A yoga expert is a highly trained teacher with the skills to modify and adapt their style’s choreography and communication for the unique health, medical, or well-being needs of students. They also have the knowledge and experience to help their students explore and navigate any discomfort or pain that arises during their practice.
They’ve graduated from a 200 or 500 hour yoga teacher training program and are listed with Yoga Alliance or another credentialing agency. This is the most common and widely recognized certification.
This means they have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the yoga practice including anatomy, physiology, class preparation, cueing and communication, and posture content.
In addition to this, an RYT has the skill and ability to help their students explore the deeper spiritual aspects of yoga. This includes chanting, meditation, and philosophy.
Yoga instructors can be found across the globe. Each country has its own yoga certifications and levels of expertise. This can make it difficult to assess the quality of an instructor.
Those with the most extensive credentials may teach more advanced classes such as Ashtanga. This highly physically demanding style was developed by K. Pattabhi Jois in the 1970s and adheres to the eight limbs of yoga laid out by Patanjali. This requires a high level of strength and flexibility as well as the ability to follow set sequences of poses linked by vinyasas. Similarly, the Iyengar yoga teacher training course is meticulous and focuses on alignment using props. This is perfect for detail oriented perfectionists who want a more therapeutic but physically challenging yoga style.