Top Two Recommendations For 500-hr Online Yoga Teacher Training⬇
3 Loved 500-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training Certification Courses
Course Name: | Course Cost: | Format: |
YogaRenew | $749 | Self-paced |
Siddhi Yoga International | $894 | Self-paced |
My Vinyasa Practice | $935 | Self-paced |
1. YogaRenew
500-hr Certification
YogaRenew overall ratings
Reputation grade | Materials & support | Final practicum |
A – 92% | ★★☆ | Easy |
YogaRenew is a leader and pioneer in the online yoga teacher training space. Since it registered with Yoga Alliance in 2015, this school has graduated over 10,000 yoga teachers worldwide.
As a student at YogaRenew, you'll study the Vinyasa lineage from a qualified team of educators led by Patrick Franco (E-RYT 500) and Kate Lombardo (E-RYT 500).
This esteemed online yoga school has a rating of 4.9 on TrustPilot based on 2,891 reviews, 2,861 of which have been verified.
The consensus among most YogaRenew grads is that YogaRenew is the best online yoga teacher training certification school.
Students rave about the massive private Facebook community which has over 25,000 members, Julie, the philosophy teacher, and Joe, the anatomy instructor.
With lifetime access to the course's 500-hr content, updates, and live training, you can take it at your own pace, refresh yourself on the content in the years to come, and attend all future workshops to stay current on your knowledge.
Reputation grade: A – 92%
Yoga Alliance Overall Rating: 4.79/5
Yoga Alliance Net Promoter Score: 8.8/10
Materials & support: ★★☆
Training includes: A digital yoga teacher training manual, PDF study flashcards, access to a private Facebook community group with over 25,000 members, weekly live Zoom training sessions, 8 Limbs of Yoga workbook, Seva teaching assignment, Yoga sutras assignment
Not included are: A printed yoga teacher training manual and the additional required reading assignments which include, Your Body Your Yoga by Bernie Clark, Yoga Sequencing by Mark Stephens, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda, Bhagavad Gita.
Final practicum: Easy
To get certified, you'll need to complete all required coursework, pass all quizzes, and submit written yoga class sequences. The YogaRenew final practicum requirement does not include a video component, which some would say is a drawback to this training.
YogaRenew 500-hour training highlights
Price | $749 |
Yoga Alliance School Ratings | Overall rating: 4.79/5 NPS: 8.8/10 |
Other reviews | Google: 5/5 |
Course access | Lifetime |
Syllabus | The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Understanding Different Styles of Yoga, 6 Principles of, Yoga Alignment, Learn 5 Categories of asanas, 5 Bandhas of yoga, Injuries & modifications, Sanskrit, Inspiring class themes, Hands on adjustments, Chakra yoga therapy, Classroom props, Living a Yoga lifestyle, Developing confidence as a teacher, Yoga business & marketing, Find teaching opportunities, Advanced Study Of The Ancient Texts, Advanced Asana Study, Yoga History, Understanding Different Styles, Working with Injuries, Advanced Philosophy, Advanced Class Themes, Meditation Techniques, Advanced Pranayama, Seva and Being In Service, Teaching Inspiring and Creative Classes, Tension and Compression, Chair Yoga, Ayurveda, Yoga Nidra, Advanced Teaching Techniques, Advanced Alignment and Sequencing, Personal Development, Yoga for Special Groups, Yoga Ethics |
Course includes | Videos, required reading, workbooks, handouts, lectures, live weekly Zoom calls |
Bonuses | N/A |
Course style | Self-paced |
Duration | Self-paced |
Max time to finish course | Lifetime |
Payment plans | Pay in full OR over 5 months |
Style of yoga | Vinyasa |
Yoga teacher certificates offered | 500-hour |
Yoga Alliance Registered School | Yes |
Next start date | Rolling start (start anytime) |
Refund policy | 30 days |
Yoga Alliance certified
Lifetime access to course materials
Start course immediately upon enrollment
2. Siddhi Yoga International
500-hr Certification
Siddhi Yoga overall ratings
Reputation grade | Materials & support | Final practicum |
A – 93% | ★★☆ | Easy |
Siddhi Yoga International registered with Yoga Alliance in 2016, and it's a great self-paced 500-hr YTT online that offers the unusual opportunity to study under Indian yoga teachers online.
