Thousands of people get certified to teach yoga every year. Numerous organizations offer yoga certifications that you can study at home or with a group over the course of weeks or months. Health professionals and leading health organizations say yoga has benefits for the entire family. Though initial training programs were geared toward teaching adults, new training programs offer training for teaching toddlers, children, and teens.
Yoga Standards
The Yoga Alliance is the recognized standard agency for yoga certification. Yoga Alliance has been in operation since 1999 and maintains a list of Yoga Alliance certified instructors and training facilities. Yoga Alliance released Children's Yoga Standards at the end of 2010 to ensure standardized techniques and protocols for teaching yoga to children. There also are programs that provide certification in child yoga that are not affiliated with Yoga Alliance. Whatever certification program you choose should provide anatomy, biomechanics, safety, and a variety of ways to format your class to benefit all fitness levels.
Karma Kids Yoga
Karma Kids was started by Shari Vilchez-Blatt and is based in New York City. This yoga certification covers child-friendly yoga poses, games, stories, breathing, and relaxation exercises. Teachers learn creative ways to build confidence, trust, and teamwork. They also learn safe, fun, and effective teaching techniques for toddlers through teens. There are more than 350 yoga poses and games to learn. A 500-hour teacher training is available. The current fee of $795 includes a KKY Teacher Training certificate, a teacher-training manual, and a CD of children's yoga music.
Radiant Child Yoga
Radiant Child Yoga offers a 30-hour basic training that will prepare you to teach yoga to children. Individuals interested in obtaining a 200-hour certification recognized by Yoga Alliance may complete the Radiant Child Family Yoga Training certification. This yoga certification will allow you to specialize in teaching yoga for children and the entire family. Radiant Child Yoga certifications are offered in the United States throughout the year. Fees vary based on certifications chosen and range from $325 to $2,935.
Yoga Rocks
Yoga Rocks offers a 100-hour teacher training certification. The basic yoga certification offers two days of interactive training, the opportunity to observe a live class, and a certificate of completion. The current cost of certification is $400. Classes are based in New York with learning also available online. Individuals certified through Yoga Alliance at the 200 or 500-hour level may complete the Yoga Rocks certification and obtain a RYT-C specialty in children's yoga.
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