Students undertaking yoga teacher training in Brisbane

With so much yoga teacher training out there on offer it can be overwhelming and you may be left needing your yoga practice more than ever to make the decision. Yoga Teacher Training is a big commitment financially and of your time so you want to make sure you get it right. Here are 10 questions that you need to ask before signing up.

1. Facilitators – How experienced are the educators?

When you are engaged in any learning, you are rightfully, paying for and expecting, qualified and experienced teachers. Learned individuals who can provide you with wide-ranging real-life situations. Information and hands-on learning designed mindfully to assist you in your new career path as a Yoga teacher. To be a Tertiary Lecturer at university, you are required to hold a degree and in some places, have a Masters and/or PhD to teach amongst your peers. If these esteemed educators, require years of learning, qualifications and often decades of experience, shouldn’t your Yoga facilitators be held to similar standards of education and experience?

Well, we think so. At One Family Yoga and Fitness (OFYF), our facilitators have a combined over 70 years’ experience!

Lainie Jenkins our head facilitator has spent over a third of her life teaching Yoga. Attend one of her classes, (she invites any and all interested prospective Yoga Teacher Trainees to practise at least one class with her before spending thousands of dollars). Take up the opportunity to do so, many individuals, (a large percentage of whom, have already done a Level 1 Yoga TT elsewhere), have come to Lainie for mentoring as her reputation certainly proceeds her.

Maria Kirsten – Our anatomy lead, has over 20 years’ experience in the Yoga industry globally. Functionally and anatomically incredible, Maria is a dynamo. Enabling aspiring Yoga teachers to make the powerful poses and practices of Yoga safe, simple and accessible for all.

Swami Mukti Saraswati has 40 years’ experience teaching Yoga and meditation. Living in an ashram in India from age 17, Swami Mukti immersed herself in the culture and teachings of Ashram life, amassing an incredible amount of wisdom and knowledge encompassing philosophy, history and the study of all things Yogic.

OFYF is incredibly blessed to have this collaboration of experienced facilitators and the knowledge they impart to you, giving you EVERYthing you need to embark on your Yoga Teaching path, or maybe it’s a journey of self-discovery and awareness that prompts you to seek out more yogic knowledge. We often have module attendees who come for their own learning needs, awareness and yogic development.

2. Is the lead teacher supportive, down to earth and easy to communicate with?

Yoga Teacher Training can be intense, at times emotions arise that may be surprising or unexpected as you clear out blocks in many areas of your life. There may be moments when you are feeling worried and even questioning yourself. Trust me, it doesn’t last long! During these times you want a teacher who supports you with any and all concerns that you may have.

At OFYF Lainie, our lead facilitator, is a down to earth, easy-going person to be around. She is a great teacher, really relatable and friendly! Lainie provides a supportive learning environment, working with each trainee to assist them with their individuality and Yoga Teacher Training requirements. If you want a training where you feel supported and accepted – OFYF’s Yoga Teacher Training is definitely for you!

3. Face-to-face contact. Is there enough for you to be legally qualified?

With regard to your Level One qualifications, Yoga Alliance Australia, stipulates you must have 180 hours of face-to-face contact in the 200 hour Level One. Yoga Australia requires an additional 105 hours for the 350 hour Level One. One Family Yoga and Fitness offers a “higher designation RYS”. There are a lot of Yoga Teacher Training with minimal face-to-face contact (& TT advice sometimes includes not bothering with either of these institutions in some of the TT’s on offer). Lainie’s stance on registration and her courses meeting the requirements becomes increasingly apparent, “I’ve experienced and observed an unusual trend … I’m having conversations frequently where despite paying substantial dollars, prospective Yoga teachers often lack the confidence to go out and actually teach in a Yoga Studio”.

4. Does the training offer the opportunity to teach to REAL people with support and feedback?

Yoga teacher qualifications involve more than the practice of teaching Yoga to other trainee teachers. Yet, the majority of yoga teacher training primarily involve teaching ONLY to other trainees with limited feedback, especially when you consider your fellow trainees will know a lot more about Yoga than an average Yoga student.

On completion OFYF’s training you WILL be ready to teach. You WILL learn how to teach REAL students and experience teaching alongside OFYF’s senior Yoga Teachers. Every teacher that has completed this training, who wants to spread their passion for Yoga, IS doing it!

5. Does the trainer provide ongoing support and training?

Being a Yoga Teacher is a profession that requires regular ongoing training. A lot of other teacher trainings only provide the Level One course, this is ok, they can be good to start off with, however when you need more information, you may find it’s not such a great option after all.

At OFYF we don’t just have a Level One, we also have the 350 hour Level Two! We have multiple ongoing workshops, course modules and Teacher Trainings from various Yoga lineages, that help you extend your knowledge of Yoga and really encourage you to follow your passions and stand out as a Yoga Teacher, who can successfully make a decent living through sharing your love of Yoga. There are lots of ongoing opportunities regularly occurring at OFYF and that’s great for those who wish to be continuously developing!

