For people looking for immediate results and an intense yoga experience, a 30-day yoga teacher training is a good option. While many teacher trainings are part time over the course of a year, a 30-day intensive training offers a unique experience for the aspiring yoga teacher.
Intensive Training
30-day yoga teacher training programs exist in many states in the U.S., in Canada, and around the world, including several programs offered in India. Regardless of how far away from home you venture, an intensive training offers an experience in which you are immersed in yoga. For 30 days, you will train, learn, and experience a yoga lifestyle. You will also, in most cases, share living quarters with other aspiring yoga teachers, giving you the chance to explore yoga together and form lasting friendships and partnerships.
Intensive teacher trainings allow you to live, eat, and breathe yoga for one month. As you prepare for your teaching career, an intensive training course is a great way to jump in feet first.
30-Day Yoga Teacher Training Programs
A selection of training programs with multiple locations or unique features:
- Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres: Offering one-month teacher training programs in locations all around the world, the program is very seriously focused on all things yoga, from a yoga diet to pranayama and asana.
- Prana Yoga Teacher College: Offering one-month intensives in Canada, Bali, and Thailand, this accredited program offers a high-quality experience in a retreat setting.
- Ananda Yoga Teacher Training: Offers a one-month intensive yoga training course, with the flexible option of splitting the four weeks of training into two two-week sessions. Located in California, this training offers flexibility and quality.
Many other programs exist. Check the full list on the website of the Yoga Alliance.
Elements of Intensive Yoga Teacher Training
30-day teacher training programs are intensive. Often, the day starts early, usually before 6:00 a.m., for meditation or morning practice. Following this, a light breakfast and rest, then a theoretical session. After the theory class, a heavier yoga session might follow before lunch. Immediately following lunch, you might have self-study time, time to write in a journal, or a theory or meditation class. Later in the afternoon, another yoga session precedes dinner. Evenings are often filled with elements of a yoga lifestyle, meditation, or guest lectures related to theory. Lights go out early for a good night's sleep.
Of course, each yoga teacher's training course has a slightly different schedule, but the schedules are closely related to the fact that practicing yoga shouldn't be done on a full stomach. In addition, the requirements for yoga teacher training accredited programs has a significant influence on what is covered in the training and how much time is spent on each element.
The main focus of teacher training is improving the teacher's skill in yoga, and developing the teacher's ability to teach yoga to others. Asana and pranayama are central to teacher training, but anatomy for yoga teachers is a required theoretical component, and experience teaching is a required practical component. Teacher training programs seeking accreditation must meet the following requirements:
- 100 hours (of which 75 must be contact hours) of technique practice: asanas, pranayama, meditation and more are practiced by the teacher (as student), as well as the aspiring teacher learning how to guide others in these elements of yoga.
- 30 hours (minimum 20 contact hours) on yoga lifestyle and philosophy: this includes studying the ancient philosophies of yoga, and yoga ethics. Yoga diet would also be covered in this section.
- 25 hours (of which 15 must be contact hours) of teaching methodology: including teaching, observing, and assisting in a yoga classroom. In addition, business aspects are under this umbrella.
- 20 hours (minimum 10 contact hours) of anatomy and physiology for yoga teachers.
- 10 hours (minimum five contact hours) of teaching practice: this includes the aspiring teacher teaching classes and receiving feedback on their teaching. Another important element is the aspiring teacher observing other teachers and giving feedback actively.
An additional 15 hours should be divided among the above categories to round out the 200-hour yoga teacher designation. While it may seem ambitious to pack this into 30 days, the intensity of a program like this can create a life-changing experience out of an intensive yoga teacher training.
Benefits of 30-Day Teachers' Training
Imagine a weekend yoga retreat: you arrive tired and stressed, and leave just two days later refreshed, relaxed, and ready to take on the world. This effect is also present in the 30-day intensive yoga teacher training option. Getting certified this way is intense, which can be overwhelming initially. However, most teachers who choose this certification route appreciate this type of training's ability to immerse themselves in the yoga lifestyle, ultimately preparing aspiring teachers not only for the technical demands of teaching yoga, but also encouraging them to embrace the yoga lifestyle and all its benefits.
Beyond Basic Training
Once you've completed your basic qualifications and have begun teaching, additional certifications can further enhance your understanding of yoga and your marketability to clients. Popular specializations are baby yoga, prenatal yoga, and restorative yoga. Whatever you choose, embrace the basic principles of yoga, which apply to all teaching levels and all groups of students.
