There are so many unique ways to create an inclusive, supportive and dynamic yoga class… but the at the root of it all mostly sits the concept of mindfulness. You must first foster a sense of authenticity through being present and tuning into the room (whether in person or giving a class virtually). The energy and intention you set for your students comes from you, and they’ll likely carry it with them long after the class takes place.
Here is a short yoga sequence towards a peak pose that centers around the general theme of mindfulness. Being more mindful throughout your everyday life has numerous benefits, including enhanced awareness and appreciation. We hope that this yoga class sequence fosters that for you!
Puttering & Dharma Talk
In this mini sequence, you are invited to explore what the concept of “mindfulness” means to you or how you incorporate it into your life. Try to keep the discussion pretty neutral and broad, with a general explanation of a way mindfulness has made its way into your life or someone you know. From there, you can tie that into the yoga practice. How does being mindful relate to the practice as a whole and what are some ways to embody mindfulness? A good place to start is the first of the Yoga Sutras, “Atha Yoga Anushasanam.”
Atha Yoga Anushasanam translates to, “Now, the practice of yoga,” meaning right in this moment, being mindful that we came to our mats to practice. This is a great starting point for a dharma talk because not only is it explaining the concept of being mindful, but the students (and you as a teacher) are actively experiencing mindfulness in this exact moment. Encouraging the class to sit down and tune in is a great way to introduce them to the concept of mindfulness.
Have your students start seated, taking a few mindful breaths. Start with neck rolls, tucking their ear to one shoulder and rolling their head around clockwise and then switch directions. Have them make their way to table top and run through a few rounds of cat/cow. From there, they can walk their palms out in front of them, widen their knees, and come to sit back on their heels for child’s pose, tuck their toes under, send their hips up and back and make their way to downward facing dog. From downward facing dog, here’s the poses they can move through:
3 legged dog, bend the knee, stack the hips
Step through to crescent lunge twist (with an arm lifted)
Parallel their feet and fold over their legs for Prasarita Padottansana (have them walk their arms out like downward facing dog arms)
Stay low and crawl themselves to the back of their mat for a pigeon pose
Send their front leg back, tuck their toes under and send their hips up and back for downward facing dog
Roll forward to plank
Lower all the way down
Press up any amount for cobra pose
Downward facing dog
Walk to the top of your spot for sun salutations
They can stop there after sun salutations, or feel free to flow them through some standing poses that will make them feel totally present.
Standing poses:
Warrior II
Triangle
Extended side angle
Half Moon
Warrior I
Tree
Chair
Revolved side angle or chair twist
Revolved triangle
You can then direct them to a peak pose that is a twist or seated, twisting pose, allowing them to tune inward. After you’ve demonstrated the peak pose (a twist or seated twist pose), have them take supported bridge with a block under their seat, or legs up the wall and then happy baby… and don’t forget a well-thought-out Savasana! At least 6 minutes. This will give your class a well-rounded, mindful feeling. As they lie in Savasana, you can circle back on your dharma talk about mindfulness and invite them to utilize the feelings they cultivated in today’s class to practice mindfulness in their daily lives.
Mindfulness practices to try at home
There are so many ways to practice mindfulness at home, including:
Meditation — Meditating, whether in the mornings or at night, can help to clear and calm the mind. Consistent meditation allows the mind to distill down to pure consciousness.
A joyful project — Finding a hobby you love and immersing yourself fully in it is a great way to stay present and be mindful in the moment. Knitting, scrapbooking, painting, reading, writing, singing, playing an instrument, cleaning are some of the many ways to explore a new endeavor that could potentially unlock a lot of joy!
Journaling — Journaling has become such a popular way of processing feelings and emotions throughout the days, thus leading to a deeper understanding of stress and how to relieve it.
Movement — Whether you love lifting weights, going walking or running, enjoy practicing yoga, or just dancing in your living room, movement has been proven to not only enhance your mood, but help you cultivate a sense of body awareness that in turn leads to you being more mindful about yourself. Carving out time to move, in whatever way feels good to you, even in a chair, wheelchair, etc. will greatly benefit your soul and help your brain be more present.
If you are interested in learning more about mindfulness or wish to educate your employees, co-workers, yoga students or other people in your life in mindfulness, consider our online course! Inside this course, Rajaa Azouqa, (Qualified MB-EAT & MBSR Instructor), guides you through a detailed curriculum centered around the psychological and physiological aspects of incorporating mindfulness into your everyday life and teachings. The course is completely online and self-paced and features live Zoom sessions with Rajaa!
With the growing conversation around weight loss, many people find themselves navigating between dieting, newer medications such as GLP-1 agonists, and alternative approaches like mindful eating. It can be difficult to know what truly supports long-term health and what may only offer temporary results.
This article is designed to help you better understand what mindful eating is, why traditional diets often fail to create sustainable change, and what GLP-1 medications are, including how they work and who they may be appropriate for.
Dieting has long been one of the most common approaches to weight loss, yet research continues to show that many diets are difficult to maintain and often lead to weight regain over time. At the same time, medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro have gained significant attention for their ability to support weight loss and improve metabolic health. While these medications can be highly beneficial, particularly for individuals living with type 2 diabetes or obesity, they are not a complete solution on their own.
Both obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are complex conditions that often require a comprehensive approach, including medical care, lifestyle changes, movement, and support in building a healthier relationship with food. Medication may be an important part of treatment for some individuals, but lasting well-being often requires more than appetite suppression or temporary food restriction.
It is also important to acknowledge that while GLP-1 medications were developed primarily to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, they are increasingly being used by individuals seeking modest weight loss, sometimes for reasons that may not be medically necessary. This raises important questions about how we define health, our relationship with body weight, and whether we are addressing the root causes of our eating struggles.
There is no single “best” way to manage weight, diabetes, or overall health. Every person is unique, and so is each treatment path. My hope is that this article offers a balanced perspective, one that helps you better understand your options and highlights the role that mindful eating can play in supporting sustainable, compassionate, and long-term change.
Please note:This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice or replace guidance from your healthcare provider. If you are considering GLP-1 medications or making changes to your treatment plan, speak with your healthcare professional to determine what is appropriate for your individual needs.
Before exploring diets and newer medical approaches such as GLP-1 medications, it is important to understand the foundation of a healthy relationship with food. Mindful eating offers a different lens, one that shifts the focus from control and restriction toward awareness, self-trust, and long-term well-being.
Mindful eating
Mindful eating has become a popular topic in recent years, especially as more people seek alternatives to dieting and quick-fix approaches to weight management. But mindful eating is not a modern trend. Its roots lie in Buddhist teachings, where eating with awareness is considered an essential practice for reducing unnecessary harm and cultivating care for both body and mind.
In the West, mindfulness was introduced about 40 years ago, and over the past two decades, mindful eating has emerged as a well-studied mindfulness-based approach to improving our relationship with food. Research has shown that mindful eating can support both physical and emotional well-being, with benefits including:
Improved eating behaviors and patterns
Reduction in binge eating episodes and emotional eating
Improved quality of diet
Greater body satisfaction and pleasure in eating
Improved metabolic health
Enhanced psychological well-being
Better emotional regulation
Increased self-compassion
Greater distress tolerance
A deeper sense of meaning and connection
To understand mindful eating, it helps to first understand mindfulness itself.
What is the practice of mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and without judgment. It means becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and surroundings as they are, even if they are uncomfortable, without reacting to them or labeling them as good or bad.
A key skill of mindfulness is learning to place our attention where we choose, rather than where it is automatically pulled. This skill is cultivated through practices such as mindfulness meditation, where we intentionally tune into the breath, body sensations, thoughts, and emotions.
As we strengthen this capacity, we also become better able to notice subtle internal signals, such as hunger, fullness, cravings, and satisfaction, which are essential to mindful eating.
