HOW TO CHOOSE A 200HR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING – A Comprehensive Guide From a Full-Time Teacher Trainer

After attending many YTTs myself as a student, and leading more than forty 200hr courses for multiple schools around the world, I’m feeling contemplative, and I want to share my thoughts on this whole YTT thing, and the factors that I think are worth considering if you’re thinking about joining one.

 

WHY DO SO MANY YOGA STUDIOS OFFER YTT?

 

 

I recently spoke to a yoga teacher here in Bali who may have to close her studio. From an ethical yogic perspective, she is doing everything right: her studio encourages diversity of body types, age, and ethnicity, she charges less than the average rate for classes with exchange opportunities and a sliding scale, and she hasn’t bowed to the pressures of the “yoga industrial complex” by catering only to power yoga. She provides honest, heart-centered yoga, with honest, heart-centered marketing (oh, the lies and manipulation I’ve seen in yoga marketing!), and she can’t afford the rent.  It’s the kind of place we should all want to survive.

 

I can’t help but think that back in the day in India, she’d be one of those spiritual leaders that the community provides for–feeding and housing her as an honor, or like Krishnamacharya, sponsored by the maharajah to teach for a living. We don’t have a system like that in the modern world. What we have is the yoga teacher training.  

 

 

For better or for worse, in our modern “Yoga-Alliance-registered” world, there just aren’t that many options for systematically deepening your yoga knowledge outside of the 200hr YTT format. For teachers and students alike, these courses are a blissfull opportunity to dive into yoga philosophy and discuss the subject we’re most passionate about. These courses, and the money and energy exchange that goes along with them, is what allows most of our yoga studios and teachers to keep their heads above water. We all love yoga and recognize its value in our lives, and in a time when fewer people find themselves in church on Sundays, more and more are finding their spiritual connection on the yoga mat. There is so much value in this. So YTTs have become the life-blood of the yoga world.

 

TO TEACH OR NOT TO TEACH?

 

 

About half of the students who join my YTTs say that they’re doing it to deepen their own practice, and they have no intention of becoming teachers themselves. I’ve heard people snark, “EVERYONE’S done a 200hr,” and that’s exactly why–whether you actually want to become a yoga teacher, or simply want to inform your own practice, you’ll find what you’re seeking at a YTT, and it’s one of the few formats available to do it. Unless you have the means to commit to an ashram in India for a year (and if you do, I’d encourage you to pay them more than you would a western YTT!), you’ll probably end up in something called a “200-hour”–and in fact, even IN India, most yoga schools and ashrams acquiesce to this format.  Many of those students who initially don’t plan to teach, find themselves feeling capable, knowledgeable, and filled with the desire to share the practice with others after they graduate, and many go on to teach anyway, whether through volunteering or as a side-gig.

 

I want to be honest here: it’s difficult to make a living as a yoga teacher. I know very few people who do it full-time as their sole source of income, and those who do, do what I do: lead teacher trainings and retreats, teach in corporate wellness programs, and/or take high-end private clients. If you plan to teach drop-in classes at a studio, consider it part-time gig work. Your body and mind will burn out if you take on too many classes a week. And as with my friend I mentioned above, the studio will likely be struggling to pay you a livable wage while keeping costs reasonable for students.

 

 

But it CAN be done, and depending on your level of freedom (and, to be honest, your marketing skills), you might be able to create a career for yourself that gives back to the world while filling your own soul. And either way–whether you’re planning a career change or not–you should ABSOLUTELY do a YTT if you love yoga. Regardless of your reason for doing it, you’re likely to find it a transformational experience for body, mind, and spirit, and that’s because of the philosophy of yoga.

 

Potential students often ask me if they’re “ready” to do a YTT, thinking that they need to be a certain level of fit or flexible to attend. In reality, your readiness for a YTT has far more to do with your openness to the PHILOSOPHY behind the practice than whether or not you can get your foot behind your head. The students who have the hardest time at teacher training are those who go into it thinking it’s just going to be about fitness–that it’s the same as doing a Pilates or personal training course. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

 

So what matters when choosing a YTT?

