“Teach what is inside you, not as it applies to you yourself, but as it applies to the other.”— Śrī T. Krishnamacharya, Father of Modern Yoga
A good Yoga Teacher Training program is one that helps us understand and act according to this profound quote. Many people who practise yoga experience and enjoy its many benefits—physical, mental, and emotional. With great enthusiasm, they try to pass on this experience to others whom they feel would benefit in the same way. This is a very noble and appreciable intention.
However, while intention may pave the way, it alone is not enough. One must learn yoga and also learn how to teach yoga. This is where the necessity of a Yoga Teacher Training program arises.
What Is a Yoga Teacher Training Program?
A Yoga Teacher Training program is a specifically designed course aimed at equipping participants to become credible and trustworthy yoga teachers. While much of the world views yoga as merely a practice of asanas or complex physical postures and breathing techniques, this layman’s perspective is far from reality.
Yoga is a Darśana—a philosophical system—carefully structured with the aim of removing suffering from the practitioner. This suffering may be physical, mental, emotional, or psychological in nature, and yoga provides tools to address all these aspects.
What Does a YTT Program Cover?
A well-structured Yoga Teacher Training program offers a holistic view of yoga and provides an understanding of the vast expanse of topics and techniques that yoga comprises. By completing a YTT program, one learns not only various asanas and pranayamas but also gains deep insight into the philosophy of yoga, along with techniques of meditation and mindfulness.
A comprehensive syllabus also covers anatomy, physiology, and various allied subjects and tools—equipping the instructor to meaningfully help both themselves and their students on the path of yoga.
Practising Yoga vs. Teaching Yoga
Knowing how to practise yoga and knowing how to design an appropriate practice for another person are two very different things. Teaching yoga is quite different from practising yoga for oneself. Śrī T. Krishnamacharya’s approach to yoga practice makes this clear:
“Yoga must be adapted to the individual, not the individual to yoga.”— Śrī T. Krishnamacharya
No two individuals are the same, and therefore their yoga practices need not be the same either. A Yoga Teacher Training program provides the knowledge and skills required to take this gift of yoga to many different people in unique ways that benefit each individual.
Do You Need to Be an Experienced Practitioner?
It is time to break one of the biggest myths: anyone can undertake a Yoga Teacher Training program—even a beginner. It is not mandatory that only those who wish to become yoga teachers should enrol. Even if one does not intend to teach yoga but has a genuine curiosity and thirst for understanding it more deeply, one can certainly undertake this program.
What a Good YTT Program Can Do for You
- Deepen your knowledge of yoga and its significance in daily life
- Help you become a motivated and independent self-practitioner—eliminating the need to rely on daily instruction
- Answer deeper questions about life and bring about positive shifts in perspective
- Enable you to become a well-equipped and internationally certified yoga instructor, committed to helping others through the transformative power of yoga
Remember, there are no demerits in learning yoga. As Śrī T. Krishnamacharya beautifully put it:
“In the practice of yoga, one may emphasize the body, the mind, or the self—and therefore the effort can never be fruitless.”— Śrī T. Krishnamacharya