How mindfulness relates to eating
Mindfulness helps bring awareness to the many factors that influence our eating:
Difficult emotions: Sadness, stress, boredom, loneliness, or fear can all trigger us to eat. Mindfulness helps us recognize emotional discomfort and develop healthier ways to respond, rather than automatically turning to food.
Challenging thoughts: Critical thoughts about ourselves, our bodies, or our worth can strongly influence eating behaviors. Through mindfulness, we learn to notice these thoughts with compassion, rather than reacting to them with punishment, guilt, or shame.
Body signals: Mindfulness helps us reconnect with physical cues such as hunger, fullness, satiety, taste preferences, and satisfaction, signals that are often ignored in the rush of daily life or overridden by diet rules.
Our true needs: Sometimes what we think is hunger may actually be a need for rest, comfort, connection, or emotional support. Mindfulness helps us pause and ask: What do I truly need right now?
How food affects us: We become more aware of how different foods make us feel, what energizes us, what leaves us feeling sluggish, and what genuinely nourishes our body and mind.
Mindful eating helps you reconnect with your body
Mindful eating invites you to listen to your body’s wisdom: when to eat, when to stop, what sounds appealing, and when enjoyment begins to fade. It also helps you distinguish physical hunger from other urges to eat, such as stress or boredom.
It helps you understand and manage food triggers and cravings
Mindful eating involves identifying the emotions, situations, and habits that influence your eating patterns. Rather than reacting automatically, you learn to respond with awareness and intention utilizing the tools and skills of mindfulness.
It is NOT a diet
Mindful eating is not based on restriction, deprivation, or rigid food rules. No one else can determine exactly what or how much will feel satisfying and nourishing for your body, only you can decide that by tuning in.
It encourages flexibility
Life includes holidays, dinners out, celebrations, vacations, and moments when food is meant to be enjoyed socially. Mindful eating teaches you how to navigate all of these experiences with balance and freedom, rather than guilt or anxiety.
It helps free you from diet mentality
Mindful eating can be deeply liberating. It shifts your energy away from constant thoughts about food, weight, and body image, creating space for what truly matters in your life.
It supports balance, not perfection
Mindful eating is about balance, not rigid control. It does not mean you only eat when physically hungry or that every food choice must be “healthy.” Sometimes we eat for comfort, celebration, or pure enjoyment, and that can be part of a balanced relationship with food when done with awareness.
It’s not just about what you eat, it’s about how you eat
Mindful eating includes all foods, even those often labeled “unhealthy.” The difference is that you learn how to savor them, enjoy them fully, and choose amounts that feel nourishing rather than harmful.
It helps cultivate a healthier relationship with food
At its core, mindful eating is about healing your relationship with food, and with yourself. It invites qualities of compassion, patience, acceptance, and non-judgment, allowing food to become a source of nourishment and enjoyment rather than stress, guilt, or shame.
Mindful eating is not a quick fix. It is a lifelong practice of learning to trust your body, care for your mind, and relate to food with greater awareness and kindness.
To better understand why mindful eating can be so transformative, it helps to first look at the limitations of the approach many people know best: dieting. While diets are often pursued with good intentions, they may not always support sustainable or lasting change.
Diets
The word diet originally refers to the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. Today, however, it is more commonly used to describe a structured plan for weight loss. We often hear people say, “I’m on a diet” or “I’m dieting,” which usually means they are following some form of food restriction, whether to lose weight or to address health concerns.
Despite their popularity, research suggests that diets often fail to create lasting change. The Center for Weight and Eating Disorders reports that 65% of dieters return to their pre-diet weight within three years. A meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight-loss studies found that more than half of the weight lost was regained within two years, and over 80% was regained after five years (2019). Another 5-year study found that adolescents who dieted, particularly those using weight-loss medications, laxatives, or diuretics, were more likely to struggle with weight issues in adulthood compared to those who did not diet (2006).
Why diets often don’t work
They don’t address habits and behaviours
Diets may focus on what to eat, but they rarely help people understand why they eat the way they do. Without identifying and working with our habits and behaviours, sustainable change becomes difficult. The ability to shift patterns is often key to long-term well-being and weight regulation.
They don’t teach us how to manage eating triggers and cravings
Emotions like stress, boredom, and environmental cues often influence our eating. Diets rarely provide tools for navigating these triggers or for responding skillfully in challenging situations.
They disconnect us from our body’s internal wisdom
Strict food rules can pull us away from important internal signals such as hunger, fullness, satiety and taste satisfaction. Over time, this can weaken our ability to self-regulate and trust our body’s natural cues.
Restriction often leads to overeating
Many diets eliminate or tightly restrict certain foods. Research shows that when we feel deprived, we often become more preoccupied with those foods and may overeat them later. In contrast, mindful eating encourages moderation and the inclusion of foods that are often labeled “off-limits,” helping reduce feelings of deprivation and binge-like eating.
They may not support overall health and well-being
Many restrictive diets may further dysregulate the body’s physiology rather than support it. They can also increase stress around food, and health is not only about weight, it also includes emotional well-being, flexibility, and a balanced relationship with eating.
They can interfere with social connection
Food is deeply tied to culture, celebration, and connection. Avoiding gatherings with family, friends, or colleagues because of dietary rules is often unsustainable and can create unnecessary isolation.
Rather than focusing solely on restriction, mindful eating invites a more sustainable and compassionate approach, one that supports awareness, flexibility, and a healthier relationship with food.
As many people move away from traditional dieting, others are turning to newer medical options for support. GLP-1 medications have become increasingly popular for weight management and metabolic health, but like any treatment, they are best understood within the broader context of long-term care and overall well-being.
GLP-1 Agonists (e.g., Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro)
GLP-1 agonists such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, have become increasingly popular as treatments for weight management and metabolic health. While they are often discussed as “weight-loss medications,” they are primarily medical tools designed to support individuals whose health may be significantly impacted by excess weight, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, or related conditions.
Understanding what they are, how they work, and what they can, and cannot, do can help us approach them with greater clarity and less stigma.
GLP-1 stands for Glucagon-Like Peptide-1, a naturally occurring hormone produced in the gut after we eat. This hormone plays an important role in regulating blood sugar, appetite, and digestion. GLP-1 receptor agonists are medications that mimic the effects of this natural hormone, helping the body better manage hunger signals and glucose metabolism. Common examples include: Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.
How do GLP-1s work?
GLP-1 agonists work by influencing several processes in the body that affect appetite and metabolism:
They slow stomach emptying, which helps you feel fuller for longer after eating.
They reduce appetite and food cravings by acting on areas of the brain involved in hunger regulation.
They increase feelings of satiety, making it easier to eat smaller portions.
They help regulate blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin release when needed and reducing excess glucose production by the liver.
Together, these effects can lead to reduced food intake and, for many people, meaningful weight loss.
Who are GLP-1s intended for?
GLP-1 medications are typically prescribed for individuals who may benefit medically from weight reduction or improved metabolic health, including those with:
Type 2 diabetes
Obesity or overweight, particularly when accompanied by health risks such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or cardiovascular concerns
Insulin resistance or prediabetes
Difficulty achieving weight loss through lifestyle changes alone
Potential benefits may include:
Significant and sustained weight loss
Improved blood sugar regulation
Improved cholesterol and blood pressure markers
Lower risk of obesity-related health complications
Reduced food cravings and less “food noise”
For some people, a sense of relief from the constant mental struggle around food
For individuals who have spent years feeling trapped in cycles of hunger, cravings, and weight regain, GLP-1 medications can offer meaningful support and create space for healthier habits to develop.
Side effects
Like all medications, GLP-1 agonists can cause side effects, especially when first starting treatment or increasing dosage. Common side effects include:
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea or constipation
Bloating or stomach discomfort
Fatigue
Reduced appetite that may sometimes feel excessive
In some cases, people may also experience:
Difficulty consuming enough nutrients due to reduced hunger
Loss of muscle mass if protein intake and strength training are not prioritized
Emotional adjustment, especially if food has long served as a source of comfort or coping
While these medications can be powerful tools, they do not address the emotional, behavioural, or relational aspects of eating on their own.
