What are the next steps on your Yoga journey?

by WellBeing Team August 31, 2022

Choosing the right training

Byron Yoga Centre, one of Australia’s longest-running yoga teacher training organisations, offers a wide range of training and options, whether you are just starting out on your teaching path with a 200-hour course or an established teacher looking to increase your skills and knowledge.

Joining the Byron Yoga Centre community

A career as a yoga teacher is an ongoing journey. When you sign up for training with Byron Yoga Centre you join a community that will support you every step of your yoga teaching path. You can explore specialist areas on the six- and four-day modular courses, you can treat yourself to a retreat at the tranquil Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and you will be supported by the extensive community of Byron Yoga Centre alumni.

Taking the first step: 200-hour, Level 1

The residential courses at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre are fantastic value and highly regarded within the industry as a quality training. Drawing on its 35-year history, Byron Yoga Centre’s 200-hour course is an ideal foundation for your yoga teaching career.

You can choose from either a 20-day complete course where you gain the certification on the successful completion
of the residential intensive, or a 12-day concise course that requires some additional online and correspondence elements post-intensive. If you are not ready to commit to dates for the residential course but you are keen to get going on the correspondence components, you can select the Flexible Learning option. This style of course is most suited to experienced yoga practitioners or those who have already been teaching informally and who are confident, independent learners.

Anna, the reservations manager at Byron Yoga Centre, tells us, “It takes about six months to one year for most of our students from the 12-day Level 1 to complete their assignments, teaching practice and journaling and to become certified teachers. I would recommend the 20-day complete course option to anyone who is keen to get started on their yoga teaching career.”

While a stay at the tranquil Byron Yoga Retreat Centre is on most yogis’ bucket list, some people prefer a part-time course. Byron Yoga Centre partners with yoga studios in several major cities to offer weekend part-time trainings in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

Byron Yoga Centre encourages you to research the options and to contact them for advice to ensure you pick the course that best suits your individual yoga path.

500-Hour RYT (Recognised Yoga Teacher) certification

More and more, those who are serious about making yoga teaching a viable career are looking to stand out from the crowd with a more advanced qualification. Byron Yoga Centre offers a 40-day course which combines the 200-hour Level 1 and 300-hour Level 2 for a 500-hour RYT certification with Yoga Alliance.

Another option is to do the Level 1 and Level 2 as two separate residential courses, perhaps with a six-month or one-year period between them. This would suit people who prefer a slower, steadier learning pace with time to integrate the experience and knowledge.

Taking the next step: 300-hour, Level 2

If you are a teacher looking to deepen your knowledge and increase your skills, it may be time to consider a 300-hour advanced training. Byron Yoga Centre’s course is open to anyone with a Yoga Alliance-approved 200-hour certificate. Non-Byron Yoga Centre graduates just need to do a short online conversion course.

Progressing on the teaching path

Byron Yoga Centre believes in supporting its students throughout their yoga teaching career and is continually developing and launching specialist trainings. Currently on offer are courses in Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Remedial Yoga, Trauma-Aware Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training.

These are delivered several times each year over six- or four-day residential trainings at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre. The Yin and Restorative courses are scheduled back to back and can be booked as a package.

10865NAT Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching

Byron Yoga Centre is one of only a few registered training organisations to offer yoga teacher trainings. In this capacity it is able to offer the industry-leading Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching as a 12-month (20 hours per week) non-residential course in Melbourne as well as Byron Bay. (Australian students can apply for Austudy and international students qualify for a 12-month student visa to Australia.) Following on from the Certificate IV, Byron Yoga Centre now offers a two-year 10677NAT Diploma in Yoga Management.

Byron Yoga Retreat Centre

All the residential courses are at the tranquil Byron Yoga Retreat Centre. Guests enjoy delicious, healthy vegetarian food and the heated mineral salt pool and have easy access to Byron Bay town and beaches, just a 10-minute bike ride from the retreat centre. These all-inclusive residential trainings represent excellent value for money and are an incredible experience for anyone wanting to take the next step in their yoga.