Mind. Body. Joy’s 200-hour yoga teacher training program offers serious yoga practitioners and aspiring teachers an immersive and life-changing learning experience. Our core curriculum has been carefully crafted based on thousands of hours of experience in practicing and teaching yoga. Our teachers lovingly share the aspects of yoga that have been most transformational to them through lived experience, including asana, pranayama, meditation and philosophies. 

 

Our 200-hour program is registered with Yoga Alliance, which means our curriculum is aligned with the highest standards in yoga teaching techniques, training, practice, anatomy, philosophy, methodology and professional ethics. 

 

Upon successful completion of the Mind. Body. Joy. program, students will be certified yoga teachers and eligible to become a member of Yoga Alliance; an accreditation that is a typical requirement for many teaching positions.

 

Program Syllabus

 

The Mind. Body. Joy. 200-hour program syllabus is comprehensive and has been carefully crafted to help students understand and apply the primary aspects of yoga in their life. Key learning areas include: 

 

Yoga History & Philosophies 

Gain an understanding of the history of yoga from its roots to modern times; the path through the Vedas, Upanishads, and Sutras to the modern Hatha Yoga and Tantra. Through lecture and discussion we will come to understand how Patanjali systematized the philosophy of yoga and the 8 limbs.

 

Anatomy, Physiology & Biomechanics 

Locate and understand the major joints, tissues, and bones in the body and their function for healthy movement patterns in yoga asana. Gain an understanding of the circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems and the effects of yoga practices on these systems.

 

Prana, Breathwork & The Subtle Body 

Learn and identify the five pranavayus and their relation to the function of our physiology, and explore different pranayama techniques. Learn about the locations, meaning and significance of the Chakra and Nadi system and their influence on our health and wellness.

 

Postural Yoga 

Learn the key poses of Hatha, Vinyasa and Restorative yoga. Understand the six categories of poses and their properties, and gain confidence in teaching alignment, modifications, adjustments, and understanding contraindications. 

 

Teaching Methodology and Sequencing

Learn the idea of deliberate care in creating yoga sequences and classes. From language cues to class themes, students will explore how to keep a focused mindset on teaching safety and effectively in a way that gives structure, coherence, meaning, and transformative potential to yoga classes.

 

Meditation

Students will learn ways to bring meditation and pranayama into the yoga class and begin to develop teaching methods. These techniques will include Yogic traditions such as breath focus, walking meditation, mantra and chanting.

 

Ayurveda & Yogic Lifestyle

Gain an understanding about how we as individuals respond to stress and how we can support our bodies to come back to balance with ease and grace. Explore the nature of wellness and how asana, pranayama, meditation, ayurveda and self-knowledge work together to remind us of our natural state of wholeness.

 

Business of Yoga

Learn the principles of how to build a business around yoga that honors its traditional roots. Explore different aspects of the yoga business and how to strategically drive potential students to attend classes, workshops, retreats, and trainings through brand awareness and exposure.

 

Practicum 

Students will be able to take all of the knowledge they have learned throughout the training and create and deliver a group class sequence. Students will each practice teaching the beginning, middle and end of a yoga class.

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Required Reading

 

All students will receive a comprehensive manual at the start of the program. In addition, students will need several books to supplement the material covered in the course: 

 

Teaching Yoga, Essential Foundations and Techniques by Mark Stephens

Teaching People, Not Poses by Jay Fields

Trail Guide to the Body, 5th Edition by Andrew Biel

Hatha Yoga Pradapika by Swami Swatmarama

The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice by Georg Feuerstein

The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran or Stephen Mitchell

 

Additional instructions about the required reading texts will be provided after acceptance to the program. Students may also be required to attend online learning sessions and complete homework assignments after the completion of the in-person training program.