This is where mindful eating can play an important complementary role. Whether someone chooses to use GLP-1 medications or not, learning to reconnect with hunger and fullness cues, understand emotional eating patterns, and build trust with food remains essential for long-term well-being.
Whether the path involves dieting, medication, or a combination of approaches, an important question remains: what truly helps us sustain health and well-being over time?
Long-term considerations
Whether someone chooses dieting, GLP-1 medications, or another approach to weight loss, one important question remains: What happens when the plan ends?
Many approaches can help reduce weight in the short term. Diets may create temporary structure, and GLP-1 medications may significantly reduce appetite and support weight loss while they are being taken. But neither necessarily teaches the skills needed to maintain those changes long term.
Without learning how to understand eating habits, manage emotional triggers, reconnect with hunger and fullness cues, and build a more balanced relationship with food, weight regain is common, whether after stopping a diet or discontinuing medication.
For individuals using GLP-1 medications specifically for weight loss, this may mean that maintaining the benefits could require ongoing use of the medication, sometimes indefinitely. This does not mean the medication has failed; rather, it highlights that appetite suppression alone is often not enough to support lasting change.
Sustainable well-being often requires something deeper: developing awareness, flexibility, and self-trust around food and eating.
This is where mindful eating can offer something uniquely valuable. It helps address the emotional, behavioural, and relational aspects of eating, skills that can support long-term health whether someone is taking medication, transitioning off it, or simply looking for a more compassionate alternative to dieting.
If long-term health requires more than temporary solutions, what might a more sustainable path look like? The answer may lie not in controlling food more strictly, but in learning to relate to it differently.
A more sustainable path forward through mindfulness
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health or weight management. For some, medications like GLP-1 agonists can be an important and supportive medical tool. For others, stepping away from the cycle of dieting may be the first step toward healing.
Whatever path you choose, lasting change is often not just about what you eat or how much weight you lose, it is about learning how to reconnect with your body, understand your relationship with food, and care for yourself in a more sustainable way.
Mindful eating offers a path toward that deeper transformation: one rooted in awareness, balance, flexibility, and compassion.
Building a healthier relationship with food and with yourself is a process, one that takes practice, patience, and support. If you’re ready to deepen this work, I invite you to continue your journey through mindfulness and mindful eating.
If you’re ready to build a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food—and with yourself—I invite you to explore my courses:
Mindfulness Training
Learn the foundational skills of mindfulness to better understand your thoughts, emotions, and body signals, and to cultivate greater calm, clarity, and self-awareness.
Mindful Eating Training
A practical and compassionate approach to healing your relationship with food, managing emotional eating, reconnecting with hunger and fullness cues, and moving beyond the diet mentality.
Both trainings are designed to help you develop lifelong skills that support well-being far beyond temporary solutions, so you can feel more grounded, empowered, and at ease in your body and your life. Whether for your own personal journey or to share with others; clients, patients, or communities you support, these trainings offer practical and compassionate tools for cultivating a healthier relationship with food, body, and self.
“Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless.” — Yoga Sutra 2.47
Arm balances require strength, agility, coordination, and concentration in both body and mind. Physically they tone the arms, wrists, shoulders, back, and abdomen. They also require flexibility and mobility of the hips and shoulder joints.
Ultimately, as we continue to practice these physically challenging poses we begin to develop lightness, equanimity, and poise. The effort to maintain the pose remains, yet tension and strain is released and left behind.
Arm balances undoubtedly require a fair amount of effort, especially at first, but as we refine our practice we can start to find strength as integration, not hardness, which is relaxation is action or effortless effort.
Peak Pose: Eka Hasta Bhujasana
Eka means “one,” Hasta means “hand” and Bhuja means “arm.” This pose is translated as one hand and arm pose but often referred to as “Elephant Trunk Pose” as the shape resembles the trunk of an elephant. This arm balance is in the family of poses with the leg over the upper arm (above elbow) and is a great place to start before moving onto poses such as Koundinyasana II, Tittibhasana, Bhujapidasana, and Astavakrasana.
Lizard Pose is a great pose to incorporate into a sequence when practicing arm balances, but especially arm balances with the leg over the upper arm. It’s a deep hip opener that also opens the groins, hamstrings, and hip flexor muscles. It also opens the upper back, shoulders, and neck.
How to get into Lizard Pose:
Start in Downward Facing Dog.
Lift your right leg and step it outside your right hand.
Bend your knee until its over your heel.
Bring your back knee to your mat to start.
You can keep your arms straight with your palms under your shoulders or bring your forearms to the mat with your elbows under your shoulders.
Option to curl your back toes and lift your back knee making your back leg straight.
Breathe into your upper back and let your head relax.
Stay for 5 to 10 breaths.
Repeat on the other side.
Supporting Pose 2: Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle)
Extended Side Angle is a standing pose that extends the trunk laterally over a bent front leg. It does precisely what its name suggests, extending the sides of the trunk. It creates a single line of lengthening from the back foot to the extended fingertips.
How to get into Extended Side Angle:
Stand in Tadasana and step your feet 3 ½ to 4 feet wide.
Turn your right leg and foot out to 90 degrees and the left leg and foot inward 15 degrees.
Bend your right leg until the knee is over the ankle forming a right angle.
Keep your back leg straight.
Extend your torso laterally alongside your right leg and bring your right hand outside your right foot. Your outer right knee and inner right armpit should be sealed together.
Extend your left arm overhead alongside your left ear. Your palm should face the floor and fingers outstretched.
Turn your gaze upwards towards your inner left bicep.
Stay for 5 breaths.
Repeat on the other side.
Supporting Pose 3: Marichyasana 1 (Sage Pose)
This complex seated forward fold binds the hands together behind the back and around a bent leg. This pose stimulates the abdominal muscles and kidneys and opens the muscles of the back, shoulders and neck.
How to get into Sage Pose:
Start seated on the floor with your legs extended straight in front of you. You can sit up on a blanket to help lift.
Bend your right leg, bringing your heel towards your sit bone.
Lift your right arm and reach forward inside your right thigh towards your left big toe.
Turn your arm, bringing your thumb to face the floor, and then bend your elbow, wrapping your arm around your bent leg. Your armpit and shin should be sealed together.
Take your left arm and wrap it behind your back, clasping your hands together. If your hands don’t reach you can use a strap.
Inhale lift your chest, exhale extend your torso over your straight left leg.
Stay for 5 breaths.
Repeat on the other side.
Peak Pose: Eka Hasta Bhujasana (Elephant Trunk Pose)
How to get into Elephant Trunk Pose:
Start seated on the floor with your legs extended straight in front of you.
Bend your right leg and place it over your right upper arm. Keep the inner right thigh and knee pressing into the torso and shoulder. Keep your left leg straight.
Plant your hands alongside your hips. You can use blocks under your hands to help lift.
Inhale and as you exhale, press your palms down and lift your buttocks, torso, and straight (left) leg off the floor.
Pull your abdomen back towards your kidneys, round your upper back and lean forward.
Stay for 5 to 10 breaths.
Repeat on the other side.
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Yoga made its way to the West in about the 19th century. Since then, it has been widely practiced, observed, transformed and even regulated. Once the practice took root in the Western world, people had praised it for its magnificent benefits toward leading a healthier life. Some even went on to take the ancient teachings from India and translate them over here in what is known as yoga teacher training or “ytt”.
Eventually, there needed to be some sort of quality control for the yoga curriculum that was being put out into the world and that’s where Yoga Alliance comes in. Yoga Alliance soon became a governing body for what constitutes a credible yoga teacher training and a continuing education course. Continuing education (CEUs) could be considered any additional training on top of the initial 200 and 300 hours.
