“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
–The Bhagavad Gita
This journey of self to the self-has lead many business professionals to leave aside their 9 to 6 job and embark their voyage attaining the ultimate happiness of body, mind, and soul through what we know as “YOGA”.
The spiritual journey of Yoga begins with finding the right yoga guru who can not only be your teacher but also your mentor and guide you on the path you have chosen.
The most popular yoga styles are Hatha, Vinayasa, Ashtanga and Iyengar Styles of Yoga, however, there are many more. A mentor is an utmost need at the beginning that can guide a person to choose among the various techniques and styles and can ultimately aspire a person to take up a suitable training program in Yoga.
What are the different modules of Yoga Teacher Training?
The most popular certified yoga teacher training courses are 200 hours, 300 hours and 500 hours. The spectrum covered under these modules are :
- Foundation course on Yoga
- Art of Teaching
- Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Philosophy, ethics, and Lifestyle
- Teaching Practise
The ultimate goal after completing all of these modules is to have the skills to teach a yoga class which is therapeutic, artistic, joyful and moves people to find their highest vibrational self. Here is a link to Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Training Courses.
What is an Online Yoga Teacher Training Certification (TTC)? How does it work?
Online Yoga Teacher Training Certification (TTC) program is a self-paced program run by many Yoga Online institutes of India and abroad.
Like Residential Yoga Teachers Training, Online courses also offer 100, 200, 300 or 500 hours certification courses with almost the same curriculum. However, unlike residential courses, the curriculum and guidance are given through:
- Video Lectures
- E-Books
- Emails
- Online workshops etc
What are some of the reasons that yogi/yogins go for a Certified Yoga Teacher Training?
Yogis and Yoginis opt for a Certified Yoga Teachers’ Training courses because of the following reasons:
- To increase awareness of the holistic health attitude among general public.
- To get better remuneration as compared to non-certified Yoga teacher with the same experience.
- To learn with proper module structure like Human anatomy, physiology, philosophy, ethics of Yoga etc.
- To get equal thrust on both theory and practical knowledge.
- To get more hands-on in ‘ Yoga Abhyas’ with dedicated hours of teachers’ training.
- To get the company of like-minded yogis and yoginis with the same objective and same goal.
- To become well versed with the market, market knowledge & competitive activities and therefore help to establish the business of teaching Yoga in a more profitable way.
What are the highlights and challenges of a Residential Certified Yoga Teachers’ Training?
A certified Yoga Teachers’ Training Course can be obtained either by doing a residential course or an online course. Often a yogi or yogini is in a dilemma of choosing which type of training to go for- Residential or Online, in order to obtain a certified teacher training. Mentioned below are the highlights and challenges of residential certified yoga teachers’ training:
- Highlight #1: Residential certified yoga teachers’ training means attending training in a group of like-minded yogis and yoginis which results in positive group energy, exchange of thoughts, and community development. Attending a real classroom training also means making network strong for future job prospects. If you prefer to get a job in a yoga institute, developing the network of peers and teachers is very important. Attending real classroom teaching program helps you to enter in the community and further will help to get a job or start your own yoga centre in the future.
- Highlight #2: Real classroom yoga teachers’ training gives a real- time experience and trains for many things including topics like how to teach. All the certified yoga teachers have to attend fixed hours of rigorous training giving thrust to both theory and practical. This can be done best with real classroom training with a fixed schedule.
- Highlight #3: Attending real- time yoga teachers’ training makes you committed for the practice with a fix schedule and fixed routine and make you disciplined and more committed.
- Highlight #4: Mentorship is very important in getting a training for a yoga teacher as a mentor can guide which style to excel for teaching. With real classroom teachers’ training, one can find a mentor for the proper guidance who will otherwise be missing in online training.
- Highlight #5: Real class-room training gives a good teacher, good group and lifelong friends which gives motivation, emotional support and energy to continue the program until the end.
The challenges are:
- Challenge #1: Online Yoga Teacher Training courses are available in a variety of forms from different world class trainers across the world at much lesser cost than real in person Yoga Teacher Training courses
- Challenge #2: Attending real-time training means taking a leave from your existing job and going for a rigorous training in which you are disconnected from the outside world from the certain period of time. Having a fixed schedule means loss of freedom to time, place, clothes, dress up etc. The online yoga provides all these freedom and one can continue training while keeping the current employment commitments.
- Challenge #3: With real-time teachers’ training, one cannot fix up his or her own space as per own wish whereas, with online teachers’ training, one can personalize his or her own space at no extra cost. One can decorate your yoga rooms with essence, candles for mediation and prevents travel and lodging costs too.
Conclusion:
As rightly said
“Our body is a temple, and Yoga is a practice to keep it pure and clean”.
-BKS Iyengar
Yoga is an abhayas of merging with God through mental, spiritual and physical practice. This amalgamation of our body and soul with supreme power cannot be achieved with virtual online modes of abhayas. One has to be physically and mentally present in an environment that takes through the journey of Yoga.
As stated in The Bhagwad Gita,
“Yogi or Yogini is the one who enjoys seclusion.”
Therefore, this training of teaching yoga requires rigorous abhyas without distractions. If one decides to go for online training, one is distracted with doorbells, phone calls, emails, family talks etc. diluting the effect of seclusion which is the utmost portion in Yoga Abhayas and thus, cannot be achieved while practicing at home with online training.
Therefore, it seems that, with so many advantages of real classroom teachers’ training, Online teachers’ training is a viable option to those who cannot travel under certain circumstances or who decide to learn yoga only for self and by self.
“ Yoga doesn’t start on a mat and end on a mat, it is present in every breath one live.”