If you’ve been wanting to go to India for yoga teacher training but haven’t been able to do that for various reasons, here’s your chance to go to India virtually for your TTC!
The lead teachers at Siddhi Yoga are Shobhit Ghanshyala (E-RYT 500, YACEP), Yogacharya Sandeep Pandey, who has a Master's degree in Yoga and Indian Philosophy from Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, and Dr. Sumit of Rishikesh, who has a Master's degree in Physical Therapy and is a YACEP.
Reputation grade: A – 93%
Yoga Alliance overall rating: 4.81/5
Yoga Alliance Net Promoter Score: 9/10
Materials & support: ★★☆
Training includes: A digital yoga teacher training manual, live Zoom training sessions (weekends only), and a private Facebook community with over 2,500 members.
Not included: A printed yoga teacher training manual or daily live sessions with lead teachers.
Final practicum: Easy
To earn your yoga certification online with Siddhi Yoga, you will need to complete the final practicum, which involves writing and filming a 60-minute yoga class for assessment.
Siddhi Yoga 500-hour training highlights
Price | $849 |
Yoga Alliance School Ratings | Overall School Rating: 4.81/5 NPS: 9/10 |
Other reviews | Facebook: 4.9/5 |
Course access | Lifetime |
Syllabus | Anatomy and physiology, Asana alignment and modifications, Assisting, Bhakti, Chakras, Multiple styles of yoga, Postural adjustments, Pranayama, Sequencing, Teaching methodology, Advanced yoga asanas, Advanced Pranayama, Advanced anatomy, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, 8 Limbs of Yoga, Breath Awareness Meditation, Chakra Meditation, So Hum Meditation, Sufi Meditation, Vipassana Meditation, Bhakti yoga, Yoga for conditions. |
Course includes | 300 page digital yoga manual, 250+ video lessons & quizzes, required reading, webinars, live weekly Zoom classes |
Bonus | N/A |
Course style | Self-paced |
Duration | Self-paced |
Max time to finish course | 1 year |
Payment plan options | Pay in full OR over 3 months |
Style of yoga | Multi-style |
Yoga teacher certificates offered | 500-hour |
Yoga Alliance Registered School | Yes |
Next start date | Rolling start (start anytime) |
Refund policy | 7 days |
Yoga Alliance certified
Lifetime access to course materials
Start course immediately upon enrollment
3. My Vinyasa Practice
500-hr Certification
My Vinyasa Practice overall ratings
Reputation grade | Materials & support | Final practicum |
A – 91% | ★★☆ | Medium |
This 500-hr training is curated by Michelle Young (C-IAYT, E-RYT 500) and led by a team of over twenty yoga teacher trainers, to whom students have access 24/7.
In the MVP online Vinyasa yoga teacher training, you'll master alignment-based Vinyasa.
It's not hard to see why My Vinyasa Practice leads the way in the yoga TTC space with its proprietary yoga teacher training app and mentorship component.
Reputation grade: A – 91%
Yoga Alliance overall rating: 4.79/5
Yoga Alliance Net Promoter Score: 8.7/10
Materials & support: ★★☆
Training includes: A digital yoga teacher training manual, live Zoom training sessions (weekends only), and access to a private Facebook community with over 16,000 members.
Not included: A printed yoga teacher training manual, daily live sessions with lead teachers, or the additional required reading assignments, which are Light on Yoga by B.K.S Iyengar and The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali.
Final practicum: Medium
To complete the My Vinyasa Practice training, you must create a 60-minute flow class (which can be written or recorded), pass the final exam with at least 80%, and submit a final essay.
My Vinyasa Practice 500-hour training highlights
Price | $935 |
Yoga Alliance School Ratings | Overall School Rating: 4.79 NPS: 8.7 |
Other reviews | Google: 4.9/5 |
Course access | Lifetime |
Syllabus | History & foundations of Vinyasa yoga, Living your karma through your dharma, Understanding the panchamaya kosha system, Anatomy, mechanics & sequencing, Integrating mind & body, Chakras & specializing sequences, Introduction to specialized practices, Metaphysics & manifestation, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Trauma-Informed Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Adaptive Yoga, Business of Yoga, Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, Advanced Sequencing, Intro to Ayurveda. |
Course includes | Pre-recorded video lectures, full-length yoga classes, 100+ in-depth pose workshops, required reading, workshops, MVP yoga teacher training app |
Course style | Self-paced |
Duration | Self-paced |
Max time to finish course | Lifetime |
Payment plan options | Pay in full OR over 3 months |
Style of yoga | Vinyasa |
Yoga teacher certificates offered | 500-hr |
Yoga Alliance Registered School | Yes |
Next start date | Rolling start (start anytime) |
Refund policy | 30 days |
Yoga Alliance certified
Lifetime access to course materials
Start course immediately upon enrollment
Our rating system
We determined that these yoga schools offer the best 500-hour online yoga teacher training by analyzing key data points to gain a comprehensive understanding of each course. The main factors we considered for each training are reputation, materials and support, and the final practicum (exam) process.
