200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Online vs. In-Person: Pros & Cons

Completing a yoga teacher training is essential to gain the knowledge, experience, and confidence required to become a yoga teacher. Even though many people who complete the course have no intention of becoming a full-time yoga teacher. Rather, doing a yoga teacher training enables you to deepen your personal yoga practice and work on your self-awareness.

Yoga teacher trainings are available both in-person and online, but which is best? The answer, of course, depends on you and what you are looking for.

Read on as I discuss the reasons to complete a 200-hour yoga teacher training course beyond becoming an instructor, what is involved in the course, and what is required to become a registered yoga teacher. I will also look at the pros and cons of online versus in-person training courses and how to choose the right yoga teacher training course for you.

6 Great Reasons to Do a Yoga Teacher Training

While it is called teacher training, the 200-hour yoga course offers benefits far beyond preparing you to share your passion for yoga with others.

1. Deepen Your Personal Yoga Practice

A yoga teacher training can be treated as an intensive advanced yoga course that will help you deepen your daily practice. You will look in detail at the postures and asanas, and not only how to do them properly, but why they matter and what their benefits are.

2. Enhance Your Knowledge of the Human Body

For many people, yoga is a gateway to a greater understanding of their own bodies and the human body in general. It fuels interest in related topics such as nutrition. Yoga teacher training programs delve into the scientific anatomy and physiology that underpins yoga and will deepen your physical self-awareness.

3. Uncover the Spiritual Philosophy of Yoga

While most yoga classes focus on movements and postures, yoga is much more than a physical practice. It is a philosophical approach to life based on millennia-old scriptures. Yoga teacher training will help you understand yoga philosophy and connect it to your practice and daily life.

4. Discover Different Yoga Styles

There are many different styles of yoga, from athletic Ashtanga to deep tissue Yin Yoga. While most people focus on a particular style of yoga for their daily practice, any teacher training will provide you with a good base knowledge of the various styles and their specific benefits.

5. Test Your Limits

Yoga teacher training programs are designed to be intensive and to push you to your limits physically, mentally, and emotionally. Part of the process is learning to manage frustrations, find acceptance within yourself, and believe in your ability to continue to grow and evolve. Many people come out the other end of training feeling more confident, grounded, and whole.

6. Make Lifetime Connections

Because a yoga teacher training is such an intensive experience, those who participate in the course together as fellow students or instructors tend to form tight bonds. You may walk away from the experience with a tribe that shares your passion for yoga and understand what you have been through and the path that you are walking.

Ways to Become a Certified Yoga Instructor

The most common way to become a registered yoga teacher is to complete a minimum of 200 hours of yoga teacher trainings with a certified yoga school and then register with the Yoga Alliance as a certified yoga teacher.

But the yoga industry is actually unregulated. While many yoga studios choose to follow Yoga Alliance guidelines when recruiting and training teachers, there is nothing legally stopping you from teaching yoga without this qualification.

Yoga has been around since about the 3rd millennium BC, and it used to be that disciples studied with a guru. They would live with the guru, participate in their classes, and study the philosophical side of yoga through observation, listening, and discussion. When a guru deemed a disciple ready, they would authorize them to become a yoga teacher. With experience, eventually, a disciple would move up to become a guru.

Official training to teach yoga emerged in the 1940s with the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India. They invited practitioners from around the world to live and study in the ashram, and when they were ready, students were sent out to teach yoga. This model was copied by many other yoga schools.

The Yoga Alliance was only established in the 1990s when representatives from various different yoga styles came together and decided to establish a shared framework for yoga teacher training. Now many studios choose to require teachers to complete the training and register with the Yoga Alliance or a similar organization, such as the British Yoga Wheel.

While many yoga teacher training courses have included online elements for years, fully online courses only really emerged during the pandemic. Online courses are today accepted as complete yoga education, and the certificate that you receive will not state whether the course was completed in person or online.

Whether an in-person or online yoga certification is best for you depend on you as an individual. Consider the following pros and cons for each.

The Pros of Online Yoga Teacher Training

Access to Teachers

If you want to work with specific teachers or specific yoga practices that are not available near where you live, online courses give you access to a wider range of professionals worldwide.

Saves You Time

Online training courses save you time that would otherwise be spent travelling to a studio and can be a beneficial option if you do not live close to a registered yoga school. Or if you simply do have time to go on an intensive 3-week training, which is the usual time frame a yoga teacher training takes.

Enables Flexibility

Most online yoga teacher training courses allow you to set your own learning times rather than committing to specific contact hours that may not work with your schedule.

More Affordable

Online courses are more affordable because they do not come with the overheads of studio space, accommodation, meals, and so forth. Though you will need to provide an appropriate learning and training space for yourself.

Repeat sessions

When you participate in an in-person course, once a session is over, it is done. Even though, of course, you can discuss the content of the session with the instructor right after. When it comes to online yoga training, if you want to repeat a course the following day or the following month, that content is still available to you.

The Cons of Online Yoga Teacher Training

Less Community Motivation

When you commit to a course of solo online learning, you are solely responsible for motivating yourself and ensuring that you stay on track. This can be hard for many people, especially if they have been out of formal education for a number of years.

