Summary: Before you start your yoga teacher training program, do thorough research, clarify your expectations, ask questions, and prepare your life for the experience.
It’s exciting! You have made a big decision to invest in your learning and you want to take the best yoga teacher training program. Perhaps you are experiencing a mix of excitement and anxiety at the prospect of finally diving into your passion for yoga. Well, you are not alone! It’s normal to be excited (and a little scared) when we challenge ourselves to try something new. In this blog, we’ll take a look at how you can prepare yourself to have the best experience possible.
Before you choose your YTT, do research to make sure you are finding the best program fit for your needs. While the studio down the street may offer a solid-looking 200 hour, there are a lot of 200-hour online teacher training options also available and a little due diligence can help you feel confident that you’re making the right choice.
To ensure you’re finding the best program fit, ask yourself some questions about your ideal experience:
By articulating your own wants, needs and desires for your program, you will be better able to match with the program that can support your interests.
Any good teacher training school will be excited to communicate with you and answer your questions. Before committing, you may wish to ask questions about the program learning objectives, find out more about teacher training curriculum (and what you will actually be studying), and find out how you will be assessed. Get familiar with the faculty, their experience, and their style of teaching.
So, you have chosen the course you want and are ready for the training. What’s next? It’s time to get ready to start the thing. You need to prepare yourself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. You need to be super honest here. Remember, teacher training is not a yoga retreat or vacation. It’s hard work that needs patience, honesty, and dedication, like a marathon for your mind. So, prepare your mind, body, and soul.
Taking a 200 hour yoga teacher training will take a chunk of your free time! To ensure you minimize stress, look proactively into your schedule and life and create some extra time and space for the program and your studies. You may need to make some temporary adjustments to your schedule and pause other activities for the duration of the training. Let your family and friends know that you will be embarking on this journey so that they can support you.
When we start a yoga teacher training, we often think that we will be primarily learning more about alignment and physical postures. While this is certainly true, an effective yoga teacher training also asks you to step into leadership, challenge your fears or insecurities, and dive deep into some of the most profound life inquiries. By taking a little time before your commit to a program to research and investigate your own desires, you can set yourself up for a truly transformational experience.
Rachel supports yoga teachers and studios around the world to create transformational education experiences that help them thrive in their business, share their passion, and inspire more people to practice yoga. Her extensive knowledge and experience include: earning two masters degrees, authoring three books, leading 4,000+ hours of TT, building a teacher training college for a national yoga company, and working behind the scenes in yoga studio & teacher management for more than fifteen years. As a writer and speaker, she continually wrestles with the juicy bits of life: relationships, authenticity, and discovering meaning in this crazy, wildish world. E-RYT 500, YACEP, BA, MFA, MSci. Learn more about Rachel.
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