Consider what you want to get out of the yoga class and your present physical needs and limitations.
Take free yoga classes in various styles and from different yoga teachers and yoga studios until you find one that is right for you. Ask the yoga teacher about their training or credentials.
Ask the teacher's advice about which yoga classes and what yoga studio you should take.
After taking a yoga class, review how you felt before and after the class. Did you have a rapport with the teacher? Was the intensity level of the yoga class about right for you?
"Not only has there been a reversal of Hatha Yoga and Yoga, whereby Hatha Yoga (the "part") has been labeled as "Yoga" (the "whole"), but the whole process and scope of Yoga has been effected in our collective perceptions of Yoga."
"Many people focus on the past or the future to avoid experiencing the present, often because the present is painful or difficult to endure. In yoga class, many students think that they must simply 'grit their teeth and bear it' until the teacher tells them they can come out of the asana. This is seeing yoga as calisthenics and is the wrong attitude. The pain is there as a teacher, because life is filled with pain. In the struggle alone, there is knowledge. Only when there is pain will you see the light. Pain is your guru. As we experience pleasures happily, we must also learn not to lose our happiness when pain comes. As we see good in pleasure, we should learn to see good in pain. Learn to find comfort even in discomfort. We must not try to run from the pain but to move through and beyond it. This is the cultivation of tenacity and perseverance, which is a spiritual attitude toward yoga. This is also the spiritual attitude toward life"- "Light on Life" by B.K.S. Iyengar
Iyengar yoga teacher, Tony Eason encourages students to seek out information via various yoga classes, centers, books, yoga teachers, and yoga studios.
Asana I - Yoga theory and practice of basic asana. - 36 Hours
Asana II - Yoga theory and practice of intermediate asana. - 36 hours
Asana III - Review and further intensive work on the Asana I and II poses - 27 hours
Asana IV Theory and practice of more advanced asanas for the personal practice of the serious yoga student and yoga teacher - 27 hours
Teaching I - Practice yoga teaching techniques, visual and verbal skills.- 36 hours
Teaching II - Study ethics, student / yoga teacher relationship, practice teaching Asana I poses more intensively, and focus on the theory and practice of physical adjustments and the use of props. - 36 hours
Teaching III - Teaching Asana I poses and key poses from Asana II, using the list of poses from the Introductory Certification Assessment. - 27 hours
Yoga Apprenticeship - The student is required to complete 50 hours of apprenticeship with an Iyengar teacher certified at the Junior Intermediate I Level or above. - 50 hours
Student Teaching - The student must set up his/her own yoga class / yoga studio, and teach for at least 40 hours, with a minimum of four yoga students in each yoga class. - 40 hours
Introduction to Pranayama - Exercises to increase awareness of the breathing process preparatory to practicing pranayama. - 18 hours
Pranayama I - Discussion and practice of body alignment and breath flow. - 18 hours
Pranayama II - Further study of pranayama for the serious yoga student. - 18 hours
Yoga Sutras - A study of classical yoga philosophy based upon a reading of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. - 18 hours
Bhagavad Gita - The Gita, as a practical handbook for yoga, will be studied and related to daily life - 18 hours
Anatomy I - The study of the skeletal, muscular and soft tissue structure of the vertebral column, pelvis and lower extremities - 18 hours
Anatomy II - The study of the bones, muscles and soft tissue structure of the chest cavity, shoulder girdle and upper extremities. - 18 hours
Physiology - How the body systems function, with some consideration of specific physiological mechanisms activated or affected by yoga practice. - 27 hours