Limited Corrections

When you are practicing alone, you must be disciplined enough to correct your own postures based on the information provided. You do not have the benefit of a teacher observing and correcting you.

The Pros of In-Person Yoga Teacher Training

Personalized Instruction

When you participate in an in-person course, the instructor is right in front of you to make corrections and also sense and observe what you might need to take your experience to a deeper level.

Shared Experience

If you participate in an in-person training course, you will be part of a cohort of like-minded individuals who are at the yoga studio for the same purpose. This can be a source of exceptional friendships and also keep you motivated to stay on track.

Improved Focus

Yoga retreats are set up to allow you to focus on developing your yoga practice, which is why things like meals are taken care of. You are better able to focus on yourself and what you want to achieve when you can remove yourself from life's daily distractions, even for a short period.

Practice Teaching

While online courses enable you to practice teaching, it is not the same experience as giving a yoga class in person. Plus, you will have the course instructors there to observe and provide feedback.

The Cons of In-Person Yoga Teacher Training

Higher Cost

In-person yoga teacher training courses are usually more expensive because they tend to have high overheads in terms of space. You may have to travel to popular yoga destinations like Bali or Thailand and accommodation costs are linked with your participation.

Time-Consuming

In-person yoga courses will have set hours that you will need to commit to. If you miss any hours, your course will be incomplete. This can be challenging to manage around work and family commitments.

How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program That’s Right for You

1. Choose According to Your Goals

If you want to become a yoga teacher, the standard course is 200 hours. Shorter 100-hour yoga courses are best considered “foundational”. They allow you to dip your toes in the water before committing to the full 200-hour course.

Longer courses can be considered “postgraduate qualifications” that further enrich your practice. Complete the 200-hour course to build your teaching techniques before committing to another 300 hours of training.

2. Choose Your Yoga Style

Now it's about finding a yoga teacher training program that suits your style of yoga, your preferred learning styles, and your schedule.

While most Yoga Alliance-certified courses will look at a variety of different yoga styles, they will be focused on one or two specific styles, such as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Hatha Yoga.

If you're unsure, I recommend picking up one of the many books on yoga teacher training to read into the various styles further.

Choose a yoga training that alines with your personal practice. You should have your own consistent practice before embarking on this type of course because there will be a level of assumed knowledge. Don't jump in at the deep end if you are new to yoga, attend yoga classes locally or sign up for a yoga retreat first. There are plenty of amazing yoga retreats in Europe and beginner retreats worldwide, from the US to the birthplace of yoga in India and many other locations around Southeast Asia.

3. Chose Your Schedule

Next, you need to consider whether you prefer in-person learning, online learning, or a mixture of the two and whether you would do better in an intensive yoga teacher training conducted over a few weeks as a retreat or a slower-paced course delivered, for example, one weekend per month.

4. Narrow Down

Once you have answered these questions, you can narrow down your choices to yoga instructor training in the right location and budget range for you. If you do find a course you like, it is always a good idea to take a few traditional yoga classes with the teachers who will deliver the course before you sign up, just to see if they are a good fit before committing to this life-changing experience.

You can expect most yoga courses to follow the same structure focusing on yoga techniques and practices, anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy, teaching methodology, and developing practical teaching experience. In the end, you should be able to get your Yoga Alliance Certification.

Yoga Teacher Training Online vs. In-Person – Frequently Asked Questions

💻 Is Doing Online Yoga Teacher Training Really Worth It?

If you are looking for yoga teacher training as a way to deepen and develop your yoga practice, online courses can be one of the most affordable, accessible, and convenient options. They are also a great option if you don't have access to an in-person course due to location, time, or budget. The Yoga Alliance considers online courses to be of the same standard as in-person courses and does not differentiate between the two. I recommend you check out ISSA's 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training.

💸 Can You Make Money as a Yoga Instructor?

Many people make a good income as a yoga instructors, but it is not easy. It generally means committing to giving multiple yoga classes a day, sometimes at various different studios and gyms and investing in marketing and self-promotion. Yoga teaching is often a good second income for those passionate about the practice.

🧘 Is It Better to Do Yoga Teacher Training Online or in Person?

Whether in-person or online yoga teacher training is best depends on you. In-person training is still considered the gold standard due to the personalized feedback, intensive learning environment, and the benefits of working as a cohort. However, online training tends to be more affordable, flexible, and accessible. The Yoga Alliance does not differentiate between online and in-person training when registering new yoga teachers.

❓ Is It Better to Do a YTT 200 or 300?

The 200-hour yoga teacher training course is considered the staple when it comes to qualifying as a registered yoga teacher. The 300-hour course is for those who want to deepen their practice further with more advanced training or specialize in certain areas, such as prenatal yoga or hot yoga. It is often a good idea to complete the 200-hour course first and only commit to the additional 100 hours to dive deeper after.

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Online vs In-Person: Pros & Cons – Final Words

If you want to deepen your personal yoga practice or become a yoga instructor, the 200-hour yoga teacher training course is designed for you. You can access complete in-person training or online classes and receive the same qualification.

Which approach is best depends on you, your learning style, and the accessibility of courses. Whichever you choose, it is sure to be a rewarding experience.