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Becoming a yoga instructor



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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Dec 08 2020, 10:23 am
I’m looking into becoming a certified instructor. Any leads to a great school I could learn in? Big plus if there’s financial aid available.
Also, do I need to be great at yoga to start or I’ll learn and perfect my skills along the way? I’m great with people, have been doing exercise regularly. My balance is ok but could use lots of improvement. I’m open to learning and getting better at it. But do I need to do that before I start going for my certification or can I do it along the way?
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amother
Red


 

Post Tue, Dec 08 2020, 10:52 am
Hi there! I have some things to add. Smile

I did a yoga teacher training program a few years ago and now teach on occasion. It's not my primary source of income but more of a side hustle.

I did my teacher training program at the studio where I'd been attending classes for years. I believe there are a few programs aimed specifically at frum women (mine wasn't one of them) where the atmosphere is single gender and there's less (or no?) emphasis on the Hindu roots of yoga or any religious aspect. There's a place in the 5 towns that did this pre-covid; I'm not sure what they, or any other teacher training program for that matter, are doing with covid.

I don't know much about financial aid. My studio didn't offer it. My sense is that these programs are big moneymakers for the studios that host them so I'm guessing the lack of financial aid might be standard. They did work out a monthly payment plan for me, which was nice.

In terms of where to do it - is there a studio you're already practicing in that offers? Otherwise, I'd figure out what type of yoga you're interested in teaching and find a studio that lines up with that. A teacher training program that focuses on a very physical practice will be different than one that's more restorative, or more philosophical, or aerial yoga, or yoga for the frum community, or yoga for children... etc.

I wouldn't worry about not being "great at yoga" as long as you've been practicing yoga for a little bit (my studio asked for a year of practice before committing to teacher training). One of the things that was drilled into us during training was that having an advanced practice is not the same thing as being able to do complicated inversions and fancy arm balances.

Let me know if you have other questions!
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Dec 08 2020, 11:10 am
Thanks! So I’ve been working on and off with a personal trainer the past two years. We’re focusing on toning and stretching. Not so much actual yoga. I’d love to start training now so that I could start working. We have our main source of income so this’ll be a secondary income. I wudnt mind giving either prenatal yoga or mommy had me yoga classes. I want a program that is legit and gives a real certification
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Dec 08 2020, 10:45 pm
Bump
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Genius




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Dec 08 2020, 10:58 pm
Nasm.com or afaa.com
Pm me if you have questions
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Dec 09 2020, 2:05 am
Genius wrote:
Nasm.com or afaa.com
Pm me if you have questions

Can you elaborate?
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amother
Red


 

Post Wed, Dec 09 2020, 8:56 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Thanks! So I’ve been working on and off with a personal trainer the past two years. We’re focusing on toning and stretching. Not so much actual yoga. I’d love to start training now so that I could start working. We have our main source of income so this’ll be a secondary income. I wudnt mind giving either prenatal yoga or mommy had me yoga classes. I want a program that is legit and gives a real certification


Sure, sorry for the delay, I'm usually only on here once or twice a day . Very Happy

The main certifying body (at least in the US) is Yoga Alliance. They certify programs that do 200 hour teacher trainings (what I have - this is the entry standard) and also 300 and 500 I believe. They have an outline of what the 200 hour curriculum should cover on their site: https://www.yogaalliance.org/N.....rison

I will say, though, that in my experience studios can depart pretty drastically from this curriculum and still offer a YA-approved program. There's not a ton of oversight, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Yoga Alliance would like to change that, but yoga and yoga studios are so different that standardization would be tough IMO.

You can search for programs near you on the yoga alliance site:
https://www.yogaalliance.org/D.....chool


If you'd like to teach in a studio, I'd check out the bios of their teachers to see where they got their certifications - some studios hire mostly from either their own or specific other programs. If you're more interested in doing private lessons, you've got a bit more flexibility.

Covid is a bit of a wild card here as I don't know how many studios are still doing in person trainings. Of the four studios where I practice, one has closed, two are entirely online, and one is doing a combo of online and very very small in person classes (but will probably move to all online soon). But it looks like Yoga Alliance is now certifying online training programs.

Good luck!
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Dec 09 2020, 5:24 pm
amother [ Red ] wrote:
Sure, sorry for the delay, I'm usually only on here once or twice a day . Very Happy

The main certifying body (at least in the US) is Yoga Alliance. They certify programs that do 200 hour teacher trainings (what I have - this is the entry standard) and also 300 and 500 I believe. They have an outline of what the 200 hour curriculum should cover on their site: https://www.yogaalliance.org/N.....rison

I will say, though, that in my experience studios can depart pretty drastically from this curriculum and still offer a YA-approved program. There's not a ton of oversight, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Yoga Alliance would like to change that, but yoga and yoga studios are so different that standardization would be tough IMO.

You can search for programs near you on the yoga alliance site:
https://www.yogaalliance.org/D.....chool


If you'd like to teach in a studio, I'd check out the bios of their teachers to see where they got their certifications - some studios hire mostly from either their own or specific other programs. If you're more interested in doing private lessons, you've got a bit more flexibility.

Covid is a bit of a wild card here as I don't know how many studios are still doing in person trainings. Of the four studios where I practice, one has closed, two are entirely online, and one is doing a combo of online and very very small in person classes (but will probably move to all online soon). But it looks like Yoga Alliance is now certifying online training programs.

Good luck!

