Experienced Yoga practitioners make up the largest number of graduates, who pursue Yoga instructor certification online. Some of these Yoga teacher interns have decades of experience. This is followed by Yoga instructors who have been teaching Yoga for years, but who do not have a Yoga instructor certification.
How is it possible for someone not to have certification, and still be a teacher, training his, or her, students in Yoga? Until recently, many traditional Yoga teachers did not have a formal certification, or diploma, “to hang on the wall.”
Independent study requires a lot of discipline to follow assignments through. A Hatha Yoga certification home study course is not something a novice would pick up and easily grasp. The many aspects of mantras, chakras, mudras, bandhas, doshas, Yamas, and Niyamas, without a foundation of Yoga practice, would be difficult for a beginner to understand without guidance.
Therefore, aspiring Yoga instructors, who choose an online Yoga instructor’s course and certification program, are, most often, self starters. Many people who take courses for Yoga certification online are working moms and dads.
On-site certification programs, which enable a person to start teaching Yoga, may require that person to be away from their family for weeks, months, or years. Some countries have very little Yoga instruction at all. Certification, through online Yoga teacher training courses, can also be a very attractive option for International students.
Recently, I was talking with a Yoga teacher, who explained to me that the nearest Yoga teaching certification, in Ontario, is more than four hours away. Her round trip would be more than eight hours of driving. This commute made a Yoga certification home study course her best option.
Some aspiring Yoga students have the goal of certification as an instructor of Yoga – but at what price? Keeping a family together and raising children responsibly are priorities in life.
Many companies will not understand, if an employee announced to management, that he or she was leaving for an extended period of time to pursue Yoga teacher training certification programs in San Francisco. Unless you already live in the Bay area, holding down a job, and participating in Yoga teacher training certification programs, in San Francisco, may not be an option.
There are many options for Yoga instructor’s training courses and certification programs, but the best Yoga certification program is the one that fits your lifestyle. Teaching Yoga is a rewarding past time, but sacrificing your marriage, family, and career, is not good for your well being.
Yoga teachers are like everyone else; they do not live a one dimensional life. You do not have to give up your identity in order to become a certified Yoga instructor.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
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