 

DOES IT HAVE TO BE YOGA ALLIANCE REGISTERED?

 

 

When considering joining a YTT, you’ll hear a lot of “RYS”-this and “Yoga Alliance”-that. You might wonder if it’s necessary for the school you attend to be registered with the Yoga Alliance. Before either praising or condemning the Yoga Alliance, it’s important to understand what it actually is.

 

YA’s Role for Individual Teachers

 

There’s a difference between certification (becoming qualified to teach through the guidance of a trainer) and registration (paying annual dues to an arbitrary organization). For individual yoga teachers, the Yoga Alliance is nothing more than a voluntary paid directory. It’s NOT an accrediting agency for teachers.

 

Whether the yoga teacher training school you attend is YA-registered or not, the certificate you receive from that school upon graduation CERTIFIES YOU TO TEACH, without any “Yoga Alliance” involvement whatsoever. There doesn’t actually exist an accrediting agency for yoga, because the subject, its meaning, and its various lineages are so vast and varied. So the Yoga Alliance is just a voluntary, paid, directory listing for yoga teachers. 99% of yoga studios, insurance companies, and clients around the world will be perfectly satisfied to accept your school-issued certification as proof of your qualification, without requiring you to be part of the Yoga Alliance’s directory.

 

That means that once you’ve graduated from ANY YTT, you’re already a yoga teacher (and let’s keep this on the down-low, but plenty of people teach yoga without ever having done a YTT at all.) However, if your SCHOOL chose to register themselves as a 200hr program with the Yoga Alliance, you’ll then have the additional option of registering yourself as a Yoga Alliance-registered TEACHER after you graduate, which entails paying their annual dues to be listed in their directory. It also comes with some perks, like bulk discounts on yoga mats and clothing, and free online courses for continuing education.

 

This difference is why you sometimes see yoga teachers calling themselves RYT-200 (a Yoga Alliance designation meaning REGISTERED Yoga Teacher) versus CYT-200 (a generic term that simply means Certified Yoga Teacher). Functionally, they’re exactly the same. The RYT just pays yearly dues.

 

YA’s Role for Yoga Schools

 

Where the Yoga Alliance pulls its weight is for yoga SCHOOLS, not for individual teachers. For yoga teacher training schools, the Yoga Alliance outlines a list of “standards” for teacher training courses that schools can voluntarily choose to accept and pay heaps of money for, to be registered as an RYS-200 (Registered Yoga School at the 200hr level). For schools, it’s like a voluntary, self-accreditation process, an agreement to pay the fees in order to be acknowledged as meeting certain standards. When a school decides to register, they’re basically paying for a “stamp of approval” that says, “yes, we agree to meet these minimum standards in our program.” Again, none of this is legally binding–no government requires only YA-registered schools to train teachers, and it’s all entirely voluntary. For yoga schools, being registered with the Yoga Alliance is just good marketing. It’s something that students look for in schools, so that upon graduation, they’ll have to option to register or not.

 

Here are the Yoga Alliance’s standards for 200hr Teacher Training Programs:

 

 

So if you choose to do a teacher training with a Yoga Alliance-registered school (RYS), you can expect the education to meet at least these requirements. If you choose a school that’s NOT registered, they can teach anything, for any amount of hours.

 

Arguments For and Against The Yoga Alliance

 

 

When we view yoga in the context of its Indian and Hindu source, it’s easy to argue against the Yoga Alliance. Why should a US-based company have any say in standards over a timeless Indian philosophy? Many would argue that the whole concept is colonialist in nature–exerting western control over a living culture. As someone who has spent the last ten years living in Asia and studying eastern philosophies, I tend to agree with this opinion. When I think of many of my best yoga and meditation teachers around the world, from Japan, to Bali, to India, some barely know what the Yoga Alliance is, let alone value registering. Knowing what I know now, it would be easy to look down my nose at the Yoga Alliance.

