How to Complete Yoga Teacher Training as a Busy Entrepreneur

One of the biggest things I’ve struggled with is finding time to do anything other than my business. When you’re a busy entrepreneur running it all on your own (or even if you have a small team) you probably can relate to how time consuming it is, especially when there are other things you want to study and train for that need dedicated time as well.

We are constantly growing and craving mentorship from other areas that can either help us grow our business, continue to work on our personal development, or both such as a yoga teacher training! So how do you find and carve out the time to complete a full 200 or 300 hour yoga teacher training while still maintaining your business and all your other responsibilities?

I recently signed up for the Uplifted 200hr Yoga Teacher training and the time commitment was my only concern so I put some things into place that made it easier to continue doing it all while making the most out of this training. Here is the structure that worked for me and can perhaps help you if you’re also considering an in depth yoga teacher training.

Understand the workload upfront

Before putting ANY plan together it’s important to understand the ins and outs of what you’re signing up for. Do your research and get your questions answered to see how you can adjust to your current schedule.

When I was researching this program I knew it was the right fit for me because I always felt I needed a live component to feel confident teaching while still benefiting from the flexibility of studying in the comfort of my own home. Since my schedule is pretty packed most of the time I love the ability to watch the pre-recorded videos on my own time.
I also appreciate having the accountability of the live portion that not only provides live feedback from the mentors and instructor Brett, but has helped me move past my fears around teaching all while staying committed to the training. We all know that without some type of accountability most yoga teacher courses don’t get completed. So the weekly calls keep me focused and help me stay connected in a community of other students where we discuss topics and stay engaged throughout the 3 months of this personal journey!

Having all the content upfront also allowed me to consider the time commitment required which not only helped me feel ready but also allowed me to make space for my personal practice as I prepared for the start date of the live training. I determined that I needed to sign up about 2 months before the live calls started so that I could watch at least an hour a day of material and start the live training with as much of the videos done as possible.

The Uplifted 200 Yoga Teacher training also has optional quizzes you can take at the end of each section to help you prepare for the final assignment and see what lectures may need some extra reviewing. We also get to submit 6-10 pictures of poses to get feedback from the mentors on alignment which has made a huge difference within my own yoga practice!

I ended up submitting all possible pose pictures to get more feedback on how to improve my asana poses. These pictures have a deadline of 48 hours before the day they are reviewed in the live calls, so there is another opportunity to take and upload your pictures ahead of time. So while there is definitely a hands-on component to this training, the knowledge you gain and the benefit to your own practice makes it a powerful experience worth making time for.

These are the other things that I did ahead of time so that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed when the live calls started.

Plan ahead & set your calendar

So once you’ve established how far in advance you need to enroll to fit the videos in your schedule my next suggestion is to create a plan for yourself using your google calendar. You can use a physical planner if that is your preference however the google calendar or anything digital makes it easier to move things around if you need to make adjustments. The Uplifted yoga training dashboard, where all the material is stored, clearly states how long each video is. This makes it easy to fill out your calendar with what videos you want to watch based on the length and your pre-existing scheduled commitments.

Everything in the syllabus and “getting started” videos walks you through in detail what is expected of you in the training. So much can be done ahead of time. With all of this in mind you can make your own decision on how much time in advance would be ideal for you to sign up inorder to get a head start and pace yourself accordingly. This sets you up perfectly so when the live portion starts you can just focus on showing up, practicing and getting feedback.

In my calendar I labeled the videos I planned to watch that day however you don’t have to be this specific. You may choose to just block off time for training and the dashboard makes it very simple to track which videos you have left with the “watched check mark”. This comes in handy especially for days where you don’t have as much time but want to watch a smaller video.

Be flexible & adapt to unknown circumstances

Even with all the planning in the world, life happens! So the next thing that was crucial for me was to stick to my calendar as much as possible but also remember that nothing can be perfectly planned accordingly, even if my Virgo self thinks otherwise. So be kind to yourself and leave room to be flexible with this (no pun intended). Meaning if something came up in my personal life and I couldn’t watch content in two days, for example, I would adjust and spend a Saturday morning catching up on the content. Or would add an extra half an hour during the week.

The point here is to be intentional with your time and energy without rushing through such valuable material. We all have the same number of hours in a day. And in the bigger picture, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t stick exactly to your schedule. If it’s absolutely necessary, multitask when it’s appropriate and doesn’t distract you from absorbing the information.

