If you are in the same position as I was two years ago when I decided to take my study of yoga further and train to become a yoga teacher you will probably be finding that you have a huge choice of yoga teacher training in India. How on earth do you make a choice from such a selection? When I made my decision to train I was in a position where I could go anywhere on earth to do it so my first, most obvious limit to choice was removed. I discovered that that made life harder!

If you are in a situation where you know you want to train and you have to do it in your own country that makes it easier. It is then always a good idea to ask around starting with your yoga teacher to find out how they did their training and with which program. There are different schools of yoga from Asgtanga to Vinyasa and you have probably found a particular approach that you like and feel comfortable about training in. If not: keep looking. There will be a yoga style that is right for you and it is worth finding before you commit to training.

There are different programmes on offer from 200 hour yoga teacher training in India Certificate level which can all be done in one go at a residential to one where it is spread part-time at weekends over a number of years. This can also help you make your decision if only one of these options will really work with your lifestyle. There are also 500 hour advanced Diploma programmes that incorporate the basic 200 hour Teacher Training but then extend it to different types of yoga and far more in depth information on history, metaphysics, healing approaches that complement yoga, meditation and so on. These programmes can also be done as an intensive or as modules spread over time. Again your lifestyle dictates what will work for you. Also what kind of person you are will play a part as some people love to do things intensely and in depth. Other are more bite sized approach which enables them to learn a bit, try it out, make it their own, then move on to the next bit. This kind of person may well take some years to do a whole 500 hour programme and be a very good teacher for most of that time. It is worth knowing that you need programme in order to be qualified to teach beginners classes in yoga. You can just do that and start working as a teacher as soon as you are qualified — or sooner if you have the opportunity while you train!

Costs can vary and courses that include a residential element can add up. However it is worth working out how much you would pay in travel costs and food and comparing it before you write off the residential options. They can be surprisingly reasonable but the sums need to be done.

Finally it is also worth joining in with any yoga schools online forum and asking for some feedback from students about their experiences to get a feel for the kind of thing you could expect and the kind of people you could expect to meet.