 

And simultaneously: from the perspective of me fifteen years ago, a casual yoga attendee who had never left the US and had no idea of yoga’s roots (I just liked how savasana made me feel!)–I’m so GRATEFUL that the above Yoga Alliance standards existed in the US! Look at how many hours are spent on philosophy! For a culture that is already accused of appropriating yoga from its source, it’s bad enough as-is, and I can’t imagine how much worse it would be in the US without the YA ensuring that at least that many hours are spent discussing history and philosophy in their registered yoga schools.

 

 

I signed up for my first 200hr YTT in the US thinking it was just about getting fit, and the course opened my eyes to how much deeper yoga actually is, which set me on this journey of traveling the world to dive into the origins. But if you had thrown 20-year-old me into my current ashram in Bali with my current teachers, I a). wouldn’t have been able to understand a word, because I didn’t yet speak the language, and b). even if I did, it would have all gone over my head. The lessons would have meant nothing to me within the context of how yoga had thus far been presented to me in the west–almost like we’re using the same word to talk about two completely different things.

 

It seems to me that the Yoga Alliance and western yoga schools sometimes act as the translator straddling those two worlds, or the stepping stones to the deeper practice. Studies have shown that with continued practice, the vast majority of yoga students change their initial reason for practicing (most often from the physical benefits, to the deeper spiritual and emotional effects). So if you were introduced to yoga as hot yoga, power yoga, goat yoga, beer yoga, whatever yoga–celebrate that it got you through the door! If you keep practicing, you’re likely to want to go deeper.

 

 

My lineage of yoga teaches us to “meet people where they are.” For people who were not raised in yoga culture, those Yoga Alliance standards can offer a good start. So if a school you’re considering isn’t registered, it could be because it’s taught by long-time spiritual masters who don’t want to kowtow to an arbitrary US organization (good!)… OR it could be because it’s taught by a colonialist secular teacher who wants to whitewash the practice and strip it of its philosophy (bad.) At least the RYS designation gives you some idea of what to expect.

 

IS 200 HOURS ENOUGH?

 

 

The question may arise then, is 200 hours really enough?

 

In one sense, of course it’s not. The depth and breadth of yoga requires a lifetime of study, and I know very few yoga teachers who simply stop learning after their 200hr. Teaching and studying yoga has been my full time career for ten years, and I still feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface.

 

But committing to 200 hours is certainly a start. And so much of the learning comes from EXPERIENCE. This experience starts with one’s own personal practice, but I also insist that my graduates start teaching right away if they plan to teach, to put into practice what they’ve learned and discover what more there is to explore. You simply don’t know what you don’t know, so you have to start somewhere. I once took a 500 hour course, in which some of the students had joined directly from their 200hr without teaching in between, and the gaps in knowledge were painfully obvious. We learn by doing, and we spread the peace of the practice by sharing it with others.

 

 

There’s a Hindu story of a Vedic sage named Bharadvaja who spent lifetime after lifetime immersing himself in the study of the Vedas. On his deathbed at the end of his third lifetime, the god Shiva came to him and told him to stop wasting his time, that he could spend a thousand more lifetimes studying and be no closer to spiritual perfection than he was at that moment. Instead, Shiva told him it was time to teach others.

 

HOW ABOUT THE LENGTH? INTENSIVE (ONE MONTH) OR EXTENDED (6+ MONTHS)?

 

 

So those “200 hours” of study can be approached in a number of ways. There are year-long courses where students gather once a month, there are one-month residential courses, there are weekend modular courses–that 200 hours can be spread out or condensed in various formats.