Yoga Alliance put some guidelines in place to standardize what was considered a Registered Yoga Teacher and Registered Yoga School. But first, let’s go over the order in which people typically get certified to teach yoga.
Core Yoga Teacher Trainings:
200 HR Yoga Teacher Training: This is the starting point to become certified teaching yoga. Enrolling in a 200 hour yoga teacher training gives you the fundamentals necessary to understand the practice, both its history and current standings, as well as all the information you’d need to lead a group fitness class. However, you’ll learn so much more than just the physical practice. While yoga asana is widely covered in a 200 hour ytt, there are also topics like Philosophy, The Chakras & Subtle Body, Meditation & Breathwork, as well as pretty in-depth Anatomy knowledge to aid in the physical portion. Once you’ve obtained a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification, you can continue on to 300 hours and/or decide to study a specific genre of yoga such as: Yin, Restorative, Prenatal, Bhakti, and more.
CYT = Certified Yoga Teacher, signifies the completion of 200 hours or more of yoga teacher training.
E-RYT200 = Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher, completed 200 hours of yoga teacher training and at least 1,000 hours of teaching experience.
300 HR Yoga Teacher Training: A 300 hour yoga teacher training will go deeper into the study of yoga, specifically the understanding of Samadhi. You’ll learn more in-depth teaching methods such as hands-on assists, more ways to modify postures utilizing props and possibly the wall, you’ll go deeper into yoga philosophy and read larger, more detailed texts such as The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, and depending on what lineage of yoga asana you are studying, texts like The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā. A 300 hour training is meant to expand upon your 200 hours, meaning you’ll go into more granular teachings rather than having access to the broad spectrum of topics discussed in a 200 hour training.
500 HR Yoga Teacher Training: A full 500 hours is achieved once you’ve completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training and a 300 hour yoga teacher training. A 500 hour ytt is a combination of those two programs. When you’re completing an online yoga teacher training, a 500 hour ytt will often be a package deal of that specific yoga school’s 200 and 300 hour ytt.
RYT500 = Registered Yoga Teacher, having completed 500 total hours of training.
E-RYT500 = Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher with over 2,000 hours of teaching experience.
Then there are ‘specialty certifications’. A specialty certification can be considered a training in a specific type of yoga or meditation that you are passionate about that exists as its own training outside of a 200 hour yoga teacher training. Specialty certifications often come with a specific yoga alliance designation, but are not required to teach that specific type of yoga. For example, PRYT means that they have completed a Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training program to further assist pre and postnatal students. This is the same with children’s yoga. Certain yoga certifications like kids yoga, prenatal, yin and restorative are typically done after a 200 hour training. They often build on a foundational training but will also delve into specific areas like poses, class structure, anatomy and philosophy that are specific to that practice.
Specialty Certifications:
Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training: A yoga teacher training dedicated to pre and postnatal care for yoga students. A prenatal training will dive deeper into the specifics of the pregnant body and how to not only teach pregnant yogis, but assist, support and offer guidance through their pregnancy journey from a physical, mental and energetic perspective. This training helps yoga teachers stay equipped with the knowledge to guide pregnant yoga students on their journey. It can also be used as a training to help in industries that deal with pregnant people, such as learning meditations and other support methods for pregnant people in hospitals and other clinical settings.
PRYT = RYTs of any designation can register as a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT) after completing an 85-hour prenatal yoga teacher training registered with Yoga Alliance. Teachers may complete their RPYT and RYT programs in any order but cannot register as a RPYT until the RYT has been completed. Applicants must submit 30 teaching hours in prenatal yoga, which must be performed after completing a yoga teacher training with a Registered Prenatal Yoga School (RPYS). – From Yoga Alliance
Yin Yoga Teacher Training: Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga that focuses on long-held postures designed to target the connective tissues of the body, including the fascia, ligaments, joints and hips. Unlike more active styles of yoga, Yin encourages stillness, patience and introspection. A Yin Yoga Teacher Training expands a teacher’s understanding of the energetic body, meridian theory, meditation and functional anatomy while also helping teachers learn how to safely guide students through passive postures for extended periods of time. Yin Yoga trainings are commonly taken after a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training, though some schools may allow students to enroll concurrently. Teachers often pursue Yin Yoga certifications to better support students seeking mobility, recovery, stress relief and a more meditative practice.
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training: A Restorative Yoga Teacher Training teaches yoga instructors how to create safe, calming and accessible environments for students dealing with stress, burnout, anxiety, fatigue or physical recovery. These trainings often emphasize the importance of rest in modern wellness practices and help teachers understand how restorative yoga supports the parasympathetic nervous system.
Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training: Iyengar Yoga is a methodical and alignment-focused style of yoga developed by B.K.S. Iyengar. Known for its precision, use of props and emphasis on proper anatomical alignment, Iyengar Yoga encourages practitioners to develop strength, stability, mobility and body awareness through carefully structured sequencing and posture refinement.
Level 1: Level 1 teachers are trained in foundational standing poses, seated poses, twists, introductory backbends and basic pranayama techniques. Teachers at this level learn how to safely instruct beginner and general-level students while emphasizing alignment, stability and prop usage.
Level 2: Level 2 certification expands into more intermediate postures, longer sequencing strategies and deeper studies of anatomy, philosophy and pranayama. Teachers refine their observational skills and ability to adapt poses for varying student needs.
Level 3: Level 3 teachers demonstrate advanced teaching competency, deeper therapeutic applications and a greater understanding of complex postures and sequencing. This level often involves years of study, practice and assessment.
Level 4 & 5: These advanced levels represent highly experienced Iyengar teachers with extensive training in advanced asana, therapeutic yoga applications, mentorship and teacher development. Teachers at these levels are often senior instructors and assessors within the Iyengar yoga system. Iyengar Yoga certifications are governed separately from Yoga Alliance designations and follow their own assessment standards and mentorship requirements.
Children’s Yoga Teacher Training: Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings focus on adapting yoga practices for children of various age groups through movement, creativity, mindfulness and play-based learning. These trainings help yoga teachers create engaging classes that support emotional regulation, coordination, focus, confidence and social development in children.
RCYT = According to Yoga Alliance, Registered Children’s Yoga Teachers (RCYT®) must: Hold an active RYT credential, complete a 95-hour children’s yoga teacher training with a Registered Children’s Yoga School (RCYS), and complete at least 30 teaching hours in children’s yoga after training completion
Techniques, Training & Practice:This category focuses on the practical application of yoga and includes direct experiential learning. Continuing education in this category may include:
Asana studies and posture breakdowns
Advanced breathwork techniques
Meditation practices
Practice labs and teaching practicums
Functional movement and mobility work
Teaching Methodology: Teaching Methodology focuses on the skills necessary to effectively guide yoga students in a classroom setting. Topics may include:
Sequencing strategies
Cueing techniques
Class structure and pacing
Inclusive and accessible teaching
Principles of demonstration
Student observation and adjustment
Business and ethics of teaching yoga
Anatomy & Physiology: This category explores the physical body and how yoga interacts with it. Continuing education programs may cover:
Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle, Ethics:Yoga philosophy trainings help teachers understand the historical and spiritual roots of yoga while learning how to apply yogic teachings to modern life. Topics often include:
Continuing education allows yoga teachers to continue refining their teaching skills while expanding their understanding of yoga beyond the foundational 200 and 300 hour curriculum. Whether pursuing specialty certifications or deepening knowledge in anatomy, philosophy or methodology, continuing education helps yoga teachers stay informed, inspired and equipped to better support their students throughout their teaching journey.
If you’re thinking about continuing your yoga studies, be sure to check out all the online yoga teacher training courses we have so you can start learning from the comfort of your home!
Eka Pada Koundinyasana II is a posture that asks us to balance two opposing energies: grounding and expansion. One leg reaches powerfully forward while the other extends strongly back, requiring both stability and trust. This pose reminds us that true strength is not rigid—it is steady, adaptable, and supported by deep inner awareness.
