I just graduated from my 95 Hours’ Children’s Yoga Teacher Training! Due to the ongoing pandemic, I completed my kids teacher training online with a group of trainees from all over the world. I thought I’d use this post to tell you a little more about the training, and my experience of doing a Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) online.

I did my course with Carla Julian and Sasha Quince, both established kids’ yoga teachers in the UAE. I really love doing courses with two teachers that offer different teaching styles and perspectives (my 200 Hours was the same and it made it such a valuable experience). Carla is a former dancer, cat-lover and pioneer of sensory yoga, having taught yoga in schools in London and the UAE. Sasha is a Core Strength Vinyasa practitioner and teacher, a mother of two boys (who were amazing little yogis demonstrating throughout the course) and a yoga business mentor. 

Do you need to do a separate course to teach yoga to kids?

Yes! I’ve already completed a 200 Hours YTT (more on that here) but teaching kids is SO different to teaching adults. Doing a specific kids YTT really helps in adapting your cueing, breath awareness and instruction to make yoga fun and digestible to children aged 3 – 12. There are also anatomical differences in children, and a very different style of class whether you are teaching a 3 year old or a 12 year old. My course also covered Special Needs yoga which was really interesting and not something I had touched on before. 

Do you need to be a yoga teacher to do a kids YTT?

No! On my course we had a mix of current yoga teachers, children’s educators and parents of young children. While you don’t need to have done a previous YTT to take a course like this, I think the learning curve will be much easier if you already have a consistent yoga practice and some knowledge of yogic concepts. It makes sense that if you want to teach something to others it needs to be a passion and practice of your own.

Do you need to have kids/work with kids to do a kids YTT?

Definitely not! I was a bit worried that I’d be the only childfree person on a kids YTT but… it wasn’t the case at all! If you do have/work with children then there will be ways to more immediately put your new-found skills into use, especially given the current pandemic. I was able to rope my boyfriend in to helping me with the partner poses, and tested out my kids classes on some willing (adult!) friends. 

What can you do with your qualification?

Teach yoga to kids as an after-school activity, teach yoga in school hours (if you are already a teacher!), teach friend’s children, teach private classes, teach yoga online… lots of options! I also think that this qualification helped me with my adult classes, both in refining my cueing and in making yoga fun!

How does an online teacher training work?

We had sessions at the weekends only, from 10am – 1pm UAE time. In between we had various homework tasks to complete which could be done at any time. I found that this worked really well as three hours of Zoom time is probably my limit but I could space out the homework tasks throughout the week. The live sessions and homework adds up to 95 hours in total. My course ran for seven weeks with 35 mandatory contact hours and the rest of the time being self study. The self study time comprised reading, watching recorded observation classes, preparing practice teaching segments for the live session, and, later on in the course, preparing and recording video assessments. 

One of my concerns being online is that we wouldn’t get to practice teaching as much (the most valuable part of any YTT) but from the first session Sasha had us teaching one another and there were many chances to practice our new-found skills, both during the group sessions and for homework. 

Our final assessment consisted of a 30-minute live class (I taught and recorded mine via Zoom), and an online quiz made up of multiple choice and short written answers. 

Benefits of an online YTT:

Being able to take a course from your own home is pretty cool?! There’s no travel or additional expenses in terms of parking, buying coffee during breaks etc. I could still do my online teaching and finish up a class two minutes before logging into a session. I didn’t have to turn down any work opportunities to be able to do the course.

Course fees for online trainings will be lower. Your tutors are also in the comfort of their own homes and haven’t had to hire out a space.

The sessions were all recorded so they can be reviewed a second time, or caught up on if you have to miss the end of a session. 

If you have done a 200 Hours a few years back, this course was a nice review of some core concepts like yamas and niyamas, chakras and anatomy. 

Mine, Carla’s and another student’s cats got to join the sessions, too!

Downsides of an online YTT:

It’s harder to make friends/connections with an online course (although through a fluke Instagram post I discovered that a classmate and I have mutual friends and are almost neighbours?!). The group size for this course was around 24 students so I did sometimes find it hard to keep track of everyone and put names to faces.

You need to be already comfortable with using Zoom, Google Docs, Drive, making and uploading videos. My previous experience with online teaching came in really helpful. If you are a technophobe then expect to have a steep but necessary learning curve but to hopefully emerge feeling a bit more comfortable with technology!

There’s an added element of having to be an online teacher (this isn’t necessarily a downside!). My final assessment for this course (taught and recorded via Zoom) had an extra level of complexity compared to my final 200 Hours assessment (taught in a shala in front of real life people). Teaching online is a skill in itself and while it’s not the same as being in a room of students, I definitely think teaching online really helps to sharpen your skills and clarity as a teacher, and it looks like a fair few of us will be online teachers for a while longer…

It’s online so there will inevitably be technical issues, luckily these were rare on this course. 

My tips for effective online learning:

Set up an area in your home to be a learning/practice area, make sure it is quiet and free from distractions. Make sure you have a decent internet connection, and use a tablet or a laptop rather than your phone. 

For teaching practice, check your lighting, framing and sound quality. It makes such a difference to yours and others’ experiences if you can be seen and heard well. Invest in some Bluetooth headphones. 

MUTE YOURSELF WHEN NOT SPEAKING/PARTICIPATING!

Block out time each week for your homework so you don’t fall behind. If you need to record video assessments, make sure you have a quiet space and preferably record in daylight hours. 

You totally don’t need anyone else to help you, or to find children to teach, but if you can invite a partner/friend for the partner poses and adjustments, and teach a friend your sequences then I think it will be a more fun experience if you can involve people in your life.

Would I recommend an online YTT?

Yes! But… I think if you are looking to do your first 200 Hours YTT then maybe wait until you can do it in person, while I’d happily do another 200 Hours or my 300 Hours online, I don’t think anything can replicate the experience of being with others for your first training.

Research your tutors well, find out about their experience with teaching online trainings, in-person trainings and…teaching in general. The fact that I already knew one of my tutors made it a much easier experience as connection you have offline feels much more natural online (I had met Carla a few times in real life and already knew of Sasha via Instagram). 

Be realistic about job opportunities after your YTT. I am not expecting to immediately start teaching kids in real life in the middle of a pandemic but I’m really glad I used this time to up-skill and know that I can teach kids when both me and the world are ready!

Have you done any online trainings and courses during this time? Would you consider a kids’ YTT? Let me know in the comments!  You can contact Carla here if want more information on this course!

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