Congratulations on completing your RYT 200! What an accomplishment and time for self growth. Even after the self inquiry and transformative experience, you might still have some questions on the more technical side of things. Like, “Okay, I’m a yoga teacher but now what?” “What does this mean for me?” “How do I start teaching?” And the list goes on! Here is a list compiled from past students and teachers on the 7 things they found most helpful to do post YTT!
Set Your Goals and Intentions
Before moving forward with anything in the yoga world its important to remember why you started this journey in the first place. Setting clear intentions for what you want to teach and why you want to teach are very helpful. As well as what you want to gain from teaching. Journal this to find your voice and set clear intentions for yourself as a teacher. Some prompts might include:
- Why did you turn to the practice of yoga? Is that still the same reason you’ve stuck with it?
- What is your intention as a teacher?
- Why do you want to share yoga with others?
You will be surprised with how fast you find your tribe!
Set the Groundwork for your Goals and Intentions
If teaching is your goal, you’ll need to start creating a network of practitioners around you in the wellness community. Whether its other yoga teachers, studio owners, or health professionals.
Create a Resume
Even if you have no teaching experience, this is important. Write an about me section that includes your journey to yoga and your intentions as a teacher.
7 Things You Need to Do After Completing Yoga Teacher Training (Continued)
Get Insurance!
Liability insurance is a must when you start teaching! While some studios are able to have you under theirs, most request you get your own. Do research for your home country and you’ll surely find companies that provide yoga specific insurance.
Write a Short bio and take a headshot
This is great to have when you get hired on as a teacher as most studios like to have a little information up on their website about the teachers so students can read them! Headshots don’t have to be anything fancy (unless the studio of course is paying for a photoshoot). But most studios ask for a photo that depicts your personality.
CPR certification
While this is not required by studios it can be helpful! As asana is a physical practice there might come a time you need to practice CPR on a student.
Create Your Default Yoga Sequence
We can’t stress the importance of this enough! Tweak-able sequences are so helpful when first starting teaching. A multi-purpose, all level sequence can be adapted in the future but at first it gives you, as the new teacher, practice with cues, transitions, and every other bit of information you want to give your students.
As you become more comfortable and feel confident in your cues and transitions, you can tweak and add poses to the sequences. But having this base takes a lot of stress off of you!
7 Things You Need to Do After Completing Yoga Teacher Training (Continued)
Start Teaching
If teaching is your goal, then teaching as soon as possible is so important! Once you return home from your YTT that’s when the real work starts, when you start implementing everything you’ve learned in a digestible way for your students. Each time you teach its practice, and while it won’t be perfect- that is okay! Remember, everyone started from somewhere so don’t compare yourself to your senior teachers as they have years more of experience than you. Just stay in your lane and focus on becoming the best teacher you possibly can be.
Community classes and friends and family classes are a great way to start practicing your teaching skills! Just apply what you’ve learned from your foundational RYT200.
Join a mentorship program
This is a great way to continue learning long after your YTT ends! Mentorships are a great way to grow and work on your teaching skills. If you have a teacher you look up to ask that teacher if he/she would be willing to offer a mentorship program. Sometimes studios will have a mentorship program, if not they might be willing to for a monthly fee.
Start a home practice
This is when you can get creative and experiment with transitions and poses. It’s also a good way to notice muscle activation and provides space for pauses to journal or write down things that worked or didn’t work.
Never stop learning
The last in our 7 Things You Need to Do After Completing Yoga Teacher Training steps – As teachers, we are still students! By learning through your home practice, keeping up to date on the latest books, podcasts, and going to in studio classes, attending workshops and retreats, continuing education at another yoga school, and by joining mini courses online are all great ways to continuing your yoga education!
