Finding a satisfying career is not an easy process. The person who can find a job that they enjoy and one that also pays well is very lucky indeed. A career as a yoga teacher may be just the thing for you. Becoming a certified yoga teacher can be very satisfying, but it requires some careful thought. There are several different styles and practices of yoga, and your yoga teacher certification will more than likely specialize in just one or two areas.
Depending on your focus, yoga teacher training may involve a short course of study to learn teaching methods and basic yoga postures, or it may involve two or more years of intense study of both the positions, and the philosophy of yoga. Ashtanga yoga teacher training for example, requires study of this 5,000 year old approach to both physical and mental fitness. Some yoga practices also are accompanied by meditative practices. The job market for yoga teachers will vary depending on your location. Yoga teacher training throughout California, and in cities like New York and Phoenix is prevalent, and many local yoga centers are available and are frequently looking for skilled teachers.
Once you become a yoga teacher, you may also choose to specialize in your audience and focus on teaching children, or offering prenatal yoga training classes. Kid's yoga classes are popular in major cities like New York City. You can obtain your certification at many teacher centers throughout America, which offer intensive teacher training in many different styles of yoga. The style of yoga you ultimately teach will depend on your own preferences as well as the demand. Bikram yoga for example, is known as "hot" yoga, since it is performed in a heated room of 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. You may also choose to pursue a more spiritual and meditative style of yoga such as Kundalini yoga, which focuses on wakening the kundalini energy of the body. You can also become teacher certified as an instructor of hatha yoga or Iyengar yoga. While there are teacher training courses in most major cities in the U.S., some enjoy traveling to India to study with some of the greatest yoga masters in the world. Alternately, if traveling to the other side of the world isn't a possibility, you can even obtain teacher training online, although this sort of home study course requires a lot of personal dedication, and is best suited to students that already have some familiarity with the concepts of yoga and meditation.
The salary you earn as a yoga teacher will also vary a great deal, depending on your own skill level, your geographical location, and the center at which you teach. Some prefer to teach classes on their own as opposed to being employed by a yoga center or yoga school, and this approach may give you greater flexibility in hours, as well as the rates you set for your classes.