Thanks that was very informative! I checked the yoga alliance website. There aren’t any trainings going on now in my area 😒
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funkyfrummom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 09 2020, 7:06 pm
Kinneret D. runs trainings in NYC, Toronto, and Israel (and maybe elsewhere) for frum women (women only). I assume she is currently all online, but I may be wrong. I trained with her for my 200 hr YTT. Her program is listed with Yoga Alliance. I recommend her highly. It was a generalist program and provided everything I needed for that first level of training. (I later went on and was certified in children's yoga and am currently working on my 500hr through other teachers/programs, all YA listed.)

https://kinneretyoga.ca/

As someone mentioned, YA doesn't certify individuals, they just list programs that meet their minimums for certain components and hours for training. It's a credential that means everything and nothing at the same time, if that makes sense.

Be aware when looking into programs that for any YA listed programs there is a required component in philosophy (it's not tons of hours, but it is there). That means yogic philosophy, which you will need to navigate (Kinneret includes other relevant topics instead, with YA's permission). Some programs also utilize Sanskrit terms (Kinneret's doesn't). Non-YA programs usually have a lot of yogic philosophy as well. I saw above that some people recommended trainings that are more personal trainer/group exercise class type trainings. Think of where you want to teach and whether that will provide what you are looking for.

As far as other issues (halachic or hashkafa) with yoga generally, I assume since you want to be a teacher that you have already investigated all those issues, have spoken to your rav about them, and are comfortable and knowledgeable about the concerns. My recommendation would be that anyone going into yoga teacher training has already considered those things and thoughtfully defined their position. (People will definitely ask!)
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Genius




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 09 2020, 7:46 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Can you elaborate?

Afaa is athletics and fitness association of America. They provide group fitness instruction certification. They have courses on yoga too. Check out their site.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Dec 13 2020, 11:28 am
funkyfrummom wrote:
Kinneret D. runs trainings in NYC, Toronto, and Israel (and maybe elsewhere) for frum women (women only). I assume she is currently all online, but I may be wrong. I trained with her for my 200 hr YTT. Her program is listed with Yoga Alliance. I recommend her highly. It was a generalist program and provided everything I needed for that first level of training. (I later went on and was certified in children's yoga and am currently working on my 500hr through other teachers/programs, all YA listed.)

https://kinneretyoga.ca/

As someone mentioned, YA doesn't certify individuals, they just list programs that meet their minimums for certain components and hours for training. It's a credential that means everything and nothing at the same time, if that makes sense.

Be aware when looking into programs that for any YA listed programs there is a required component in philosophy (it's not tons of hours, but it is there). That means yogic philosophy, which you will need to navigate (Kinneret includes other relevant topics instead, with YA's permission). Some programs also utilize Sanskrit terms (Kinneret's doesn't). Non-YA programs usually have a lot of yogic philosophy as well. I saw above that some people recommended trainings that are more personal trainer/group exercise class type trainings. Think of where you want to teach and whether that will provide what you are looking for.

As far as other issues (halachic or hashkafa) with yoga generally, I assume since you want to be a teacher that you have already investigated all those issues, have spoken to your rav about them, and are comfortable and knowledgeable about the concerns. My recommendation would be that anyone going into yoga teacher training has already considered those things and thoughtfully defined their position. (People will definitely ask!)

I looked into kinnerets program. It’s completely via zoom. Nothing is in person. Will I get enough out of it as a first timer?
Also, does she provide a real certification? I want to teach private/ small classes but also have the option of working in a studio.
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Dec 23 2020, 10:03 am
I’m bumping this up again since kinneret postponed her classes till after pesach. I want to do it now. I figured since it’s anyway not in person, I could do any program, doesn’t have to be female only etc. I did online research and there are hundreds of options. Of course I only looked at the ones that are certified by the ya. How do I know which one to choose?
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amother
Red


 

Post Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:38 am
This is a tough one - there's so many schools and if you don't already have a connection to one it's definitely overwhelming to pick. I would say, since you know you'd like to teach mommy and me or prenatal, google to find online programs that are YA certified and have that as a focus.

If there are any studios that have run previous teacher trainings online (aka they're not doing it online for the first time now), that would be a huge plus. It's hard to move any kind of education online (I'm doing online grad school now and the difference is huge). I would think that's even more true for yoga - so much of traditional teacher trainings involves observing people, learning to give assists and cues, reading body language, etc. A studio that has experience in how to do that online would be a major plus over one who is trying to figure it out for the first time.

The other thing I'd do is ask studios where you're considering for contact info for some recent TT grads, and then ask them about their experiences and whether they get what they wanted (are they teaching now?) out of the program.
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amother
Linen


 

Post Wed, Jan 06 2021, 9:42 am
I'm a certified yoga instructor with a self-owned studio in Brooklyn.
I trained a while ago through yogaworks.
Trainings today are mostly virtual, which is a tremendous disadvantage.
Text/call me for more information/ideas on how to begin the journey. 646.275.6285
Teaching yoga is enormously rewarding. I thank Hashem every day for the opportunity and would love to help anyone else looking to get into it!
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jan 07 2021, 12:38 pm
amother [ Linen ] wrote:
I'm a certified yoga instructor with a self-owned studio in Brooklyn.
I trained a while ago through yogaworks.
Trainings today are mostly virtual, which is a tremendous disadvantage.
Text/call me for more information/ideas on how to begin the journey. 646.275.6285
Teaching yoga is enormously rewarding. I thank Hashem every day for the opportunity and would love to help anyone else looking to get into it!

Thanks I’ll text you
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