yoga certification

Kids Yoga Teacher Certification – Finding The Best Training & Hiring the Best Teacher

What does it mean to be a Certified Teacher?
This post goes out to all those who are interested in becoming kids yoga teachers and also those who are looking for a kids yoga teacher. Both should remember: If you are wondering what to look for in a good course or teacher, start by looking at their reputation.

Just Because It’s Called Yoga Doesn’t Mean It Is
Here’s a little story that explains why: Every year at the Yoga Show in Toronto I’ve been part of A Childrens Yoga Network booth. And every year I’ve had at least one person come to vent about a person not actually authorized by IKYTA to train KY teachers but who managed to get registered with Yoga Alliance.Every year I hear of how this “teacher trainer” has ripped people off in various ways. Now, I don’t actually know this person, but I have a couple of close friends who are among the disgruntled customers.Every year new people come with the same story of being scammed.Yes scamming is horrible and inexcusable and unethical. I heard this teacher was “under investigation” with Yoga Alliance, but somehow is still listed there now. He’s even moved to another part of the city and opened up under a new studio name. But his name has not changed.My question is: How can people put down thousands of dollars on yoga teacher training without doing any research?

Nothing Replaces Experience – So Use It
Yoga teachers are being turned out by the thousands all over the place. Some are good teachers, some are great teachers, and some are under investigation. Whether you are looking for a course for yourself or hiring a kids yoga teacher don’t let yourself get pressured into something. Find out what you are getting in to.

What My Certificate of Kids Yoga Training Means
When I give a twelve hour kids yoga training course the certificate says that they have completed 12 hours of kids yoga training. If they follow the training they will have an effective curriculum with six weeks of kids yoga to teach and expand upon.

What My Certificate Does NOT Say
The certificate does not say whether the bearer is now a good yoga teacher. Nor does it say the bearer is of good character, has a clear criminal record, always treats kids with respect, or will follow the program. Find these things out. Most places that hire people to work with kids do a criminal reference check with the police. It is just standard procedure and is done by the organization so the results are sent to them – untampered.

Then evaluate the teacher’s abilities. Even with a great teacher, not every teacher fits with every studio, daycare or school. Not every student fits with every training course. Each has their own personality and philosophy.

Hiring a Yoga Teacher
If you are hiring a kids yoga teacher, you can start by doing a trial run of a few weeks. You’ll know, sometimes after one class, if you want to keep this teacher on board.

If you are thinking of taking a course, do your homework. The more time, money, and commitment it is, the more homework you will want to do.

One of the reason’s I started blogging was so people could get to know me through my posts. It helps me connect with others interested in kids yoga and helps them get to know what I stand for.

What do you know about your Teacher?
A website will show you the Teacher’s philosophy at its best and this is a starting point. Read their work and listen to what they have to say. Is there a connection? If so, then do some other investigation. If you’re going to invest a few thousand dollars, ask around about the course and check them out on-line. If it’s a 3 hour course you’re not risking much, but for a 300 hour course – you don’t want to waste your time.

Be Smart – Invest Wisely
I’m sure there are many who have had great experiences with the teacher I mentioned earlier and have no complaints at all. In the end we live and learn with the choices we’ve made and often they propel us to learn something so deeply we grow with all the fertilizer we’ve acquired!

And sometimes we can save ourselves hassle by learning from others mistakes.

Check out my upcoming course on Teaching Kids Yoga and join us if you want.

Yoga Certification – Who Can Teach Kids Yoga?

Continuing on the questions that came in around getting certified as a kids yoga teacher.

When it comes to getting certified to teach kids yoga the ideal would be to have Yoga Teacher certification. I could write pages on what this means and there are many commentaries on what this means so I’ll keep my opinions about it as brief, well – as brief as possible.

We’re in a new era. The thousand year old tradition of Yoga used to be study with a Yoga Teacher/Master/Guru, the passing on of technique, and the transmitting of Universal truths, the timeless wisdom of the Ages. In this way teachings were established, lost, and sometimes misinterpreted.

Old School Teacher Training

For some students it would take years before their Guru told them teach, for others it would happen in a day. There were no set number of hours for certification and in those remote caves and monasteries, forests and farms, the Guru sculptured the student until they were ready.

Then yoga came to the west and people began to question how this system could ever translate here. Some people were holding yoga teacher certifications in a weekend and some took years. Is this fair? How do we know if they are good or not?

The Movement for Regulations in Yoga Teacher Training

Then, a movement began to create a standard for yoga teachers. I remember hearing about it at the Kundalini Yoga retreats while it was happening, and it didn’t sound like an easy process. It involved many lineages of yoga coming together and agreeing on a number of hours (200 for level 1), a curriculum (see here), and a structure. In September 1999 Yoga Alliance began registering teachers based on standardized training. These standards are spreading all over the world.

It can be hard to get a yoga teaching job if you aren’t certified, unless you offer yoga in your home to people who just want to learn from you.

Kids Yoga Has No Special Requirements for Yoga Teachers

As far as I know, there are no extra standards for teaching kids yoga. And I’m not going to suggest it to anyone!

