Yoga. Celebrities endorse it. The health conscious swear by it. Yoga classes are sprouting everywhere. Read on to know what goes into becoming a certified teacher. Not everyone who takes yoga classes can teach yoga. It involves going through an intensive training program set up by experienced teachers. Here are some institutes that provide teacher-training programs in yoga. The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune, India This institute provides a series of certification levels in teacher training from introductory levels to advanced senior levels. To attend these courses you need to be a student of Iyengar Yoga for at least three years and should practice yoga daily. The training lasts for 2 years. The focus of the training is personal practice, teaching skills, and understanding the difficulties faced by students. The International Yoga Teacher Association, Australia The Association has a 12-month long training course as well as correspondence courses. Founded by Roma Blair in 1967, the Association has a membership of over 1,900. The course at its center in Sydney consists of 11 monthly weekend classes and a 5-day residential workshop. The course curriculum comprises the philosophy of yoga, poses, breathing, mudra and meditation. It also trains its students in the proper presentation of a class, customizing it to specific groups of students like pregnant woman, children, the elderly, and people suffering from osteoporosis. The course is open to students from all parts of Australia as well as overseas students from select countries. Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and Ashrams The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers all over the world provide excellent teacher training programs for those interested in becoming a certified yoga teacher. Founded by Swami Sivananda, the centers and ashrams have trained more than 11,000 students all over the world. The curriculum is based upon the teachings of Swami Sivananda and is a synthesis of all forms of yoga. The teacher-training program was developed by his disciple Swami Vishnu Devananda with the main aim of spreading the message of yoga. The training is imparted in the ancient Indian gurukula system with emphasis on asanas, pranayama, meditation, selfless service, the Bhagawad Gita and chanting. To become a certified yoga instructor, one requires selfless commitment. The training is rigorous and intensive. When yoga acharyas or teachers have been through such programs, will yoga DVDs like that of Shilpa Shetty’s S2 Productions make it worth your money? Have you trained to be a yoga teacher? Where did you learn?
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