Yoga from Beginner to Advanced: 3 Levels Defined for Aspiring Teachers 

May 13, 2024 Varun Sharma

Ever felt overwhelmed by the different yoga class levels? Terms like level 1, level 2, beginner, intermediate, and advanced are enough to make anyone wonder, “Where do I even fit in?” But you know what? You’re not alone! This is a common question, even for those who’ve been practicing yoga at home for a long time and now have joined a school to become a yoga teacher.

Here at Ekattva Yogshala - a top yoga school of Rishikesh, we understand the confusion. In this blog, we will break down 3 main levels of yoga i.e. beginner, intermediate, and advanced specifically for aspiring yoga teachers. By understanding these levels, you’ll gain clarity on your own practice. You’ll discover the perfect place to begin your teaching journey.

Let’s learn why it is important to know where you stand before jumping on yoga from beginner to advanced!

Why Yoga Level Insights are Essential?

Ekattva Yogshala believes that understanding your yoga practice level isn’t just about finding the RIGHT class. It’s a cornerstone for budding yoga teachers. Why?

Well, the following are the reasons:

- Safety first: Let’s be honest. There isn’t just one or two yoga poses. There’s a whole range from gentle stretches to physically demanding inversions. And just like pushing a slingshot beyond its limit can cause it to break, forcing yourself to go beyond your current ability can lead to injury.

Knowing your limitations will allow you to choose poses that are appropriate for your body and experience. You will have a low chance of encountering strain or pain.

- Personalized progress: One should see yoga as a practice, not a competition. By getting an idea of where exactly you stand (strengths and weaknesses), you can make changes in your practice to address your specific needs. Like you can focus either on building flexibility, improving balance, or increasing core strength.

With a clear understanding of your level, you can set realistic goals and move in the right direction for beginner or advanced yoga.

- Strong foundation: Remember we mentioned the term crucial foundation in the very beginning? Let's talk about it in detail this time! Yoga practice isn’t just about performing physical postures. It also integrates many other things like breathwork, meditation, philosophy, and anatomy.

If you are good at beginner-level yoga, you can safely and effectively explore more advanced practices later. Think of it just like building a house without a solid foundation. It wouldn’t be very stable, right?

- Teach with confidence: Michelle Obama once said, “Your success will be determined by your own confidence.” We 100% agree with her. As an aspiring yoga teacher, understanding your experience with different levels, be it beginner, intermediate, or advanced, is important. You can easily create a connection with students of all abilities. And not just that! You can also design balanced classes that cater to different requirements.

You will be able to offer modifications, provide clear instructions, and create a safe, inclusive learning environment for everyone.

Put simply, knowing your yoga level will allow you to take ownership of your practice. It will help you design a journey that's not just safe but also steadily advancing, leading you toward your yoga teacher goals with confidence and joy! This is the right way to go about advanced beginner yoga!

How do Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Yoga Differ?

We bet now you understand why it is important to understand your yoga level. Now, let’s delve into specifics! Okay, picture your yoga practice as a beautiful landscape in your mind. Are you seeing a vast valley with gentle slopes? That’s the beginning of your yoga teaching practice.

Are those slopes now gradually transitioning into rolling hills? Label it as intermediate yoga! Have those hills now culminated in majestic mountains? If your answer is YES, you’ve reached advanced yoga. Each level offers a unique experience. Knowing where you stand will allow you to navigate the landscape safely.

- Beginner yoga (Level 1): Beginner yoga classes are like establishing groundwork before building construction starts. Students will learn to get a grip on basic asanas. They will also understand proper alignment and perform breathing techniques and gentle stretches.

The focus of beginner yoga is to build body awareness. That too while cultivating a sense of calm and learning safe movement patterns. Think simple sun salutations, warrior poses, triangle poses with plenty of modifications and rest periods!

- Intermediate yoga (Level 2): Done with level 1. Good. But as you venture further into the valley, terrain will get a bit more challenging. Intermediate yoga classes are built upon the framework that you established during the level 1 classes. However, it will introduce you to a wider range of postures with slightly more complexity.

This time, teachers will teach you how to perform deeper stretches, strengthen your core, and develop a greater balance. You can also expect to see flowing sequences with transitions between poses. In fact, introduction to even more challenging warrior variations.

Advanced yoga (level 3): At this point in your journey to become a yoga teacher, you’ve finally made it to the foothills of those majestic mountains! We are talking about none other than advanced yoga classes. Designed for experienced yogis, you’ll get a chance to delve into advanced balancing postures, inversions, and challenging core work.

Even advanced yoga philosophy and anatomy classes, mantra sessions, pranayama workshops, how-to teach classes, and more. The main focus of advanced yoga will be to test your strength, flexibility, focus, skills - pushing your boundaries to a safe environment.

Why Ekattva Yogshala is Best for Beginner to Advanced Yoga?

Of course, after reading the heading, there must be a question going on in your mind, “Why us?” Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas - Rishikesh, Ekattva Yogshala offers an unparalleled learning environment for aspiring yoga teachers of all levels. Recognized by the US Alliance, our curriculum seamlessly integrates beginner, intermediate, and advanced yoga practices.

For beginners, we have different yoga retreats in Rishikesh (also online retreats), each providing a safe and supportive space to build a strong foundation. Under the guidance of our expert yoga teachers, you’ll learn the basics of each yoga posture. And hey, that's not it. They will also teach you breathing techniques and yogic philosophy.

As you move ahead, our renowned 200-hour yoga teacher training course in Rishikesh will help you hone your skills and deepen your understanding. Are you an intermediate or advanced yogi? No problem! Our experienced faculty will tailor its instruction to cater to your given requirements.

By helping you concentrate on both physical practice and yogic philosophy, we will equip you with the knowledge and confidence to become a well-rounded teacher. A yoga guru who can inspire and help other yogis move ahead on their path!

Check out what these yoginis have to say about our 200-hour yoga teacher training program in Rishikesh, India:

Yoga from Beginner to Advanced: Final Words

It’s really important to remember that the yoga landscape we told you about is not a rigid structure but a metaphor. Some people will progress quickly. Others may choose to spend more time refining their practice at each level. There’s literally no shame in focusing on beginner or intermediate classes for months. Even years!

Just listen to your body. Embrace the journey. And enjoy the ever-evolving beauty of your yoga practice! That said, we told you everything about beginner to advanced yoga levels.

Got any queries to ask? Send them to info@spiritualpunditz.com and have them answered by our yoga experts!