The Top 5 Common Concerns Before Starting Your 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training

You’re not alone with your doubts

As we start new things (a new job, a new relationship, or a 200-hour YTT), most of us feel too [your thing] or not enough [your other thing]. Too old, not flexible enough, too busy, not experienced enough. This pattern is so predictable it’s almost comforting.

Doubt is a natural response to new opportunities. Sometimes doubts protect us from being stupid. Other times they are limiting beliefs. When it comes to yoga teacher training, I believe that most doubts should be thrown out the window or, even better, into the trash. I’m not saying this because I want to sell you the Movement Wisdom 200-Hour YTT. I mean ... maybe a little bit. But mostly I just want to help you sort through whatever might be holding you back, and help you shake it off!

Because if you find a good YTT that comes with a money-back guarantee then you literally can’t go wrong. The worst thing that can happen is that you start it, realize you don’t want to continue, and get your money back. Done. If it was the wrong program, find a different one. If you realized you don’t actually want to invest 200 hours into your yoga education ... fair enough, that’s your choice.

Okay, now in addition to the discussion in the video I thought I’d give you my rapid-fire answers to 17 concerns that I’ve heard repeatedly from prospective students before starting their training. Here we go:

1. ‘I’m not that good at yoga.’

What do you mean? You can’t hold a handstand or touch your toes? Who cares?! Real yoga happens on the inside. Plus, your YTT will help you advance and modify your practice for your body, your goals, your needs. Starting your YTT isn’t a reward for reaching a milestone in your practice. It’s the tool that leads you to new milestones. Students commonly believe they need to master poses before learning to teach them. This is NOT TRUE AT ALL! You don’t have to be able to do every pose you want to teach. Every pose is a combination of component parts: where the hands and feet should go, what the spine is doing, the breath, where the gaze lands, and so on. When you know those things you can teach any pose, and whether or not you can do the pose is a completely different question.

2. ‘I have health issues.’

Talk to your doctor and get clearance first. That part isn’t optional. But “I have a condition” is very rarely the same thing as “I can’t do this.” We’ve had students successfully complete the Movement Wisdom 200-Hour YTT, and enjoy their training, while living with:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Scoliosis

• Hypermobility

• High blood pressure

• Low blood pressure

• Autoimmune diseases

• Arthritis

• Joint replacements

• Chronic pain

• Slipped and herniated discs

• Cancer

In each case we went through their specific situation with them and worked out what to modify.

That’s the thing worth asking any program you’re considering: what happens after the clearance? Will somebody actually look at your condition and tell you what to change, or do they just want the waiver signed? And one more thing that deserves to get highlighted: the students who’ve had to figure out how to make yoga work for their body often become excellent teachers because of their conditions, not in spite of them. Why? Because they can relate more easily to students who are struggling in one way or another.

3. ‘I could just keep going to class...’

Great idea, you should totally keep going to yoga classes! Just know that a 200-hour training and regular classes are two very different things. Studio classes help you maintain your practice. Taking a YTT is the best way to advance it.

4. ‘I’m an advanced practitioner. Will I learn anything new?’

Probably more than you think, and in unexpected ways. Ten years of practice usually means ten years of asana. A 200-hour covers anatomy, philosophy, breathwork, meditation, the subtle body, and how to actually teach any of it, and most experienced practitioners discover they’re a beginner in at least two of those.

When I went to my first 200-hour I thought philosophy was for people who wear black and drink coffee out of tiny cups. I was completely wrong and it changed my life. The honest risk here isn’t that you’ll be bored by the format, it’s that you’ll be bored by a shallow curriculum, so look hard at the syllabus and at who’s teaching it before you enroll.

5. ‘I’m super busy.’

That’s okay. Just take an online training on your own schedule. You can take it easy and complete the course on your own timeline without worrying about a group schedule. At Movement Wisdom, for example, there’s no time limit at all: some students finish in 3 months, some take 3 years, and nobody is chasing you. That said, I would recommend that you invest at least 4 to 5 hours in your YTT every week to build momentum and feel like you’re making progress. A good way to start is to sit down with a planner and look at a typical week. Find two or three time slots that you can regularly dedicate to your training. That’s all you need to succeed.

6. ‘I don’t want to teach yoga.’

