Search for a yoga teacher training today and you will find two very different things: courses you take from home on a laptop, and residential courses where you live at the school for several weeks. Both can lead to a certificate. They are not the same experience, and the right one depends on what you want from it.
We teach residential courses only, in Uttarkashi in the Himalayas, so we have a view. We have tried to make this comparison fair anyway, because the wrong choice costs you money and time either way.
What online yoga teacher training gives you
- Lower course fees. There is no room or food to pay for, so the fee is usually lower.
- Flexibility. You can study around work and family, often at your own pace.
- No travel. No flights, visas or time away from home.
- Good for theory. Philosophy, anatomy and the history of yoga can be taught well through lectures and reading.
What is hard to get through a screen
- Hands-on correction. A teacher in the room sees your alignment from every side and adjusts you. On a camera they see one angle, if your connection allows.
- Teaching real bodies. Learning to teach means practising on fellow students with different bodies, injuries and levels, and being observed while you do it.
- Immersion. On a residential course your whole day is practice, study, food and rest on one rhythm. At home, work and messages interrupt.
- Discipline. A 6 am pranayama class is easier when everyone around you is getting up for it.
- Community. Many students say the people they trained with were as important as the syllabus.
Is an online certificate recognised?
It can be. Yoga Alliance allows Registered Yoga Schools to deliver their training online, so an online certificate from a registered school can lead to registration as an RYT. Before you pay, check two things: that the school is a Registered Yoga School, and how many hours are taught live by a teacher rather than as recordings.
The cost, compared honestly
Online course fees are usually lower, but a residential fee normally includes your room and food for the whole course. Our 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training is 22 days, residential, for a maximum of 20 students, and the fee of ₹25,000 (dormitory), ₹35,000 (double sharing) or ₹49,000 (single room) includes tuition, study materials, accommodation and sattvic meals. When you compare, add your living costs at home to the online fee, and travel to the residential one.
Who online training suits
- You cannot leave work or family for three or four weeks.
- You mainly want to deepen your own understanding, not teach full classes soon.
- You already practise regularly with a good teacher who can correct you in person.
Who in-person training suits
- You want to teach, and to feel confident doing it from your first class.
- You learn best by doing, with feedback.
- You want a real break from daily life to focus on practice.
- You are a beginner and want a teacher watching your alignment from day one.
A middle way
Some students read the theory first at home, the Yoga Sutras, basic anatomy, the names of the asanas, and then come for a residential course with a head start. Our free asana library and articles on yoga philosophy and pranayama are a good place to begin.
Questions to ask any course, online or in person
- Is the school a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School, and at which level?
- How many hours are live, and how many are recorded?
- How much supervised teaching practice will you do, and who gives you feedback?
- How large is the group, and who teaches each subject?
- What is included in the fee, and what costs extra?
If you decide that living and practising in the Himalayas for three weeks is right for you, see our 200 hour course or read what a day in teacher training looks like.
