Becoming a Yoga instructor is involving yourself in a profession that is also one’s passion. Yoga regimes encompass a lot of dedication and effort to the practice. It is a pre-requisite to know that a deep-rooted interest is necessary to become an instructor. Mental preparation is key to everything that is a fresh start.
In order to become a full-time instructor, we require knowledge and preparation in various arenas.
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TO BECOME A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, FIRST BE A GOOD YOGA STUDENT
It goes without saying, that to teach something, we need to thoroughly learn it first. First of all, you must brush up your concepts of Yoga as taught by a teacher. Additionally, a regular physical practice of Yoga tunes your body into being fully flexible. All those who go ahead with instructing, first master what is taught to them as basics. At the student stage, there is not much to learn about Yoga theory but we must know about its basic theories and ideologies.
MENTAL PREPARATION TO BECOME A YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Everyone finds it hard to decide upon a career choice or profession. Similarly, before becoming a Yoga instructor, we must go through an introspection to check if it is really in you to go for it. Considering different aspects such as proficiency, earning opportunities and your interest is imperative to this. There is no doubt about the fact that as a profession, Yoga instructing has a wide scope of opportunities. However, dedication and interest come from within. You must thoroughly ascertain by yourself whether you want to practice this for personal benefit or to earn your living. One must draw a clear line between Yoga for recreation and Yoga as a bread-earner.
DEVELOP YOUR SOCIAL SKILLS
As a Yoga instructor, we have to deal with a lot of people. If a person is seriously considering a career in Yoga instructing, they must be comfortable with a dozen of people around. While it is not a crime to be an introvert as an instructor, it is more than good to have a welcoming nature. Yoga instructing happens both in groups and individually. A person needs to be good at connecting with all age groups as well. Communication is key to building lasting relations and so holds for a Yoga instructor too. It is always appreciable if an instructor has good interpersonal skills.
ENROLL IN A YOGA TEACHER TRAINING COURSE
This stage comes once a person is done with mentally preparing themselves and developing their skills. There are a variety of courses to choose from, depending upon your present skill level and time at hand. We have a concise guide to help you choose the most suited Yoga Teacher Training program illustrated in another post. How to choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program?
A YTT gives a formal certification that enables you to begin practicing right away. It is a very holistic approach to learning Yoga for the instructing purposes.
While the YTT is a complete training in itself, one must gain some experience before fully entering into the field. A potential Yoga instructor must train under an already established Yoga Instructor to gain better insights in the teaching arena. This experience helps one to be more descriptive and student-friendly. A person should also recollect their Yoga student phase and think about all the ways that you wished your instructor could be any better. All these bits contribute largely into becoming a successful full-time Yoga instructor.
It was interesting to learn that you need to enroll in a yoga teacher training course once you have developed your skills properly. My younger sister wants to become a yoga instructor and has already developed her skills well. I will suggest that she start looking for a reliable training course to take so that she can become an instructor quickly.