Choose wisely – with so many courses on offer how do you know you are signing up for the best yoga course? Here’s our guide to ensure you make the right decision …

If one of the highlights of your week is attending your yoga class, then chances are you’ve considered taking the next step and enrolling on a yoga teaching course.

As yoga’s popularity has soared, so too have the number of yoga teaching courses on offer – but how do you know which is the best one for you? It’s a difficult decision – especially when the investment can be several thousand dollars.

Like everything, you get what you pay for and that intensive 4-week course in an overseas paradise can seem like a great idea at the time, but will it really give you a solid foundation, the confidence to teach and recognisable qualifications once you’ve unpacked your cases and returned home? And if not, will you have enough funds to do an additional course?

This is why the International Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) has been offering its benchmark 460-hour Diploma of Yoga Teaching to hundreds of yogis across Australia so successfully – because it does offer a solid foundation, with on-going support and an extensive list of experienced and world-renowned lecturers rather than one or two teachers covering the entire syllabus.

The IYTA is a non-profit organisation that has been established for 52 years. The training program: Diploma of Yoga Teaching (DYT) has been running for nearly the same amount of time.

What are the five essential questions you should ask before signing up to a course?

Q1: Does the course comply with the minimum 200 or 350 hours?

Did you know many yoga schools and insurance companies won’t accept teachers with less than a 350-hour training? And is the course run over a short time period or spread across a 12-month time frame – giving you time to absorb the information and to build connections with other students (who are likely to become lifelong friends) on the course?

Q2: Does the course focus on yoga philosophy?

Such as Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga, pranayama and yoga history as well as asana? Or is the teaching someone’s “brand” of yoga?

Q3: How long has the yoga school been established?

And does it provide ongoing education, post graduate courses, annual retreats and support – at an affordable rate?

Q4: How is the course assessed?

Are there regular check-ins to ensure you are properly absorbing theinformation? Is there someone you can contact outside of the lecture hours for help and advice?

Q5: Can anyone do the training or do you have to have a minimum two years as a dedicated student?

Will you have a sponsor teacher or mentor?

Once you’ve reflected on those questions, ask to speak to recent graduates of the course (and not-so-recent!). Better still, see if you can find students that the school doesn’t put you in touch with. Would they recommend the course? If not, why not?

Yoga is meant to be flexible – you don’t want to be locked into a rigid timetable and you don’t want to feel abandoned once the course has finished. On-going assistance is vital for a new teacher, so find out if you are likely to be supported once the ink on your certificate is dry.

IYTA also provides on-going training with Post Graduate certificates in Seniors yoga, Pre and Post-natal yoga, Yin Yoga and soon-to-be offered Restorative Yoga. As well as regular state-wide workshops and an annual retreat.

IYTA offers all of these things and far more. And if you’re still not sure there is the Yoga Foundations Studies – an online introductory course designed for students interested in pursuing knowledge and a deeper understanding of yoga and yoga philosophy.

This course is offered as an introductory course towards the full course IYTA Diploma of Yoga Teacher Training held each calendar year in Sydney, Australia. This Certificate gives 70 accredited hours toward the complete International Diploma of Yoga Teacher Training course, if you go on to complete the Diploma within two years.

If you would like to find out more check out our detailed information about our Diploma of Yoga Teacher Training or call us on 1800 449 195 (free call in Australia).

You can also browse our list of courses and check out our testimonials.