If you’ve started looking into yoga teacher trainings, you’ve probably run into a small alphabet soup: YTT, TTC, RYS, RYT-200. I get asked about these all the time, so here is a simple, honest guide to what a 200-hour training actually is, what Yoga Alliance certification means, and how to know whether it’s the right step for you.
What does YTT mean?
YTT simply stands for Yoga Teacher Training. You’ll also see it called a TTC (Teacher Training Course). They mean the same thing: a structured course that teaches you not only to practise yoga more deeply, but to guide others safely and confidently.
Why 200 hours?
The 200-hour training is the foundational level, the one most yoga teachers begin with. It’s long enough to build real understanding, and focused enough to complete in a few weeks when you study in an immersive format.
A good 200-hour training usually covers five big areas:
- Techniques, training and practice: asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra and the subtle body.
- Anatomy and physiology: how the body moves, breathes and responds to practice, so you can teach safely.
- Yoga philosophy, lifestyle and ethics: the roots of yoga, from the Yoga Sutras to the Bhagavad Gita, and how they live in daily life.
- Teaching methodology: sequencing, cueing, adjustments, holding space and finding your own voice.
- Practicum: actually teaching, with feedback, so you leave ready to stand in front of a class.
What is Yoga Alliance?
Yoga Alliance is the best-known international registry for yoga teachers and schools. Schools that meet its curriculum standards can register as a Registered Yoga School (RYS).
When you graduate from a 200-hour training at a Registered Yoga School, you’re eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as an RYT-200 (Registered Yoga Teacher). Registration is optional and done directly with Yoga Alliance, but many studios, gyms and retreat centres around the world recognise it, which makes it a useful credential if you’d like to teach.
Do I need to be an advanced yogi?
No. This is one of the most common worries I hear, and it holds so many people back. You don’t need to touch your toes, stand on your head or have practised for years. A regular practice helps you get the most out of the course, but what matters most is curiosity, commitment and an open heart.
And you don’t have to want to teach, either. Many people join a teacher training simply to deepen their own practice, take time for themselves, or understand the “why” behind what they do on the mat.
What is an immersive training like?
An immersive (or intensive) training means you live and study together for the whole course, usually around four weeks. Days are full: morning meditation and practice, study of philosophy and anatomy, and afternoon sessions where you learn to teach. There’s time to rest too, and Sundays are for exploring and recharging.
What surprises most students is how much happens beyond the curriculum. Living with a small group, away from the noise of everyday life, creates deep friendships and a kind of transformation that’s hard to describe until you’ve experienced it.
I still remember my own 200-hour training in Koh Phangan, Thailand, with my friend Sunny at Sunny Yoga. That very first practice felt completely surreal. I remember standing on my mat thinking, I’m actually doing this. I’m really becoming a yoga teacher. The seed had been planted about ten years earlier, in Japan, and here it was, finally beginning to grow.
How to choose the right training for you
A few questions worth asking yourself:
- Is the school a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School? If you’d like to register as an RYT-200, this matters.
- Who are the lead teachers? Look for experience, and for someone whose way of teaching resonates with you.
- How big is the group? Smaller groups mean more personal attention and more chances to practise teaching.
- Where is it, and what’s included? Accommodation, meals and transfers make a big difference to how much you can focus on learning.
- What do past students say? Recent reviews tell you a lot about the experience.
Our 200-hour trainings
At Om & Flow Yoga we’re a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School, and we run all-inclusive 200-hour Hatha Vinyasa trainings in small groups:
- 200h Yoga Teacher Training in Colombia, in the green Andes town of Sasaima, near Bogotá
- 200h Yoga Teacher Training in Spain, near the historic city of Toledo
If you have questions about whether a teacher training is right for you, get in touch. I’m always happy to talk it through.