Throughout this practice, we’ll build the strength, mobility, balance, and focus needed for this dynamic arm balance through standing postures, twisting shapes, lateral core work, and heart-opening backbends. As you move through today’s sequence, notice where effort begins to turn into tension and where softness can create more support. Growth often asks us to lean forward into uncertainty while staying deeply rooted in ourselves.
Puttering
Begin in Child’s Pose (Balasana). Allow the body to settle and the breath to deepen.
Transition into Downward Facing Dog and gently pedal through the feet to awaken the hamstrings, calves, and shoulders.
Plank Pose
Chaturanga Dandasana
Upward Facing Dog or Cobra Pose
Downward Facing Dog
Lizard Lunge
Sun Salutations
Move through several rounds of Surya Namaskar variations to build heat and connect breath to movement. We usually always practice Surya Namaskar A!
Standing Poses
Warrior II: Ground firmly through both feet and activate the legs and core.
Triangle Pose: Create spaciousness through the side body and hamstrings while building stability.
Extended Side Angle: Strengthen the legs and obliques while lengthening through the entire body.
Half Moon Pose: Challenge balance and cultivate steady focus while extending energy in all directions.
Side Plank: Build shoulder stability and lateral core strength essential for arm balancing.
Repeat on the second side.
Balance & Twisting Section
Eagle Pose: Draw inward to connect to your centerline and sharpen concentration.
Warrior III: Build full-body integration, balance, and directional energy.
Prasarita Padottanasana: Release tension through the spine and hamstrings while reconnecting to the breath.
Revolved Side Angle Pose: Explore spinal rotation, core engagement, and the twisting action that closely mirrors the peak pose.
Repeat on the second side.
Peak Pose: Eka Pada Koundinyasana II
From Revolved Side Angle:
Plant the palms shoulder-width distance apart.
Shift your weight forward into the hands.
Hug the front thigh onto the upper arm.
Extend the back leg strongly behind you.
Engage the core and direct your gaze slightly forward.
Offer steps along the way:
Keep the back toes grounded for support.
Lift the back leg while keeping the front leg bent.
Begin extending the front leg forward.
Explore the full expression of Eka Pada Koundinyasana II.
Encourage students to approach the pose with curiosity rather than expectation. Arm balances are not just about physical strength—they are about trust, focus, and willingness to explore beyond perceived limitations.
Backbends & Wind Down
Bridge Pose: Reopen the front body and release the hip flexors after strong core engagement.
Wheel Pose (optional): Invite expansion, energy, and spaciousness throughout the body.
Reclined knees-to-chest to neutralize the spine.
Supine Twist: Release residual tension and rinse the spine.
Savasana
Rest fully in Savasana. Eka Pada Koundinyasana II reminds us that it doesn’t matter if you can pop into every pose all the time with grace, but that the effort and journey along the way are a more important piece of the practice. Eventually, postures like this complex pose become challenging in a way that is tailored to your practice!
Eka Pada Koundinyasana II is one of those poses people either go after hard or avoid completely. Usually because it looks complicated. But when you break it down into smaller, more digestible pieces, you realize it becomes more manageable. For example, it can be looked at as a mix of Chaturanga with your leg over your arm with Trikonasana legs. Once the body understands the actions of the arms and legs in simpler versions, this pose starts to feel accessible!
Eka Pada Koundinyasana II is a leg-over-the-shoulder arm balance. So right away, the key action is needed: The inner knee and inner thigh need to connect to the outer upper arm. Not rest there. Not slide off. Connect and stay connected. Let’s look at all the components necessary to master Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2.
Preparatory Poses for Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2:
Lizard Pose: The Bridge
Lizard is where this pose starts to feel possible.
How to:
From a low lunge with the hands inside the front foot
Walk the foot a little wider
Lower your torso
Start to bring the shoulder under the thigh
Press the inner knee into the shoulder
Bend the elbows and pull the chest forward
Keep the connection active
Extended Side Angle (Arm Inside the Leg):
How to:
Arm inside the front leg
Press the knee into the arm
Pull the chest forward
Hug the leg in
Same action, slightly different shape.
Triangle + Half Moon: Teach the Legs
Now the legs need direction.
How to:
Start in Triangle
Straighten both legs
Reach through the heel
Extend through the ball of the foot
Half Moon Pose
How to:
Stabilize the front leg by pressing down and lifting up
Extend the back leg strongly behind you
Draw the chest forward
That back leg reaching back is key. In the arm balance, that’s usually the first thing to drop.
The Arms: Chaturanga All Day
This is where the pose either holds… or collapses. After all it is an arm balance.
How to:
Elbows bend straight back
Upper arms hug in
Chest pulls forward
You’re basically hovering in Chaturanga. If your chest drops your chest and legs will also follow suit.
Bring it all together
From Lizard or a low lunge: Get the shoulder under the thigh
Walk the leg high onto the arm
Hands down
Bend the elbows
Then draw the chest forward. (That’s the move. That shift is what creates the lift and extension.)
Straighten the Legs
Once you’re in: Front leg reaches forward
Back leg reaches straight back. (Same actions you’ve already practiced.)
But here’s the catch:
The legs have to apply the same actions as in Trikonasana and Ardha Chandrasana without the feedback from the floor.
Pro Tips for Mastering Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 (These Help a Lot)
Use blocks under the hands
Give yourself a little extra height so the chest has more room to operate above the floor
Use a block under the back thigh
Place a block under the back leg to support it so it doesn’t drop. It teaches the action of lifting and extending the leg without fighting gravity the whole time.
This pose looks like all strength, but it’s really just organization. When the leg connects, when the arms support, and when you’re willing to shift forward, there is the possibility for lift off. And if lift off doesn’t happen on this particular day, you know you’re on the right track, and have the steps laid out in front of you.
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Tripod headstand is one of those poses that tends to get students really excited— and a little nervous at the same time. It looks similar to a regular headstand but actually feels totally different once you’re in it.
Instead of the forearms and interlaced fingers, you’re balancing on your hands and the crown of the head— three points of contact that create a little triangle of support. It’s a fun new place to work if your students have a solid headstand practice and are ready to mix things up.
The great thing about building a sequence around this pose is that it’s easy to make it work for everyone. More experienced students can explore the tripod variation while others work on their regular Sirsasana or headstand prep. No one gets left out!
The prep work focuses on shoulder strength and core awareness— which honestly does most of the teaching before anyone even goes upside down.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Puttering
Sukhasaka forward fold
Cat/cow >> downward dog >> plank >> child’s pose >> downward dog
3 legged dog (right foot up) >> lizard lunge with cat back >> wide legged forward fold w/ Chaturanga arms >> supported pyramid pose >> downward dog >> plank >> lower to belly >> cobra pose >> downward dog (repeat on left side)
Round 1: Three Legged Dog >> low lunge >> Prasarita Padottanasana >> Eagle arms to stand >> Warrior 2 >> Peaceful Warrior >> Downward Facing Dog (optional plank > chaturanga > updog > downdog). *Repeat on the left side
Round 2: Repeat round 1 and add on: Triangle to the front >> Half Moon >> Downward Facing Dog (optional plank > chaturanga > updog > downdog). *Repeat on the left side
Round 3: Repeat round 2 and add on: >> Half Moon >> Three Legged Dog >> Warrior 1 >> Pyramid Pose >> Downward Facing Dog >> Side plank to the right >> Downward Facing Dog
Balance/Twist
Uttanasana
Tadasana
Eagle Pose (stand on right leg)
Supported Warrior 3 (left knee comes behind right ankle to sit down)
Gomukhasana
Boat Pose
Downward Facing Dog
Three Legged Dog (right leg lifts)
Revolved Side Angle
Prasarita Twist
Uttanasana
Tadasana
Repeat on the left side
Peak: Tripod Headstand Prep/Tripod Headstand
Wind Down
Parsva Upavistha Konasana
Supported Fish
Supine Twist
Happy Baby
Savasana
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For the past three years, yoga has become a deeply meaningful part of my life. I first started practicing because I wanted to become more flexible and get a “good stretch,” but over time I fell in love with the deeper rooted meanings behind the practice. Through yoga philosophy, breathwork, and community, I started to realize that yoga is something far beyond just movement.
