Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in Australia as more and more people understand how it can help them with their mental (and physical) well-being. As such, the demand for yoga teachers is also growing. If you’re into yoga, this may be a very tempting career. Still, no matter how advanced you are in your personal yoga studies you will need professional training to become a teacher.
Here’s all you need to know about becoming a registered yoga teacher in Australia.
Complete a course for yoga teachers
There are many institutions in Australia that offer courses for aspiring yoga teachers. Do your research carefully and see if they are accredited with Yoga Alliance or Yoga Australia, the two main professional organisations for yoga teachers in the country.
Check out the type of courses they offer and, once again, see if the courses are recognized by the above-mentioned organisations.
Don’t pick a course that promises to give you a certificate in the shortest time. For instance, Yoga Australia requires its members to have completed at least 350 hours of yoga teacher courses.
If you take a 200-hour course, that might still be recognized by a professional organisation, but you’ll only get a provisional membership, on condition that you take additional courses. You can become a full member only after completing 350 hours of courses.
How to register as a yoga teacher
Once you have completed your courses you can apply for membership in a professional organisation. This is essential for the next step, when you start looking for a yoga teacher position.
They will review your qualifications and want to check if you have enough hours in specific areas of the curriculum.
Professional yoga teaching organisations have very strict membership criteria, as they want to ensure that their members will not give a bad name to the profession.
If you are invited to an assessment interview you might be asked detailed questions not only about your knowledge of yoga techniques, but also about your personal life. You might be asked if you have a criminal record, which is not exactly compatible with your future yoga teaching career.
If you do have a criminal record, be honest about it. You can order a background check on yourself using the services of an online police check agency like the following popular aussie website https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au (known as ANCC). These agencies are very efficient and you’ll have your police check in a couple of days.
Take this police check to the scheduled interview and talk honestly about your past. Technically, having a criminal record should not be a reason for you to be denied membership but being forthcoming about it can make all the difference.
Another thing you need to know is that if you’re planning to teach yoga to children you will have to undergo another more thorough type of police check. Under Australian law, any person working with children in any capacity, even as a volunteer for a charity, needs to obtain a Working With Children Permit. To get your permit you’ll have to submit to a full background check in which even spent convictions are disclosed and you’ll have to submit to a character assessment.
Sounds like a lot of red tape, and it is, but it’s necessary to protect the children so it’s all worth it.
