Tips for Choosing a High-Quality Yoga Teacher Training in Bali
Location, price, teaching style, the teachers, standards, ethics, accreditation, duration, honesty, inclusions, support, food and accommodation. These are all things worth weighing up if you're searching for a good quality yoga teacher training in Bali.
We hope this helps you choose the right training, or at least gives you a clearer picture of what to look for among the hundreds on offer. Some choices are personal and depend on your circumstances: location, available time, asana style, and budget.
Location For Yoga Teacher Training In Bali
Bali is a wonderful place to complete a Yoga Teacher Training (YTT). It's a fairly large island, and since you'll be based in one spot for around a month, it's worth thinking about whether you'd rather be in a busy tourist hub, an inland centre, or somewhere quieter by the beach. Ubud and Canggu are lively and popular. Other areas, including beachside villages like Sanur, tend to be calmer. It really comes down to personal preference.
Cost For Yoga Teacher Training
In most cases, you get what you pay for. Since the pandemic, budget operators offering cheap, supposedly all-inclusive trainings have become common. A low headline price usually means basic accommodation, fewer contact hours with senior teachers, and a small teaching team. If the certificate is your only goal, these courses will get you there quickly. If you want to genuinely learn how to teach, a well-established school with an experienced faculty is worth the investment. Our own 200-hour YTT is priced at USD 2,950, with an early-bird rate of USD 2,450 for select intakes, reflecting our small class sizes, senior teaching team, and full inclusions.
Yoga Teaching Styles
The style you choose is a personal decision, and it mostly comes down to the asana technique you're drawn to. Most quality courses cover the core foundations regardless of style. Hatha is a strong base for the modern styles that follow it, while Vinyasa and Yin remain popular choices. Be wary of schools promising exotic add-ons like tantric or kundalini lineages taught by apparent masters. These claims are rarely what they seem.
Importance Of Specialised Teachers
Will the teachers pictured on the website actually be the ones teaching you? Some schools list bios and photos of teachers who rarely show up. Yoga Alliance now asks schools to have properly qualified teachers, ideally E-RYT 500, delivering the bulk of contact hours. It's worth asking who will lead most of the training and what experience they bring, and whether there's a real support team on hand rather than one or two people running the whole show.
Why Standards & Ethics Are Important
This touches every part of a school and is worth digging into. How long has the school been operating? Do they have their own studio and an established base in Bali, or are they moving between hotels and villas? Look past the polished marketing and check how many genuine graduate reviews exist on their Yoga Alliance profile, if they have one. Ask how many students they take at a time, and whether they run multiple trainings back to back. A course shorter than four weeks leaves little room to properly absorb the material while also having time to rest. A school's reputation matters beyond the certificate, since future employers may want to know where you trained.
Choosing The Right Accommodation
Accommodation and food matter, and there's a wide range of options to suit different budgets. A school with a dedicated coordinator and support team can help you navigate these choices so your trip runs smoothly. Extras like meals, spa treatments, and ongoing alumni support genuinely add to the experience. Be cautious of schools operating out of a rented villa or guesthouse with no real studio or team behind them.
Two Important Factors: Honesty and Integrity
Honesty is perhaps the most important factor of all. Is what's on the website actually true? Watch for warning signs: countdown timers, "limited spots" pressure, or claims of mastery that feel more like marketing than substance. Booking through a listing agent can also be risky, since many simply collect a commission and offer little support if something goes wrong. It's generally safer to book directly with an established school, ideally Bali based, with its own studio and team on the ground.
Bali remains a genuinely special place to learn and practise yoga. The culture, community, and landscapes make it worth the trip, and we hope this guide helps you find a training that's the right fit.
About the Author
Written by a long-time Bali resident and yoga practitioner, this piece reflects personal observations meant to help prospective students choose well. There are many dedicated, ethical schools here. We hope you find the right one.