Do you want to become a yoga teacher and do training? Did you know that there are over 100,000 yoga teachers across the globe, and you will be a part of them soon! If you’re planning to leave the hustle and bustle of corporate life, find your inner peace, and get a more peaceful and meaningful career, then taking a yoga instructor courseis the answer. Before acquiring your yoga certification courses, you need to accomplish and go through a 200-hour long yoga instructor training course. Some yoga institutions drive students to take at least 300 to 500 hours to be considered a certified yoga ‘guru’. So what do you need to do and study to become a yoga teacher? Start with learning the most common types of yoga.
TOP 6 MOST COMMON AND WELL-KNOWN TYPES OF YOGA
1. HATHA
From the Western practices, Hatha yoga is the yoga of balance. Ha means sun, while tha means moon, which symbolises the balance and equal alignment of calmness in your body, mind, and spirit.
If you’re taking a yoga instructor course, you will discover that Hatha is the most uncomplicated and beginner-friendly style among the other yoga practices. Hatha focuses on the physical yoga posture that incorporates breathing and meditation through its poses. It can also help improve your mobility and flexibility, strengthen muscles, help with stress management, and better your body weight. Due to these benefits, Hatha became the most popular yoga style. If you are taking a yoga teacher training, you may encounter Hatha.
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2. VINYASA
If you want a more advanced or like to speed things up, consider learning Vinyasa in your yoga teacher training.Vinyasa, a Sanskrit word, means to place your body in a particular way. It is also one of the most popular types of yoga. It incorporates more movement than Hatha, as the latter focuses on more relaxing poses. Vinyasa yoga will definitely test your endurance and strength. Some typical poses of Vinyasa are the upward-facing or downward-facing dog, puppy, child poses, ragdoll, and high lunge.
3. ASHTANGA
Ashtanga is also Sanskrit, which means eight limbs. In your yoga teacher training, you may also learn these eight limbs of Ashtanga yoga:
- YAMA is known for eliminating your self-restraints. Under Yama, it has five ethical disciplines, which are Ahimsa (for the act of kindness), Satya (for truthfulness towards oneself), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (moderation), and Aparigraha (for non-covetousness).
- NIYAMA style can bring contentment, tranquillity, internal and external cleanliness, and the elimination of impurities.
- ASANA deals with the integration of body and mind through various postures.
- PRANAYAMA focuses on breathing techniques and harmonising your outer to inner body sheaths.
- PRATYAHARA is the detachment from the external stimulants.
- DHARANA deals with steadying your mind and improving your concentration.
- DHYANA is for improving your attention.
- SAMADHI brings out bliss, contentment, and contemplation.
Although Ashtanga yoga is broad and has physically demanding postures, learning this on your yoga instructor coursecan improve your breathing synchronisation, stamina, and overall body endurance.
4. YIN
One of the best Chinese yoga styles for beginners is Yin Yoga. This practice works well if you went through a long, busy, and stressful day at work.
Generally, a Yin yoga class takes 30 minutes to an hour to hold various poses. Yin yoga focuses on your muscles, tissues, ligaments, joints, bones, and entire body systems. Learning this Chinese yoga style and being an instructorfor it can help you increase your flexibility and blood circulation and reduce stress hormones. Consider mastering Yin Yoga, as this can improve your Asana and Bandha. Some classic Yin or Chinese yoga poses suitable for beginners are snail, happy baby, pigeon, butterfly, reclining twist, sphinx, dragonfly, and saddle.
5. BIKRAM
If you are on your yoga teacher trainingand prefer a lot of sweating, Bikram yoga is the perfect practice for you! The intensity of Bikram yoga has the same power to release sweat when spending 15 minutes inside a sauna room. Yogis who have been doing the Bikram yoga sometimes call this practice sauna style. Each session of Bikram takes at least 90 minutes with a sequence of flow of 26 poses.
Whether you’re taking a yoga instructor courseor as a student, one thing you should know is that Bikram is a challenging style and task. Compared to the traditional ones, expect to learn Bikram class and do the 26 poses at 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 per cent humidity. This heat is a requirement to help with your detox.
6. IYENGAR
Another type of yoga style to learn in your yoga instructor courseis Iyengar. This practice is best for perfectionists, as this revolves around precision. Although it requires accuracy and tension in your postures, this style is beginner-friendly. Even the elders and people with disabilities can do this. Iyengar promotes slow-paced, gentle, and delicate movements. In Iyengar, you can expect to use various props, such as a yoga mat, block, strap, rope or band, bolster, and a chair. These props can help tone your muscles and increase your flexibility while acting as a support for you when doing Iyengar yoga at the same time
THE BOTTOM LINE
What could be better than to make a living from something that brings out your inner joy and peace? Not to mention the improved posture and better body formation it provides! Choosing yoga as a career is more than just accomplishing the yoga instructor course. It’s more than that. The yoga teacher training and yoga certification courses are just the initial hurdles. Finding ways to earn money, gain experience, and have students is an extra challenge. It takes a lot of patience, dedication, a little know-how, planning, hard work and time. Remember, yoga starts with devotion and peace. Find your passion in yoga, fire others with it, and trust your energy, wisdom, intuition, and the universe that you’ll get there soon.
Ready to be a part of the yoga teacher club and take the training? The Yoga Mandala can lead you to your inner Chakra! Take a step towards your passion and contact them today via their website or at (65) 6221 6683.