Totally fine, and you’re not alone. In our experience, approximately 1 in 4 YTT students don’t plan to teach. The label ‘yoga teacher training’ sounds like such a program is only for people who really want to teach professionally. But really it’s also for practitioners who want to take their practice to the next level. And who knows, maybe you’ll change your mind once you go through the course. I always ask students if they want to teach after the training, and at the start it’s usually about 50% who say “yes”. By graduation it’s closer to 80%, with most of the rest at “maybe I’ll start with my husband and my neighbor Sue.” I’ve seen many students who didn’t think they wanted to teach catch the ‘teaching bug’ during their YTT.

7. ‘All YTTs have amazing ratings.’

True, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all the same. I believe that all YTTs get excellent ratings because the vast majority of people only ever take one training. Aka they don’t have a basis for comparison. Even if they end up in a program that doesn’t teach them much, they’ll never know what they’ve been missing out on. To make sure you find an excellent program, pay close attention to the curriculum and the credentials of your lead trainer. (If a program has several teachers this becomes a lot harder.)

8. ‘I’m too old.’

You think so?! At Movement Wisdom we’ve had many students in their 60s and 70s enjoy and complete the program. If you have health conditions or any health-related concerns, you should absolutely talk to your doctor and also your lead trainer to see if and which poses or practices you should avoid or modify. Age brings wisdom and life experience that enriches both practice and teaching in ways that flexibility and strength never could. Older students often become more effective teachers because they understand body limitations intimately.

9. ‘I’m pregnant.’

Congratulations! You can still start a YTT, no problem. Talk to your doctor and your lead trainer to understand which poses and practices you need to avoid or modify in which trimester. At Movement Wisdom we have a dedicated guide for pregnant students that goes trimester by trimester, covering breathwork as well as poses, and you can book a call once you enroll to talk through anything specific. Fun fact: I filmed a good number of the classes in this training while pregnant with my second child. (Oh, and you may also want to take a look at the Healthy Mama, Happy Baby Program.)

10. ‘Will I be the only guy in the training?!’

Probably not. More and more men are doing yoga and starting YTTs. Yes, you’ll likely be part of a male minority in your YTT. But don’t let that hold you back! We need more male teachers to shift the gender imbalance in Western yoga culture.

11. ‘I’m religious. Will yoga conflict with my faith?!’

Yoga isn’t a religion. It’s a practice and a way of looking at the world that works alongside any faith, or no faith at all. Yoga relates to religion the way Italian Renaissance art relates to Catholicism. If you study it, you’ll learn about the cultural and historical context (the mythology, symbolism, and traditions). But you’re not required to adopt any religious beliefs. You will not be asked to believe anything.

12. ‘Do yoga teachers even make money.’

Yes. Teaching yoga can be both a lucrative part time or full time job. The important thing to understand is that (just like in any other industry), the best yoga teachers have better opportunities and they earn significantly more than average ‘run-of-the-mill’ teachers. So if your goal is to support your family and/or live life on your terms, then you should invest in quality education first and foremost. As an excellent yoga teacher you’ll be sought-after by studios and private clients. You’ll build a loyal group of students who’ll be happy to go on a retreat with you. You can lead corporate events etc.

13. ‘Online YTTs aren’t legit.’

Says who? There are good and bad YTTs. The thing that matters is the quality of your teacher and the curriculum they put together. Not whether you study online or in-person. I actually believe that if you can choose between an online and an in-person training with the same teacher you should almost always take the online training. To learn more, check this detailed comparison of online and in-person yoga education.

14. ‘I’m shy (like, really).’

This training, especially teaching practice, is an amazing opportunity to leave your comfort zone. Don’t worry, the course is a safe and supportive space.

15. ‘I’m not good with computer stuff.’

You don’t need any technical knowledge for an online training. Just a screen and a decent internet connection. All you typically need to do is log into a learning platform and hit play on individual lessons.

16. ‘Is my English good enough?’

If you can follow classes in English you’re probably fine. You’re certainly going to learn a bunch of new words along the way, and this may be some extra effort compared to native speakers. But it’s worth it if the teacher you want to study with teaches in English. Also, being able to lead yoga classes in English increases your options to land jobs internationally.

17. ‘What if everything goes wrong?’

Take a training that offers a money-back guarantee. Voilà ... problem solved ... no more risk for you. At Movement Wisdom, for example, you get a 30-day, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. And on top of that a quality guarantee (after graduation you won’t find another RYT 200 who is more qualified than you).