Is Online Yoga Teacher Training Worth It? Online Yoga Teacher Training Review
Wondering if online yoga teacher training is worth it?
I am going to show you exactly how to choose one, what mistakes to avoid, and how to make sure it’s legit in this online yoga teacher training review!
As someone who just loves learning about the human body, I was so against online trainings at first. That is until I signed up for a philosophy training with my mentor, with my home yoga studio, in another continent and totally changed my mind: I now love online yoga trainings.
So keep reading to know everything you need to choose your next online yoga training:
Table of Contents
Online Yoga Training Pros and Cons
Pros:
✅ Easier scheduling
✅ Unlimited access to the material: you can often keep the Zoom recordings
✅ Meeting people from all over the world
✅ Staying at home
✅ Accessing the best yoga studios without having to travel
✅ Learning to teach online classes
Cons:
❌ Less of a sense of community
❌ Less knowledge of the human body and no adjustments
❌ Harder to vet as often it is a new offering
❌ There can be a lot of pre-recorded content (sometimes!)
❌ Quality varies: while a lot of online yoga schools refer to themselves as offering accredited online yoga teacher trainings, the reality is more complex if you want to receive a certification.
How to know if an online yoga teacher training is legit?
Will you get the RYT certification?
The Registered Yoga Teacher certification depends on the Yoga Alliance. Not all types of yoga traditions are recognized by this certification, but I’d argue that if you want to teach more types of yoga, it is probably better to get it.
Currently, there are many Yoga Alliance certified online teacher trainings because of COVID. It is an exemption and we don’t know if it is going to continue. Be careful: yoga alliance accreditation doesn’t always mean you’ll qualify to be a registered yoga teacher, it could just be counting towards continuing education credits. So do your research when you look at Yoga Alliance Teacher Trainings.
Yoga Instructor Training Reviews
Take a look at verified reviews from real people! Go on the school’s Yoga Alliance page, their Facebook Page, and Google them extensively.
Who are the Teachers?
Google them all to see if you resonate with their approach. Read their blogs, see their reviews, and take a public online yoga class with them before to know if they really can teach online. Being a good in-person teacher doesn’t always translate into good online teaching skills.
What is the schedule?
Get the breakdown of the schedule, day by day, hour by hour. If you’re doing a 200-hour, compare it to the Yoga Alliance standards here. Add the hours up to be sure it’s really 200 hours.
How much interaction is there?
How much interaction with the teachers will there be? Ideally, there should be some Q&A time and even one-on-one time with the lead teachers if you are taking your 200-hour yoga teacher training online as you’ll be in need of feedback.
Practice teaching with your peers is super important as constructive feedback on how things feel in someone else’s body will help you improve.
Is it rooted in science and anatomy?
All types of trainings should have a big anatomy component since you are impacting people’s bodies and they can get injured. Yoga is dangerous when done unsafely.
How inclusive is it?
Will you be learning to welcome all kinds of students no matter their background? As a yoga teacher, you have a role in cultivating diversity in the wellness space. This is an acquired skill as there are concrete techniques and mindset shifts that can help create inclusive, accessible classes for students of all walks of life.
What is the best online yoga teacher training? My Online Yoga Teacher Training experience
I’ve done all of my Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher certification and part of my 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training online. I’ve been really enjoying it as I’ve been able to keep up with and expand my US yoga community while currently being in Europe.
I am doing my additional 300-hour yoga teacher training online with Yoga Vida and here is what I love:
They have adapted their curriculum really fast to offer relevant topics in the online world (Inclusivity and Yoga, Business, Trauma-informed yoga, Yoga Therapy...)
They have a BIPOC scholarship
The community is still awesome as you are with the same people in various trainings
They offer an online vinyasa yoga teacher training too! I’ve done my 200-hour with them and wrote about it here.
As for taking my prenatal yoga teacher training online, it was hard to find a good certification that was recognized by Yoga Alliance but I chose Yoga Education Institute (they have a 200-hour online yoga teacher training as well) and I’m happy about it:
They offer regular individual time with the lead instructor
They keep their groups small so the online yoga teacher training courses are very interactive
The anatomy and safety components are very detailed and science-based
Also, I’m just happy I decided to try another studio than Yoga Vida for my training and expand my horizons!
How much money do you make as an online yoga teacher?
As much or as little as you want since it depends on your business sense. Yes, teaching yoga is absolutely being an entrepreneur. On my side, having advised innovative businesses on their strategy and operations for 4 years before making the switch, I love the business side as much as the actual teaching! I feel you can’t serve others well unless you treat your yoga teaching career like an actual business and always ask yourself “What do people want?”.
It is important to note that you are working with your body and your voice so you need to be mindful and preserve your energy when you accept opportunities. So get paid in dollars, not in visibility, and don’t teach for free to anyone to get experience, your friends and family are here for that! If you teach yoga for free, you won’t have enough energy to serve people well, and the quality of your classes will probably deteriorate. Yoga teacher burnout is real!
Of course, don’t let that keep you from teaching donation classes or charity classes, as it can make yoga more accessible to certain populations that would not have gone to a yoga studio, but make sure you are doing so mindfully to support a cause or a group of people rather than offering a low-cost, low-quality experience.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and feel ready to find the best online yoga teacher training certification. Feel free to share this with anyone who might benefit from it!