There are six things you should do before beginning your yoga teacher training.

Sign up for your first yoga teacher training course here 200-hour online yoga teacher training certification and get started. When you go into yoga school for the first time, you want to be your best yogi self, but you're not sure what to expect. Prepare your mind, body, and spirit for the event that will transform your life

1. Take some time off from practicing.

This may seem contradictory, but the training is physically and emotionally demanding, and you must be well rested before beginning. Yoga is a long-term game; if your body hasn't yet made a difficult position accessible to you, you won't be able to perform it in the weeks leading up to training. Pushing yourself too hard may lead to damage.

2. Read all you can on the topic.

I only had time to look at one or two books before I started due to my last-minute YTT choice, but I wish I'd had more time to learn the fundamentals. We've put up a suggested reading list here, but if I had to choose two books to read before beginning the course, it would be B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga and Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.

3. Spend some time in the location you've selected.

It may be tough to get off a plane in a foreign country and into a yoga studio to begin such a life-changing adventure. I understand that time is frequently limited for those of us with limited vacation time due to job and family obligations at home, but I would recommend that anyone attending a Yoga TTC in India spend at least a weekend here beforehand.

4. Consider what you want to get out of the course.

At the outset of each session, yoga instructors frequently ask the class to establish an intention, which we are encouraged to revisit as time passes. Why not determine what you want to gain out of your course before you start and observe whether your expectations alter or are met as you progress? It's important to remember that it's quite OK to alter your opinion.

5. Don't be concerned with other people's opinions.

We've all been in that situation. Begin your path to being a compassionate yogi by recognizing that everyone comes to the course with their own set of worries, which may or may not be the same as yours. We spend so much time avoiding interaction with other people in the west, particularly if we are from large cities, that we may be skeptical of others' motives.

6. Don't measure yourself against others.

Following up on point five, it's all too tempting to say to yourself, "Why can't I do that?" when you look around your new yoga buddies. Start by not glancing around the room or comparing your practice to other people's. The aim of yoga is to bring your attention inwards in preparation for meditation, so don't glance around the room or compare your practice to other people's.