Updated October 2026
Most yoga teacher trainings ask for less than people expect: a completed application, a regular yoga practice, and, at many programs, maybe proof that you’re at least 18. You don’t need to be flexible or able to do advanced poses, and a background in anatomy or fitness isn’t required to enroll.
The real requirements are the ones you bring yourself: time in your week, curiosity about how a class is built, and the willingness to stand up and teach before you feel ready. I’ve been training yoga teachers since 2011, so here’s what programs tend to ask for, what they don’t, and how to use the weeks before your first session so you walk in prepared.
What are the requirements for yoga teacher training?
The requirements for a 200-hour yoga teacher training are usually an application, tuition (or a payment plan), and a minimum age, often 18. Some programs also ask for a certain amount of prior practice, a short interview, or a letter about why you want to train. Each school sets its own list, so read the admissions page of every program you’re considering.
Parker University’s yoga teacher training lists an age minimum (“at least 18 years of age”) and no prior yoga experience requirement at all (Parker University, admission requirements). A 30-day residential intensive at Mount Madonna lists no prerequisites beyond registration (Mount Madonna 200-hour intensive). Other programs ask for some amount of prior practice, and how much is enough is its own question; I answer it in detail in how much yoga experience you need before teacher training.
What isn’t required to start yoga teacher training?
You aren’t required to be flexible, young, thin, injury-free, or able to do any particular pose. Those are the worries I hear most from people deciding whether to apply, and none of them appear on the requirements list of any reputable program I know of.
Students need a yoga teacher who can see them and explain the practice clearly, and none of that depends on how deep your forward fold goes. (Plenty of very good yoga teachers can’t touch their toes!) I wrote a separate post for anyone wondering whether they’re too old or too stiff to become a yoga teacher, because that question deserves more than a paragraph.
You also don’t need prior teaching experience. Even Yoga Alliance’s RYT 200 credential, which you can apply for after graduating, lists its teaching requirement as “None” (Yoga Alliance, Standards for RYT Credentials).
Requirements for trainees vs. requirements for schools
Requirements for trainees and requirements for schools are two different lists, and it helps to keep them apart while you’re researching. As a trainee, you meet the program’s enrollment requirements to get in, and then, if you choose to register with Yoga Alliance afterward, you meet theirs: for the RYT 200, that means completing a 200-hour training at a Registered Yoga School, with all 200 hours from a single program (Yoga Alliance).
Schools have their own set of standards from Yoga Alliance covering curriculum and faculty, and meeting them is the school’s job. I’m covering those in a separate post on what Yoga Alliance requires of a 200-hour school. If you’d like background on the credential itself, I also cover what Yoga Alliance certification actually means.
Starting in 2027, Yoga Alliance’s side of that list gets a little longer: a free 40-question online assessment, an ethics attestation, and a current CPR certification. The school side changes too, and I explain both in what’s changing at Yoga Alliance in 2027.
How do I prepare for yoga teacher training?
The best way to prepare for yoga teacher training is to practice regularly with a yoga teacher you trust, read the assigned books early, practice saying cues out loud, and set up your week before the training starts. Think of it as mise en place: chefs chop the onions and measure the spices before service so they can pay attention to the food once the heat is on, and you’ll do the same for your training.
Here’s a checklist for the weeks before you begin:
- Practice regularly with a yoga teacher you trust. Two or three classes a week is plenty. While you practice, start noticing how the class is built: where the teacher begins, how the standing poses connect, and how they bring everyone down to rest.
- Start the reading. Most trainings assign books, and getting a head start keeps you from cramming later. In my training, the five required textbooks are all mine: The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook, The Art of Yoga Sequencing, Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses (Volumes 1 and 2), and Yoga Off the Mat. I explain why I assign each one in the books I assign in yoga teacher training.
- Practice saying cues out loud. Stand in your living room and say, “Inhale, reach your arms up.” Then say the next three cues. It’ll feel silly, and that’s fine: the sooner your voice gets used to giving instructions, the sooner it stops sounding like a question.
- Set up your week. Put the live sessions on your calendar, block time for reading and practice, and tell the people you live with what’s coming. If you have a job and children, I have a whole post on yoga teacher training with a job and kids.
- Write down why you’re doing this. One paragraph is enough. On the evening when you’re tired and the reading feels long, you’ll be glad to have it.
- Get CPR certified. Some gyms ask for it already, and starting in 2027 Yoga Alliance requires it for anyone who holds its credential, so taking a class before your training starts is one less errand once you graduate.
If you’d like a structured head start, the free course Find Your Teaching Voice walks you through figuring out what you want to offer students, in a lesson called “Find Your Teaching Message.” It’s a good warm-up for any training, mine or someone else’s.
What to look for when you compare programs
When you compare programs, look at what each one asks of you once you’re in as well as what it asks to get in. Ask how many hours of live instruction there are each week, how much practice teaching you’ll do and who gives you feedback, which books you’ll need to buy, and what happens if life interrupts and you need to defer.
A school that answers those questions clearly before you pay will probably run a clear training, too. My guide on how to choose an online yoga teacher training has a longer list of questions, and what to expect in a 200-hour yoga teacher training shows you the inside of a typical program.
What my training asks of you
The Comfort Zone Yoga® 200-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training asks for about two and a half hours of live time a week: a 90-minute session on video call and a separate one-hour live practice. Everything else, the lectures, the reading, and your practice teaching, is self-paced, and I review each trainee’s practice-teaching videos personally. The spring cohort meets live February–April, and your curriculum access begins the day you enroll, so you can start the reading as early as you like.
I’ve done the decision-making for you, so you get exactly what you need to come out of the gate as a confident yoga teacher, without wading through material you’ll never use. Tuition is $3,500, or four payments of $875, with an early-bird rate of $2,997 paid in full during the first weeks of each application window. Trainees also get the Prep Station membership from enrollment through six months after graduation. See the dates for the next cohort on the Comfort Zone Yoga® 200-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training page, or, if you’d like to talk it through first, book a free 30-minute call.
And if you’re still deciding whether to apply anywhere, start smaller: Find Your Teaching Voice is free, and it lives inside the Zone, my community for yoga teachers. Come on in!
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to be certified to teach yoga?
Studios and gyms usually expect a completed 200-hour training before they’ll hire you, and many also like to see Yoga Alliance registration. Registering is a separate, optional step after you graduate, and from 2027 it includes a free online assessment and a current CPR card.
Is there an age requirement for yoga teacher training?
Many programs require you to be at least 18. There’s no upper age limit at Yoga Alliance; its RYT 200 standards list no age requirement at all.
Do you need to be flexible to do yoga teacher training?
No. The programs I know of don’t test flexibility, and students need a yoga teacher who can adapt the practice for real bodies far more than one who can demonstrate the deepest version of a pose.
How long should I practice before yoga teacher training?
Long enough that a regular class feels familiar. My post on how much yoga experience you need before teacher training goes into detail.
What should I read before yoga teacher training?
Start with whatever your program assigns, since you’ll need it anyway. In my training, that’s five of my own books, beginning with The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook.
