Paying for yoga teacher training?

January 21, 2010 7:23 PM

I am trying to get a 200 Hour Yoga Teaching Certification in New York City. I am a social worker already trying to pay off student loans, and all the programs I am looking into cost $1000-$2000. Are there scholarships or financial aid available? I have looked around but have not found any. Thank you so much, I hope to one day teach yoga to teenagers who have trauma, have been homeless or in the foster care system.

I am also potentially willing to re-locate to california, as I plan on moving there anyway in the next few years and there may be more opportunities there.

posted by tessalations999 to Education (8 answers total)

Basically you are asking for investors and promising a 0% rate of return. If your family or friends wont loan you the money, you could try out a social lending site.... something like

http://www.virginmoneyus.com/
http://www.prosper.com/
http://www.kickstarter.com/
posted by yoyoceramic at 8:32 PM on January 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure the "investment - return" model is quite what t999 is getting at, here. Scholarships aren't generally expected to be paid back with interest, that is.

That said, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with scholarship programs for this kind of thing. You might try contacting the financial aid office of a local community college or something like that. They probably wouldn't offer financial aid for this kind of vocational training, but erhaps one of the financial aid experts in their office might know of other resources you could look into, it being related to their field of expertise, and all.

I just started a yoga class this week at local community college and can tell it's going to be a neat experience. Good luck in your career plan!
posted by darkstar at 9:07 PM on January 21, 2010

What about an online certification course?
posted by shivohum at 9:42 PM on January 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Would any local companies be willing to sponsor all or part in return for a "good news" story in the press?
posted by ceri richard at 2:29 AM on January 22, 2010

Best answer: You might ask the people at Street Youth which is a group that teaches homeless kids yoga to see if they have any ideas. From their website it looks like they offer low cost training courses in NYC.
posted by mcroft at 4:34 AM on January 22, 2010

Bent on Learning brings yoga into NYC public schools - they might have some ideas, they are all good friendly people.
posted by shothotbot at 6:32 AM on January 22, 2010

1-2k for YTT training is a really good deal. Most programs I've seen are in the 3-5k range.

I'm not a big believer that YTT is the most important platform for teaching yoga. Also, not all studios, programs, etc. require that you have certification. I think you could gain a great deal by studying on your own (see "recommended yoga books") and practice teaching small groups. What's really important here is finding the connection between thinking, feeling, the calculated sequence of the movement, how you connect to those on the mat.

But to address your question specifically: Get your ideas nicely organized in writing. Get someone from a city/state organization (even an interest group) to express interest in writing. Talk to a studio manager about your program (the studio you practice at frequently), show them your organized and supported ideas and try to find your discount this way. At the heart of most yoga studios is a money-making business but also a great deal of genuine charity and compassion.
posted by ezekieldas at 9:48 AM on January 22, 2010

Just found this:


http://www.yogabasics.com/yoga-training-scholarships.html
posted by ezekieldas at 6:04 AM on February 18, 2010