200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program
The 200 Hour Foundational Teacher Training is designed to deepen your understanding and experience of all aspects of traditional yoga and prepare you to teach beginning to intermediate classes with confidence and inspiration.
Trainees will gain a solid base in the structure and practice of classical yoga poses, Sun Salutes, breath and bandhas, learn injury prevention and basic anatomy and physiology for yoga and ultimate understand how to connect to their body, breath and mind. Through the study of the classical text, The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and the 8 limbs of yoga, the program provides the practical application of yoga philosophy for daily life. Through the study of Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing system and sister science to yoga, students will not only learn how to determine their unique body type and help create balance through foods and lifestyle, they will understand how to apply Ayurvedic principles to the yoga practice. These ancient Vedic sciences are lifelong tools for the creation of health and balance, both physically and mentally.
We will learn traditional beginner to intermediate poses in all the areas of standing, seated, inversions and backbends as well as classical and contemporary Sun Salutes. We will delve into their proper structure and practice, alignment, modifications, injury prevention, breathing practices, bandhas, and Sanskrit names.
To help each and every trainee take their own practice to the next level, we have designated Assisted Practice classes where both verbal and hands-on adjustments(when in-person classes resume) to correct structure and prevent injuries, deepen poses and learn new poses. This individual focus on the practice of each trainee helps them fine tune and grow their personal yoga practice and create the proper muscle memory to practice safely and with the proper structure. It also provides the connection to their own body so that they can feel the proper structure from the inside out and draw upon that knowledge to share it with their future students.
We will cover, in depth, the many subtleties that go into creating a balanced and authentic yoga practice and learn how to develop sequences for beginner to intermediate classes. You will learn how to incorporate breath & mental focus to balance the physical and internal aspects of a yoga class so that you can create an authentic yoga experience for the students at any level of physical intensity. The program includes extensive practice teaching experience that gradually and systematically prepares you to teach with clarity, confidence and humility. We will also cover the Business of Yoga or professionalism in teaching yoga and how to establish a successful career as a yoga teacher.
Our three day course begins with a study of Samkhya philosophy, the ancient system upon which both yoga and Ayurveda are founded. Trainees will gain the solid philosophical understanding needed to fully grasp the intricacies of a balanced life spiritually, mentally and physically. We will then study the classical yogic text the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali with an emphasis on understanding the mind and the theory and practices of Sadhana Pada (the chapter on practice). Special focus will be given to the relevance and function of the Eight Limbs of Yoga and their practical application in daily life.
Included in the program is a two day course on the ancient healing system of Ayurveda, also known as the sister science to yoga. This course is designed as a thorough foundation of the principles of Ayurveda, the yogic diet and lifestyle and the practical tools to achieve health and balance. Trainees will learn about the three Ayurvedic doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and gain valuable tools to balance their own unique constitution (body type) in simple and natural ways by establishing lifestyle, yogic and food routines and practices which are best suited to their unique constitution. By the completion of the course, students will have both the philosophical understanding and practical tools to proactively create health, enhance their immune system, make intelligent food and lifestyle choices and replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones.
You will learn basic anatomy and physiology specific to the practice of yoga poses. Through an understanding of the musculoskeletal system and the experiential application of movement in yoga asanas you will gain the knowledge of how to best support the muscles and joints, achieve proper structure, prevent and heal from injury, tailor a yoga practice according to one’s innate strengths and weaknesses, modify a practice according to one’s Ayurvedic constitution and create intelligent & balanced class sequences.
We will also explore energetic and structural alignment for enhanced energy flow and the physiology of respiration and breathing techniques.
We will explore the more subtle aspects of the yoga practice and the use of the Breath and the Bandhas. We will learn about the movement of Prana (life force) throughout the body and understand the role of Kundalini and the chakras.
During the 200 Hour Foundational training there are many practice teaching hours. There is no substitution, however, for real in-class experience with real students. The Post-Graduate Mentorship Program is designed to give the newly graduates teacher this experience through the guidance of one of our senior teachers who is specially trained as a mentor. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO…