As I dove deeper into my yoga journey, I also found myself reconnecting with my Filipino roots and recognizing so many similarities between Filipino culture and yogic philosophy.
As a first generation immigrant, I felt pressure to assimilate, almost as if I had to abandon parts of my culture to fit in. But as I grew older, I began to reconnect with and appreciate my heritage more deeply. With the help of yoga, I found an even greater appreciation and love for my culture and started seeing how closely many yogic values aligned with the values I was raised with.
Existing in community
One of the biggest ways yoga honors my heritage is through the importance of community. Family and togetherness are deeply rooted in Filipino culture. Growing up, I was always taught that we care for one another, look out for one another, and make space for others at the table. My mom grew up in a home with over ten siblings, and many of them still live together today along with their own children. There is such a strong sense of community in Filipino culture that I’ve always admired.
This spirit of community or kapwa, is reflected in the Filipino value of bayanihan, the idea of collective care and helping one another without expecting anything in return. Neighbors physically picking up an entire home to help neighbors, sharing food so no one goes hungry even if one doesn’t have enough, or always making room for one more person, there is an understanding that no one should be left behind.
I’ve found that same feeling within yoga spaces. In my practice, I’ve seen people of different backgrounds, ages, and life experiences come together simply because they share a love for yoga and a desire for connection. Yoga has reminded me that healing and growth are not meant to happen alone and that we are not meant to go through life alone. I feel incredibly grateful to have found that sense of belonging within my YogaRenew community.
Yogic philosophy also emphasizes the idea of oneness or unity, a quality seen in Filipino culture. The Philippines is made up of many islands, languages, and regional cultures, all shaped by different histories and traditions, yet we are all united by a shared pride in being Filipino. Yoga communities are also made up of people from different backgrounds and experiences, yet the practice creates space for everyone to come together with compassion, understanding, and care for one another.
My yoga practice honors my Filipino heritage because it continually reminds me of the values I was raised with: community, connection, generosity, and caring for others. Yoga has helped me recognize that I’ve carried these values with me on and off that mat all along.
Debt of gratitude & Seva
There is a Filipino trait called utang na loob, which translates to “inner debt” or “debt of gratitude.” It is a uniquely Filipino value rooted in gratitude, loyalty, and honoring the people who have helped shape and support us. It’s more than just returning a favor while not asking for anything in return. It’s about showing gratitude and appreciation for the kindness others have shown you.
Growing up, I saw this often within Filipino culture. There is no shortage of people helping people, communities gathering, and supporting one another. This bond reminds us that we are never truly alone and that there will always be people there to support us.
But utang na loob can also become complicated. What is meant to be gratitude and appreciation can sometimes turn into pressure, obligation, or guilt. It can make people feel like they constantly owe others and sacrifice too much of themselves at the expense of their own well-being.
The yogic concept of seva, or selfless service, feels very similar to utang na loob. Seva is the practice of offering service without attachment or desire for personal gain or recognition. It is rooted in acts of devotion, compassion, and caring for others without expecting anything in return.
But seva, too, can become unhealthy when taken out of balance. Sometimes spirituality can unintentionally encourage people to constantly give more of themselves for the sake of “community” or “karma.” It can make people feel pressured to give endlessly without honoring their own boundaries or needs.
To me, true seva is rooted in reciprocity, consent, and compassion, not pressure, guilt, or obligation. In the same way, true utang na loob is rooted in sincere gratitude and kindness, not guilt-driven repayment or feeling indebted to others.
My Filipino heritage and yoga practice have both taught me the importance of helping others while still staying grounded in balance and self-awareness. They remind me that generosity feels most meaningful when it is given with sincerity and compassion. Selflessness is not about giving parts of yourself away, but about caring for others from a genuine place of love and connection.
Through both utang na loob and seva, I try to remember that we are deeply connected to one another and that kindness, support, and community are some of the greatest forms of service we can give. Through both my culture and yoga practice, I continue learning how to give with an open heart while still honoring myself in the process. I can see the beauty of selfless service rooted in love, gratitude, and community. They remind me that caring for others is not meant to come from guilt or obligation, but from genuine connection and compassion. Through both seva and utang na loob, I learned that we are never meant to move through life alone, and that some of the most meaningful acts of service are simply showing up for one another with sincerity and an open heart.
How yoga intertwines with cultural heritage
Finding so many similarities between Filipino culture and yoga philosophy, I realize how practices like this can keep us connected and honoring our roots. As such an ancient practice, the appreciation for it’s longevity and ability to stand the test of time makes it a perfect way to honor lineage, history, culture and traditions. Yoga making its way over to the Western world is a perfect example of how many cultures can extend throughout the world, sometimes through different lenses and can be practiced in a multitude of ways! As we honor Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, may we look at the ways in which our heritage can intersect with the wise, compassionate teachings of yoga.
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I’m always surprised at how many people enroll in one of our yoga teacher training programs because they were unsatisfied with another course they started or completed elsewhere. If you’re looking to become a yoga instructor, do yourself a favor and take a look through this guide first.
Whether you’re looking to teach online yoga classes, in a studio, gym, corporate environment or anywhere else – everything is covered. I promise it will help clear up anything you might be confused about and will save you a ton of headaches so you’ll know exactly how to become a yoga instructor with minimal stress. If you still have any questions by the end of this guide (and we doubt you will) you can reach out to us directly and we’ll get them answered for you. Clear and simple.
The secret on how to become a yoga instructor
There’s a TON of noise out there about becoming a yoga instructor and sometimes it seems like each piece of information conflicts with the rest. It might be poor information, or it might be poor communication but it sure seems like there’s a drought of clarity sometimes. For example, did you know that you actually DON’T need a certification to teach yoga? Probably not, but we’ll explain more on that later. We figured it was time to finally put together a guide on everything you need to know about becoming a yoga teacher. Let’s dive in!
In the U.S. and most western countries, there is no ‘accreditation’ or governing body that you need to register with to teach yoga. This also means that you don’t need a specific certification to roll out a mat and lead a class, but don’t roll out that mat just yet.
There’s A LOT of reasons why you don’t see yoga teachers all over town without any training. First of all, most places won’t let you teach without a certificate. You’ll also need insurance for most studios. Even if you teach online or in a park, you are putting yourself in danger without insurance.
Students also want to know that their teacher has been trained properly. A yoga teacher training is more than simply learning a few postures. You learn important aspects of safety, anatomy, business and other areas important for any yoga instructor to have. Without proper training, trying to lead yoga classes isn’t just dangerous for you but it’s dangerous for the students as well.
What will a yoga studio look for in a yoga instructor?
Since the government doesn’t set the requirements for a yoga teacher, it’s really up to a studio to set those requirements. While each studio will have their own hiring criteria, generally speaking, they will want their students to have completed at least a 200 hour yoga teacher training. More frequently, studios are also looking for teachers with a 500 hour certificate.
One helpful tip is that studios will often run their own teacher training programs and look to hire students from within those programs. If there’s a specific studio you’d like to work with, stay late after class one day and ask them what they look for in their teachers. Oftentimes, you’ll hear a studio mention Yoga Alliance – but what is Yoga Alliance?
What is Yoga Alliance?
Yoga Alliance is a registration body for yoga schools and yoga teachers. There are a number of other registration bodies all over the world, but Yoga Alliance is the largest and most common.
As mentioned on their site, Yoga Alliance does not certify schools and they are not an accreditation body like you’d see with universities or in other industries. While they don’t actually certify the schools, they do sort of behave like an accreditation body in some ways. In order to register with Yoga Alliance, you’ll need to attend a training by a school registered with Yoga Alliance and the training will need to be conducted by teachers who are registered with Yoga Alliance.