 

The first YTT I attended as a student in the US was on weekends spread out over six months. It was something I did in addition to my everyday life, as one would take a cooking or pottery class. It was absolutely lovely. I was able to study during the week, integrate what I learned, and rest. But I was also distracted by my job and my house and my relationships, and learning yoga was not my top priority or focus during that whole six-month period. The information felt more conceptual than practical, because I had these long gaps in between learning sessions. This probably had more to do with my own faltering motivation and personal attention span, so it’s useful to know yourself and for how long you can stay focused.

 

It wasn’t until I took my first one-month immersive YTT overseas that I realized how much deeper it was possible to go. To be held in a container with like-minded people for an extended period of time in which the ONLY thing to focus on is yoga, self-healing, and growth, is an unspeakably powerful experience that I wish everyone in the world could have.

 

 

The shortest course that I ever taught was for a school in the US that crammed 200 hours (or rather, 180 in-person hours) into 15 days. While there are lots of wonderful things about that school, this course format was a nightmare. They were twelve hour days with no days off, and the students were exhausted and retained very little information. Nearly everyone had a breakdown at some point. The school did it this way because, as you may be aware, the average PTO for US companies is two weeks. It is not enough time.

 

If you find yourself in a situation where you can take a month away from your daily life to commit to your personal growth and healing–perhaps you’re a student on summer holiday, or you’re between careers–I highly recommend seeking out an intensive course. But be sure it’s one in which there are evenings and some full days off to rest and integrate the knowledge. In my experience, between 22 and 28 days strikes the right balance of immersion and rest.

 

WHAT ABOUT ONLINE COURSES?

 

 

Ugh. I know that the pandemic made online 200hr courses necessary. And I’m grateful to the Yoga Alliance for allowing this, as it helped many yoga schools survive. I KNOW that the online format made certification a possibility for so many more people, and that should be a good thing. But having taught both in-person and online, I mostly just feel sad that the online format exists. I feel sad that people may choose it, thinking it’s the same as in-person, not realizing what they’re missing. It’s apples to oranges; so much is missed. Yoga is a practice of connection, heart-to-heart, teacher-to-student, friend-to-friend, soul-to-body. It’s physical, it’s personal, it’s emotional. It’s about seeing our interwoven natures, our interconnectedness. Learning to teach requires intimate observation and connection to others and their bodies. It’s just so incredibly hard to replicate through screens.

 

I struggle to even give recommendations for online courses, because I feel so strongly that this should be shared in person. But if you absolutely know you will NEVER have the ability to attend a course in-person, these are my suggestions: choose an online course that is mostly “live” calls, keep your camera on the entire time, and have a friend or two join the course with you. Invite those friends over to do the live calls TOGETHER, in the same room, every time. Practice what you learn with one another. Observe each others breath and postures. Make sure your teachers are available and open to one-on-one calls and to answering every one of your questions.

 

But really, if you’re going to commit the time and energy to learning this at all, you owe it to yourself to do an in-person course.

 

(Note: I feel entirely differently about “continuing education courses,” like 30 and 50 hour refinement courses which can absolutely be done online, but those initial 200 hours are just so, so crucial).

 

 

WHAT ABOUT THE COST?

 

 

The going rate for a 200hr YTT in the USA is around $4000. It’s a lot of money, but it breaks down to around $20 per credit hour (which is equivalent to most cities’ drop-in class rate for regular asana classes–and think of how much more you get from a 200hr program, plus certification to boot.) As I mentioned at the beginning with the example of my studio-owner friend, if you’re seeking out the YTT at your local home studio, recognize that the cost of the course may be the very thing that keeps your studio alive. When you see the relatively high cost of YTTs, you might get the impression that studio owners are rolling in cash, but I can assure you, I haven’t met one yet who is. I know for a fact that when you sign up for a YTT, your teachers are likely jumping for joy, because you’ve allowed them to continue doing what they love for a little longer. I literally do a happy dance every time someone applies for a course.

