11 Signs You Should Finally Enroll in Online Yoga Teacher Training
Completing your online yoga teacher training enables you to transform lives, build a flexible career, and share your passion with the world.
If the thought to teach yoga has ever crossed your mind, consider this blog post your official sign to take the first step.
People who complete their online yoga teacher training don’t just walk away with their certification – they deepen their practice on a physical, intellectual, and emotional level, forming a deeper connection with themselves than they’ve ever had before.
I get it – finally making the leap and signing up can be intimidating.
But your yoga practice doesn’t need to be a vision of perfection in order to be an instructor. You don’t need to have mastered complicated arm balances and inversions. In fact, when you start your online yoga teacher training, it’s best that you leave your ego at the door.
You may be more ready for this journey than you realize. Here are 11 tale-tell signs it’s time to finally get your yoga certification online.
1. You want to take “yoga” beyond your practice and into your life
If you’ve been going to yoga classes for a while, you’ve experienced the euphoria and bliss that arrives the moment you open your eyes after Shavasana. And you’ve listened when your instructors talked about Yoga Sutras or the Yamas and Niyamas.
You were tuned in. You may or may not really know what a Yama is – but you do want to learn how to bring that same feeling into every part of your life.
Follow that desire to dig deeper into the world of yoga philosophy right to online yoga teacher training. A credible yoga certification teaches you much more than poses and flows. You’ll learn important definitions, ideologies, and philosophies.
For example, the word “yoga” can have several translations, but Pantanjali’s Sutra 1.2 tells us that the definition is “quieting the mind chatter.”
If you’ve been wanting to live a more peaceful and mindful life, online yoga teacher training will give you the tools to do so.
2. You want to share your passion with others
Most people seek out an online yoga certificate course because they have their own moving story about how yoga has made a profound impact on their lives.
And they want to share that experience with others.
Whether you’ve been attending a regular yoga class for a few months or have had a dedicated practice for several years, you know how you feel about yoga. You LOVE it! It’s a discipline that’s brought you a lot of health and happiness and you can’t help but tout the vast benefits of yoga to friends and family.
Online yoga teacher training will inspire you to stay on your current path, learn more, and eventually make an impact on your own students.
SIGN UP FOR OUR ONLINE YOGA CERTIFICATE COURSE
3. You consider yourself a lifelong student
You consider yourself a “student of life,” but when is the last time you truly dedicated yourself to mastering a new skill?
Online yoga teacher training brings you back to the supportive learning environment you crave.
Does the idea of having challenging – yet achievable – goals and “homework” activate a long-dormant feeling inside you? Do you love to get lost in a good book or a philosophical discussion? Have you been fostering a daily journaling habit?
Maybe challenging your physical limitations is what excites you the most.
Do you want to learn about the mechanics of the body and how many different parts must work in perfect harmony to master a single pose or flow? Then it’s time.
4. You’ve been waiting for the “right time”
Speaking of time, Sutra 1.1 says, “Yoga begins NOW.”
There may never be the perfect time to start your online yoga teacher training.
If you’ve been telling yourself that you might someday get your yoga certification online or if you saw this blog post and thought, “Oh, it’s been on my list!” start doing the research TODAY.
In the words of Hugh Laurie, “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.”
5. You already meditate – or would like to
Let me dispel one common rumor about online yoga teacher training: You don’t have to already have a meditation practice to get your certification.
But you DO have to have the desire to add meditation into your life.
You will learn how to meditate during your online yoga teacher training. Eventually, it will become a new habit – a habit that makes you feel incredible and perfectly complements your yoga journey.
Don’t be surprised at how quickly it becomes a natural part of your daily routine!
6. You can’t do a handstand… but you’ve mastered the art of child’s pose
Remember that I said you don’t need to be able to hold advanced postures like a handstand or side crow?
Inversions and arm balances don’t make you an advanced yogi!
A much bigger indication that you’re ready to complete your online yoga teacher training is that you can listen to your body. You follow your breath. You know when to drop into a child’s pose when you need a rest.
You will most certainly work on inversions and arm balances during the training, and you may come out of the certification course with some new postures. Or not.
Either way, it won’t define your capabilities as a future teacher.
7. You can’t wait to surround yourself with like-minded people
If you’ve been yearning to deepen your practice surrounded by an amazing, diverse community of people, there’s no better place than online yoga teacher training.
