How Much Experience Do I Need Before Yoga Teacher Training?

If you’re wanting to get into the yoga industry and are looking for the right training, first, you might have the question of how much experience before yoga teacher training you’ll need. That’s why we have answered this all important question, including some more important things to know including:

• Do I Need Experience Before Doing My Yoga Teacher Training?
• Why Can I Do My Yoga Teacher Training With No Experience?
• Where Can I Get The Experience Needed For Yoga Teacher Training?

Before we get started, if you’re ready to kickstart a career you'll first need to qualify by earning a Level 3 Yoga Teacher Training Diploma.

You can learn more about this entry-level qualification by downloading OriGym's FREE course prospectus.

Do I Need Experience Before Doing My Yoga Teacher Training?

In short, no you don't need experience, and you can absolutely do yoga teacher training with no experience behind you. 

In OriGym’s case, the only requirement is to be over 16 years old to enrol onto the course.

Nonetheless, it is recommended that you decide to get some experience prior to the course start date. This is because there is a lot to learn about yoga, there are tons of different styles of yoga, meaning that it will take time to actually find out what your preferred style is.

You don’t have to choose a discipline right away by any means, but you can start to understand which styles you like the best, which is good to know for your career progression.

Just because something isn’t a necessity doesn’t mean that it isn’t beneficial. This goes for having some experience in practising- if you want to hit the ground running with yoga teacher training, you’re going to want to know how classes take place and how a variety of yoga moves are supposed to work.

Though you should keep in mind that while the course alone provides experience, it’s advantageous visiting different classes and interacting with other yoga instructors to see how they teach too.

Understanding the fundamentals can be very helpful for your course and how well you understand the concept of teaching since it is a significant shift going from student to instructor.

Why Can I Do My Yoga Teacher Training With No Experience?

If you’re wondering how and why you can do yoga teacher training with no experience, allow us to explain why this is totally acceptable.

At the very least, when you take an accredited qualification, you will go through a minimum of 200 hours of guided learning. With OriGym, this is up to 400 hours, meaning you’re already getting plenty of experience throughout the course!

During this time, aside from guided learning, you will be reminded that it is highly recommended that you visit classes too in order to gain as much experience as possible.

Knowing this now, you can probably see why you can still enrol on the course without any prior experience in teaching yoga. By gaining this experience with a Level 3 course, you can find your interest and continue your studies by taking a niche level 4 course.

A level 4 in yoga instruction can then see you choose a discipline and specialise in an area that you truly enjoy and want to teach. You must have completed the level 3 diploma prior to moving up to level 4 which is why by this time you will be ready to choose your discipline after up to 400 hours of experience.

However, something you need to be well aware of is the provider you’re choosing and if the entry requirements are any different. This is because if you choose a training provider that isn’t accredited or doesn't have a reputation then you might not gain the experience that you need in the initial training.

For example, there are always “free yoga teacher training courses” but these have no status in the industry and are essentially a waste of time. Something like this is not going to give you the experience necessary to be able to teach a class effectively and safely, plus, it doesn’t give you a recognised certification either!

Therefore, that is something that you should keep in mind when searching for the provider for you. Look out for bodies like CIMSPA to ensure that the yoga courses that you’re looking at are going to provide the experience necessary especially if you don’t have any involvement in yoga practice prior.

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For some more helpful resources on kicking off your career as a yoga instructor, head over to our articles below:

• How to Become a Yoga Teacher: The Definitive Guide
• How Long Does it Take to Become a Yoga Teacher?
• Where Can I Teach Yoga?

Where Can I Get The Experience Needed For Yoga Teacher Training?

So now that you know the answer to can you become a yoga teacher with no experience? Hopefully you feel more confident in deciding if you’re ready or not. Like we mentioned, we recommend as a provider to get some yoga experience prior simply to help you and make you a better yogi. 

With that in mind, here are some ways to get the experience that will take you to the next level.

Join Your Local Yoga Club

The best way to get some experience in yoga classes is to put yourself in one! 

This not only develops your practical skills, but you can see how a teacher instructs and what they do well as well as what you’d improve.

More often than not, yoga studios will have a schedule with many different styles of yoga meaning that you can get experience in Hatha yoga to Yin yoga and everything in between.

It is crucial that you get experience in all of these different areas and disciplines since there are different energies needed depending on the style and intensity of the class. For example, Hatha can be demanding at times, for example the sun salutation sequence has flow that can be tiring so the energy is a little higher. 

On the other hand, Yin yoga should be taught with calmness and patience at the core. The voice you use as an instructor would be softer, you would do other activities like sound baths and the energy would be alot more calm and slow. 

This is why it’s recommended to get this level of experience in as many disciplines as you can because it can inform your future teaching practice incredibly well.

Utilise Free Online Yoga Guides

Something extremely positive about the internet is that you can find tons of free valuable information on there that can help you gain experience on a budget and in the comfort of your own home. 

These are extremely effective, especially when it comes to building confidence to go to your first class. You can practice just about anywhere where you can take your mat!

This is clearly a successful and effective way of learning, you can see that just by looking at the huge numbers that are raked in on YouTube:

This is a hugely popular way to gain experience in an accessible way.

If you commit to utilising these videos, you won’t be asking how much experience before yoga teacher training will you need for much longer because you’ll feel confident in being ready to take the leap!

Invest into some Books to Inform your Practice

Something of which the efficacy simply shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to yoga is books.

There are so many different books out there that can be a great referral for you when training to be a teacher. There are so many different names for poses out there and it can be easy to get them mixed up from time to time if you don’t practice or refer to texts enough. 

Go to your local bookshop and take a look at which ones that can really help you. One book that is super helpful for learning the right poses, their names and how to execute them properly is Dianne Bondy’s “Yoga for Everyone”.

Something like this is hugely beneficial for your own practice but also on how to teach others. This book is inclusive, meaning that they have variations for different populations including disabled yogis. 

You can see a preview they provide on how they display the variations so it is super informative for your teaching progress:

It is important to keep your classes inclusive for everyone, so this is definitely an option to invest in. 

You can find many books like this in shops or on Amazon, reading can not only help you learn the poses but the meaning behind them and what they do for the body so you can pick things up easier when you’re doing your teacher training.

Before You Go…

So, how much experience before yoga teacher training do you need? It’s up to you! 

Definitely take our advice on board and try out some accessible ways of gaining some experience, it will get you prepared, passionate and excited for your future as a yoga teacher.

Waste no time in enquiring about a level 3 diploma in yoga instructing to get your career started. Find this and more including yoga advancement courses in our downloadable course prospectus here.