By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Traditional Yoga teacher training programs still exist, but traditional programs often last years. Not so long ago, the concept of an intensive face-to-face training, for a month, seemed like a new idea. All you had to do was schedule your time, and you could combine your training, with a vacation, at a beautiful or exotic location.
Some of the pre-requisites would be previous experience. It would be wise to have two years of working knowledge as a student of Yoga before considering teaching classes. This may seem obvious, but there are those who jump “feet first” into everything.
There are more pre-requisites for the exotic Yoga teacher intensive. You should have the money required for travel, housing, meals, study materials, and any hidden costs. You should be single, with no children at home, or in a position to put your family on hold.
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You should also be unemployed, or have an employer, who will allow you to take a lengthy vacation. Not many employers will rejoice to know you are attending a Yoga teacher certification course, while your work piles up. If your employer understands your desire to become a Yoga teacher, you are in a unique situation.
For all the above-mentioned reasons, most of us are not in a position to drop everything and attend an intensive course, without making some complicated arrangements with our families and employers. Hence Yoga instructor training, at home, has become a viable solution.
Books were, and still are, good learning tools, but Internet access, online video, DVDs, and CDs make learning the subtleties of Yoga much easier. The ultimate distance learning course should have an interactive mix of learning tools.
There was a time when Yoga books and face-to-face lectures, with a Guru, were the primary tools of learning; and they still have a valuable place. However, times are changing, and new technology has been integrated to produce a new breed of correspondence training for those who wish to teach Yoga classes.
 Copyright Paul Jerard / Aura Publications