The Top 8 Things To Look For in a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course

How to find the right 200 hour Yoga Training Course in 2025

You have been practising yoga for a while now and you are ready to take it to the next level. Maybe you have had such a transformative personal journey with yoga that you feel a calling to share its power with others. Maybe you want to deepen, integrate and refine your own yoga practice. Maybe you see a career for yourself in teaching yoga, with a lifestyle and ethos that suit you. A 200 hour yoga training course is, for most, the next step for those who want to level up. This is because there are few options for progression aside from a teacher training, and the 200YTT gives you a very resonant string to your bow - a professional qualification.

Any internet search for yoga instructor training will return literally thousands of possible 200 hour programmes you can take, ranging from 2 weeks to 3 years, from £200 - £5000, from Bristol to Bali. Now what?

This article aims to help you navigate the noisy, overcrowded space of yoga training by highlighting important things to consider before investing, and guiding you to reflect on your own values and intentions within your yoga journey. You are unique, and the immeasurable advantage of having so much choice in yoga trainings is that there will be just the right 200 hour training course out there for you. I discuss each consideration briefly; if you would like to discuss anything further, then please don't hesitate to get in touch and I will be happy to chat to you in depth about your options. Read on to find out the 8 things to look for in a 200 hour Yoga Training

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What is your passion? Your 200 hour YTT has to serve it.

Why do you love yoga? Find the course that nurtures that passion. A 200 hour yoga course will always emphasise the particular interest of the course creator. Are you mad about asana, hungry for spiritual transformation, curious about movement science or intent on Mindfulness? Even the most well-rounded course will favour a certain aspect of the giant many-faced creature that is yoga.

As a baseline, make sure there is a robust anatomy, applied asana techniques, philosophy and teaching experience component. How many course hours are devoted to each module? If you want to start a yoga business, what is the business module like?

You may also want to consider whether there are modules on trauma awareness, sequencing, ethics and whether a course covers the four paths of yoga (bhakti, jnana, karma and raja yoga).

Also, find out the course provider's approach to anatomy. Is anatomy instruction mainly theoretical and in lecture form or is there an embodied, experiential approach?

What kind of training group are you comfortable in?

Training groups come in all shapes and sizes. Do you thrive in large groups of people where there is lots of opportunity to meet and network, and a high social energy? or are you more comfortable in a smaller group and a more intimate setting? Take a good look at the marketing images used to promote the course and feel into whether the people in the pictures feel like they could be your tribe.

In a large group of people, you are likely coming from all over the region and, if you are in a more exotic location, you may be coming from all over the world. Having global connections as a yoga teacher can be an advantage - lots of sofas to crash on when you travel, for example. However when it comes to building a local network and sowing the seeds for future collaborations you're better off staying local unless you intend to teach solely online.

In a smaller group you are more "seen". You have bespoke tuition and guidance and way more teacher time than in a mass training. While larger groups tend to break up into distinct small friendship groups, small groups tend to stay whole.

Online or In-person yoga training? The burning question! 🔥

For me this is a no-brainer but I know that online courses are becoming increasingly popular. If you want to teach real people in the room, take a real people in the room course. I know that online courses are much cheaper but you really do get what you pay for. If you opt for online, you will never know what you are missing but please believe me when I say that you will miss so so much in terms of the potential for personal transformation and the quality of the teaching preparation you will receive. Teaching a 3-D class with warm bodies in front of you and a space to manage is a totally different animal from a Zoom room. If your course leader has never been in a room with you, they will not be able to properly assess or guide you as an in-person teacher.

If you just want to deepen your practice and the online course for £200 looks appealing, then why not give it a shot? You can't really lose at that price. However don't expect a serious teaching course to come in at any less that £2500.

Immersion or Part-time 200 hour course? Burning question #2 🔥

I have done both and I recommend doing both. While it is true that four weeks is a short time to hone the necessary skills to be a teacher, the immersion is hugely transformational, especially in an ashram setting. You are totally absorbed in the contemplative life which gives you an experiential edge on those doing a part time weekend course in the city. However a part-time course has the advantage of giving you enough time to assimilate, practice and progress in a way that the immersion can't and it fits in well with a job and family life.

A good course leader will make sure you know, at the end of your immersion, that you need a minimum of 6 months to integrate the teachings post-course.

There are courses that will certify you at 200 hour level in just 2.5 weeks. I have no idea how they fit 200 hours of training into this time period and feel skeptical and slightly sick about it but I am also happy to be proven wrong.

What are your practical needs for a 200 hour course? Thinks dates, budget, format

A a rough guideline, expect to pay between £2500 and £3500 for a decent accredited 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. Make sure the dates and the format work for you - is there a retreat? is there any online content? will you need to take time off work? all that stuff.

What are people saying about the training you are interested in?

If possible, talk to course alumni of the course you are interested in, or look for testimonials. The accreditation board for the course may be able to put you in touch with past graduates. Have a chat with the course leader, attend some classes with them and see if you are a good fit. Finding your trainer is a very personal thing, it's important you like the way they work.

What are the 200 hour teacher training provider's credentials as a trainer?

Who is providing this course and why? The sad truth is that a lot of yoga studios are running 200YTT because they need to in order to survive. It's hard to make a studio work financially and most of them rely on the 200 hour training income. That's not to say it's the ONLY reason they are running it - most yoga teachers are ardently passionate about what they do and its their vocation to share yoga. Just make sure they have plenty of years of experience under their belt and that they have proper accreditation with a recognised authority such as Yoga Alliance Professionals, Independent Yoga Network, British Wheel or YA.

YA has the lowest standards for accrediting teacher trainers so check out the trainer's qualifications really well if they are with YA. YA is also the most internationally well-known, and plenty of respectable schools have their accreditation through them. If you feel confused about the accreditation boards, take look at this (slightly dated) blog post which explains them all.

Ask questions - where and when did the provider do their training? where did the trainer do their trainer's internship and what other training experience do they have? who are the course tutors? how long has the course been running?

How well will the course prepare you for your ongoing journey?

If you intend to make yoga teaching a career following on from your 200 hour training, choose a course that has a solid business module and good connections within the yoga world. How well is the provider placed to support you in setting up your own classes?

Does the provider offer a mentoring programme? It's a big world out there and, once you start teaching, it really helps to have a community and guidance from someone who has been there. Yoga by Nature offers free group mentoring for a year following 200YTT graduation. Other courses offer paid one to one options.

Does your course have employment opportunities within their own organisation?

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The 8 things to look for in a 200 hour Yoga Training

I hope I have given you a few signposts to bring you closer to making your choice. Most of us have the choice narrowed down for us by circumstances, but do make sure you choose the course that is going to bring the unique, empowered yoga teacher out in you. Be true to yourself and trust your gut instincts 🧘‍♀️🎓

Would you like to be in a group of people all dedicated to sharing yoga in a holistic, authentic way? On our 200 hour Yoga Training, we teach an empowering approach where you will be guided to teach in your own unique style with your own voice. Find out more on our 200 -hour Yoga Training page.

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Morven Hamilton is a yoga teacher and teacher trainer living in Weston-super-Mare in the South West of England. She has been teaching yoga since 2008 and teaching on 200YTT programmes since 2011. Morven is the course leader of the Yoga by Nature 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course and the Healing the Whole Person Yoga for Cancer teacher training course.