You Don’t Have to Want to Teach to Do a 200-Hour Teacher Training

You Don’t Have to Want to Teach to Do a 200-Hour Teacher Training

There’s a sentence we hear all the time:

“I’d love to do a 200-hour… but I don’t want to teach.”

And honestly? Fair.

“Teacher training” can sound like you’re signing a contract to become a yoga teacher — like you need to be extroverted, confident, ready to perform, and planning to teach five classes a week the second you graduate.

But that’s not what it has to be.

At Rare Yoga, our 200-Hour Teacher Training (starting February 20th in Sydney) is for future teachers — and for serious students who want to deepen their practice in a structured, supported way.

Because here’s the truth:

You don’t have to want to teach (officially) for a teacher training to be for you.

Most trainees aren’t 100% sure they want to teach.

Most people assume everyone in a teacher training is fully set on becoming a teacher. That’s rarely true.
In our experience, a lot of trainees start in the “deepening” camp — they want clarity, structure, and a deeper understanding of yoga — and then see what teaching brings up along the way.

The “deepening” that most people actually want

If you’ve built a consistent practice, you eventually hit a point where you want more than just “a good class.”

You want to understand:

• why certain things work
• what you’re actually doing in common postures (beyond shapes)
• how to build strength and mobility in a smarter way
• what alignment really means (for your body, not a textbook body)
• how breath and the nervous system work in real life
• how to practice in a way that’s sustainable for the long term

A good 200-hour gives you language, structure, and clarity around all of that.

And for many people, that’s the reason they do it.

The surprising part: “learning to teach” can be part of the deepening

Here’s the part most people don’t expect:

Sometimes the fastest way to deepen your own practice is learning how to explain it.

Yes — in a 200-hour, there is practice teaching.

But not because you need to become a teacher.

Because when you have to cue something clearly, break it down, and support different bodies in a room — you understand it differently.

You get sharper. More embodied. Less vague.

You stop relying on “I just feel it” and start understanding:

• what you’re actually asking the body to do
• how to progress and regress intelligently
• what people commonly misunderstand (and how to communicate it better)
• how to make yoga make sense to different humans, not just you

Even if you never teach a public class, that process can deepen your own practice in a way that normal attendance never quite can.

“But I don’t want the pressure of becoming a teacher”

Good. You shouldn’t feel pressure.

Some people do our training and go on to teach.
Some people do our training and never teach a single class.

Both outcomes are valid.

We’ve seen all of these paths:

• people arrive thinking they’ll never teach… then surprise themselves
• people arrive wanting to teach… then realise they want yoga to stay personal
• people complete training and teach occasionally (friends, community, one-offs)
• people use the training as a deep reset that changes their relationship to practice
• people gp on to teach 15 classes per week

The point isn’t to force a job outcome.

The point is to become more capable, more clear, and more confident — in your body and in your understanding of yoga.

A helpful question to ask yourself

If teacher training is on your radar, sit with this:

Are you considering a 200-hour to deepen your practice… or are you open to learning how to teach (even if you’re unsure)?

Both are valid.

But the training you choose should match what you actually want — not what you think you’re supposed to want.

Who this is for (and who it isn’t)

This is for you if:

• you’ve built a consistent practice and want the “next layer”
• you want to understand yoga more deeply (not just do it)
• you’re curious about teaching, even if you feel unsure or not “ready”
• you want a structured deep dive with experienced teachers and real feedback

This might not be for you (yet) if:

• you’re looking for a quick certificate with minimal effort
• you’re not willing to be challenged (in a supportive way)
• you want to stay purely in the comfort zone of being a student forever

Rare Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training (Sydney)

Our next 200-Hour Teacher Training starts February 20th.

If you’re drawn to the deepening side — but the word “teacher” has been putting you off — we’d love to have a conversation.

No pressure. Just clarity.

Send us an email hello@rarestudiosau.com

We’ll point you to the most relevant info and help you work out if it’s the right fit.

‍