Yoga Teacher Training in the era of lockdowns
Namastey!
This pandemic has created problems and struggles of unforeseen magnitudes both for our outer and the inner world. Yoga has become an answer to these unseen problems to millions of people over the world.
As more seekers look out to find their perfect guru, it has become challenging for experienced practitioners to become certified teachers.
There are around 100,000 Yoga Teachers registered with Yoga Alliance and more than 36 million Yogis in USA alone (..according to this survey). Needless to say we need more and more trained teachers to spread this knowledge of spiritual awareness and yogic lifestyle. Lucky for us, the pandemic has revolutionised the learning process of this vedic science. It has convinced us to believe that the future of Yoga Teacher Training is online.
Every day, centuries old Yoga schools from India and worldwide have started offering an online certification course for beginners or advanced teachings. No matter if you are starting off with the basics of Ashtanga Yoga or looking to broaden your horizons by specialising in Yog Nidra, Teacher Training courses are available online for every need.
Here are some of the benefits of the pros and cons of shifting to online learning experiences :
Pros :
- Easily accessible from the comforts of our own Yoga Mat : Option to use a location of our choice to complement without learning experience increases the efficiency of the process drastically. Online teacher training courses can use tools like PDFs, podcasts etc. as extension of their lessons
- This knowledge has never been cheaper : Online TTCs are undoubtedly the cheapest solution to learn these practises. Not only does it save the travel cost to an ashram in Rishikesh or a random part of the world, it also allows teachers to reachout to more students at once.
- Options are endless : Since you don’t have to travel or adopt an extremely new lifestyle, you can explore the different techniques and schools of yoga. From the oldest schools Iyengar Yoga, Sivananda Yoga to newly expanding techniques like Yoga Nidra, you can specialise in any domain you want
Cons :
- Not a complete break from our daily lives : One thing which I missed the most was not having a dedicated experience at a serene location away from my professional and family life. Having an ashram/school environment around really getting in the feel of it
- Lack of focus : For many students, one of the biggest challenges of online courses is focusing on the screen for long periods of time. Students tend to get distracted with social media or any activity happening around them.
It’s evident that corona has impacted our lives for better or worse. One thing I am thankful for is this new opportunity of learning and I am optimistic that it will help many like myself. I strongly recommend doing a 100 or 200 hours teacher training course. Not only does it open up a positive career opportunity., it also allows us to understand the depth of yogi lifestyle. Here are some of the handpicked online Yoga Teacher Training courses which I could find. You can read the course details and register straight away from the above link. Hope this list helps you in finding your perfect guru.
