How to become a yoga teacher in the UK

To become a yoga teacher or yoga instructor in the UK, you complete a 200-hour yoga teacher training, get insured and start teaching. Registering with Yoga Alliance is your choice, and it lets you use the letters RYT 200. A weekend course takes from four months to almost a year, so you can keep working while you study yoga.

I lead a Yoga Alliance accredited 200-hour training in Colchester. These are the steps I share with every yogi who feels the call to teach.

Step 1: Choose a 200-hour yoga teacher training

Both Yoga Alliance and Yoga Pros use 200 hours as the starting point for their teacher registers. On a Yoga Alliance course, the hours cover four areas:

• Techniques, training and practice
• Anatomy and physiology
• Yoga humanities, which includes philosophy and ethics
• Professional essentials, which includes teaching methods and practice teaching

You can train in person, online or with a mix of both. I teach my training in person, over ten monthly weekends, because you learn so much by teaching and assisting each other in the room.

Step 2: Check who accredits the course

Yoga Pros describes yoga as an unregulated industry, and there is no global governing body for yoga. These are the names you will meet when you compare a yoga course in the UK:

• Yoga Alliance. It registers schools as Registered Yoga Schools (RYS 200). Their graduates can register as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT 200). Search for the school in Yoga Alliance's own directory before you book.
• Yoga Pros, formerly Yoga Alliance Professionals. This is a UK professional body with its own standards and register. You do not need to train on a Yoga Pros course to join, but your course must have at least 180 contact hours.
• The British Wheel of Yoga (BWY). It is the National Governing Body for yoga in England and Wales, recognised by Sport England. Its own teacher training leads to Ofqual-regulated Level 4 qualifications.

My 200-hour training is accredited by Yoga Alliance.

Step 3: Graduate and register

A Yoga Alliance school should assess your knowledge and skills before it gives you your certificate. On my training, you complete a sadhana project, two exams, a research essay and an observed class.

To register as an RYT 200 with Yoga Alliance:

1. Create an account on yogaalliance.org. Add your training dates and a copy of your certificate.
2. Wait for your school to confirm your training. Yoga Alliance says this can take up to 14 days.
3. Pay a one-time $50 application fee and $65 a year. That is $115 in the first year, paid in US dollars.

Yoga Alliance is changing its credentials from January 2027. The 200-hour training stays. The new credential adds an assessment of 40 questions on teaching and leadership, ethics, safety, and diversity and inclusion. The pass mark is 75% and you have two attempts. Check the latest steps on yogaalliance.org when you graduate.

Step 4: Get insured

Take out insurance before you teach your first class. The British Wheel of Yoga says studios, councils, landlords and event organisers increasingly expect proof of cover. They want to see public liability and professional indemnity insurance before you use their space. Yoga Pros points out that a yoga teacher can be held legally liable for injury, damage or financial loss claimed by students or others.

Keep a current first aid certificate too. BWY warns that insurance policies typically will not cover a claim if an injury happens when no trained first aider is present.

Ask about trainee cover if you want to practise teaching friends while you train. Yoga Pros lists one for UK residents.

Step 5: Teach your first classes

Start small and teach often. Friends, family, colleagues and your local community hall are lovely places to find your first yogis. Offer to cover classes for other teachers as well.

Keep a log of every class you teach. Yoga Alliance asks for teaching hours for its higher credentials. You need at least 100 hours for RYT 500, and 1,000 hours over at least two years for E-RYT 200.

My training includes business and marketing skills, so you can build a career as a yoga teacher and follow your own heart's calling.

Step 6: Keep learning

Yoga Alliance asks registered teachers to keep studying. Today that means 75 hours every three years: 45 hours of teaching and 30 hours of training.

When you are ready to go deeper, a 300-hour advanced training builds on your 200 hours. With both trainings and at least 100 hours of teaching, you can register as an RYT 500. My 300-hour advanced training runs from January to December 2028, and I also run courses for qualified yoga teachers.

What to look for in a yoga teacher training course

• Who leads it. On a Yoga Alliance 200-hour course, every lead trainer must hold the E-RYT 500. Together they teach at least 150 of the 200 hours.
• How much is taught live. Ask how many hours are in the room or live online, and how many are home study.
• Who teaches anatomy and philosophy. Ask about their training and experience.
• How you are assessed. Ask whether there are exams, an essay and an observed class.
• The style. Yoga Alliance expects each school to follow one consistent lineage, style or method. Choose a style you love to practise.

What it costs

In our guide to UK costs, most in-person 200-hour courses we checked cost £2,900 to £3,250 at full price. Then add Yoga Alliance registration if you choose it ($115 in the first year), insurance and a first aid course.

See what 200-hour training costs in the UK

My 200-hour training in Colchester

I lead a Yoga Alliance accredited 200-hour Vinyasa Flow teacher training in Colchester. I hold the E-RYT 500 designation from Yoga Alliance.

• When: ten monthly weekend modules, from 9 January to 9 October 2027
• Guest teachers: Chris Swain teaches anatomy and physiology, and Daniel Simpson teaches philosophy
• Assessment: a sadhana project, an esoteric anatomy exam, an anatomy and physiology exam, a research essay and an observed class
• Price: £2,995 including tuition and the course manual. Early bird £2,495, or £1,995 each if you sign up with a friend
• Deposit: £295, non-refundable, then a monthly payment plan

I also run a 200-hour training in Colchester and Watamu, Kenya, from May to December 2028.

See the full 200-hour training details

I would love to welcome you into our next sangha of yogis.

Quick answers

Do I need a qualification to teach yoga in the UK?

Yoga Pros describes yoga as an unregulated industry. A 200-hour certificate is the starting point for both the Yoga Alliance and Yoga Pros teacher registers.

How long does it take to become a yoga teacher?

A weekend 200-hour course takes from four months to almost a year. My training runs over ten months, from January to October 2027. After you graduate, Yoga Alliance registration can take up to 14 days.

Can I train to be a yoga teacher online?

Yes. A Yoga Alliance school can teach a 200-hour course fully online, with at least 30 hours taught live. Yoga Pros asks for at least 180 contact hours, in person or live online, so a pre-recorded course does not qualify for its professional membership.

What does E-RYT 500 mean?

It is Yoga Alliance's experienced teacher credential. It needs 500 hours of training, at least four years of teaching after training and 2,000 teaching hours. Lead trainers on Yoga Alliance 200-hour courses must hold it.

Facts checked on 9 November 2026 on each organisation's own website. Rules and fees change, so check with the organisation before you rely on them.