YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
Ask every place you are considering for yoga teacher training: (our answers)
Can I visit your training before I commit? (Yes)
How many times will I practice teaching onsite? (100) or more if desired
How many teaching practicum classes (live, with a mentor) will I have with my peers at your school? (50) if desired
Will you attend live classes that I teach and give me feedback on my teaching? (Yes)
Will I teach on your studio’s schedule (Yes)
(3) STEPS TO CONFIDENTLY TEACH YOGA
(1) Practice: love yoga
Yoga is experiential learning. Having developed a personal practice is essential prior to teaching. But those of you new to yoga and excited can start teacher training now, and grow into our teaching practicum later.
(2) Tools Development: learn skills to share your love of Yoga
Teaching requires sharing information with others. Reaching students of different backgrounds requires different toolsets. Our workshops include:
bodywork, to work physically with others
ayurveda, to learn "for whom and when" a practice of yoga is beneficial; to adapt practices to different ages, body types, conditions
communication and conduct, to lead by example; to navigate teacher-student relationships
anatomy, to understand body systems
music, to lead meaningful group ritual
yoga lab, to understand modifications, alignment principles, assist + adjust yoga postures
sanskrit yoga philosophy, to establish the intellectual framework from which the teachings of yoga have grown and been preserved.
individual 1-on-1 assessment skills, to adapt the tools of yoga to individuals' needs
teaching lab, to practice teaching in small increments in a group format, to have weekly community with other trainees
(3) Teaching Practicum: practice sharing your love of Yoga, with on-the-job training
includes on-site mentorship at 4 stages of teaching:
Silent class: learn to share your love of the practice with even timing + pacing, while holding space for others to practice
Talk teach: without demonstrating
See the room: learn to work with individuals in a group setting while keeping the above stages intact
Physical adjustments: learn safe, effective hands-on skills to align, modify, assist and enhance the practice while maintaining the above
In our teacher training, you receive the rare opportunity to actually practice these 4 stages, with mentorship, onsite at our studio in live classes. You will graduate with confidence, and after graduation be able to teach an incredible, foundation, all-levels yoga class to students anywhere in the world - even if the students don't speak your language.
“स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः
sa tu dīrgha-kāla-nairantarya-satkār-āsevito dṛdha-bhūmiḥ
A practice which brings one to Truth becomes firmly-grounded when attended with devotion, for a long time, without interruption.”
WHAT STYLE OF YOGA?
The fundamentals.
Our level 1 teacher training trains you to teach a 60-75 minute, thorough set of 40+ postures, 9 breathing techniques, and basic group interactive ritual like call and response singing.
The postures in level 1 teach the fundamentals. The level 1 class allows all ages, the 99% of walking people, to participate fully.
We love HOT YOGA, ATHLETIC YOGA, VINYASA FLOW YOGA, ASHTANGA YOGA, POWER YOGA etc… But, over the decades, we have seen that is much easier for new teachers to progress from the fundamentals to more dynamic styles.
It makes sense - in learning anything - to learn solid fundamentals, and then expand from those fundamentals. In this case, options for expansion include from basic poses (downward dog) to dynamic ones (handstand), from slower paced classes (1-2 breaths between poses) to faster classes (flow), from normal room temperature classes to hot classes.
We have seen over the decades, that it is often very difficult for teachers who have trained in faster, more dynamic, or hot yoga systems to learn how to teach the fundamentals… especially to older, less able bodied adults, or to children who are not as body aware.
From the level 1 flow that our trainees learn, they can easily learn how to increase the pace of classes, increase the range of motion in postures, and/or increase the temperature of the room.
Additionally, they can learn to slow the level 1 flow down to restorative practices, or adapt many of the postures to chair yoga.
Learning solid fundamentals allows teachers to increase or decrease the pace and range of movement of class to the population that they are serving. And eventually, over time, advanced teachers learn to teach a class with options for multiple levels and varying, but synchronized paces.
Importantly - we train our teachers, in level 1, to teach breathing techniques, which more directly influence the mind, energy levels, stress levels, and one’s felt sense of Spirit.
PRICING
You can pay upfront in full and save, or pay by monthly installments. See our pricing page here
SCHEDULE
5 month set date programs: Jan-May | June-Oct
Wednesday evenings, 5 weekends (1/month), makeup hours free
first 4 registrants receive early bird pricing
review, repeat, stay longer for free
Enrollment and questions: santosha.school@gmail.com, or use the form at the bottom of the page