Yoga Teacher Training

When I say I’m excited about my first upcoming 200-hour yoga teacher training program, that would be an understatement. This has been something I have dreamt of for well over five years.

So, is yoga teacher training “for you”? Well, do you love yoga? Do you want to teach yoga? Do you want to deepen your practice? Do you want to take some time to do something just for you? The list goes on and the great news is, a yoga teacher training program is for anyone whether you want to teach or not. Many people enroll in a training and never intend to teach. One question I get asked all the time is if you have to be a “pro” yogi and the answer is a huge no. You do not have to be able to practice each pose. With all that said, let’s dive a little deeper into the details.

Topics We Cover:

• 60+ Poses/Asanas <- Pronounced Ah-Sa-Nuh or Aa-Sa-Na or Aaa-Sa-Na. For each asana we will cover a great deal of cues, modifications, variations, hands on adjustments, and contraindications. You will teach back each asana to a buddy or small group.

• Sanskrit - We will cover all the asana names in Sanskrit and English and you will teach with them. Don’t panic! Trust me, we will use them so much you’ll know them.

• Anatomy - Bones, muscles, joints, movements, etc involved in our asanas. Most of all safety!

• Methodology - Cueing, timing, theming, sequencing, mirroring etc.

• History and Philosophy

• Meditation and Pranayama (breathwork)

• Subtle Body - Chakras, Ayurveda, Koshas

What to expect on the weekends:

• 3-6 hours of asana practice. Broken up throughout the days and this includes teaching the asanas to each other. We will review every sequence we practice together so you could essentially leave with a bunch of classes to get you started.

• Anatomy. On several of the first Saturday sessions we will spend a few hours diving deep into anatomy and our asanas that we focus on that weekend will tie into our anatomy lesson.

• A “theme” weekend with asanas. For example, inversions or restorative etc.

• Methodology lessons

• Open discussion, questions, group work

• Breaks of course!

What to expect on our Tuesday zoom classes (cameras required to be on the entire time):

• History and philosophy

• Open discussion, questions, group work

• Short meditation or pranayama practice

Other requirements:

• Attend at least 3 classes each month and submit a short essay on what you noticed about the class. For example, cueing, themes, sequencing, style etc. This is NOT to critique the instructor, this is just to see what you notice as the student.

Graduation requirements:

• Participate in class and teach back each pose. I get we can’t all “do” every pose and that is fine! I’m looking for effort, but most of all comprehension of the asana and being able to teach them all.

• Attend all classes. This is very important and a requirement with the Yoga Alliance. An additional fee is required to make up time with me if you miss a class. I KNOW life happens!!! Trust me, do I ever! To be compliant with Yoga Alliance though we need to ensure everyone meets these requirements. Communication between you and I is key and we will make up time together as needed.

• Teach a 30 minute, 45 minute, and a final 60 minute class to a small group in our training.

• 1-2 hours of written homework each month. This could be anatomy, writing a sequence, coming up with cues, writing a script for an asana etc. These are FUN!

• Written final exam. When I say don’t panic over this, DON’T PANIC. Everyone will pass.

Whether you want to teach or not, you can learn so much about yoga, but also almost everyone leaves a yoga teacher training program with a different perspective on life. These trainings truly are life changing.

It’s impossible to put all the great information in a simple blog post. I’d LOVE to chat if you have more questions or need more details.

Feel free to reach out!