5 Reasons Every Yoga Teacher Should Pursue a 500-Hour RYT Certification

Whether you have recently finished your 200-hour RYT certification or have been considering (and putting off) going for your advanced yoga teacher training certification, this blog will explore a few reasons every yoga teacher should pursue their 500-hour RYT certifications.

With advanced yoga teacher training, you will not only learn more about yoga, philosophy, and how to be a great teacher, but you will be more likely to start or improve your yoga business thanks to your superior credentials.

If you’re still on the fence about earning your 500-hour yoga teacher certification, keep reading for five reasons every yoga teacher should pursue a RYT-500 yoga teacher certification.

Use Advanced Yoga Teacher Courses to Learn New Styles of Yoga

During a 200-hour teacher training program, you’ll learn all about the basics of yoga. It’s all about teaching you the fundamental asanas and provides an introduction to philosophy. But you don’t spend much time learning specialized methods of yoga. That’s what a RYT-300 certification is for.

Pursuing advanced yoga teacher training courses will allow you to dig deeper into things you want to learn like Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Ayurvedic Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Meditation, and more. A RYT-300 program will let you spend a lot more time digging into these topics. It’s the perfect way to fill in any blanks left from your 200-hour yoga teacher training program.

Learn to Teach Students with Diverse Needs

In a 200-hour teacher training program, you’ll learn about the different asanas like Bhujaṅgāsana and Bālāsana. But you may not have the time to learn modifications for aging students, beginner students, or students managing / recovering from injury or disease.

Now that you already have your 200-hour training under your belt, you can spend more time with your teachers learning about the intricacies of poses. You will learn about the small changes you can make that will have a major effect on your practice and teaching.

Go to The Source of Yoga

As yoga teachers, it’s our goal--and some would say duty--to know more about the historical and philosophical background of yoga so we can respectfully teach this amazing practice. When you do a 300-hour yoga teacher training (RYT300), you’ll be able to spend more time studying an ancient text that is the foundation of yoga--the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. You’ll also learn more about other philosophies of yoga and Ayurveda and how they connect with your own teaching.

Improve Your Marketability as a Yoga Teacher

Having the RYT-500 title is impressive. With advanced yoga teacher training, you can market yourself either as a teacher or a yoga business with a bit more confidence.

You’ll also have an opportunity to network and meet other students who want to go deeper into their own practice. This networking opportunity allows you to further establish yourself in the yoga community and could be beneficial to your yoga teaching practice. Additionally, you’ll get to spend time with experienced instructors who can mentor and guide you. If you’ve been feeling stuck, there’s nothing like becoming a student again to help you go beyond your own boundaries as a yoga teacher.

Brush up on Your Anatomy & Alignment

Yoga teacher training in the west begins with only 25 hours of required anatomy training.  In your advanced yoga teacher training, you’ll spend at minimum another 25 hours reviewing anatomy, and applying this knowledge to asana alignment and sequencing.  Online yoga teacher courses can even dive into the energetic anatomy of yoga – with advanced yoga certification courses that cover everything from the scapulohumeral rhythm of the shoulder to the energetic need to practice heart-opening asanas. 

With this knowledge, your private yoga sessions can be better fashioned to the individual, and your group yoga classes can become safer and more inspired.

2021 is All About Online Yoga Teacher Courses
Due to the unfortunate reality of social distancing needs, many advanced yoga teacher training courses have had to transition to online teaching.

On a positive note, you can take advantage of the wealth of great advanced yoga certification courses now being offered online. This may be a convenient way to continue your work as a yoga teacher while also becoming a student of the craft again.

Now is The Time, Pursue Your Advanced Yoga Teacher Training

We hope this blog gave you a few reasons to consider advanced yoga teacher training. If you’re feeling motivated to take the next step in your yoga teaching career and become a RYT-500, please take a look at the advanced training at Prema Yoga Institute. Prema Yoga Institute is an IAYT accredited yoga therapy training program based in New York City and is currently offering advanced yoga therapy teaching online courses for ALL of our yoga trainings in 2021.

As always, for more tips like this visit our Blog often or subscribe to our Mailing List for similar content. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you advance your yoga practice and teaching!

Prema Yoga Institute has a variety of programs with a focus in therapeutic yoga and aging bodies. Should we be able to study together in person in late 2021, you can choose the online option of live study, or join us in person at our studio in New York city.

Take Your Yoga Teaching Business to The Next Level

Being a yoga teacher can be a rewarding job. You get to share the beauty of yoga with your students while honing your own yoga practice. But at the end of the day, teaching yoga isn’t just your passion - it’s also your business.

Perhaps you’re a new yoga teacher who wants to find their niche as an instructor. Or maybe you want to go from teaching for a yoga studio to owning your own yoga teacher business. Whatever your goals, here are some tips and tricks from Prema Yoga Institute to take your yoga teaching business to the next level.

Find Your Niche as a Yoga Teacher

One of the most effective ways to rise above the competition is to define your niche as a yoga teacher. Start by asking yourself, students, friends, and family what they believe your strengths are and make a list. Use this list to determine which path you want to take to hone your skills and strengths as a yoga teacher.

Also take some time to consider what type of clients you’d like to work with. Perhaps you’d like to focus more on therapeutic yoga and work with aging bodies. In that case, you should seek out a course that teaches you how to provide health and wellness support using accessible therapeutic yoga. Whatever you would like to specialize in as a yoga teacher, there is likely a course that will provide the advanced yoga teacher training you need.

