How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training: 10 Questions to Ask a School

The surest way to choose a yoga teacher training is to ask every school the same ten questions and compare the replies in writing. Start with what you can check yourself, such as the Yoga Alliance listing and the names of the lead trainers. Then move on to the syllabus, the daily schedule, the fee and the booking terms.

Course photos all look alike, but answers don't. A good school replies to each question plainly, and it's happy for you to check what it says. The questions below work for any school, in Rishikesh or close to home, and that includes ours. For the wider picture of course levels, certification and life after the course, see our complete guide to yoga teacher training.

How to choose a yoga teacher training: what should you ask first?

Work through these ten questions in order, because the first few rule schools out fastest. Send them by email, so you keep every reply.

1. Registration: can you find the school in the Yoga Alliance directory yourself?
2. Lead trainers: who teaches each subject, and what training do they hold?
3. Syllabus and style: which modules, how many hours each, and which style of yoga?
4. Group size: how many students share one batch?
5. Practice teaching: how often will you teach, and who gives feedback?
6. Daily schedule: what does an ordinary day look like, hour by hour?
7. Fee: what does the price cover, and what costs extra?
8. Terms: what happens to your deposit if your plans change?
9. Graduates: what do recent students say, and can you speak to one?
10. Fit: do the place, the season and your health suit the course?

Is the school really registered with Yoga Alliance?

Check the listing yourself in the Yoga Alliance directory rather than trusting a logo on a website. First search the school's name, then open its profile and confirm the level, such as RYS 200 for a foundation course.

Two short terms matter here. RYS means Registered Yoga School, the credential a school holds. RYT means Registered Yoga Teacher, the credential a graduate can apply for after finishing a course at an RYS. Yoga Alliance's help article on finding a training also mentions that a school occasionally fails to show up in a search. If that happens, write to Yoga Alliance and ask them to confirm it.

Triguna Yoga School holds RYS 200 and RYS 300 registration, and you can look us up the same way. Keep in mind that registration is a private standard, not a licence. What studios ask for depends on where you plan to teach, so check that locally.

Who are the lead trainers, and what does each one teach?

Ask for the name, training and years of teaching of every lead trainer, and which subjects each person takes. A school that can't name its trainers before you book is hard to judge, because you can't see who will teach you.

Yoga Alliance's 2025 standards for registered schools expect the lead trainers of a 200 hour course to hold the E-RYT 500 credential and to teach at least 150 of the 200 hours. E-RYT stands for Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher. So it's fair to ask who these people are, how long they have taught, and whether they will be in the room every day or only open the course.

At Triguna, each teacher on the 200 hour course has a clear subject:

• Yogi Prakash, the founder, teaches yoga philosophy.
• Vikas Bisht, an E-RYT 500, teaches Shatkarma, pranayama and Hatha yoga.
• Ravi Prakash teaches the Ashtanga Vinyasa Primary and Secondary Series.
• Subhash Petwal teaches Hatha, Vinyasa and restorative yoga.
• Shakti teaches meditation and internal management.

Our teachers page lists each person's training and credentials.

What does the syllabus cover, and which style is taught?

Ask for the full list of modules and the hours given to each, not just a row of headings. Practice teaching, anatomy and philosophy need real time on the timetable, not a single lecture.

Style also matters as much as content. Hatha yoga holds postures longer and suits a steady practice built on alignment. Ashtanga, on the other hand, follows a set sequence and moves faster. If you are unsure which suits you, our comparison of Hatha vs Ashtanga yoga sets out the differences. Course length is the other big choice, and our article on 100 hour vs 200 hour yoga teacher training helps with that.

On our 200 hour course you study Hatha and Ashtanga with some Vinyasa. Alongside them come pranayama (breathing practice), Shatkarma (yogic cleansing), mudras (hand gestures), mantra chanting, philosophy, anatomy, teaching methodology, Yoga Nidra, meditation and naturopathy. You also learn more than 50 Hatha postures and at least 20 Ashtanga postures. The course suits beginner and intermediate students aged 18 to 60, and classes run in English.

How many students are in each group?

Ask for the largest number of students a batch can hold, and how many teachers are in the room during asana classes. Yoga Alliance's help article suggests asking each school about its teacher-to-student ratio directly.

