What Should You Look for in a Yoga Teacher Training Correspondence Course?

Correspondence courses, of any kind, should be well rounded. In the case of a Yoga instructor certification course, it is absolutely necessary for the curriculum to cover many aspects. There are many areas to be covered, such as anatomy, Pranayama, Asana (postures), meditation, doshas, mudras, bandhas, Shatkarmas, Yogic philosophy, basic Sanskrit, Yogic relaxation techniques, and much more.

To train instructors about warm-ups, Sun Salutations, proper posture, alignment, cueing, and assisting, is a good start, but there is much to learn. Some certification courses, for Yoga instructors, focus on physical fitness, only. Yet, the International minimum standard for Yoga teacher training courses is 200 hours.

Please note: This is the minimum number of recommended training hours. There are courses, which easily exceed the 200 hour minimum. Anyone who wants to become a Yoga instructor, should be competent upon successful completion of the course.

Who produces the course? Hopefully, the course chosen was compiled, produced, or written by a trainer, who specializes in Yoga instructor certification. If the certifying organization also produces courses about computer programming, dog grooming, and search engine optimization, they do not specialize. In fact, they might not have a Yoga teacher as a member of their faculty.

When considering cost, you should also give some thought to how many hours of training are involved. For example: If you are comparing a 100 hour program to a 200 training hour course, it should be expected that the 200 hour course would be more expensive.

The added materials, in your Yoga correspondence course, make a big difference in your training, and your level of confidence. If your decisions are based primarily on expenses, make sure you are still getting the best distance-learning Yoga certification course possible.

© Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA - riyoga.com riyoga.com

He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html