The Best Continuing Education Yoga Certifications for Established Yoga Teachers
By: Isabella Koepf, Yoga Therapist, Clinical Herbalist, Holistic Nutritionist, Ayurvedic Practitioner, 500-Hour Yoga Teacher, Health Coach
Find Out What Yoga Certifications Are Best For Your Continuing Education Needs (YACEP Approved)
After completing your yoga teacher training, the learning doesn’t stop there! As an established yoga teacher, continuing education training courses are essential to keep your knowledge and skills up to par. The added learning you will gain from continuing education yoga certifications can set you apart in the field and deepen your understanding of the vast wisdom of yoga.
Studying yoga is a lifelong process, and continuing education courses are an excellent way to keep the flame of knowledge burning within you and build your skillset in your career at the same time. In this article, we will go over the essential information to understand about continuing education yoga courses, along with an overview of the best continuing education yoga courses for established yoga teachers. So, let’s get started!
A continuing education yoga course is an essential added training for established yoga teachers to complete after they have completed their foundational 200-hour yoga teacher training course. The 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training courses are the core foundational training for yoga teachers, but the learning doesn’t stop there.
Yoga teachers can continue to grow their skills, become specialized in certain areas, and maintain their yoga teacher registration through ongoing continuing education yoga courses. These are typically short courses in focused or specialized topics, such as a specific yoga style or a teaching technique. This added training can set you apart from other yoga teachers and help you continue to grow your yoga teaching career.
The Yoga Alliance is the leading registration organization for yoga teachers. Many yoga studios, insurance companies, and other businesses require yoga teachers to have a Yoga Alliance registration after completing their 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training courses.
In order to maintain your active Yoga Alliance registration, you must complete a minimum of 75 hours of continuing education courses within 3 years from the date of your initial registration. Out of these 75 hours, there must be 45 hours of teaching yoga classes and 30 hours of yoga training from an approved educational category.
The best way to ensure that your continuing education hours will count towards your Yoga Alliance registration is to ensure that the course provider is a registered YACEP or Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. This designation allows any certification issued to easily count toward your required continuing education to keep your registration with Yoga Alliance active.
Besides the logistical requirements for CEUs for yoga teachers, it is also essential to keep learning and studying yoga to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. Yoga is an expansive field that can take a lifetime to study, so maintaining a beginner’s mind is vital to ensure that your skills as a yoga teacher remain fresh.
There are many options for continuing education courses for yoga teachers, so it is important to know how to navigate these options and find the best course for your needs. Below, we will go over a few crucial tips to ensure that you find the best continuing education yoga courses:
· Check if the course provider and the course itself are registered with Yoga Alliance
· Check the qualifications of the school and the teachers
· Read reviews and ask for insights from past students
· Review the curriculum of the course to see if it interests you
· Ensure that the course dates fit into your schedule
· Relax and have fun!
Pranayama, or breathwork, is one of the 8 limbs of yoga and is an essential tool for every yoga teacher to master. In a pranayama continuing education course, you will learn some of the foundational breathwork techniques to deepen your own breathwork practice and guide your students safely through these potent techniques. Combining pranayama into your yoga asana practice is the best way to deepen your experience on the mat and practice all the limbs of yoga.
Yin yoga is one of the most popular yoga styles in yoga studios. This calming yet active yoga style relaxes the mind and stimulates the fascia and joints at the same time. Yin yoga is a combination of traditional Chinese medicine theory and yoga to provide a profoundly transformative experience to the body, mind, and soul. Pursuing a yin yoga continuing education course is a great way to boost your yoga teacher resume and provide more significant opportunities for you to teach.
In modern times, stress and overall depletion are more common than ever before. Nearly every student who comes to a yoga class is struggling with stress management. The best way to support these students is with a calming, restorative yoga practice. In a restorative yoga continuing education course, you will gain the skills to teach restorative yoga poses, giving you the ability to add these practices to your general yoga classes or teach specific restorative yoga classes to your students.
Ayurveda is often called the sister science to yoga. Historically, Ayurveda and yoga were deeply connected and intertwined as they are both powerful healing practices originating from India. Through an Ayurveda specialist certification and continuing education course, you can gain valuable skills to infuse Ayurveda into your yoga classes and provide individualized Ayurveda consultations to your students, adding even more opportunities for your growth as a yoga teacher.
One of the most critical skills for a yoga teacher to have is the ability to cue yoga poses effectively. Teaching is an art, and it takes practice. Many students believe that after completing a yoga teacher training, they will have all the tools they need to begin teaching. While this is generally true, the learning doesn’t stop at the end of a 200-hour course. The journey to becoming an effective yoga teacher takes time and practice. In an effective cues for yoga teachers course, you can further refine your skills and learn techniques to grow as a yoga teacher.
Yoga philosophy is one of the most important and also one of the most often neglected topics in yoga practice. Yoga philosophy is the foundation of yoga practice, and without a deep understanding of this ancient wisdom, we cannot truly practice the depths that yoga has to offer. In an introduction to yoga philosophy continuing education course, you will learn the essential foundations of yoga philosophy, giving you the tools to share this wisdom with your students and truly practice all 8 limbs of yoga.
Yoga is not just a physical practice; it also has a rich philosophical background with countless mythological stories explaining the spiritual significance of each pose and practice. Learning yoga mythology can provide you with a depth of understanding of why we practice these various poses, connecting you to a long lineage of ancient wisdom. In this yoga mythology continuing education course, you will learn some of the most popular stories and practice weaving them into your yoga asana classes.
Meditation is also one of the 8 limbs of yoga and is often considered the most important component of yoga practice. Through regular meditation practice, we can begin clearing out the clutter in the mind and find access to the well of inner peace within. In a meditation teacher training, you will learn many tools for guiding your yoga students through a range of popular meditation techniques.
One of the most important skills as a yoga teacher is the ability to meet each student where they are at and to modify the practice to their unique needs. Every body is different, and in an accessible yoga certification, you will learn how to modify yoga practice to best support each individual student. This continuing education accessible yoga course is the best way to grow your skills as an experienced yoga teacher.
Without the right business skills, it can be challenging to grow a thriving yoga business. As a yoga teacher, you are also often an entrepreneur and learning the ins and outs of business can help you build a stable income and a thriving career. In a yoga business continuing education course, you can learn marketing techniques to grow your yoga business in no time.
Continuing education yoga courses are an essential part of the ongoing training process for established yoga teachers. Yoga is a vast field, and the knowledge you can gain is genuinely limitless. Through continuing education yoga courses, you can also build your yoga teacher resume and gain additional employment opportunities through specialized training and added skills.
Our online yoga teacher training school offers a range of continuing education opportunities for established yoga teachers. Our high-quality training programs give you the tools to easily and quickly complete these required hours to maintain your Yoga Alliance certification while also deepening your understanding of special topics within yoga. Reach out to us for more information on how you can join our online continuing education yoga courses today!