5 Benefits of Yoga Teacher Training (For Non-Teachers, Too!)

If you’re hooked on yoga, it’s only a matter of time before you get curious about the benefits of yoga teacher training. How do you know when you’re ready for YTT (it’s different for everyone)? Can you go through training if you don’t want to teach (absolutely). And maybe most importantly, how will it benefit your busy life?

If you have a regular asana practice, dabble in meditation, and know enough about the chakras to secretly diagnose deficiencies and excess in everyone you know – YTT can be an amazing opportunity to reflect on what you want and where you’re at in life. 

Teacher training is often a transition point for yogis, offering the knowledge and community support they need to live a yogic lifestyle. In my online 200- and 300-hour yoga teacher training programs, I’m honored to witness students develop what might have started as a daily asana routine into a meaningful spiritual practice that deeply impacts their overall quality of life.

Here are a few other unexpected and beautiful ways yoga teacher training can positively impact your life and your community: 

1. Meet Like-Minded People

One of the best things about yoga teacher training is definitely the yoga community. In yoga teacher training, you get to meet and connect with a group of like-minded people who love yoga just as much as you do! Most yoga teacher trainings include practice teaching and group discussions that encourage sharing, for example, aspects of yoga philosophy you work with in your daily life. While designed to get you comfortable in a teaching atmosphere, these discussions are invaluable in building communication skills in general (especially if you’re afraid to use your voice). Investing in these talks with peers will help you gain confidence in a safe space.

Before yoga teacher training, I was terrified to speak in front of others – even if it was just a small group. Yoga teacher training certification helped me find my voice. I finally had a group of people that loved to discuss the same things I did! Once you connect with people similarly interested in consciousness, being, movement and breath – you’ll gravitate towards other opportunities to develop your interest in yoga and related topics. 

2. Give Back To Your Community

Giving back to your community doesn’t always have to involve money. Whether you practice yoga seriously or step forward as a role model to others through teaching, you can create positive changes in your community. Hello, energy body! Your energy affects those around you, as any yoga teacher training will affirm.

As a yoga instructor, you share your energy with students each time you teach. Experienced yoga teachers everywhere can speak to the impact a focused yoga class can have on their students. They may come into class feeling angry and frustrated, and they leave feeling calm, cool, and centered. Yoga teaches us how to see and navigate life circumstances in new ways, using an abundant mindset to help manifest our dreams and tap into collective wisdom. 

3. Block Out Consistent Time for Your Practice

For anyone with a busy schedule, this is a biggie. Committing to a yoga teacher training asks you to take your personal practice to the next level, both in terms of the time you commit and the quality of your effort. We can not be safe, effective teachers without a strong personal practice.

All of the best yoga teacher trainings dedicate at least 30% of the program to personal practice for this reason. The reason for this is that you need time to embody the alignment cues, postural variations, breathing techniques, and philosophical principles that come with teaching. This is your time to experiment with all of the ways to adapt a pose to meet a body where it’s at on any particular day – and the only way to do that is practice, practice, practice! Day in and day out.

4. Expand Your Knowledge of Yoga

Yoga is more than just physical practice! Yes, there are tremendous benefits from a physical yoga practice, but there are 8 other limbs to Yoga – and you’ll learn all about them in your YTT. Yoga teacher training asks us to dive deeper into this ancient practice. You’ll learn the history of yoga and related practices and spiritual theory. For many students, YTT marks the beginning of a lifetime journey of self discovery.

Your YTT course will likely include required reading that will help you expand your knowledge of yoga while also offering practical instruction and anatomical study that are useful in daily life. If you’re the type that reads all of the books before you even start a course, use your training time to tap classmates and teachers. They’re sure to have tons of other book recommendations for you.

5. Check-In With Your Priorities

When you say yes to something (yoga teacher training), you’ll inevitably have to say no to something else. The choice isn’t always easy! This is especially true if you choose an immersive training that requires 4-6 weeks of continuous study. You’ll need to make sure your priorities are in order to make space for dedicated training. Whether you choose one of the best online YTTs or an immersive in-person teacher training course, you will need to actively strive to make yourself a priority for this learning experience. Yoga teacher training will change your life over the course of several months. Remember that a yoga teacher training is ultimately for YOU, regardless of whether you choose to teach or not once you graduate.

6. Get Nerdy With Anatomy 

Our teaching methodology at Uplifted Yoga Teacher Training is highly focused on respecting individual anatomy. Have you ever wondered why certain poses just don’t feel right in your body? A yoga teacher training course will show you that we are all different, right down to our bones. Learn why some poses might not be suitable for some bodies and transform your physical practices with the advanced techniques you learn. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves, and our students, is the ability to make the poses work for us. You’ll learn how to read common anatomical morphology clear as day, and adjust poses accordingly.

7. Get To Know Yourself

I mentioned earlier that teacher training programs will change your life. And I’m not the only one out there preaching what’s possible with yoga! You’ll hear about transformational YTT experiences just about everywhere, but the truth is this: Any change is the direct result of Svadhyaya (self study). This deep inner work is the practice of knowing our true inner self. Through dedicated self-study, we learn to recognize patterns that don’t serve our highest purpose, and only then can we let them go as we strive to unite mind and body.

Getting to know yourself deeply is one of the greatest gifts of yoga teacher training. During training, you’ll be encouraged to notice when you can offer yourself grace, and when you can try a little harder. Your mat becomes a mirror for your life: Do you give up when things get hard? Or do you calmly breathe through it? Do you get angry when you can’t do something? Or do you try it a different way?