You’ll meet people that are as equally motivated as you to learn more about yoga and to share their practice. They will provide you with more inspiration than you could have ever imagined. And they will be there to lift you up when things get challenging.
You will likely form an inseparable bond with other students. And when the time comes to collect your certification, you’ll find yourself with lifelong friends.
8. You regularly seek challenges and personal growth
Ask any teacher, and they’ll tell you: Your online yoga teacher training will be difficult.
Whether you’re looking into taking an online yoga certificate course, getting your certification in-person locally or overseas, training on the weekends over six months, or during a one-month intensive, there will be challenges ahead!
But it’s SO worth it.
The requirement to step out of your comfort zone, both physically and emotionally, will create personal growth you never expected. My advice is to stay open, embrace new things with child-like wonder, and say “yes” to the journey ahead of you.
9. You’re ready to create change in your life
The last few years have caused many of us to take a pause and look inward for answers. If you’re feeling like there’s something bigger out there, it’s time to pursue it.
You don’t need to have a clear reason for why you want to attend online yoga teacher training. You don’t even need to have a clear plan or desire to become a yoga teacher afterward.
Many people get their yoga teacher certification for personal reasons or to deepen their private practice. There will be a shift in your life, it may be immediate, or it may take months. It could be subtle or it may be big, but it will be there. I can only describe it as a life-enhancing experience!
10. You’re called to make a positive impact on the world
Are you feeling a calling to do something in life that benefits others and/or our environment?
It took me years to realize that if we want the make the world a better place for all beings, the best place to begin is with ourselves.
Ed and Deb Shapiro, in their book, Be the Change, write, “When we open to transformation within ourselves, so society also transforms – every change that each individual makes creates a chain reaction that is beneficial to all. Then, instead of focusing on the problems, we can start to live the solutions.”
After having completed my yoga teacher training, nothing feels more true than those words. If you want to change the world, begin by changing yourself.
11. You’d love to build a flexible career
Yoga introduces so much flexibility into your life in unexpected ways. Pun intended.
After getting your yoga certification online, you immediately have options. Two obvious ones being to either teach part or full time.
It could be small way to get paid to do something you love each week.
Or it could be a huge shake up in your career and life. I’ve seen many people leverage their yoga certification to be able to make money while traveling, or to organize retreats to stunning places around the world.
Either option gives you more control of your time and your schedule. Online yoga teacher training empowers you to pursue balance, bliss, and happiness – not just in your personal life, but also in your career.
And that’s what it means to life a yoga lifestyle, bringing this post full-circle.
Make this the year you FINALLY start your online yoga teacher training
After I completed my training, I had others ask (and I asked myself): “Is online yoga teacher training worth it?”
While I got my certification during an in-person training, my answer is still a resounding, “yes!”
You will experience profound growth as a result of your teacher training. Regardless of how you decide to use your yoga certification in your life, the experience of taking an in-person or online yoga teacher training is like nothing else.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t take very long to get your yoga certification online. As a first-time yoga instructor, you will need to start with a 200-hour YTT class, but you can advance to a 300-hour class. This is usually done over a couple of weeks or a month.
You technically do not need to be certified to teach yoga. However, you may struggle finding a job or a studio to teach in without one. Being able to show that you are a certified yoga instructor will show potential employers, studios, or partners your dedication to your passion.
The cost of each yoga teacher training (YTT) will vary depending on the location, size of class, duration and more.
If you’ve read this far and resonated with even just one of the points in this blog post, it will be worth it to you. I encourage you to finally make the leap.
Author’s Note: I completed my YogaWorks teacher training in Bali at the end of October 2015. Prior to applying, attending a YTT and becoming a certified yoga teacher was something I had dreamt of for several years, but I had never felt ready for it. I finally decided, there really was no such thing as “ready” and took the leap. It was the best thing I did for myself that year! I began my training with the intention of “deepening my practice” and of becoming a yoga teacher “one day.” I honestly never believed I would be able to lead a class after just one month of training… but I was so wrong. My teachers Alicia Cheung and Oliver Reinsch, along with the YogaWorks format of teaching, provided myself and my fellow students with all the tools and confidence we needed to excel as teachers. As a newly certified teacher, I’m so grateful to have experienced this training, and so excited to share this amazing practice with others.