Is A 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course With A 2-3 Month Duration Enough To Become A Yoga Teacher?

There are various types of yoga teacher training programs, in the market. If you are a beginner, and want to make your career in yoga, then you might have researched the 200 hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, at least once. It is one of the most popular courses around. Moreover, it is certified by Yoga Alliance. You may already know, that India is the place where yoga originated. So, it is quite apt that, you will get people flocking to India to get their yoga certifications. Rishikesh is located in the Himalayas, and is one of the primary places where the exchange of yoga knowledge took place between the gods and mortals. 

So, Rishikesh is one of the most favoured places in India, for yoga teacher training today. The course is for 4 weeks duration, to be precise. There are many yoga teacher training schools in the divine land, Rishikesh, offering the courses. However, you may also come across a few schools in the course of your search, who teach the course for 2-3 months. Now, you may be left wondering, why it is so. 

Let us explain the details of the same, so that you can get a proper knowledge of the utility and the reasons therein. 

The Course Guide – 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training In Rishikesh

Firstly, it is very important that you know what the course contents are. Most people think that yoga is all about body contortions. However, that is a huge mistake. There is more to yoga than just yoga poses. Meditation and Pranayama are also important components of the yoga course. You will also study about mudras, bandhas, kriyas, and mantras. This is just one half of the contents that most yoga teacher training schools teach. The remaining part comprises Yoga anatomy, Yoga physiology, and Yoga philosophy. Moreover, you will also learn about the art of teaching. Alignments, corrections of poses, and modifications are also important. 

As a part of the 200 hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, you will also learn about the various variations of the poses. The teaching pedagogy is also important and you will experience the same, in terms of practice teaching as well. It goes without saying, that yoga is a discipline, which requires a lot of practice. You have to practice thoroughly, and again and again. You will not get any respite from practice, if you want to do the poses perfectly.

The course will take you on a whirlwind journey of the holistic realm. The yoga teacher training schools encourage a yogic lifestyle throughout the course and you will be having a Sattvic diet. Now, let us come to the questions, as to why 2-3 months or 4 weeks are the options available in terms of duration. 

How Much Is Enough To Become A Yogi?

This is the burning question, that each one has at the moment. You may be looking to start a career in yoga. So, it is apt that you get all your doubts cleared at the very beginning. 

• Yoga is a lifelong journey, that cannot be completed or attained in 4 weeks. That is the truth. Moreover, 2-3 months is also not enough to become a yogi. You can complete the course in the said time, no matter 1 month or 3 months. The reason behind the same, is that, you may have other commitments. And, most of you, cannot keep coming back again and again to Rishikesh, or India to learn yoga. So, there has to be a specific tenure, in which you should get all the course deliverables. When you go back home, you have to keep studying and practicing to get where you want to be. You need at least a year of proper practice.  However, the 4 weeks or 2-3 months does have a huge significance in your journey. The school will put you in a routine, so that yoga becomes a way of life for you. The teachers at the yoga school can pour all the knowledge that they have into the teaching. It is you, who absorbs the same and also retains the same. You will gain a lot of confidence in the 4-weeks or 2-3 months. The latter is mostly for students, who are doing the course weekly or part time. And the 4-week journey is mostly a residential course. 

The schools observe that students, want to complete the course in one go. And, it is also about habit formation. People have work, family issues and responsibilities and tonnes of other commitments. So, the only options left with schools is to fix a tenure. 

• Yoga teacher training is intensive in nature. However, you may not be able to acquire all the skills in the said time. Moreover, you need to practice a lot, before you can actually gain the prowess. However, you do get confidence. Self-practice is very important as a part of the journey. Once you are back home, you have to revert to the text books and keep on revising and understanding the inner meanings. Most students are encouraged to ponder over the texts that they learnt back at the ashram. So, no matter how intensive the course, you have to do self-practice. There is absolutely no alternative for that. 
• Yoga is a spiritual discipline. So, you may master the asanas or poses in a month, or 4-weeks. However, you cannot attain mastery over your emotions and spirituality in 1 month. There are various stages in the yogic journey. Asana practice is just one of them. You also need to master breathing patterns and then meditation. You must have been inspired by those yogis and seers, whom you see meditating under trees and inside dark caves. However, what you cannot see, is that, the number of years they may have spent in meditation and pranayama. The schools in Rishikesh mostly act as the facilitator. The teacher is your guide. You just cannot read a book and do everything all by yourself. However, you have to uncover the truths, slowly and steadily through the journey. It is personally yours. Hari Om Yoga Vidya School is one of the renowned yoga schools in Rishikesh, which gives wholesome training in yoga. So, you can check out the reviews and find more about the response, they have had from the students. 
• In a month or 4-weeks, you can make the body supple and flexible. If you have never done yoga before, things can be a bit difficult. And, if you have done yoga practice at your local studio, things may be easy. However, to master all the asanas of any said form, you may need a few months. The journey does not stop at that. You have to understand another point, and that is, you do not need mastery over all poses, at all. However, you do have to work on your breath and meditation. These are things that you cannot compromise on. And these things again, need a lot of practice. You will become more confident in your approach through yoga teacher training. And, that is the sole purpose of the courses. Moreover, you will be able to remove ego and look within. These are qualities, that the teachers will try to imbibe in you. Furthermore, you have to be more empathetic. Only when you attain these qualities, can you become a successful teacher. 

So, in the end, we come back to where we started from. Yes, you can become a yoga teacher, and the courses will help you immensely. However, you need to see what your personal situation is and make a judgment. You have to practice a lot amidst all over commitments. Then, you can definitely be the teacher, whom students will look up to.