Things You Should Know Before Joining a Yoga Teacher Training Course

Joining a yoga teacher training program could be what puts the biggest smile on your face in 2022.  But before you start packing and booking your flights, let’s get into the details to help you choose the right training.

Completing a 200 hour yoga teacher training in Bali can be a life changing experience for many students.  It is incredibly transformational; not just in terms of your physical yoga practice, but on much deeper levels – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  On the outside, yoga can appear to be a physical practice or something that is external and looks great on Instagram.  But actually, yoga is representative of something much deeper and profound.  What’s really moving us within the yoga asanas (postures) is the breath, or our life force energy.  This is the focal point of a good vinyasa yoga teacher training. 

The breath is an expression of the internal aspect of ourselves through the physical yoga practice.  Noticing the breath during your yoga practice tells you so much about what is going on for you mentally and emotionally for example, holding your breath can be a sign of stress; not noticing your breath can be a sign of distraction or disconnection.  The transformative process really comes through feeling this connection which sparks a change within and for your practice.  So be prepared for some shifts in your yoga as you embark on this journey.

A yoga teacher training can be a challenging environment at times, we’re not going to lie.  The days are long, it’s tiring, you’re practicing more yoga than you probably ever have and you’re living with a group of people who when you arrived you didn’t know and now, they’re your closest confidents.  But the transformation that people go through in this process is incredibly rewarding and it may be one of the greatest achievements in your life.

How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program

Before joining a yoga instructor certification in Bali (or anywhere else) you’ll want to do your research.  What style of yoga are you looking for?  It might be vinyasa yoga, yin yoga or ashtanga yoga.  Do you want some element of spirituality in your yoga training?  Do you want to learn about yoga philosophy and where yoga came from?  And we’ve already mentioned the importance of the breath.  Deciding which elements are important to you is the first step.

Inner Yoga Training in Bali is unique in that it offers both vinyasa yoga and yin yoga in their 200-hour yoga certification, meaning that you will be certified to teach two different styles of yoga when you complete your training.  You will also learn about meditation, pranayama (breath), yoga philosophy, anatomy, the art of teaching, the business of yoga, Traditional Chinese Medicine and much more.  It is a well-rounded yoga certification program that covers a lot of areas and is registered with Yoga Alliance.

Next is deciding what type of environment you want to complete your 200-hour yoga teacher training in.  So, you’ve decided on Bali (great choice) but do you want residential, non-residential, all-inclusive etc.?  Do you want very rustic and basic conditions or more comfortable?  Inner Yoga Training offers their Bali 200-hour yoga training as an all-inclusive residential experience.  The reason?  Because they understand that a 200-hour yoga teacher training can be tiring and at times challenging with long days so they wanted to make it as easy for you as possible.  A residential yoga training just takes the hassle away as everything is on site for you at the retreat center.

Next is the teaching faculty.  Are there a variety of teachers or just one or two teachers that cover everything?  We would offer some caution here as teachers who think they can teach everything could be a “jack of all trades but a master of none”.  Meaning they may have a lot of broad knowledge in many areas but not deep knowledge of any particular area.  Also, do you really want to be listening to the same one or two voices for your whole yoga teacher training?

Inner Yoga Training offers a range of faculty members, all of whom are specialists in their field of yoga.  There is a main teacher for vinyasa yoga and a main teacher for yin yoga.  Supporting them are the specialists who are brought in for their depth of knowledge in anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The teachers have studied their topics for many years and have a huge amount of experience.  It’s also nice to have a variety of teachers who can offer you different perspectives on the topic of yoga.

Whether you are a beginner or experienced yogi, a yoga instructor certification in Bali will help you gain a totally new perspective on yourself and your life mentally, physically and spiritually.

Here are some key things to consider before joining a vinyasa and yin yoga teacher training program:

1.      Come to your yoga instructor certification with a beginner’s mind.  This means setting aside any judgment or perception about the place, the teachers, the food, the yoga teacher training program, etc. Be open to hear and see things in new ways.  Even if you think you have knowledge of a particular topic be prepared to listen to what someone else has to offer.  It can really surprise you what you can learn. 

2.      You may be going from a very hectic stressful home life into a yoga bubble in a very calm and natural environment.  So, wind up any necessary work before you leave and tell your friends and family you won’t be on the phone to them constantly.  It’s very rare to get 3 weeks devoted just to you and your development so doing this will allow you to just enjoy and focus on the yoga training program.

3.      You will be learning a new routine in a new environment with new eating and sleeping habits.  Ideas and concepts that you learn about may be totally different to what you’re used to and this can be hard at the beginning.  But you are going to enjoy it a lot!  Especially meeting and getting to know different people from all over the world with different cultures, viewpoints, religions, etc. So, stay open to learning a different way of living and take a new perspective on life.  You might not agree with everything you hear and learn and that’s totally fine but if you can be open to new ideas your experience will be richer and more enjoyable.

4.      You will have to follow more of a disciplined and structured life during your training program.  There is a lot to learn in 200 hours so sometimes things need to be kept to a schedule and guidelines put in place to make the experience enjoyable for everyone.  So just know that it is for your benefit and it’s to create an optimum learning environment.  Try to go with the flow.

5.      With so much yoga every day your entire body may go through a detox process at the beginning so make conscious choices about what you’re absorbing – whether it’s food or thoughts.  Meditation practices that you learn will help to support you as your body and mind adapt to your new environment.

6.      For some students their Inner Yoga Training in Bali can be a soul dive or spiritual journey which is deeper than what they expected from their yoga teacher training program.  The practices and experiences may invite you to take a deeper look at your habits and thoughts that were natural to you in your daily routine.  Being away from your normal home life gives you an opportunity to really look at what you want in life and your relationships.  We invite you to use this opportunity of a 200-hour yoga teacher training to assess what’s important to you and get to know yourself on a deeper level.

So, now’s the time to decide and jump into an amazing experience on this journey called life. Life is all about knowing your own self first and this journey will continue or begin with a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Bali.