I still remember the day I finished my 200-hour yoga teacher training. While I was so excited to get my certification and start teaching, I knew that this was just the beginning of a life-long journey of learning and personal expansion.
Your 200-hour yoga teacher training likely provided you with the basics of anatomy, structuring a class, offering adjustments, yoga philosophy, meditation, and pranayama.
Depending on your yoga practice prior to the yoga teacher training, this may have been a lot of new information or helped build on your current understanding of yoga.
The reality is that a 200-hour yoga teacher training can be a transformational experience, however it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning about yoga.
After all, they say it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill.
Whether you just finished your 200-hour yoga teacher training, or you have been teaching for a while and are ready to dive into something new, this guide will help you explore the ways you can continue to expand your knowledge as a yoga teacher.
Yoga Teacher Training Methods of Exploration
Before I dive into the different subjects you can explore beyond your 200-hour yoga teacher training, I want to share the different ways that you can explore – I think that all of these methods are an important in order to truly develop an understanding of the material in your mind and experience it in your own body:
- Self-Study – this involves doing research to learn more about a particular topic. You may read books, listen to audio books or podcasts, watch YouTube videos, etc. and allow yourself to absorb all of the information that is available.
- Guided Learning – we can only learn so much on our own; many of the subjects related to yoga are better explored with a group or an experienced teacher. This may include taking a training or working with someone 1:1 so that you can ask questions and explore different perspectives on the subject matter.
- Practice – this is the most important, without practice we would not be able to integrate the information we are taking in. This includes taking classes and doing your own self practice, feeling the postures and exploring the themes in your own body, so that you can have an embodied experience of the material and share with your students in an authentic way.
Building Your Foundation
As you begin your post 200-hour yoga teacher training journey, the first question you should ask is:
Is there anything I learned in my yoga teacher training that I don’t quite feel comfortable to share with my students or I could benefit from learning more about?
If the answer is yes, you may consider expanding on the basics and exploring topics such as: advanced anatomy, pranayama (breathing practices), sequencing, cueing, or adjustments. Having a solid foundation in these areas will help you to excel as a yoga teacher regardless of the student or style of yoga you are teaching.
If you feel you have a solid foundation, you may feel called to explore further.
Many 200-hour yoga teacher trainings focus on one main lineage or teaching style (e.g., Vinyasa, Hatha, Kundalini, Tantra, Ashtanga, etc.), weaving in bits of pieces of other styles as needed. If you are interested in teaching some of the aspects that were not covered in depth (or discussed at all) in your 200-hour yoga teacher training, one option is to take a specialization.
Specializations
A specialization allows you to teach a style of yoga safely, with an understanding of how to adapt to different bodies and needs, and can support you in creating your own sequences in a way that honors the style/lineage/tradition.
With the boom of the online yoga industry, there are now so many specialized trainings that you can take from the comfort of your home. Trainings range from 5 to 100 hours to help you master specific topics or support specific populations. There are also many trainings that are offered in the form of retreats – so you can fully immerse yourself in learning but also experiencing the practice more deeply.
You may already have some favorite topics from your 200-hour yoga teacher training, here are a few to consider:
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga is a slower paced style of yoga that involves holding postures for longer periods of time while placing gentle stress on the connective tissues to promote elongation and unwind tension in the body. Yin yoga trainings can range from 10-50 hours so make sure you take a look at the syllabus before enrolling in a training to ensure you will get the support you need to feel comfortable to share this practice with your students.
In the field of yin yoga, there is a growing understanding of the importance of the fascia (connective tissue that surrounds all organs, nerves and muscles). Some yin yoga trainings may include discussion of this topic, or you can find a specialized training on the fascia (such as Anatomy Trains) if you are interested in learning more.
Restorative Yoga
While often confused with yin yoga, restorative yoga is quite different. It involves the use of many props to support the body in finding complete relaxation. The long holds in restorative yoga (5-20 minutes per posture) allow a shift to the parasympathetic, rest and digest, nervous system.
Restorative yoga can provide a great balancing practice for your students if you find yourself teaching lots of high energy classes.
Pre or Post Natal Yoga
A pre- or post-natal yoga teacher training is a wonderful way to support yourself or other pregnant persons through a pregnancy journey. You will learn about the ways in which the body changes during pregnancy, how to adapt postures to accommodate these changes, and how to create a holistic yoga class to support your students during pregnancy (e.g., breathing practices, meditations, mudras).
Trauma Informed Yoga
Trauma informed yoga is a way of teaching yoga while being mindful of trauma that individuals may have encountered in their lives. In a trauma informed training you will learn about different types of trauma, how they affect the mind and body, and ways to modify your classes and the language you use to support these individuals.
Kids Yoga
If you want to learn to teach yoga in a fun and fast paced way, consider a kids yoga teacher training. Kids yoga is much more dynamic than your traditional yoga class – it includes games, songs, books, and props and takes children on a mindful journey.
Meditation
You likely already teach small bits of meditation when you open and close your classes – a further exploration of meditation can allow you to guide your students individually or lead longer meditations that can range from 15 minutes to one hour. In a meditation teacher training you will learn about the science of meditation, the benefits of the practice, various anchors that can be used to improve concentration, and how to structure a guided meditation practice.
Sound Healing
Sound healing can also be a great complement to meditation. You can learn how to use different sound instruments (including your own voice), how to effectively share sound with your students, and how brain waves change as they are exposed to sounds at various frequencies.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga nidra (also known as yogic sleep), is a form of yoga in which the practitioner is verbally guided into a state of deep rest. In teaching yoga nidra, you will guide your students through the koshas (or layers of their being) – physical, emotional, mental, intellectual and blissful.
Note: The practice of yoga nidra can be triggering for some individuals so it is recommended to take a training or at least understand the underlying concepts behind the practice rather than simply picking up a script and reading it to your students.
Other Topics and Subject Areas
If you aren’t looking to specialize in a particular style of yoga, you may be interested in diving further into specific topics to help create themes for your classes or workshops:
The Chakras
The chakra system refers to energetic centers in the body that can be found at the point where various nadis (or channels) intersect. The often used 7-point chakra system from the root to the crown can support your students in identifying imbalances in their mind and body.
The location of the chakras corresponds to bundles of nerves, major organs, and areas of the body (e.g., the sacral chakra relates to the hips) – hence they can be nicely combined with yoga postures that support these areas.
You can download a free e-book to learn more about the chakras here.
Yoga Philosophy
Three key texts that you can start to explore to further your understanding of yoga philosophy are: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. These texts provide ancient wisdom and teachings about yoga that further support the inward journey.
While the teachings can appear simple on the surface, there is a lot to unpack as each word was chosen with intention. You can always benefit from taking a class or working with a knowledgeable teacher to further understand all the valuable insight that these texts have to offer. You may even be interested in learning about the Sanskrit language so that you can learn to read the original texts without translation, or learn to chant and share ancient mantras.
Some other topics you may be interested in exploring include:
- astrology;
- moon cycles;
- ayurveda;
- kriyas;
- and the vayus.
Ultimately, much like any other profession, it will become important for you to specialize (i.e., find your ideal student and niche) – exploration is the first part of that.
This guide outlines a few of the styles of yoga and subjects you can explore – but there are many more! The more that you can lean into the areas that you love to teach, the more you can grow as an individual and a teacher. Naturally, your students will be eager to learn from you.
Feel more confident to teach any style of yoga by becoming insured with beYogi. There are benefits of insurance regardless of where you are at in your teaching journey!
