I Wish I'd Known THIS Before Yoga Teacher Training!

If you're considering becoming a yoga teacher and curious what a YTT (yoga teacher training) covers, these are the things that I wish I'd known before I did mine.

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[jeffandersen]

i guess i got lucky, we all met in a park in North Hollywood in the shade of these beautiful trees that showered little yellow flowers down on us when the wind blew. Sat/Sun 8 hr+ days for 10 weeks. On top of everything else, we learned an entire 60 minute class, which we had to conduct before graduating., there was also a written exam covering everything, "Who was Patanjali?".. "Name the 8 limbs of Yoga"..."What is the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna" ...etc.. the teacher studied in India, 400 hours total, where he lived at the Ashram. we had tons of homework, lots of reading, making flashcards, etc.. The teacher made himself available on "off-hours" if you had questions regarding marketing or philosophy. I would certainly do it all again, just for the friends I made. Thanks for your videos, keep it up!

[LauraGardnerYoga]

I can relate so much to this. I thought I would complete my 200hr training and I would know everything I needed to know and be an amazing yoga teacher straight out the gate but it's been a long journey and I feel like I've learnt more from self study and experience than from the actual training.

[Diana-xdxg]

I wish I knew this before my YTT!. I decided to do a 500 h YTT but chose it so badly I didn't even get to teach one class nor understand how to build sequence. We were only practicing the whole time with no explanation. Couldn't get out of it because they wouldn't return my money. I was so disappointed at watching how yoga was turning into a greedy business that I couldn't continue practicing until now that I'm trying to come back and begin to learn again. It has taken me more than 2 years to recover from it, so thank you for sharing your thoughts so people can avoid my experience.

[patriciastover]

Hello from America! Just completed my 1st 200 hrs, currently in an immersive Yin weekend training - slowly leaning in to teaching❤My instructor was amazing- listening to these I’m proud to say what a well rounded program she constructed. ❤A small (6 students) in person bi-weekly,
spread over 6 months. Donation based classes open to public also bi weekly, that grew our yoga community greatly. Those donations helped a lot of truly deserving organizations. This 1st 200 was a deep dive into self- so very glad ( and proud 😊) I started this journey.
I’m looking to increase my flexibility and I love your videos and tutorials! Your explanations are fantastic. Thank you, thank you! 🎉❤

[AlexiaKYoga]

Thank you for this video! I did my YTT almost 8 years ago and I have sooo many mixed feelings about it! Of course, it doesn't help that I did what you did too by typing in: "April Goa YTT". After graduating I opened a yoga studio and felt like I knew so little.. It's only recently that I have built the confidence to teach and of course, as you mentioned, doing further training has helped. It sure has been a long journey, and much longer than just 200 hours!

[gitismita]

Finally somebody spoke the truth about how difficult asanas are not taught in these training classes. Thanks a ton for this video. All sorts of blessings to u ❤❤

[yogalebrity]

I've been teaching Yoga Teacher Trainings for 20 years. I've owned 3 studios and taught YTT in both in person and online. There 100% is a rule book for 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings. That term is trademarked by an organization called Yoga Alliance. However, the reality is more what you say that people just do whatever they want. And Yoga Alliance Certified means very little. Most 200 hour trainings are the introductory, but this is not the traditional way of teaching training and traditionally one teacher taught one student for how ever long or little that student needed training before teaching, which is how I teach my online yoga teacher training. One on one. Yoga Alliance actually doesn't allow more than 5 hours of business of yoga!!! I took them to task on this because that is ridiculous. This was a really good video and overall this is an excellent video about what to expect. But 200 hours of learning is 200 hours of learning and if your training isn't providing 200 hours of learning they are cheating you out of education and that's not right.

[Aisekayakk]

I have just registered to a 200 hour YTT. My teacher likened 200 hour to a bachelor's degree, while the 300 hour YTT is more like a master's degree. I see that now when this training is over it's going to be like the time after my graduation when I was like, what now? The answer is, of course, unless you continue educating yourself it starts to fade away. But of course, it's easier to put onto a fundamental knowledge of things as opposed to trying to completely self educate yourself from nothing! Even if I cannot manage to follow up with a 300 hour, with a baseline and self practice I know I can be a good trainer in this field I find myself most at home. This is a great video, and great timing, too, with my training starting in a week :)

[starofazure]

Currently in YTT it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. We meet one weekend each month for 8 months. Our group has become so bonded and close it’s like a healing/learning/practice retreat! On Friday we have a potluck do a quiz and talk about our personal month and our homework and talk about philosophy. Saturday is all about the asanas we do yoga in the morning then anatomy, practice together one on one teaching. Sunday we are given our assignments homework to do over the next month then we do Chakra circle. Each month we have one of the chakra that we focus on. We wear a color that corresponds and we bring something that represents the aspect of that chakra ie root chakra something that represents feeling safe. And we talk about how that chakra is manifesting in our life or our struggle with it. It’s extremely healing space and my favorite part of all the weekend. Then our teacher does restorative yoga for us and that is just such a cherry on top and a beautiful comforting way to end our weekend. Within all of that we also learn aurvadic, pranayama, and mantras. It’s one of the best experiences of my life. I wish everyone to have as an amazing YTT experience as this.

[juilie]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ❤ I am planning to do 200hrs training and this will definitely help me while choosing the right Academy.

[navyab]

This was bang on! As a new yoga teacher, I wish I had this video before my 200 TTC.

[Youokhun]

I did mine online during covid/lockdown! It was so intense, I feel I missed out on bonding with other teachers so hoping to do my 300 hour / 500 hour in person 🤞☺️

[estemomentoyoga]

Hi Liv! I am just about finished with my 200YTT. As in today I put together my first sequence. Thank you so much for this video! I've been feeling a bit of the imposter syndrome and since I am taking the course online, I thought I was alone in that "How on earth am I supposed to teach a class?" feeling. BTW my favorite thing about your videos is just how fun your transitions are. After having done so many yoga videos online, I often times know where the teacher is going with it. But you consistently surprise me in the best way. Thanks again and good luck with your 300HR.

[ShaggyMonk]

"It's only the beginning". So true!

[jessebradley]

Thank you, very informative. I'm looking into schools now but already started studying and plan on studying all aspects as much as I possibly can before starting the training. 🙂

[bayournnr]

I don't plan on taking a YTT course but really enjoyed the video. I've done your classes for the past 2.5 years and always appreciate your content and enthusiasm. Keep up the great work~!

[beautifulworld]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ❤ I am planning to do 200hrs training and this will definitely help me in having realistic goals.. especially with teaching :D

[christinaspica]

Can’t stop giggling. I felt and even looked same with my glasses on when started the course thinking FINALLY WE’RE GONNA NERD OUT AND BEND IN HALF 🤣 *obviously that DID NOT happen*

200 hours = just like superficial muscles, trapezius for instance. And as you pointed out you should keep learning to discover those rhomboids underneath 😆

Agree with all your points and the 7th is just a spot-on! Still learning anatomy, and guess will be doing that for a long time, still learning that “giving instructions&cues” language and all that eloquence and metaphors and I’m just better be silent about yoga sutras, bhagavat gita and yadayadayada 😆

Yoga “paaaath” is a never-ending journey but a fun one 😄

And thank you for the video!

[practicezero]

I've just signed up for a YTT course and all these topics you've listed were mainly my concerns. I guess (or I hope) just accepting these and starting the course knowing these would be the enough. 😇

[elizabethgraves]

Love all these tips! Great things to keep in mind prior to choosing a YTT.