Preethi trained with us in 2025 and is now teaching her own classes. Here is her advice if you’re wondering how to choose a Yoga Teacher Training. 

If you’ve started looking around for a yoga teacher training, you’ve already noticed the enormous range of styles, schools and content out there. If you are doing anything like I did – searching the web, there is so much information. It can be very confusing when choosing a training provider. Teacher training certificate is not an insignificant investment of your time, headspace and financial resources. This journey is intense, rigorous and time consuming, but it is also deep, life transforming and empowering. You are not the same person when you finish your training. Yoga teacher training is one of the best things I have done in my life for myself and for my loved ones around me as the ripple effects are seen wider not only in you, your family but in the community. So how do you know which training is right for you?

I have put together some tips to help you navigate through this journey and move towards your certification with confidence.

Where you want to go? – Begin your ‘Svadhyaya’….take that first step  

I did not know until I started teacher training that Yoga began with ‘Svadhyaya’ deep inward exploration of your true self beyond personality, using the practice, breathing and meditation to understand your beliefs emotions and actions. Begin your ‘Svadhyaya’ before you embark on this journey, journal your journey for a few days/months. It will give you clarity on why you want to go on this journey, why you want to be a teacher, what style you want to focus on and a vision of what that would look like. Once you have clarity on these you can work on looking at training schools that align with your vision.

Find a ‘Guru’

In exact Sanskrit terms Yoga was traditionally passed on from Guru (Teacher) to Shishya (Student) so find that ‘Guru’. A teacher that resonates with your values, your goals, your style and someone you feel would help you achieve your best potential as a teacher. To be a good teacher you have work at becoming the best student. To find that ‘Guru’ attend yoga classes run by Lead Tutors, often these are run online as well, their wealth of experience attracts a busy class. Talk to Lead Tutors at the end of sessions and build rapport with them. Let your ‘Svadhyaya’ lead you into finding that ‘Guru’. Remember it is always possible to have more than one teacher but we often mimic what we learn so it is crucial to find that ‘One’ someone with extensive experience in teaching and practicing and someone that grows and evolves with new research and advancements so we can drench ourselves in their rich knowledge in a short span of time. 

Define your ‘Sandhya’ – your goal to be achieved

Whether your goal is to unite mind, body and soul by delving deeper into your own practice or establishing a studio in the middle of a buzzing city, define and imagine your goal. Write this down! If you are terrified of teaching set aside the intention to teach and focus on enjoying the course. Discuss this with your ‘Guru’ in an intro call and bring up your fears and doubts with them. Be open and honest even though it is scary! I found this very useful; I am a perfectionist sadly which means I beat myself up when I can’t do something well enough. Don’t let that question ‘What if I am a rubbish teacher? dictate your training journey. I brought this up in my first discussion with my lead tutor and it was the best thing I had ever done. My tutor recommended me to dissociate myself from the goal and not have the pressure of teaching at the end of the course. I decided to go on the course purely to deepen my practice and the journey was blissful.   

Feel the ‘Shala’ – practice in the space that will become your school.

Attend classes in the studio where you will be learning and practicing as student, go to their open days and talk to their staff, engage with their lead tutor, speak to fellow yogis and previous graduates. Previous graduates often start teaching at the training school they graduated from so you could attend one of their classes or talk to them about their journey. Yoga teachers are usually very happy to mentor and support anyone who wants to follow their path. Imagine yourself being back at school and feel the space, the people, the energy, and the vibe. Does this vibe resonate with you? Where you learn is as important as what you learn!

The Curriculum

Typically, a 200 hrs RYT should cover core areas like techniques (asana, pranayama and meditation), teaching methodology, anatomy, physiology, spirituality. Find out how much practical teaching experience is involved in the training? What is the final practical assessment like? Can you create a sequence of your choice, or will you be assessed on a sequence that you are trained on? Some training providers give you a cookie cutter sequence that they want you to memorise and recite like to like in your practical assessment. If you are anything like me, I would find this very frustrating as the fun of teaching is taken away from this kind of assessment. It is rigid, allows very little or no input in creating sequences and being creative with cues etc. Find out what exactly the assessment is like? Attend one of these assessments if you can for an existing training programme.

Is there space for teaching practice? A decent training provider will provide you with the space to practice your teaching and facilitate further learning and self-practice, they will give you enough support and confidence to establish you as a teacher. It is vital that the studio you choose is close enough to you so you can book the studio for teaching practice when it is free. Are there regular check ins to make sure you are on track? Are there mentor support calls to navigate through the challenges?

Time scale

An intensive course can be completed in just 3 – 5 weeks, however, to fully incorporate the teachings in your personal practice you should allow yourself plenty of time based on how quickly you think you will be able to learn and be ready to teach. If training days fall on weekdays so if you plan on taking these as annual leave it is worth planning.

Don’t delay teaching

Even if you decide that you only want to train to deepen your practice, just give teaching a go. You never know how you will feel after your first teaching practice. You might hate it or it might change the way you think about teaching. I decided to teach my first practice class to a few friends and opened it to the public to fill up the spaces; I was surprised how much interest there was in the community to support a new teacher. I remember standing outside the studio minutes before the class began wondering if I should do a runner! I was well prepared, but I was also terrified of being judged, of not being perfect, of failing. I didn’t run for one reason. I remembered the wise advice my lead tutor gave me…she said don’t give it your 100%, just do it anyway. I wish I had this piece of advice earlier in my life. I taught and it was a decent class, I made mistakes but the contentment and elation I felt at the end of the class is incomparable to anything I have ever done in my life.  So, feel the fear and do it anyway!

 

Preethi Burnett – 200h RYT Graduate 2025 Heather Yoga