10 Things To Do After Completing Your RYT-200 Yoga Teacher Training
10 Things To Do After Completing Your RYT-200 Yoga Teacher Training
The transition between yoga teacher training and "the real world" is part paperwork and planning, part promoting, and part dreaming and growing.
Whether you have recently completed your RYT200 Yoga Teacher Training or completed it years ago, you are likely wondering what you should do next. Should you start your yoga practice or pursue more advanced yoga teacher training?
Here are a 10 quick tips to get you thinking about what comes next after completing your RYT200 yoga teacher training.
1. Get organized
Getting organized is a good place to start. Organize your collection of notebooks, textbooks, and handouts. Gather your learning materials and sort them into related groups to streamline future referencing.
Group your business documents for easy reference. Your business documents start with your credentials and certificates. Expand your binder with registration information, insurance certificates, release forms, and teaching contracts as you collect them. Scan or take a picture and store them on your computer as well, for easy access.
Using a calendar is a handy way to map out your goals, due dates, and renewal dates. It's helpful to track your continuing education classes and plan for future training in a calendar system, as well.
2. Optional: Register with Yoga Alliance
Although most employers do not require this step, some grads prefer to register with Yoga Alliance - an online registry. It’s nonprofit branch intends to represent the yoga community and provides guidelines for your new profession. One perk is that you then have access to purchasing a liability insurance plan created for yoga teachers. Joining IAYT also provides you access to a comparable plan.
Upon completion of your coursework, registration involves creating an online account and submitting your RYS 200 certificate. You will have the opportunity to publish a profile in the Yoga Alliance Directory as well.
3. Secure insurance as a yoga teacher
Whether you teach independently or work with a studio, you will need liability insurance. Liability plans range from insurance for a sole proprietor to studio owner designations. There are dozens of agencies specializing in yoga teacher insurance plans; a quick search will give you local and national options.
4. Start building your yoga C.V.
It's a challenge to organize your yoga career, and there's no time like the present to get started! Formally outline your yoga teacher skills, experiences, and formal training along with your philosophy and parallel skills into a resume.
As your teaching experience grows, so will your C.V. We strongly suggest volunteering at work, a community center, a religious institution, or even with friends to grow your C.V.
5. Create a vision for your teaching
It's often helpful to creatively focus on your teaching dreams instead of jumping into the deep end without a plan. Do you want to teach in studios, outdoors, with special communities, or as part of a community center? Do you want to teach something you haven’t quite mastered yet and require advanced yoga teacher training for?
Outline and follow your dreams! Reach out to organizations and businesses that align with your ideas to make it happen.
6. Start teaching!
Of course, this is easier said than done, but teaching is teaching, no matter the audience. Your friends and family make wonderful students as you look for a more formal setting in which to teach. Gyms and studios often have apprentice or mentor programs (even online), and volunteer opportunities are endless.
7. Explore teaching yoga online
The popularity of social media platforms and the recent usage of remote learning has created endless teaching options. Video hosting sites like YouTube and social media platforms like Instagram offer "live" and "recorded" sharing options. Try your hand teaching there!
Teleconferencing platforms allow you to have a more visual and interactive view of your students. These two-way platforms open the door for more effective communication and teaching.
8. Keep practicing on your own
As a yoga teacher, you may find that your personal practice gets muddled as you transition into a teaching path. Dedicate time to being a student again, letting your desire to take notes, study, and formulate sequencing take a back seat. Seek out inspiration without sacrificing the self-care that your yoga mat provides. Luckily, most studios offer a “teacher rate” for memberships – ask for a discount!
9. Plan your continuing education and advanced yoga teacher training
As you map out your yoga teaching dreams, note what resonates with you - what you enjoy learning, and what you enjoy teaching. For example, do you find yourself wanting to serve yoga students with diverse needs or perhaps learn how to modify your lessons for aging yoga students? These clues will guide you through the next level of continuing your yoga teacher training.
You might find that your passions about learning a specific topic go beyond a few continuing education classes and take you to another certification. You may decide that it would be valuable to pursue advanced RYT500 yoga teacher training.
10. Pursue 500-hour RYT certification
Pursuing advanced yoga teacher training with an RYT-300 certification will allow you to dive deeper into specialized methods of yoga. This allows you to carve out your niche as a yoga teacher and better serve your students.
Having the RYT-500 title is also a great way to improve your marketability as a yoga teacher. Students and studios will know that you take your craft seriously and have completed more advanced levels of study.
Read our blog article “5 Reasons Every Yoga Teacher Should Pursue a 500-hour RYT Certification,” for a more in depth look into this topic.
Stay proactive after completing your RYT-200 yoga teacher training!
Congratulations on completing your RYT-200 yoga teacher training - that alone is a great accomplishment! Hopefully, these 10 tips gave you some ideas on what to do next.
While you’re here, we’d love to invite you to check out Prema Yoga Institute, which is longer limited to New York City and is now available online with interactive trainings through 2022. PYI is an accredited program based in New York city, teaching students around the globe through online classes. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you advance your yoga practice and teaching!
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