 

Most yoga teachers would truly LOVE to be able to offer these programs for free, but they also need to make rent. And even so, many still offer scholarships and/or work exchange experiences to help you cover costs. Also, don’t be afraid to seek out scholarships elsewhere! For example, my school just became eligible for the government’s military spouse education scholarship, which is a totally niche thing–what’s your niche thing that might have a scholarship program attached to it?

 

OK, WHAT ABOUT THE COSTS FOR IMMERSIVE, DESTINATION YTTs?

 

 

If you’re seeking to travel for your TT, I would firstly recommend courses in countries and cultures that are steeped in yoga philosophy. Look first towards India, Bali, or Nepal for the Hindu yogic culture, or secondarily in places rife with Buddhist philosophy like Thailand or Sri Lanka. Both philosophies will contribute to deepening your experience of connection to what you’re learning. Yes, it’s lovely to do a retreat on the beach in Hawaii or Costa Rica, but those locations won’t fundamentally connect you to the cultures that brought yoga to the world. In Bali, we can learn about an asana, then walk next door to visit the temple of the god for whom that pose is named.

 

But just because a YTT takes place in a traditional culture, doesn’t automatically make it high-quality. The yoga industry is just as fraught with scams and capitalism in India (which is simultaneously the home of traditional yoga, and of performative “Asana Competitions” and “yoga for weight-loss”) as it is in the west. You can find yoga schools that span the quality spectrum in every culture and country. Getting recommendations from students who have already attended the course can be invaluable in choosing a school.

 

 

It’s also worthwhile to assess your current knowledge level and comfort traveling to decide WHERE in the world is a good fit. Do you already know a lot of Sanskrit yoga terms (or speak some Hindi?) Have you spent time in developing countries? If not, attending a YTT in an ashram with only Indian students may mean that the teachings will go over your head. That might be a better option for a level 2 (300hr) training, once you’ve already dipped your toes into the philosophy. Finding teachers and schools that bridge the gap between YOUR native culture and the culture from which yoga was born might strike the right balance for a 200hr YTT, so I tend to recommend courses that offer a diverse cast of teachers.

 

WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN PRICE?

 

While the price of YTT is somewhat standardized in the west, when seeking destination YTTs, you’re likely to notice a vast range of prices. Here are three important factors to consider when assessing the “bang for your buck.”

 

1. What’s included in the costs?

 

If considering a “destination” YTT, note that some schools cost more because they include room and board, food, cultural experiences, and tours, as well as course manuals, yoga props, tuition, and certification. And on the other hand, some are dirt-cheap because you’ll have to find your own housing, commute to the yoga studio, bring your own props, and pay for your course materials separately. I taught for a school once that didn’t even provide drinking water (ugh).

 

 

In Bali, I’ve led both all-inclusive YTTs (where students all live on-site at the retreat center) and bare-bones commuter courses (where students stay wherever and drive or walk to the yoga shala), and from experiencing both, I have a clear preference. In my opinion, especially if it’s a country you’re not familiar with, the all-inclusive format is safer and more effective by leaps and bounds. With the commuter trainings, the energy is scattered; we regularly had to deal with motorbike accidents, food poisoning, hungover students, and so many other dramas while trying to teach and learn.

 

Compare that to the immersive experience of all living on-site, sharing healthy meals together, and focusing entirely on yoga–not what’s going on at the bar down the road or if it’s time to pay for your hotel room. Once paid, you don’t have to touch money during the entirety of the course. So if you really want to be immersed in the experience, I recommend seeking a school that includes room and food, because it takes all of the unknown factors and decision-making away, so that you can fully focus on learning. These courses often cost the same as a non-inclusive course in the US, so you get much more for your money, with the only added expense being travel.

 

2. How many students will be in the group with you?

 

The class size is one of the most important factors in determining the value of your education and experience.