Market Yourself as a Yoga Teacher Online

Whether you are searching for your niche as a yoga teacher or have already completed advanced yoga teacher training, consider how you want to market and brand yourself online. Don’t shy away from showing off credentials and affiliations. If you are a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) with an advanced E-RYT500 Yoga Alliance credential, then let people know.  

Put yourself out there. Make sure you have a business profile on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others. If you want to grow your clients and spread awareness about your brand, you must have that social media presence online. Enjoy this process, it is a chance to flex your creativity and share your love of teaching yoga!

Invest in Yourself with Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Courses

Even if you're already working as a yoga teacher, you should always strive to keep learning new things and advancing your craft. As you grow, so will your yoga business.

If you’re a Registered Yoga Teacher with 200 hours (RYT200), consider going to the next level with a 300-hour yoga teacher training course. Due to recent COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the selection and quality of advanced yoga teacher training courses has improved. For example, the advanced yoga teacher training program at Prema Yoga Institute is now able to expand its reach beyond New York and has begun teaching live online across the nation. Take advantage of this online learning trend and get your advanced yoga teacher training from the convenience of your home.

Stay Proactive as a Yoga Teacher!

If you want to take your yoga teaching business up a notch, find your niche, market yourself, and consider an advanced yoga training program.

If you’re interested, we would love to have you at Prema Yoga Institute where we are currently offering advanced yoga therapy teaching online courses for ALL of our yoga trainings in 2021.

For more tips like this visit our Blog often or subscribe to our Mailing List for similar content.

Prema Yoga Institute has a variety of programs with a focus in therapeutic yoga and aging bodies. Should we be able to study together in person in late 2021, you can choose the online option of live study, or join us in person at our studio in New York city.

We hope you’ll consider Prema Yoga Institute for your online advanced yoga training program. We’re an accredited program based in New York city, teaching students around the globe through online classes. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you advance your yoga practice and teaching!

6 Tips to Make the Most of Introspection

"...I think we are well-advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. "
– Joan Didion

This week I had a Zoom reunion with my grad school cohort from American Conservatory Theater. I did the normal reunion crap I think most people do – put on makeup for about the third time in quarantine, got my camera angles right, and almost didn’t show up at the last minute. My fears were, in no order:

• That I wouldn’t like my former self - reflected in their treatment of me

• That they would ask me about the dreams or goals that have not materialized in this life

Luckily what I found instead was a pretty fricking cool group of people who were warm, grounded, hilarious, and kind. No one was interested in comparing. No one really rattled off their resume, but people shared – shared about their kids, their work, their art. We had some teachers in the Zoom room too, and the reunion evolved into a moment to deeply thank these teachers and repeat the lessons from decades ago – lessons that we have repeated as teachers ourselves, and lived as human beings.

I wish I’d had the magical wherewithal to inform my former self that life is not a competition, and that when comparison is removed from the recipe of friendship, the experience is so rich, and so sweet. But this is a lesson that had to be learned in real time. Things had to fall away. I had to stew in my introspection in order to find this sweetness of meeting others without foisting on them the obligation to tell me who I am. I had to learn to be myself.

As we are approaching month 11 of quarantine, I know that the days can get boring, and that like me you might be faced with your former self – “unannounced” as Joan Didion wrote – and I want to kindly suggest that you let her in. She didn’t suck, she wasn’t ignorant – she was just young. Maybe it’s time to take control back from the 7-year-old that wanted a church wedding or the 25-year-old that thought power was more important than kindness. These are examples, of course – it will take some introspection and space to allow your former self to emerge. Instead of avoiding it – I recommend it – if only so that you may kindly show her the door.

Here are some guidelines that are helping me in my extra introspective winter:

1. This kind of evolution thrives in silence. One moment isn’t going to define you, nor is one day watching Real Housewives or binging a car show (that one’s for my partner!). We have time now to turn off the devices – and you can do that at anytime. Really. They have off buttons for a reason. :)

2. Get in nature. Yes, a park will do, and I know they may be scarce in some places, but get there if you can – and if you can, walk there. In a pinch, spend time with an animal or tend to your plants – other species ground us too.

3. Write it out. Pick up a pen if you get stuck stewing. You don’t have to write the great American novel, either – just let the words flow, and if you find some sentiments that you’re ready to release, tear them up or burn them. Yes, burn them.

4. Emotions pass. Keep breathing, and wait till the storm passes. Introspection can be an emotive process, but there’s something on the other side of that story. If you get stuck in a nasty pattern, proceed immediately to #5.

5. Get on your mat. You knew I’d say that, right? “The issue is in the tissues” and truly processing the past requires moving blood and breath through the memories in your body.

6. Seek out the comfort of others. Yes, this seems counterintuitive for my lil’ introspection list, but humans are not made to always be alone. Enjoy your vision quest, and then come back to your pack.

I’m looking forward to seeing my pack in Prema Yoga Therapeutics Essentials soon! We have 3 spots for the 100-hour program, and plenty of spaces to take a shorter CE course if you’re watching your time/money budgets. The door is open! But registration is closing soon…
Email me if you need any special consideration. Let’s get you there.

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Dana Slamp is a yoga therapist and teacher who founded Prema Yoga Institute - New York’s premier IAYT-accredited yoga therapy school. She’s a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and currently teaching live at PYI and on demand at YogaAnytime.com and Variis.

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