We derived our own rating system, which assesses the above aspects of each school’s training and assigns a score. Details about our rating system.
Reputation grade | Materials & support | Final practicum |
A – C | ★ – ★★★ | Easy – Hard |
- Reputation grade: This is an average of the two main data points from each school’s Yoga Alliance School Profile.
The reputation grade scale is as follows:
A – 90 +
B – 80 – 90
C – 70 – 80
- Materials & support score: This score assigns value to each online yoga instructor training based on the materials and community support included with the training. It assigns value to materials that are included with a training, such as paper a yoga teacher training manual, and additional books or study materials.
The support score assigns value to the school’s student support options, including private Facebook groups, live Zoom sessions, and private forums.
Points for materials & support are assigned as follows:
1 point – WhatsApp, Zoom & Facebook support
1 point – Printed yoga teacher training manual
1 point – Frequency of online workshops offered with lead trainers
- Final practicum: This rates how hard or easy the school’s final practicum is. A video teaching demo requirement adds to the difficulty score.
The range is:
Hard
Medium
Easy
The cost of 500 hour yoga teacher training online
500-hour online yoga teacher training costs starts at $749.
All of the 500-hour online yoga courses in this article are under $1,000 and offer payment plan options at no added cost to tuition. One major perk of choosing an online yoga school is the lower tuition, there's no doubt about that.
Furthermore, enrolling in a 500-hour online yoga teacher training is less expensive than taking a 200-hour and 300-hour online certification course separately.
500 hour online yoga training duration
Realistically, you can expect to spend at least 8 months working towards a 500-hour certification. This is assuming that you are finishing sections of the course consistently. If you're not, it may take you much longer than that.
A 500 hour yoga teacher training online will require a serious time commitment from you, make no mistake about that! However, the great thing about the online yoga courses included in this article is that they all offer lifetime allowance to finish the training. Online yoga teacher training offers maximum flexibility, which is one of the major perks of doing your yoga teacher training online.
How to choose the right course
There are many aspects to consider when evaluating virtual yoga training. While reading student testimonials and course reviews is recommended, I have other suggestions to help you select the right course.
Here are some tips, questions, and considerations to keep in mind when selecting a yoga certification online that aligns with what suits you best:
- What are the instructors' qualifications (Look for RYT-500 at minimum)
- Do you feel a connection with the trainers (Yes, even with online learning!)
- Does it focus on the lineage/style of yoga you're most interested in (Different courses focus on different lineages more than others)
- Is a syllabus outline available for you to review (It should be)
- How long is the course duration? (This could be 3-months if it's a cohort or indefinite)
- How long are you allowed to access the training platform? (Some courses only allow 1-year access, while others offer lifetime access)
- Is it a self-paced or cohort/group learning format? (And which do you prefer)
- How many live workshops and live classes are offered each week (This will vary dramatically from school to school)
FAQ about yoga teacher training
Is 500 hour yoga teacher training worth it?
If you know now that you want to take your yoga studies to the advanced level, then enrolling in a 500 hour yoga teacher training can be a huge cost saving versus taking 200 hour and 300 hour yoga teacher training programs separately. For the seriously dedicated aspiring yoga teacher, a 500 hour YTT is definitely worth it.
Can I train to be a yoga teacher online?
Yes, you can absolutely become a certified yoga teacher online. Online yoga teacher training is a much more affordable and flexible way to become a registered yoga teacher. In fact, you now have the best yoga teachers in the world at your fingertips, offering online yoga teacher training at the 200 hour, 300 hour, and 500 hour levels.
Some online yoga studios, online yoga teacher training programs, and brands that we write about may offer us a small commission should you decide to make a purchase or signup after reading our content. Thank you for enabling us to exist!