6. Does the style of yoga resonate with you?

There are many, many different styles of Yoga. Each unique in it’s offerings. When you practice Yoga, and especially when you teach Yoga, you want to be immersed in a Yoga that you love, one that resonates with your mind, body & being.
There are slower paced practices (e.g.Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga), faster flowing Vinyasa, Power Yoga (Hot Yoga and Bikram) classes, strengthening, often more traditional Yoga lineages (think Ashtanga, Sivananda), props assisted; (I.e. Iyengar, Yoga Therapy). We offer Yoga Teacher Trainings that are complete, offering a little bit of everything so you can really hone in on the direction you wish to pursue and you’ll learn the foundations of most modern-day Yoga teachings. This is Hatha Yoga. Try a class (we offer free trials for trainees) with the lead teacher of the Teacher Training you have been recommended/are interested in. See how the style of class taught and the teacher’s methods resonate with you.

The invitation is here, at OFYF, to experience a complimentary class, you can make an informed decision, if One Family’s teachings are what you’re looking for that’s great! Lainie will guide you through a class leaving you feeling revived, refreshed and incredible, plus you’ll know if One Family is for you. Lainie has a wide network in the Yoga community and throughout the year or even the world, there is a Yoga Teacher Training you will love!

7. Will you be able to teach to Everybody?

Yoga is an ancient practice, originally taught to young Indian men. This can mean the poses (asanas) in traditional Yoga are generally not available for many Western bodies. Daily life affects this; being in an office all day, constantly standing in hospitality, bending over a lot…Our bodies are often bigger (in both bone and muscle) and we aren’t always as flexible or strong as we were in our younger years (occasionally you meet a former dancer or gymnast,there are always exceptions to the rule). Poses are modified where needed, adjusted and changed, making them accessible for EVERY BODY and ANYBODY.

A lot of teacher trainings teach Yoga as one size fits all, here at One Family we break down each individual pose and how it works. From there we learn about variations of the pose and injuries that may stop people from doing poses. From this information, as trainees and then new Yoga teachers, you can teach to the individual in a class.

8. Is the training structured in a logical order?

The order of the training is important, you need to know your foundations before you move on to more complex content. However, you also need to know about the philosophy, history, and study of Yoga along with anatomy. The placement of these subjects is essential, otherwise the information will not be understood properly and integrative, experiential learning is what we OFYF offers. There are a fair few trainings that put more complex information before the core foundations, some teach anatomy before practicing poses. Let’s face it, there’s a decent amount of information to ingest and if it’s in the wrong order for you, not meeting your individual learning style and needs, a lot of the information won’t fully sink in.

9. The Teacher Training Format: Which is better, Intensive or Part-time?

Intensive teacher trainings generally include 12 to 30 days. Veritable mountains of knowledge are pushed into your brain in a very short space of time. Part-time teacher trainings generally span 3 months to one year, offering you a more manageable paced learning experience.

OFYF’s programmes are part-time, spread over six months. This means you slowly integrate the knowledge into your personal and professional life, at a pace that will allow the knowledge to fully sink in. Small group vs Large groups is also something you should consider. As with school classrooms, Yoga Teacher Trainings come in a variety of sizes. Many have larger groups of people, more people become qualified, however, the learning isn’t as personalised so you won’t get to bond as much with the other trainees. A smaller group of people offers more effective learning and communication, especially when you’re just getting started.

OFYF offers limited spaces and numbers in all courses and workshops for enhanced experience and quality learning. We recognise it’s a different journey for everyone and you’ll receive plenty of encouragement and engagement from the teachers and your fellow trainees.

10. Am I getting value for money?

A general Yoga Teacher Training has two main components; face-to-face contact and class attendance requirements. With the second part, you are required to undertake a specified number of Yoga class hours. Many trainings will require you pay for the course and also pay for your membership/class attendance while you are studying. Some trainings even have you print out your own manual, we will give you a hard copy for you to use to make notes in and as a reference as you head off into the world as a yoga student and teacher. OFYF has a wonderful community, your membership and manual are included, part of your course and you don’t have to fork out any more money.

These are 10 questions you absolutely should ask, before choosing any Yoga Teacher Training. Consider what you want to get out of it and from here, pick the training that speaks to your needs!

Sign up for a Complimentary class to meet and ask any questions about the training Lainie today! or email Lainie for a copy of the 250/350hr Core Foundational Yoga Teacher Training prospectus to info@onefamilyyogafitness.com.au

Are you ready to start Yoga Teacher Training?

Register now to receive a complimentary class to meet Lainie and ask questions about Yoga Teacher Training.

We will also send you our Yoga Teacher Training Prospectus for Level 1 Core (250/350 Hours) and Level 2 Advanced Post Graduate Training (150 Hours).

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