The way a training will work is that Yoga Alliance has a set of standards that each school needs to follow, and each school will submit their curriculum to Yoga Alliance in order to have their training approved. For example, they will ask for a certain number of hours to be completed for anatomy, practice, or technique, etc. Yoga Alliance has a few different types of registration credentials which are aligned with the way training is typically conducted and you can read more about becoming a yoga instructor on their website.
Yoga Alliance requires a certain level of synchronous learning during a training program. For online courses, this means you’ll need to have a certain number of hours logged over live calls. A 200 hour course will require 30 hours of live calls, so if you are in an online course from a school that only has 1 live call/week you would need to stay in the course for at least 30 weeks to complete your Yoga Alliance requirements.
If Yoga Alliance is important to you, you’ll want to find a school with a lot of calls at times you’re available to attend them.
Learn more about Yoga Alliance:
What is the difference between a 200, 300 and 500 hour yoga teacher training?
I’ve seen many people get confused with these trainings, so let’s clarify quickly: A 200 hour yoga teacher training needs to be completed before anything else. Many people think you can start with either a 200 hour training, or a 300 hour training, but a 300 hour yoga teacher training should only be completed AFTER a 200 hour yoga teacher training has been completed. A 500 hour certification is a combination of a 200 and 300 hour yoga teacher training.
Typically, students will finish a 200 hour course before anything else. The 200 hour program might be focused on a specific area such as Vinyasa, or Hatha yoga or it might be a multi-style yoga teacher training course. If the school is registered with Yoga Alliance, it doesn’t really matter whether there is a specific area of focus for the training. Yoga Alliance will only recognize a ‘200 hour’ training (they won’t differentiate between a Vinyasa training and a Hatha training). Let’s take a look at the credentials that Yoga Alliance uses because those draw up a lot of questions as well.
RYT 200 & RYT 500 (or E-RYT 200, E-RYT 500)
RYT = Registered Yoga Teacher
It is a credential specific to Yoga Alliance and in order to list yourself as a RYT-200 you’ll need to complete a 200 hour yoga teacher training that’s been registered with Yoga Alliance. If somebody is an RYT-500, that means they’ve completed a 500 hour program. Or it could mean that they’ve completed a 200 hour course, and then afterwards they completed a 300 hour course. 200 + 300 = 500!
E-RYT is a newer credential by Yoga Alliance
There is an E-RYT 200 and E-RYT 500 and you become eligible for E-RYT 2 years after completing a training. In addition to completing a training, you will also need to complete 1,000 hours of teaching with a RYS-200 registration. Outside of RYT, you also might see the designation CYT. What does CYT mean? Funny you should ask…
What’s the difference between RYT and CYT?
RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher and is specific to Yoga Alliance, while CYT stands for ‘Certified Yoga Teacher’ and is a general designation. If somebody is listed as a CYT-200 then it would mean they have completed a 200 hr yoga teacher training, but they aren’t necessarily listed in Yoga Alliance’s directory.
In short, RYT and CYT are similar except that RYT is for people specifically registered in Yoga Alliance’s directory.
Do I need any prerequisites before enrolling?
No. A yoga teacher training is where you’ll gain a certification, so there aren’t really any qualifications that you’ll need to complete before enrolling. Students will typically come with quite a bit of experience, though.
A 200 hour training is not a walk in the park, so it’s good to have a sense of what you love about yoga and what you’re looking for out of a training before you commit to one. That will be helpful for you to determine which course is the best for you.
A lot of times, teacher trainings are broken out by the specific amount of hours it takes to complete the course, or they’re focused on a specific genre, or type of yoga. Here are some examples of teacher trainings and they all are completely separate (you don’t need to complete one before advancing to the others except going from your 200 hours to your additional 300 hours).
The first step towards becoming a yoga instructor through an online program is doing your research!
Yes, you can! Even before COVID-19, schools like YogaRenew had conducted yoga teacher trainings online.
200 hours engaged in a training is a large commitment. Most people can’t realistically complete such an extensive and long course unless it’s self-paced and online. This allows students to work at their own pace in between work, children, and other responsibilities.
Many people also live in remote locations, making attending an in-person training difficult. They also may be in an area where yoga isn’t as popular, so there are no “in-person” studios. Online training has solved both of these problems, making it more accessible than ever. Having the ability to access a yoga training from wherever, whenever is a subtle luxury that accompanies online yoga teacher trainings.
What’s the difference between an in-person yoga teacher training and an online yoga teacher training?
There’s going to be quite a few differences between attending a training in-person and online. Each will have pros and cons also. Every studio will have their own format and structure but we can provide some general insight based on the format of online vs in-person training.
An online training will typically provide much more flexibility because you will often have recorded material that you can review at your convenience in addition to any live or in-person sessions. Sometimes, you’ll even have lifetime access to all the recorded material. Many schools will have a limit on how long their students can access the content, so double check with the school first.
An in-person training is going to have a much different interaction than an online course, however. You can imagine that the way you’d interact with somebody in person is going to be different than the way you’d interact with them online. The same applies for a yoga teacher training. Both an online training and an in-person training should have live interaction with the trainers so that you can gain feedback from the instructors and ask questions through-out the course. If a training does not offer interactive elements and feedback from the instructors, it’s a red flag.
Online and in-person trainings can have a social element, but, as we’ve discussed, each is handled a little differently. Online trainings might have social elements during live sessions as well as through online groups, study buddies, and social media. In-person trainings will not typically offer online groups, or social media interaction since all of the interaction is handled on-site. It can certainly be helpful to have the online resources so that you can come back to them after completing your training, (again, double check whether the studio provides lifetime access to the material).
7 things to look for in an online yoga teacher training
There is a multitude of aspects to consider when selecting which online program to sign up for. Hopefully the considerations below can help prevent some headaches for you so that you know what to look for with an online yoga teacher training.
Here are a few items you’ll want to evaluate before enrolling in an online course:
A proven program: Most schools should have some feedback or testimonials from their students. This gives you a good sense of whether it’s a good program for you. If the school is registered with Yoga Alliance, students will provide a review on the YA site when they register their certificate. The yoga instructors should have years of experience teaching as well. Take a look at the background of your instructors before enrolling. Each studio will have different trainers and styles of yoga. Find a studio with instructors that align with your interests.
Teacher feedback & interaction: Whether the school is online or in-person, you’ll want to join a course that has some feedback and interaction between the students and teachers.
Live calls: In addition to feedback, you’ll also want the opportunity to join live calls with the instructors. Some online schools will have calls that you can attend at different times so that you have flexibility to work at your own pace but the availability of live sessions. For a 200 hr course, Yoga Alliance requires 30 hours of live calls. If a school only offers 1 or 2 calls/week it could take a very long time to complete those requirements. We offer around 30 live calls each week in our 200 hr course from experts in different areas like anatomy, philosophy, business, class management, sequencing, etc. We also have recordings that students can watch if they miss a live call as well. Some studios will have ‘office hours’ which is nice, but different from live training where you can actually ask questions on the spot as the training is being conducted.
Community: One thing that’s important for me is to drive the sense of community in our training programs. Live calls definitely help with this, but our groups are where people really connect with each other. Either way, becoming a yoga instructor is an exciting journey and a big commitment. You’ll want to experience it with other people in a community setting. Find a course that offers an active community that you can stay with even after the training is completed.
Accountability: With more online training programs becoming available, accountability has become more important than ever before. You need to know that you’re on the right track, and that you’re actually learning. I’ve seen students come into my studio quite confused after attending a training that didn’t have any accountability. Testing and feedback are important ways to stay accountable. Testing isn’t just about memorizing information and passing a quiz. You have to also make sure to give each student feedback on how they cue and run their classes.