The Cost of Getting Certified and Becoming a Teacher Trainer

When I was certified (1998) by KRI, before the registry was in place, my teacher training course cost about $1200. Now, a 200 Hour course costs between $3,000 – $5,000. On top of that your Yoga Alliance registration costs $110 the first year and $55 – $400 (if you want to train others as a registered school) to renew each year. (I have never bothered to register with Yoga Alliance, but have looked into it as more people are asking about it).

My Kundalini Yoga Teacher’s Association dues in 2009 were $68 (US) per year (at least I get a profile page on this site).
If you want to meet the standards to become a teacher trainer registered with Yoga Alliance, you have to have advanced training at the 500 level. In Kundalini yoga it could cost you another $5,000 – 8,000 in tuition. But that doesn’t automatically allow you to be a yoga teacher trainer. There is a whole other apprenticing process on top of it.
I think other styles of yoga may be less/more costly and regulated. If you know leave a comment.

Become a Certified Yoga Teacher, But if you can’t…

Of course I recommend that everyone who wants to teach children’s yoga become a certified yoga teacher. But if you are making $10 an hour working at a daycare and want to introduce children’s yoga for fifteen minutes during your circle, or a school teacher who wants to do yoga for a break in the classroom, or a parent meditating to help kids build their concentration and reduce their stress, there are safe ways to do kids yoga until you have the opportunity to become certified.
For me, the important thing is to introduce kids to yoga in a safe and fun way, so they grow up enjoying exercise and meditation which in turn can lead to greater joy in life. I don’t think certification can guarantee this, it is up to the teacher to teach what they know and to be safe and have fun doing it.

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses and Dates in Toronto at this link — Our next Kids Yoga Teacher Training starts soon!

Aruna Humphrys
© YoungYogaMasters

Questions from Readers About Becoming a Kids Yoga Teacher

These two questions came in from readers about certification for teaching kids yoga:

Hello,
I am wanting to know the best yoga courses to do to learn to teach Children and adolescents. I have already done over 300 hours of a full-time advanced diploma in yoga teaching here in Australia, but would love to bring yoga into schools in the future.

I would appreciate your advice. I like the idea of combing yoga with art, music, story telling and thinks like that.

Kind regards,
Rebecca Atlas, Australia.

and this question:

I am interested in workshops that could certify me to be able to teach yoga to children. I am a certified Kindergarten teacher with my Masters in Early childhood education and I love yoga and attend weekly classes.

Since Sept. I have incorporated yoga into my classroom for the children, and I see them more relaxed and able to concentrate better on math and reading assignments.

If you could tell me how I can get started to begin my training I would appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Karen McQuade, USA

Children’s Yoga Certification – Part 1

These two inquiries from readers of ‘ Teaching Kids Yoga’ open up the topic of getting certified as a children’s yoga teacher. They help to show the different backgrounds of people wanting to learn to teach kids yoga. One question is from an advanced level yoga teacher, the other from a school teacher with a Masters degree.

My teacher training courses are a mix of people like Rebecca and Karen. School teachers and Yoga teachers attend as well as those with Early Childhood Education Diplomas (ECE’s) and then there are the parents. Last course I had three women who work with children in specialized fields like language development and anxiety disorders. Some were PhD’s using the tools in a professional capacity and others just want to learn some yoga tools to help their kids.

So when it comes to the question of getting certified as a kids yoga teacher I am always hesitant to open this can of worms by saying that only certain people should be allowed to teach kids yoga. Next post I’ll get into how and why there are no standard regulations for teaching kids yoga. But for now, here are some steps that could help you get the experience you need to teach kids.

Kids Yoga Certification is Filling Your Toolbox

When working with kids you need a whole toolbox of training to draw from. Whether it was writing a doctorate or attending years of yoga classes all these add to your toolbox.

Do lots of Yoga

So in terms of adding to your toolbox, let’s start with the basics. Do lots of yoga yourself.

Personally, I began with three years taking yoga classes attending three times a week before I took the yoga teacher training course. I took that many classes because I loved how I felt doing yoga so much. I became a yoga teacher because I wanted to make a career change, and that was what my teacher said I had to do if I wanted to teach. I was more of a rule follower back then!

Develop a Vision of the Teacher You Want to Be

Meanwhile, I experienced a powerful transformation for eight years studying under my mentor and teacher, Tulshi Sen. While he doesn’t teach yoga poses, he taught me the philosophy and reality of yoga and meditation. This was the key for me to develop a vision and a direction for myself as a teacher.

Specialize in Children’s Yoga

For a few years I worked part time as a supply staff in a daycare. This was great on-the-job training. In 2003, I took 30 hours of training with Shakta Kaur Khalsa. I still use many of the songs and games from both these sources in my classes.

Kids yoga became a study and a practice. For a long time I got every book on kids’ yoga I came across. If a book had one tool for me, I put it in my toolbox, and was happy.

Eventually You Develop Your own Style and Curriculum

Then after eight years of teaching kids yoga I developed a program that put together the best of all these influences. This is the Kids Yoga Teacher Certification that has grown into a 95 Hour Registered Children’s Yoga School. This training is offered in many cities across Canada and I am hosted by others who bring me into their city.

This is just the beginning of the answer to the question of Kids Yoga Teacher Certification.

Aruna Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

Registration is now open for my next Kids Yoga Teacher Training! I invite everyone to join me for this course to build your skills and fill up that toolbox. Details here.