Posted on: August 29, 2026

Is There a Right Time For Yoga Teacher Training?

Is there a right time to begin a yoga teacher training program?

Maybe.

Probably not.

There are certainly times that are less than optimal. Not a universal “wrong” that applies to all people, just perhaps not ideal for you.

And there are times when you might get more out of your teacher training. Times when you have some resources to commit – time, energy, bandwidth – and some life-space to build momentum in your practice and studies.

But there is not a particular state of being, thinking, or doing when it comes to undertaking a training. But there are a few questions you might ask yourself:

  • Do you have a regular practice – ideally at least 2 years?
  • Do you have a curiosity to learn more about yoga practice, philosophy, history, and ethics?
  • Do you have a love of yoga that you want to share with others?

If you answered yes, then anytime is the right time!

There is no right time. Just time and what you choose to do with it.

I bring this up because a lot of the emails I field from prospective students share a similar concern – how do I know if I’m ready? How do I know it’s the right time for me to study yoga?

I wonder what these questions are really asking.  Are they asking, “am I good enough at yoga asanas?” Are they asking, “do I know enough about yoga?” Are they asking, “will I find the confidence to stand in front of others and teach?” Or are they asking, “will I be safe from making mistakes?”

If these are your questions, I have answers!

1) Am I “Good Enough” At Yoga?

There is no “good enough” at yoga. Should you have a regular practice? Yes. Do you have to do every pose, or every variation of a pose? No.

The yoga community needs teachers of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, needs, and goals. Not every student wants to do handstands, and not every teacher will teach handstands. Many more students need a teacher who understands how to accommodate for a tricky knee or find a variation that makes their breathing a little easier or just listen to their bodies to make conscious choices on and off the mat.  If you aren’t sure that I’m right about this, ask your regular teacher if they have ever wondered the same thing.

2) Do I Know Enough About Yoga?

No one knows everything about yoga – yoga is too vast! – and the process of teacher training is designed to provide you with a foundation of knowledge of yoga’s history, philosophy, ethics, and a range of practices from asana to breathwork, meditation to mudra and mantra. If you want to know more about yoga in advance of considering teaching, now is a great time to start reading, watching, and listening. Ask your regular teacher (or me) for recommendations for resources, they will be glad to share them with you.

3) Will I Find the Confidence to Stand in Front of Others to Teach?

Every student/teacher has a different relationship to confidence – both inner “felt” confidence and outward “seen” confidence. In your training you will develop confidence through practice. You will study a variety of teaching methods – cuing, demonstrating, holding space, opening and closing a class – and then practice all these skills.  By seeing that you are capable in using these strategies to guide students through a class you will develop confidence in your teaching.

The trick to confidence is that it takes practice. We build our confidence “muscles” by doing hard things and discovering that we can do them. Our efforts might not be perfect, and we will certainly keep honing our skills, but by doing we learn, and through learning we develop confidence, clarity, and openness. Waiting doesn’t have the same results.

Not sure if I’m right about this? Ask a confident-seeming teacher if they started out that way and, if not, how they built their own confidence.

4) Will I Be Safe from Making Mistakes?

No. You will definitely make mistakes.

The scary thing about teaching is that you’ll have to learn and evolve in public. The lovely thing about teaching is that your students will be learning and evolving along with you, and it’s a beautiful journey to be on together.

I’ve been teaching for almost 3 decades and I look back to how very unready I was to begin teaching (scary!) but then see all the years of deep learning, the amazing students, the worldwide adventures, and the success that I’ve seen over the years, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Even my (many) mistakes!

And that’s the thing; you’ll definitely make mistakes. You will also have successes. You’ll take interesting side paths in your journey. You’ll try things that work and don’t work, and you’ll do a lot of adjusting and adapting.

This process will go on – today, next week, next year, in 10 years, you’ll keep learning, evolving, growing, and sharing yoga.

It takes curiosity, humility, and persistence – but, to me at least, it’s all worth it.

The process of teacher training teaches us so much about ourselves. We learn to tackle issues like perfectionism, procrastination, time management, energy management, finding value in making mistakes in pursuit of our goals.

So, what if you wait until the perfect time to study and teach?

There is no harm in waiting until you do feel more ready and resourced to begin a yoga teacher training program.  You know you best –  your life rhythm, your resources, and what you need in order to commit to a teacher training program.

I’ve taken courses when my life is in turmoil and it’s been transformative. I’ve also waited to take courses for when I have more battery power and that’s been the right decision for that moment.  There has never been a time that I would describe as “perfect.”

You can’t wait for a perfect time to start yoga teacher training, just like you can’t wait for a perfect time to start teaching or do anything worth doing.

What I’ve learned from 20-years of yoga teacher trainees is that there will never be a time when you will feel you have perfected your practice, when you have enough yoga knowledge, when life is less busy…you’ll have to just dive in at some point.

The point at which you dive in, and the degree of that dive, that is something only you can decide.  Once you take that step, a new journey begins!

If you want some help in understanding the commitment of yoga teacher training, and talk through your needs, aims, and intentions, I can help:

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