Resourceful information: One of the major benefits of attending an online training is that you can gain access to a TON of resources. I’d suggest finding a course that gives you lifetime access to the resources, but you also want to make sure that you have some good material that you can take with you into your training.
Support: This one is obvious, but it’s a good idea to test out support with a school before enrolling. It might be as simple as sending over an email to see how quickly you get a response. Email support is really the bare minimum you’ll want to look for though. For example, we offer our live calls for students to interact in real time, and our community provides a place for students to connect locally or online. We provide a place for students to connect with each other to form ‘study groups’ as well. Feedback is provided to each individual as well. General feedback in a group setting is nice, but individualized feedback is even better.
Research the company online
A great online teacher training will be continually adding new resources into their training programs, so even if you graduated a couple years ago you might still find some helpful sequences or resources that you can bring into the classroom as an instructor.
Here’s a short video we created for when it does come time to start teaching your own classes:
How long does it take to complete a yoga teacher training?
Well, a 200 hour yoga teacher training should take 200 hours and a 500 hour program is the accumulation of the 200 hours and the additional 300 hours in the next program. In-person training courses will typically have a start date and end date. Online programs will usually allow students to work at their own pace but some might have a start date and end date. Self-paced schools sometimes have an expiration date as well.
Students enrolled in our courses have lifetime access to all of the material, and we don’t charge anything if it takes a little bit longer for somebody to finish a course. Some students might take 40 days and others might take 400 days to go through a 200 hour program online. It really depends on how much availability you have and how quickly you’re able to work through the material.
Does a yoga teacher training certificate expire?
A yoga teacher training certificate will not typically expire. While we can’t speak for every school out there, it’s rare to see certificates that expire. Once you complete a 200 hour course, you have a 200 hour certificate. It is like a college degree, you’ve earned it and it is yours to keep!
Once you complete a 500 hour course, you have a 500 hour certificate. While your certificate probably won’t expire, there are options for continuing education. Yoga Alliance and certain registration bodies have some continuing education requirements to encourage ongoing learning. They’ll ask you to take continuing ed classes to stay registered with them but you don’t technically need to register with Yoga Alliance in order to teach. Most studios will be okay with hiring you if you’ve already completed a 200 or 500 hour training.
Do I need insurance to teach yoga?
beYogi is the most well-known yoga insurance program
Yes, insurance is critical for any yoga instructor. First of all, you’ll need insurance to teach at any physical location. At a yoga studio, the teacher will be the one who purchases the insurance. A yoga studio will have their own insurance, but typically they’ll require teachers to bring their own insurance as well. This puts responsibility on the teacher to ensure that the class is conducted in a safe manner. Even if you want to rent your own room, the building will typically ask to see some insurance in order to use the space. This is to protect themselves from lawsuit and is standard.
We have a partnership with BeYogi insurance for our students to gain insurance at a discount. Studios will often have some insurance that they offer to their students or graduates that makes it easy to find a provider.
How much do yoga teachers get paid?
Yoga teachers are compensated in a number of different ways, but in a studio setting there are usually a few different ways that teachers are compensated. They might be compensated a flat rate, a flat rate plus an additional rate per student, or they might simply be paid a flat rate per student.
If you’re interested in learning more about yoga teacher compensation and how to earn money as a yoga instructor, check out our blog: How Much Do Yoga Teachers Make?
Is it possible to complete a 200 hour ytt for under $500?
Yes. Online training has enabled students to become a certified yoga instructor for decent prices and there are some incredible courses at great prices now. I’ve seen plenty of students spend thousands of dollars and attend a training they were unhappy with, so price is not always an indication of quality.
A yoga teacher training is incredibly important, so you don’t want to sacrifice quality – and you don’t need to either. Make sure that there are regular zoom or live sessions that you can attend to interact with instructors. You should be able to ask questions, get feedback, and have trainers available to interact with.
Good schools will have some reviews and testimonials on trusted sites, like TrustPilot, that you can check out before you enroll also.
More Yoga Resources
Do. Your. Research. The more you know before jumping into any yoga teacher training, the better prepared you’ll be. The yoga sphere is constantly shifting as well, so staying up-to-date with resources and information will be extremely helpful on your journey towards potentially becoming an instructor.
We’ve also compiled a bunch of yoga teacher resources to help you stay up to date with what’s happening in the yoga landscape across the board. In this cozy pocket of our website, you’ll be guided towards our blog, Off The Mat that includes a plethora of weekly class themes, tips for yoga teachers, and so much more!
Start with a consistent personal yoga practice → choose a yoga style → enroll in a teacher training (like a 200-hour YTT) → complete training (anatomy, philosophy, teaching methodology) → practice teaching → register (e.g., with Yoga Alliance) or teach independently.
It depends on the school and format. Online 200-hour yoga teacher trainings typically range from $300 to $3,000+, depending on inclusions (live coaching, mentorship, materials, etc.). (Note: adjust with your real pricing.)
It varies. Some trainings run full-time (intensive over a few weeks), others are part-time or self-paced over several months. Online courses often span 3–6 months, depending on how you schedule.
Yes — if it’s well structured. Quality online YTTs include live sessions, video lectures, mentoring, assignments, and practice teaching. They can be equally recognized, especially if Yoga-Alliance approved.
Yoga Alliance is a widely recognized organization that sets standards for yoga teacher training programs (e.g., 200, 500 hours). Registering as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) can boost credibility, help you get studio teaching gigs, and be valued by students.
Yes. A 200-hour certificate is the most common entry-level credential for teaching yoga. After certification, you can teach in studios, gyms, community centers, online, or offer private classes.
Many teachers choose to deepen their knowledge via a 300-hour or 500-hour YTT, or specialize in areas like prenatal yoga, yin yoga, trauma-informed yoga, meditation, etc.
Yes — to run a sustainable yoga teaching practice, you should learn basic marketing, client management, pricing, insurance, and possibly how to run retreats or workshops.
We get asked all the time, “How do I practice yoga as a beginner?” or, “Half Moon Pose for beginners.” So, we decided to dedicate this week’s Weekly Class Theme to the prompt, “How do I properly perform the Malasana squat for beginners?”
Malasana is also known as “yogi squat” and it is a popular pose for stretching the hips (namely hip flexion) and bending the knees (knee flexion). It can be a preparatory pose for poses like Crow (Bakasana), Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana), Firefly (Tittibhasana) and Headstand (Sirsasana), among others. It allows the body to get comfortable with using the tension of the arms pressing into the legs and legs pressing into the arms to provide support, strength, and stability while also allowing the hips and knees to awaken.
There are several ways to practice Malasana for beginners properly, but in this article we will explore one way of coming into the pose. Try it out and let us know how it goes!
Step 1: Start in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with your feet about hips-width distance apart
Step 2: Fold over your legs (Uttanasana). If you feel any sort of discomfort here, position your feet to find more space or mobility within your body.
Step 3: Send your seat towards your heels while turning your toes slightly out. This will differ person to person, so find a positioning of your feet that makes you feel grounded and steady.
Step 4: You can add a block under your seat if you want to feel the pose from a supported place rather than getting right into it. A block under your seat is also helpful if you have any strain or trouble with bending down either in your hips, knees, or both.
Step 5: Bring your hands into a prayer at heart’s center, keeping your elbows bent. Have your arms inside your legs so that you can press your arms into your legs and your legs into your arms. This tension may allow you to lift your chest and sit more upright.
Step 6: Distribute your weight evenly and find a comfortable stance on all four corners of both of your feet. If you can, allow your spine to be long, lifting your chest as you press your arms into your legs like mentioned in step 5.
That’s it! We always encourage you to find the setup that works for you. There is no right or wrong way to perform a pose, just ways that can be more accessible for you. If you enjoyed practicing this pose, you can try a class that leads up to one of the peak poses mentioned above where Malasana (yogi squat) will be incorporated as a supporting pose.
Happy practicing!
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