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For many yoga aficionados, there is little that sounds more fun or more fulfilling than a career as a yoga teacher. Just imagine wearing yoga clothing as your version of “business attire.” Just think about the work hours, the sense of gratification and how great it’d be for your office to be a yoga studio. Not to mention, the pay is not too shabby. Before you can consider pulling your mat to the front of the class, however, teacher certification is required. It takes much more than merely avid class attendance to become an instructor; yoga classes, classes on technique, philosophy, ethic, anatomy/physiology and methodology are all required first. Here are a few things to consider. Do you want the 200 hr level certification or the 500 hr level?–both are great and adequate for teaching, but to make better money and to have more teaching options, the 500 hr is preferable. Do you have the time?  In most cases, the 200 hr level teacher training involves 200 hours of contact time–aspects that must be completed at your training school–and then another 50 or so hours of self-study. For the 500 hr leve, it’s 450 and 50, respectively.Also, there are a variety of course options, but all are time consuming. Intensive courses usually involve 4 weeks for 200 hr level and 9 weeks for 500 hr level. During this time, you live at the school and participate in coursework/yoga classes 6-7 days a week for 8-12 hours a day.Weekend courses are usually 16 hours a weekend for either 11 weeks or 21 weeks–200 hr/500 hr. Also, these numbers, 11 and 21, are only if you work at an extremely fast pace and complete your self-study very quickly. Can you afford it?  Yoga teacher training is very pricy. The cheapest program I’ve seen is $2000 for a 200 hr level/weekend training. Though this price does include study materials, unlimited yoga classes throughout the duration of your program, a certificate at the end and the training itself, it is still a hefty price to pay.  Here are a few questions to ask your perspective training program: Are you registered with Yoga Alliance?  Yoga Alliance–YA–is the organization that’s responsible for creating the guidelines for teachers, training and classes. Participating in a training program that’s not registered with YA is essentially pointless. You will have a hell of a time finding work without the RYT–registered yoga teacher–through Yoga Alliance. How many graduates has your program had? Are all you instructors certified, at least, at the 200 hour level? How long has the Teacher Training Director taught? How long has the program existed? Becoming a yoga teacher can be a great experience and lead to a limitless future, but please don’t rush into it thinking it will be a cake walk. Yogis are serious, and yoga student have a great deal of faith and trust in their teachers. So to expect for a training program to be anything less than rigorous and demanding is crazy. After all, these programs are teaching those who will hold in their hands, other peoples’ spiritual, physical and mental well-being, health and enlightenment.