For example, the core content is mostly divided into about 20 min videos with some being a bit longer. I would watch those completely focused and without distraction so I could take notes along with the manual that is physically shipped to you once you enroll. After each section of videos there is an hour review which is a recording of a past cohort zoom call. Those hour long videos are the ones I would multitask and watch while doing chores because they are reviewing material for the other videos and opening discussions on those topics.

Some areas and examples where you can multitask that won’t distract from paying attention to the material could be cooking, washing dishes, folding laundry or walking your furbaby. Maximizing the time you do have! I work from home, but if you happen to have an office or need to commute anywhere, that is also a great time to listen to the lecture reviews. Another thing that makes this program easy to follow along with is the different devices you can watch the material.

If you’re on the go you can watch the videos on the mobile app that goes along with it, and even download an offline version within the app in case you’re away with limited internet. You can also watch it on your laptop, tablet and my favorite… through your TV if you have a Roku! A bonus tip for productivity and focus is to switch up your location every few hours so with the ability to watch your training through different devices and even offline it makes it easier to fit it into your day to day life. Plus working from home and having an online business leads to me being behind a computer all day so when I want to close the laptop, get comfy and lay on my couch instead of binge watching Netflix I would turn on the Uplifted Channel and watch a few more videos on the big screen!

Tech hack: If you don’t have a Roku device, you can use the keyboard commands: “window icon” plus the letter K to open up the option to cast your laptop screen to your TV!

Honor your energy

Some days you may just need a mental break from whatever happened throughout the day and that is okay. There is a key difference between challenging yourself to see through the goal you have in mind to pursue a yoga business if you notice yourself pushing things off for the sake of it versus forcing yourself on the days your energy just needs rest. You will get so much more out of this and anything you do when you honor your energy. You may even find you retain MORE information, things click better and you enjoy the process a lot more when you take care of your mind, body and spirit along the way. Always check in with the subtle hints your body and intuition sends you on the regular.

The Uplifted Yoga training also supports you on those days with the additional physical yoga practices in each section. On the days when I needed a break from studying I would do the suggested yoga classes that go along with the lessons. It was a way to experience what I had learned in the lectures while honoring and nurturing my body.

Whenever I sign up for a training, I commit 200% like I mentioned earlier, submitting all the pictures and not just the 6 required. This is just something I do organically because I enjoy learning and how these lessons create a deeper self awareness. Be realistic with where your energy usually lies throughout the day. Use that as guidance to pick the day for your regular live calls.

Navigating the live calls with your business

Once the live calls start, you get to choose your regular time to be live from the 3 different days and times available. You are only required to join one out of the three times calls are offered a week. Naturally, I want to show up to all 3, but that doesn’t always work for my schedule. Uplifted has a great range of times to cover different time zones varying from a weekday morning, evening and weekend call. Once you pick your regular call day, if something comes up, you can just show up to one of the other calls that week.

Before joining an additional call during the week, I check in with my energy to see if I feel in the space to join during an evening call. OR if I will be more attentive and participate fully during my regular Saturday morning sessions, when I usually take time off from work. The recordings of all calls are posted within hours of the zoom call ending. The syllabus shows what is being discussed those days for the topics that you really want to show up to get additional support on.

Another way to juggle this yoga teacher training with your business is sharing, if applicable, any “aha!” moments that have come up while you’re training. If your business has any level of social media presence, people who follow your business page want to hear you share about your lessons learned in a way that inspires them. Your eye opening experiences can resonate to someone in ways you may not have expected. Your business is an extension of YOU and if you’re taking this training to add yoga classes to your business, then giving your audience a sneak peek of what’s in the works can gauge excitement as well. The times I share on my social media, with my sisters or friends, I find I absorb the information deeper. “Once taught twice learned” What you share as you learn ingrains further into your brain which is a fascinating learning tool.

Conclusion

So in conclusion if you’ve been on the fence of taking a yoga teacher training but fear it being too much of a time commitment, you now have the full view of how you can plan ahead and add it to your schedule. Sign up ahead of time so you can spread out watching the pre- recorded content before the live calls start. Join the live calls that best suit your work schedule and going with the flow whenever plans don’t work out perfectly. The Uplifted Yoga Training covers the material in such a way that ensures quality teachers graduate feeling confident and supported, while also making sure every student feels heard and seen. It’s a life changing experience that allows you to see how yoga shows up off your mat.