Beyond the 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training

At the end of 2015, nearly 53,000 yoga teachers and 18,000 yoga schools were registered with Yoga Alliance, and according to their 2016 Yoga In America Study with Yoga Journal, American yoga practioners have grown by over 50% in just the last 4 years from 15.8 million in 2008 to 36.7 million in 2016.

With more than 15,000 newly certified yoga teachers each year, it's no wonder the industry has become saturated with so many 20-something 200-hr yoga teachers. Most of these newly minted instructors share the same desire to ditch the traditional 9-5 and turn their yoga passion into a well-paying career.

But how?

The key to any successful career is to find a niche and be exceptional at it. It's no surprise that instructors are finding it harder to find classes to teach, especially when everyone is jumping on the yoga-teacher bandwagon. The majority will earn their 200-hour certification and stop there, but it'll be that much more difficult to ditch the corporate ladder when you blend in with your competition.

Yoga is here to stay and there's so much more than just teaching in a studio setting, from teaching corporate classes, at hospitals, schools, and city-sponsored events, to going more health related and teaching at hospitals or clinics. Heck, there's even Goat Yoga and Beer Yoga! While the latter of the examples aren't really viewed as "traditional" yoga, it's getting people who weren't interested in a typical yoga class out doing yoga with goats!

The opportunities are endless and the goal is to find something else you're passionate about and weave yoga into that passion. If you're interested in it, chances are someone else will be, too.

About the author:

Elizabeth Nguyen is a 500-hr certified yoga instructor and yoga therapist. She completed her 200-hr training in Power Vinyasa with CorePower Yoga and her 300-hr training in Yoga Therapy at Loyola Marymount University. She also earned her BA in Business Administration and Information Systems from California State University, Fullerton.

She is the founder of Yogabossbabe, a monthly subscription box designed to support and encourage female yoga entrepreneurs.