Considering joining a yoga teacher training? Be prepared and don’t get fooled
Written by Hilary Brown, November 2022
Yogis are sometimes confused themselves and misunderstand business ethics. Last year I wrote in my 10-things to know about joining a teacher training booklet about stories I have heard over the years from people who joined a training that was not "up to par". There are many reasons for this: the content was not great, poor location - especially retreats, the trainers were not that experienced, the students felt cheated in some way. One of the worst situations I’ve encountered was a school who copied Yoga Moves text, pretended in their marketing about being a qualified school connected to ours. It was out of a horror story for us... (albeit kind of flattering that someone thought so highly of our program that they copied it and tried to be associated with us without us knowing).
It happened again…
It happened again recently to some students I know. They were signed into a yoga teacher training program for yoga by 2 local teachers. The program started well, they were learning. The teachers had experience and knowledge. But a few weekends into the course they apparently started to realize: each weekend was the same. There was little education on the "how to teach" part. Someone discovered one of the manuals they used was copied from someone else’s training, which was copyright infringement. And finally, someone discovered the promise of it being a Yoga Alliance certified training was false.
They were pissed.
(It means mad in American English!)
They were angry, spoke up. They quit - almost all of them, halfway through.
It’s unfortunately a story I have heard more often in my years. Many yoga studios and teachers now think they can lift a training program in an easy way. They see the €€€ signs. They think it’s easy. And sometimes they pull it off, sometimes they don’t.
Building a good yoga teacher training is a lot of work
It takes dedication, communication, lots of mistakes, repairs, and learning. But it’s also an amazing journey. As teachers, we learn the most when we must teach something to others. So as a yogi, the journey to be a yoga teacher trainer is an amazing opportunity but a challenging one. We study hard to deliver good quality and consistent content. But there are many aspects one must manage to deliver a quality teacher training program in Yoga. From my perspective, it takes a strong team and solid business ethics as a foundation, since so many issues can emerge.
I have had the luxury of supporting senior yoga teachers to become trainers. Some rise to the top, others hate it and leave. Teaching a class is not the same as training someone to teach a class. It’s not for everyone. Some love the depth and deeper responsibility one builds with the students. But it’s also more intense than teaching normal classes as the students go through a lot, and need more support.
The process of becoming a yoga teacher is beautiful and hard at the same time
Students, during their training get confronted. It’s such a personal journey. After all, it’s you that is standing there giving - sharing yourself to students. Some students come back, some don’t. Some praise your class, some walk out quietly from your class.… Our egos get bruised along the way. And thankfully so, because no one wants a yoga teacher with a huge ego. This sounds like an oxymoron.
What I want to encourage is this: when you sign up for a training program or an educational journey, don't you usually look for quality, experience, and trustworthy institutions?
Then why not for your yoga education? How can this sad story I told above still happen?
My advice: find out and ask the right questions before you sign up and invest both your time and money.
Questions to ask before you join a teacher training
Here are a few suggestions to ask the school/teacher that you’re signing up at:
How long have you given the training?
What is the yoga style you give? (And is it a style you love?)
How much time is spent on: learning yoga itself, learning how to teach, anatomy, philosophy, meditation, etc.
How many graduates do you or the school have?
How many of your graduates are still teaching or went on to become (paid?) teachers?
What is the proof that this course will deliver the results that I want?
Where is your course certified through, make sure to check if that is valid for your country or area. Read more here.
Do you have fears or concerns? Read more here.
Have a look at our free e-book to get prepared: 10 things you should consider when you choose a yoga teacher training program
And why not join one of our Q&As around our teacher training programs? We love to have you bring your hard questions, fears, concerns. Keep an eye on our event updates and our social media channels to know when the next Q&A takes place.
While we would love for you to join our program, we also promise to be honest with you... If we feel it’s not a match for some reason, we will let you know. We believe that good things happen in their time… and want you to be ready to absorb it all when you embark on your training journey with us.
Hilary Brown has been training teachers for over 20+ years.
She joined her first yoga teacher training to meet new friends in The Netherlands when she was 39 years old. She had no idea she would turn her hobby into her business and life purpose. She is the founding director of Yoga Moves Training Department. You can study with her in the Yoga Moves teacher training offered in Utrecht and now also in Den Haag.