Home Culture Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Yoga Teacher in Hudson County

Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Yoga Teacher in Hudson County

by Hoboken Girl Team
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Living in the NYC-metro area definitely has major perks {skyline views + grocery delivery FTW} but also comes with major stress. Whether it’s a crazy commute, long work hours, or the constant need to stay “connected” in this digital age, stress manifests in all areas of our lives. The good thing is that in response, the “self-care” movement is also growing and people are finding more ways to keep zen through the crazy. With the popularity of yoga and meditation at an all-time high, it seems like more and more people are turning to these ancient practices to stay centered throughout their day.

If you’re looking for a way to infuse more yogi-vibes into your life, a yoga teacher training might be the perfect option. Whether you’re looking to actually start teaching yoga classes, or you just want to deepen your understanding of yoga, doing your YTT {as yogis call it} is no doubt a great way to take some serious time {200 hours to be exact!} to reflect and reconnect.

We wanted to get some more info about what a yoga teacher training is actually about, so we enlisted the help of our friends at the Hudson Yoga Project to break it down for us. Read on to get some answers and insider tips about doing your YTT in Hudson County.

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So, What IS Yoga Teacher Training?

This may seem obvious, but this is actually a question we get all the time because people assume these trainings are for people who already yoga teachers. Yoga teacher training is for anyone interested in becoming a yoga teacher. You don’t have to have any prior teaching experience, though we do recommend that you have some experience as a yoga student because the training is physically demanding.

 

I’m not sure if I’d want to teach yoga, can I still do it?

Yes! In most of our trainings, more than half of the students don’t intend on becoming full-time or even part-time yoga teachers. Yoga is an awesome thing to use in other professions. Nurses, doctors, school-teachers, personal trainers, coaches, and almost any profession you can think of can integrate principles of yoga into the work they do.

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Training is also the best way to deepen your personal practice and understanding of yoga. There’s only so much you can learn from taking 1-hour studio classes, whereas in a training you have the time to dig much, much deeper.

How long does it take to become a yoga teacher?

The baseline certification for yoga teachers is 200 hours of training. These hours are a combination of time spent in the studio learning from experienced teachers, practice teaching, smaller group meetings, and homework. Each studio or teacher training program creates its own curriculum that must be approved by Yoga Alliance, the governing body of yoga schools and teachers. The programs can vary quite a bit from studio to studio on how those hours are scheduled. At the HYP, students have 180 contact hours with their teacher trainers, which exceeds the minimum of 125 contact hours.

After completing a 200-HR training you can start teaching right away. Some teachers continue on to get their advanced certification and enroll in an additional 300-hour training. Other teachers also choose to become more specialized and might take additional trainings in prenatal yoga, restorative yoga, yin yoga, or other types of yoga as well.

Studios also offer these programs with varying schedules, so it’s important to find the one that works best for you.

Are all Yoga Teacher Trainings the same?

The short answer is no. While all trainings have to meet the same minimum requirements, yoga teacher training programs vary depending on where you do them and who teaches them. There are a lot of different yoga studio options in Hudson County and many of them offer 200-hour yoga teacher trainings. Each training will differ from studio to studio.

Hudson Yoga Project is a vinyasa yoga studio and our trainings prepare students to teach vinyasa yoga classes. Our studio and our trainings are focused on creating fun, dynamic classes that are focused on alignment in the Iyengar yoga method. If you’ve ever taken classes at the HYP, you’ll probably notice that even though each of our teachers has their own vibe, the structure of each class is the same. This is totally different than other styles of yoga like Hatha, Ashtanga, or Jivamukti, and studios who offer those styles would also have different trainings than us as well.

We always recommend that before you register for any teacher training you take a few classes at the studio and talk to the lead trainers. Read up on how much experience the teacher trainers have and see if their personalities and core beliefs feel right for you. People like all different types of yoga classes, and you’ll want to train at a studio that you connect with.

Are there multiple levels of yoga teachers?

Yes! Yoga Alliance has different designations depending on the experience and amount of training a teacher has. Here’s the breakdown:

RYT 200– This is the baseline certification and means you’ve completed a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program

E-RYT 200– This means that the teacher has been teaching for a minimum of 2 years and has 1000 hours of teaching experience.

RYT 500– This is for teachers who complete an Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Program, which is an additional 300 hours of training.

E-RYT 500- This is when a teacher as completed their 500 hours of training, has been teaching for four years and has 2000 hours of teaching experience.

 

What should I expect to get out of doing a Yoga Teacher Training?

When it comes to what you get out of doing a training, a lot of it has to do with what you put into it. There’s no question that doing a training will advance your physical practice of yoga. Students get stronger, more flexible, and healthier as a result of the many hours of training.

But, beyond that, yoga teacher training creates an opportunity for people to get to know more about themselves. It can help you become more grounded and mindful and can increase your overall sense of well-being and happiness. You’ll also learn ways to better manage stress and relationships.

In our trainings, we’re also really proud of the friendships and sense of community that people find. Our teachers have lead trainings where students end up being bridesmaids in each other’s weddings or finding life-long best friends. The Hoboken and Jersey City yoga community offers such a supportive environment for people to learn about themselves and to grow as people and practitioners. Getting more involved in the community is a huge benefit as well.

 

How much do teacher trainings cost?

This depends on the studio but the average range in Hudson County is anywhere from $2900-$4000. *Insider tip: most studios, HYP included, offer a payment plan if you ask!

I want to do a training. What do I do next?

If you’re interested in doing a yoga training, you should check out the studios, schedules, and options that work best for you. Then, stop by an info session and talk to the teacher trainers and past graduates. Find the one that feels best for you and make sure you’re ready for a ton of fun!

 

Upcoming Yoga Teacher Trainings at the Hudson Yoga Project

200-Hour Summer Intensive Yoga Teacher Training
July 9th-August 3rd || Monday-Friday 8:00AM-5:00PM

200-Hour Fall Yoga Teacher Training
September 2018-May 2019 || select weekends

200-Hour Spring Yoga Teacher Training
March 2019-May 2019 || 12 consecutive weekends

300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training
October 2018-June 2019 || three 5-week weekend modules
*Hoboken + Jersey City’s Only Advanced YTT*

Click here to learn more about YTT at the HYP.

 

This post is sponsored by Hudson Yoga Project.

 

 

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