What should be included in a yoga teacher’s training?

A yoga teacher’s training will usually begin with a formal training in the following fields of yoga practice: 

i)                     How to teach asanas (yoga postures): methodology and practicum.

ii)                   The benefits of asanas (yoga postures)

iii)                  The contraindications of asanas

iv)                  How to teach pranayama (yoga breathing techniques): methodology and practicum.

v)                    How to teach deep relaxation and meditation.

vi)                  Study of anatomy and physiology.

vii)                 Study of yoga philosophy.

viii)               Home study in all the above aspects of the yoga teacher’s training.

A yoga teacher’s training should prepare the yoga teacher to support his/her students in their spiritual development through practice of asana, pranayama, relaxation, meditation and also possibly through direct instruction in yoga philosophy and yogic principles.

A yoga teacher’s training, by its very nature, helps a yoga teacher to develop good communication skills, self-discipline and compassion. These are essential qualities for yoga teachers if they are to work effectively with their students.

It is important for yoga teachers to remember that a yoga teacher’s training is never complete. Yoga is a way of life. The yogic path is a lifelong journey in which we are constantly learning and developing. Once formal training is complete, a yoga teacher’s training continues with each yoga class that is taught: yoga students become the teacher’s teachers! And a yoga teacher’s training continues through the teacher’s own personal “sadhana” (yoga practice).