Group size decides how often a teacher sees your alignment and hears you teach. In a big group, for example, you might wait days for a correction. In a small one, a teacher spots the problem on the first morning. Also ask whether your batch shares classes with other courses, because that changes the real size of the room.

Triguna keeps its classes small, and they take place in the same building as the rooms, so teachers stay close at hand all day. Still, ask for the number for your own batch. The same question is fair at every school, including ours.

How much practice teaching will you do?

Ask how many times you will teach your classmates, for how long, and who gives you feedback afterwards. Teaching skill grows only by teaching, so this answer separates a teacher training from a long yoga holiday.

“Students will take turns practicing their teaching skills by performing in front of their peers and teachers.”

From the 200 hour course outline, Triguna Yoga School

After that, good follow-up questions are practical ones. Will you lead a full class by the end, or only single postures? Will you learn hands-on assists? Is there a practical assessment? On our course, the methodology module covers class planning, demonstration, voice, verbal cues, observing and correcting, and assisting inversions.

What does a normal day on the course look like?

Ask for the hour-by-hour daily schedule and add up the class time yourself. A full-time residential course often runs from early morning to evening, with two practice sessions and theory in between.

The numbers should add up. According to its hours-per-day policy, Yoga Alliance allows registered schools no more than 14 hours of instruction a day. So 200 hours can't fit into fewer than 15 days. Even a course that comes close, however, leaves almost no time to rest or let the material settle.

Our 200 hour course runs for 23 days. The course page gives this day:

• 6:30 to 7:30 AM: Shatkarma.
• 7:30 to 9:00 AM: Hatha yoga, then breakfast at 9:00.
• 10:00 to 11:00 AM: yoga philosophy.
• 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM: alignment and adjustment.
• 1:00 PM: lunch and rest.
• 3:00 to 4:00 PM: anatomy.
• 4:15 to 5:30 PM: Ashtanga yoga, then tea.
• 6:00 to 7:00 PM: meditation, then dinner.

What does the course fee include?

Ask for a written list of what the fee covers and what costs extra. Then compare totals, not headline prices, because one school's room and meals can be another school's extras.

• Is accommodation included, and for how many nights?
• How many meals a day come with the course?
• Are the manual and the certificate part of the fee?
• What do air conditioning or a private room add?
• Is an airport pick-up included?

Registration with Yoga Alliance after the course is separate, and you pay that fee to Yoga Alliance. At Triguna, the 200 hour fee includes the training, accommodation for all 23 days, three sattvic meals a day and the course completion certificate. Sattvic means simple, fresh vegetarian food. Air conditioning costs extra from May to August, and travel and personal spending are up to you. Current fees by room type are on the 200 hour course page.

What are the deposit and cancellation terms?

Ask how much deposit you pay, whether any of it comes back if you cancel, and whether you can move to a later date instead. Get the answers in writing before you pay anything.

Plans change. Flights move, work shifts and people fall ill. That is why a clear date-change rule is often worth more than a small saving on the fee. If a school pushes you to pay the full amount today, treat that as a reason to wait. You can ask us about our terms before you send the application form, and you should ask every other school the same.

What do recent graduates say about the course?

Read reviews from the last year or two, on more than one platform, and favour ones that describe teachers and daily life in detail. Short five-star lines tell you very little, so skip past them.

Better still, ask the school whether you can talk to a recent graduate. Then ask them what surprised them, whether they felt ready to teach at the end, and what they would change. A school that trusts its course will often say yes.

Do the place, the season and your health suit the course?

Think about where you learn best and when you can travel, then check the weather for those months. After all, the location shapes the whole course, from your sleep to your food.

A yoga teacher training in India gives full immersion close to where the tradition comes from. Rishikesh sits on the Ganga at the foot of the Himalaya and is full of ashrams and yoga schools. Our guide to the best time for yoga teacher training in Rishikesh goes month by month, and our article on whether Rishikesh is safe covers practical safety. Online courses cost less and fit around work. Unlike an in-person course, though, they give little hands-on correction and few chances to teach real people.

What are the warning signs of a weak teacher training?

The clearest warning signs are claims you can't check. Use this table to compare what you hear with what a clear answer looks like.

No single sign proves a course is poor. Two or three together, however, are a good reason to keep looking. That is the heart of how to choose a yoga teacher training: trust what you can verify. If you are new to yoga, our 8-week preparation plan helps you arrive ready, and the overview of all our courses compares dates and levels.