Build your KNOWLEDGE
Continuous professional development, or CPD, can take you in so many different directions after your initial training. Nadine O'Mara, director and lead teacher at Bliss Baby Yoga, explores some of the options
So you’ve completed your first yoga teacher training. Congratulations! It’s a meaningful beginning, but also just the surface of what it means to teach yoga.
With a practice that spans more than 5,000 years, there will always be more to learn, refine and offer. Remaining a student is part of the path, echoing the niyama of Svadhyaya — self-study. Continuing your education not only deepens your understanding, but also opens doors. As you specialise, you often become more employable, particularly in studios seeking teachers with specific skills or offerings. With many specialised trainings now online, it’s easier than ever to continue learning alongside your existing teaching or other commitments.
So what next?
Prenatal and postnatal yoga
Training in this area builds confidence in supporting pregnant and postpartum students within general classes, while also allowing you to offer dedicated sessions. It’s a highly relevant specialisation, given the large number of women attending yoga classes.
Specialise in a style
Most 200-hour trainings focus on hatha or vinyasa. Expanding into areas like restorative, yin, or chair yoga can broaden your reach, either by balancing more dynamic practices or making yoga accessible to a wider range of bodies.
Deepen your knowledge
Yoga extends far beyond asana. Further study in pranayama, yoga nidra, philosophy, mantra or ayurveda can enrich both your teaching and personal practice.
Specialist modules
Thanks to online learning, you can now choose from any number of specific modules or short courses to learn more. Consider further anatomy and physiology, pelvic floor physiology, yoga for the spine and much more. These also offer valuable contributions to CPD points that may be required for teachers.
Yoga therapy
Yoga is increasingly recognised as a therapeutic modality. You might explore areas such as fertility, ageing, trauma-informed, limited mobility, or support through illness, each offering meaningful ways to serve different communities.
Kids yoga
A playful and rewarding addition to your teaching repertoire.
Assisting workshops
Refining hands-on assisting skills can bring more depth, clarity and confidence to your classes. Each step you take continues to shape not just what you teach, but how you hold space.
Nadine O'Mara is director of Bliss Baby Yoga, specialists in yoga teacher training & CPD for women. Visit: BlissBabyYoga.com
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First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
