The Yoga craze in still in full swing. I just finished assisting a yoga teacher training with over 40 people and my own YTT is scheduled to start next Wednesday. These days when I meet new students they proudly inform me that they too are yoga teachers and in some classes I have more yoga teachers than yoga students.
Let me be clear here, if you call yourself a yoga teacher before calling yourself a yoga student it puts you in a precarious position because you might miss the chance to just be a student and have a great yoga experience and your “how do I teach this to my students” mentality might also kick in causing you to miss the student experience. Either way, you’ll inevitably learn more about yoga and yourself by being a yoga student and a yoga teacher, so it’s win-win.
Many people in the yoga world already know this but maybe you didn’t, you don’t need ANY, that’s right folks, NADA, NONE, no training to call yourself a yoga teacher in Canada, not sure about the US. So anyone can teach yoga if they want to and not have any formal training. I’m predicting that might change in the future. 
From my own personal experience through yoga and meeting hundreds of other yogis here and around the world we mostly share one thing in common, we FREAKIN LOVE YOGA! It’s that love of yoga that calls the teacher in them forward. If you get excited and passionate about something in your life that has a really positive impact people, friends, family members start to notice and they start to ask you questions. They want you to show them how to do Bakasana and viola the calling of the teacher is born!
Higher education was never my strong suit, in fact I have 3 lousy credit left to earn my BA in Geography. When it comes to yoga, I want to learn everything I possibly can in this lifetime, the history, the philosophies, the postures, pranayamas, rituals, kryias, therapeutics, assists, and this list goes on! I loved Anusara yoga because it seemed to give me new insights into yoga on so many levels.
Some knew that it would someone anywhere from 5 to 7 years, maybe longer to get certified in Anusara. To me that gave the certification some credit. I was asked to sign off on someones certification papers that was taking an on-line yoga teacher training, ON-LINE!!!! How can you teach movement, assist students, practice teach with other new teachers, on-line? No judgement if you have done that but know that somewhere down the path a formal YTT in person might be necessary. You can take a 1 month intensive and at the end of the month you’re a teacher, or some schools have weekend courses.
There is no shortage of YTT’s out there but they are not all created out of the love of yoga, often a ytt is how the studio makes it’s bread and butter. Being a studio owner for 7 years and only doing one YTT I agree it really makes a big difference to the bottom line. Some people argue that the market is saturated and soon everyone will be a yoga teacher but I don’t think that is 100% true and in the end doens’t matter either. Here’s why, we all experience yoga in our own unique way, the teachings are filtered through our life experiences and because of that each person or teacher will always have their own special way of offering the teachings back. Since we are more than a bag of muscles and bones, we exist on an energetic plane as well our energies don’t always mix well with everyone or every yoga teacher. At one point you would overlook that simply because there was no where else to go for yoga or teacher trainings but now this diversity gives your choice.
You are free to choose who you want to support, exchange your energy with, give your money to, study with and so on. Do your homework and you will see that when you are ready the teacher or the YTT appears!I will forever be a yoga student, in fact I consider myself a professional student of yoga and if I can live in that mind set then I have a chance a being a great teacher too. If I let my ego take the reins of my life I will miss opportunities to grow and evolve to come back to my essence. It’s when I live in my heart and share what I know in a truthful and authentic way that I walk my own dharma.
With love,
M
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.alignandshineyoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/blog.png[/author_image] [author_info]Mindy Willis-Menard is an international yoga teacher who’s love of yoga, nature, adventure and life inspire her to teach. A true adventurer of the heart Mindy is also a hooper, rock climber, snowboarder, runner, foodie and cyclist. Mindy teaches classes, workshops and retreats world-wide. Every other moment she spends with her husband and dog, Mrs. Betty Rox.[/author_info] [/author]