Photo provided by Angela Meyer.
A 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training is based off of credentials set forth by Yoga Alliance, the certifying board for Registered Yoga Schools (RYS). To become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), you must complete a Yoga Teacher Training Program at a Registered Yoga School.
The 200 Hour track is the aspiring Teacher or avid practitioner’s first step towards certification. The 200 hours are split into 5 educational categories:
Techniques Training and Practice; 2. Teaching Methodology; 3. Anatomy and Physiology; 4. Yoga Philosophy; Lifestyle and Ethics for Yoga Teachers; and 5. Practicum.
Registered Yoga Schools are like smart people in DC…they’re everywhere. It is important for an interested teacher trainee to do their research and make sure they connect with the community/teachers they are about to invest their time, energy, finances and livelihood in. It’s a commitment that can certainly change and transform your life.
Just like the practice of Yoga, a Yoga teacher training not only deals with the physical realm (asana/postures), it also deals with a spiritual, psychological, energetic, and ethical realms. Each RYS (Registered Yoga School) is going to have a different flavor and focus.
The 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings that I have led, focus mainly on HOW TO TEACH. Teaching Yoga is not only about mastering the intellectual and philosophical knowledge, but is also about living a life that constantly grapples with the questions, “Who am I, What am I doing, and How can my passions serve the world?”
I have auditioned several 200 Hour Certified Yoga Teachers who know the name of every posture in Sanskrit, are well-read in Yogic Philosophy, adopt ahimsa practices and meditate every day, but they have no idea how to be themselves in front of a room full of people. “Becoming ourselves” takes a life time of peeling away the masks we’ve had to wear in order to be accepted, loved and valued. Being authentic requires an honest look at who we are and why we make the choices we do. It requires exquisite self awareness and intimate reflection. In my opinion, one of the foremost pillars of being a great Yoga Teacher, is learning to be yourself and not a cheap imitation of what you “think” a Yoga Teacher “should” be.
Ideally, a Yoga Teacher Training will provide you all the required knowledge set forth by Yoga Alliance and prepare you to teach.
There are several practical tools a teacher can utilize to deliver a powerful Yoga class: How do you use your voice? Do you speak in “Yoga Teacher Voice” or your own conversational voice? How do you use emphasis to engage a student’s nervous system? Do you look at your students, or do you look through them? Do you take up space with filler words and phrases? How do you stand when you are teaching? What do you do with your hands? Are you afraid to assist students or do you assist students as a crutch? Do you hold your breath when you tell your students to breathe? Do you encourage students to “smile” because you need them to smile? A teacher in training will have endless opportunities to take an honest look at how they represent themselves as a Yoga Teacher and ultimately as a human being. During a Yoga Teacher Training, students will learn practical teaching tools to focus on, while they develop confidence and comfort in finding their own voice as “The Teacher.”
A Yoga Teacher Training that transmits all intellectual knowledge set forth by Yoga Alliance AND the courage to be vulnerable and authentic with a room full of people is priceless.
Angela will lead a Yoga Teacher Training at the YMCA beginning November 7th. Details here.
Contributions
Yoga