 

 

For a few years I taught for one of the largest yoga schools in Bali, where we had more than thirty students every month (hence how I very quickly taught more than 600 yogis to become teachers!) It was an incredible experience, and I made so many beautiful connections. But while their marketing was on-point, because of the huge class sizes, the quality of the training was not. They could offer the course cheaply, because there was such a massive number of students, but the students absolutely suffered for it.

 

Mats were placed inches apart and filled the shala wall-to-wall. No one got individual attention. The loudest students were catered to, the shy ones lost in the shadows. When students from that era reach out to me now for recommendations, they often have to re-introduce themselves, because I may have barely met them during the YTT. When they experienced emotional upheaval during the course from all the healing work being done, there was inadequate support available for them, because there were simply too many people for the teachers to attend to.

 

But even for practical purposes, it just doesn’t work logistically, for things like practicums and assessments. How can thirty students teach a one-hour yoga class in order to be assessed as an effective teacher? They can’t, or that would take THIRTY HOURS. Whenever I’ve taught for large schools such as this, the assessment process goes one of two ways: the students are asked to teach five poses in front of their teacher, or they’re asked to teach a short 10-minute snippet of a class. They graduate without having ever taught a full yoga class. How can we confidently send them out into the world as teachers when they haven’t actually taught?

 

 

If you truly want to learn, seek a school that keeps their groups small. Yes, it may be more expensive, but the face-time you’ll have with your teachers will be an invaluable part of not only developing your own yoga teaching skills, but also your own personal spiritual growth, even long after the course ends. When these close bonds are formed with your teachers and classmates, they often last for life–I lived with one of my 500hr classmates for years after the course, and am the godmother of her child! My co-teacher for Yogatrotter’s Bali YTTs was initially one of my teachers, and I’ve had countless incredible opportunities arise from these deep connections.

 

3. Who are the teachers, and are they being compensated fairly for their work and experience?

 

This is a big one when it comes to spending your money ethically. The average monthly wage in Indonesia is around $700 USD, and in India, it’s around $400. I’ve worked for (and resigned from) schools that exploited this by paying different rates for their western and local teachers in order to keep their costs down. Most Indian and Balinese yoga teachers are raised in the culture from which yoga emerged. Their insight and teachings are invaluable in a yoga setting.

 

 

Just like clothing manufactured in sweat-shops, if the cost is too low, the chance is high that someone is being exploited. If everyone is being paid fairly–from the venue, to the teachers, to the staff, to the taxes of the host country (you’d be surprised how many yoga schools are illegal)–then you as the student will also pay a fair price. This is what the energy exchange is all about–ensuring that all involved are cared for every step of the way.

 

HOW TO FIND YOUR TEACHERS

 

My best teachers have always come from word-of-mouth, recommended by my existing teachers or like-minded friends. I found many of my teachers by first reading their books or their spiritual writing–if their words deeply resonate with me, I know their courses will too.

 

I’ve come to learn that flashy marketing, Instagram fame, and advertisements are all a better indicator of business acumen than of quality teaching, and may also indicate large and unmanageable class sizes. But it doesn’t mean that the internet isn’t a worthy place to find connection. As always, just like how meeting someone online lacks the chemistry of seeing them in-person, there are teachers whose energy might really vibe with you from the moment you step into their classroom. To this day, 80% of my YTT students are still people who have attended my classes in person. But if a teacher isn’t local to your area, you can likely get a sense of this if they have yoga class videos available online.

 

And the willingness for personal connection should absolutely be a top priority. Most teachers will love for you to reach out and share your story, and to connect heart-to-heart, so don’t hesitate to contact those you feel drawn to. Heartfelt messages and consultation calls will tell you a lot about someone’s energy.

 

I often find that the groups of souls that gather for YTT seem to be divinely guided here, and that the right people gather at the exact right time. So when the universe seems to be laying the path at your feet, nudging you towards the teachers who make your soul sing, you should probably listen.

 

Om Aim Saraswatyi Namaha

– Megan

 

If you feel called, join us in Bali (there’s only one room left for November!) or Connecticut <3