So it's probably time to talk about where I chose to apply to teacher training. I hope this post proves useful to potential teacher trainees - I know I trawled Google looking for information about all of this. In my case, I put all my eggs in one basket, and I only applied to one school - Yogacampus, also known as The Life Centre. There are a million and one teacher trainings I could have gone on, both in London and abroad, and I thought very carefully about where would be right for me. I didn't want to make any hasty decisions and spend time regretting it. I am thrilled to say I got on the course, and start in April 2018.

From the minute I decided I wanted to teacher train, I started researching my options. At the time, I was very unhappy in the job I was in, so distracted myself thinking about yoga and the future, making spreadsheets comparing costs, syllabi, you name it. Thinking about teacher training became my happy place. I was still super n00b at this point, really. My initial research came primarily through the wonder of Google.

Initially, before I found ashtanga, I didn't really think about the difference between schools, and was looking at a mix of hatha and vinyasa flow schools. I didn't really get what it would mean to train in one of those styles, and it didn't matter to me so much. Once I found my second happy place (don't ask me why I would choose one of the toughest styles of yoga as my place of love) I realised that I wanted to do a non-dogmatic training (or one in ashtanga, but they are hard to come by - I will discuss more later).

I knew I wanted to train in the UK rather than abroad, and I knew I wanted to do it over a longer period of time, both to allow the learnings to sink in, but also so I could do it around a full-time job. As it turns out, my current role is really demanding and complex, so I'm very glad I chose that option! I am keen to be a really safe teacher, and I know if I learn all that anatomy and philosophy in a month, it won't stick as well as it might, I'll just be exhausted and a bit crap.

Me being exhausted and a bit crap...

My shortlist was:

House of Yoga in Putney - I looked at it because one of my teachers trained there, but after feedback from a number of people and my own gut feeling from the way they choose to train, I took it off the shortlist. There wasn't an opportunity to get to know the teachers and style other than by taking class, and I wanted to get an inkling of what I was letting myself in for
YogaLondon - they are great at marketing, plus I know lots of people who have trained there, and are fab teachers who I'd love to work with in the future, and it seemed flexible and friendly, but over time I realised that I didn't want to do a vinyasa flow training (also knowing that they make you teach a set sequence as your final exam, which you build up to over the course of the traning, isn't really my bag). I was a bit put off by the scale of their school, to be honest. It just wasn't for me, but I'd consider taking specialised training with them in the future
Triyoga - you qualify with both Yoga Alliance and British Wheel of Yoga, and I did seriously consider this course, as I am sure it would give me a really solid grounding, but it is 4.5k and two years, more than any of the other teacher trainings, plus their classes are soooo expensive (£17!). Since then I've taken some great workshops at Triyoga and I am sure the teaching staff would be excellent, but the time and money involved put me off at quite an early stage!
The Yoga People - my excellent yin teacher Caroline did her yin qualification with them abroad, so I wanted to consider them, as they do an ashtanga vinyasa-focused qualification which sounded good, plus this is rare in London (most schools are hatha/vinyasa flow) but I watched quite a lot of their videos and I just thought that probably their style just wasn't for me for a 200 hour. It's a lot of money and time to drop, you need to be sure. I would consider taking shorter qualifications with them in the future, though
Classical Yoga School - so this was a close (and late) contender. My teacher Sarah teaches on this ashtanga course not that far from where I live, and I know I would learn a ton from it, and also be able to teach ashtanga at the end (Ola and Kate, who took the course, assist and teach at our studio). It's actually very hard to find ashtanga trainings in the UK, I suspect because of the way ashtanga came about and the issues with how one can be accredited to teach it. She suggested it to me late last year, but I had already missed the deadline for that September's training, and wouldn't be able to start until this coming September. It's a long time to wait when you feel ready! Although I really think I would love to do an ashtanga qualification, I also think I can probably take extra courses post 200 hour qualification, and that it won't preclude me (hopefully) from teaching ashtanga in the future. I am a bit sad about it though, as Sarah is an amazing teacher who really brings so much to the table with her broad mindset around inclusivity, but I guess I will continue to learn from her in class anyway!

So why Yogacampus? Well, based on my wont for a non-dogmatic course (although I adore ashtanga, I'd like to teach broadly), and my skill at Googling, they had ended up on my list. The things I liked about them initially were:

Their non-dogmatic approach - they bring in teachers from across the spectrum, which is my bag, as I practice ashtanga, led and mysore-style, yin, yoga nidra, vinyasa flow, and a touch of restorative, along with mindful meditation and pranayama, when I remember!
The cost was equal to others (3.5k) but the time on course was extended from 200 to 320, as they believe that at 200 hours people often aren't ready to teach
Their open day was really great, I learnt some things (from the woman who later interviewed me) about hips and triangle pose that I'd never thought of before, and I felt safe with her
They're all about inclusivity, much more so than any other school I looked at. It's really their focus in many ways. They host tons of workshops about yoga as applied to mental and physical health, and as someone dealing with the aftermath of a life-changing injury as applied to the rest of one's life, I really appreciate that ethos
I really enjoyed the workshops I went to with them - Doug Keller and Adeline Cheong/Lizzie Lasater - where I learnt tons, and loved the space too
They only run two intakes a year, of 30 people each. While this is larger than some of the smaller teacher trainings that run at smaller studios that can take maybe 12 or 18 max, and Yogacampus is a bigger business (albeit a non-profit), I still felt it was a good size that I felt comfortable with participating in, as opposed to some of the courses with more intakes
They're well known as a very thorough, safe course focused on anatomy and physiology, which again, is very much my bag. I want to be a safe teacher, after all!
My friend Lily qualified with them recently, spoke positively of them, and I trust her opinion implicitly, Once we had had a long, three hour chat about it, I decided this was the one for me.

Unlike some others, Yogacampus make you fill out an application form, in which you have to discuss your own practice, how often you take class, what type, who your teachers are, what your favourite and most challenging poses are, why you want to teach, whether you have other related qualifications, etc. You also have to get two references, from someone who teaches you and also from someone who practices with you. I found all of this quite appealing in a sort of sick way, perhaps because of my grammar school background. I like a challenge, sort of like applying to university. Once you've submitted this, you either get accepted no questions asked, invited to interview (where you might get on or might get deferred) or get told to reapply in the future.

Thankfully I got invited to interview, and was offered a place a week later. I hope this has been informative and useful to anyone thinking about applying for yoga teacher training.