Is distance learning for Yoga instructors a new concept? No, distance learning for Yoga instructors has been around for decades. The concept of training to become a Yoga instructor, by distance learning, is much like working with any university via correspondence, but the efficiency of Yoga teacher training courses has improved with new technology.
Does Yoga teacher training online sound “tacky?” These days, the Internet has managed to become the “ultimate vehicle” for learning anything, including Yoga. It makes perfect sense for Yoga centers, and universities, to use the Internet for teacher / student contact.
Traditional on-site Yoga instructor training programs are much more computerized than they were ten years ago. Many on-site Yoga instructor trainers, and master Yoga teachers, maintain contact, with interns, by Email. This constant dialogue, from teacher to student, and vice versa, is very good for exchanging ideas. It also helps avoid common mistakes in communication.
With technology advancing at a rapid pace, the age of online Yoga teacher training is here. Yoga certification online is usually composed of assignments that can be sent by the intern, to the Yoga instructor school, via Email.
Even the Yoga certification videos, or practical exams, can be sent by interns with video streaming technology. Many Yoga instructor interns may still prefer to send their training assignments back, in the traditional way, by Postal Mail.
Is this the best Yoga certification program? The fact is many people cannot afford to leave their families, and employment, for weeks, or months, at a time. Many Yoga instructors outside of India are female, have children, work a full-time job, maintain a home, and some of these women are going to college at night.
With this in mind, the concept of a distance learning Yoga instructor’s training course, developed for certification, is convenient and affordable. Truthfully, many interns do shop for an affordable certification, to become a teacher of Yoga.
A Yoga teacher certification, in Thailand, may be affordable, but what will the cost of a flight be? Just the cost of travel, by round trip flight, to Thailand or India, could be, “in the neighborhood” of, $3,000 USD, from North America. Compare that to a premium 200-hour, or more, Yoga instructor’s training course and certification, for about $500 USD.
Now you can understand why Yoga instruction, Yoga certification, and Yoga teacher training, packed in a convenient home-study course, is so popular.
This is the 21st century, so Yoga music, Yoga products, Yoga exercise DVD’s, and Yoga teacher certification courses, can be easily shipped to any part of the world.
Even, traditional Yoga meditation is being packaged into a certification course. Is this a good thing for Yoga? The demand for Yoga is global, and technology has found the answer – with Yoga instructor training courses and Yoga certification online.
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
