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The Single Most Important Requirement to Join Yoga Teacher Training

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Have you made up your mind about becoming a Yoga Instructor? You may be thinking about joining a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course. The idea is both exciting and intimidating. There are many teacher training programs in Illinois, so you have the freedom to choose a program that is located near you, or you could immerse yourself in an immersion yoga training program.

Whichever you choose, a yoga teacher training course is intensive and is designed to provide you with a solid understanding of yoga practices to further your career in the practice. When you have decided to pick a course from a Registered Yoga School, you’ll naturally want to know the prerequisites before you sign-up.

So how do you know if you are ready to teach yoga to others? In this article, we’ll talk about the 6 basic requirements to join a yoga teacher training course. Out of all these requirements, only one is the single most important.

The ONE Most Important Requirement to Join Any 200-HR Yoga Teacher Training Program

We get a lot of applications for our 200-hour Yoga teacher training program and the most important concerns trainees usually want to know about include; Am I experienced enough with yoga to join a course? Am I still eligible for a course if I can’t perform advanced yoga poses?

While these concerns are genuine, we always say that you do not need years and years of training in yoga before you can join a teacher training course. 200-hour teacher training is designed for all ages and experience. But the only thing that truly matters before you sign-up for your first teacher training course is your ability to commit.

You must be willing to spend your energies on learning and grasping the yoga concepts. However, we do expect you to have some degree of regular yoga practice experience before signing-up with one of our teacher training courses. This is to make sure that you are comfortable during the training.

The training is physically intensive and draining, and can often feel very demanding for some people. This is why having past experience is necessary, but not mandatory.

Our advice? Do not join a teacher training if you’re not mentally prepared. Only take this step if you are ready deep down. If this is something you casually want to try out, we highly recommend that you wait until you have a strong desire to move ahead with your personal practice.

For a high success rate, and to improve the quality of your yoga practice, we recommend a minimum of 3-6 months of consistent practice. This helps prepare your body for the journey ahead of you. And if you’re already involved in physical activities such as sports, weight training, cardiovascular training, and athletics, you’ll have a very little problem managing what’s to come in a training program.

5 More Basic Requirements That Will Boost Your Success Rate

Although the following pre-requisites aren’t mandatory, they can help you boost your chances of successfully completing a 200-hr YTT. Meeting these requirements will also significantly increase the quality of your yoga practice and will make you look good in front of your future students.

Recommended Yoga Fitness Level

Yoga teacher training courses are physically intensive and demanding. You want to make sure that you do not struggle with the required poses because if you do, you may risk having an injury. Having consistent yoga practice before joining the program will condition your body better and may even teach you to modify certain yoga poses according to your individual needs.

We recommend being consistent in your practice at least 3 months before the 200 hours of teacher training. This is especially important if you choose to enroll in an immersion yoga teacher training course which is 16 days of continuous training and learning the practice.

If you have happened to join a course with less than 3 months remaining before the course begins, don’t be intimidated. Maintain a strong positive attitude and do your best to learn the modifications so that you are able to alter the poses to suit your needs.

Recommended Eating

During a yoga teacher training course, you will be provided with suggestions to eat. The training will require you to eat a plant-based diet. A lot of people are not prepared for this prior to their training.

Since the yoga teacher training is intense on your body, eating a plant-based and nutrient-dense diet will replenish your body with the energy and vitality you need to carry on. You will also become resilient to common illnesses and diseases.

There are many plant-based meal ideas on the internet. If you’re already practicing Yoga, you may even talk to your instructor for a personalized yoga diet plan. Once you join a teacher training program, you will be recommended an eating plan for maximum success rate.

Enroll in a Beginner Friendly Online Yoga Course

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for a Yoga teacher training program is to have a good understanding of the basics of this ancient practice. If you’re not practicing yoga, or you’ve had a significant gap in your practice, we recommend enrolling in a FREE online beginner’s only yoga training course.

You’ll find very valuable courses on the internet that teach you the basics of the practice. Some of these are supported by excellent videos and reading material. If you love the concept of learning yoga practice online, then don’t forget to check our online yoga teacher training courses.

Practice, Practice, and Practice

Last but not least, the best thing you can do to support your teacher training course is to keep up with your own practice. When you have to learn the principles of anatomy, science, and art of sequencing, Sanskrit names of postures, and other practices, it is easy to slip on your own practice.

Practicing your asanas will adequately prepare you for the physical demands of a teacher training course, it will also help you learn where you need to bring in modifications so you don’t end up struggling during the classes.

Having your personal practice is just as important. It provides you with the opportunity to become familiar with your own body and connect with your breathing. You’ll gain self-discipline and you’ll be better equipped to face the challenges ahead.

Choosing a Yoga Teacher Training program can feel intimidating, but it’s not a decision that you will have to make alone.

At Wild Abundant Life, our team is ready to help you decide which yoga teacher training course is best for you. You can apply for the 200-hr YTT certification online and we’ll respond to your queries as soon as possible.

To see the Yoga Teacher Training Schedule in 2019 for our Illinois Yoga studio, make sure to visit this page.