WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO KNOW WHEN I HAVE COMPLETED HOLISTIC YOGA TEACHER TRAINING & PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION (HYTT)?

Our intention is that by the end of 9 months, you will be:  

• further established in your personal yoga practice through the many hours of asana (physical postures), pranayama (breath practices), meditation, and dinacharya (ayurvedic self-care) that we learn and practice together. Practicing yoga will be a daily pleasure that you look forward to enthusiastically!

• equipped with tools to find balance through the ever-changing seasons of life. Our program has a strong emphasis on personal transformation (thus the title!), so we spend significant time asking questions about the Self in svadhyaya (self-study). We do this as a community on our Wednesday evening meetings, and individually through contemplative practices (self inquiry, writing and meditation). Ayurveda is one valuable tool for understanding your innate needs, the Enneagram is another, the Yamas & Niyamas in the Yoga Sutra are yet another. We will be introduced to all of these in this program, as well as other sources that will continue to guide you in the years to come.

• prepared to confidently teach yoga that is safe, fun and relational to varied populations. Shelley and Tracy are passionate about teaching. This benefits the teacher training program students in two ways: learning how to share your passion with others by example, and being in a program with two teachers who feel strongly committed to each student.
  

THERE ARE MANY YOGA TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS, WHY COMMIT TO HYTT?

Shelley and Tracy believe (as Ganga White does) that yoga is a tool to serve your life, not the other way around. This belief brings a sense of practicality to our program and usefulness to your life. Also, this program is unique because the course content is arranged holistically. This means that instead of studying all the systems of the body, then all the muscles, then the chakras, then the Yoga Sutras, we have arranged the topics to connect to Elements. For example, when studying the Fire element, we will explore digestive health, core muscles, solar plexus chakra, and Sthiram Sukham from the Yoga Sutra. This means that when you have completed the program, you will have experiential knowledge of how yoga practice affects the body, mind, spirit and energy as an embodied whole rather than dissected into separate abstract parts. This way of ‘seeing holistically’ will be invaluable as you practice and teach yoga.

HOW MUCH YOGA EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED TO ENROLL IN THIS PROGRAM?

We want everyone to grow and learn as much as possible, and for that reason we ask that you consistently practice yoga for a year before enrolling. We want to make sure that everyone has a basic foundation in the primary yoga postures so that we can stand on common ground together.

CAN I TAKE THIS TRAINING IF I AM INJURED OR PREGNANT OR HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS?

Absolutely!  Just talk with us to make sure that we will be able to accommodate your needs.

BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A YOGA TEACHER, WHY AM I EVEN READING THIS?

Because you are looking for a community that will support your deeper study of yoga! If you are looking for a way to carve out time in your life to make friends with your Inner Self and with other yoga-lovers, this is a great way to dedicate that time. Everyone who completes the requirements for graduation will receive a Yoga Alliance 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) Certificate, and you can decide what you want to do with that power. Remember that teaching yoga does not always mean that it becomes your sole profession, often the most valuable use of your wisdom is sharing it with your loved ones or co-workers—this teaching is important too.

ARE ANY BOOKS AND MATERIALS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE TRAININGS?

The Holistic Yoga Teacher Training & Personal Transformation Handbook is extensive and included in your tuition, but the books will be up to you to buy.  We have chosen some remarkably accessible texts that we think you will love to have in your collection.  We recommend that you buy the first 3 books on the list, as we use them frequently throughout the training. The last 3 books could be borrowed from a library if needed, as they are read all at once and then discussed.  

• The Yamas & Niyamas —by Debra Adele

• Teaching Yoga—by Marc Stephens

• Chakras —by Anodea Judith

• Yoga Beyond Belief —by Ganga White

• How Yoga Works—by Gesne Michael Roach

• The Four Agreements—by Don Miguel Ruiz

WAIT, WHY AREN’T WE READING ANY ANCIENT TEXTS? 

We will study many remarkable ancient texts including Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, but in ways that we hope will help us live and embody the Sutras as we learn about them. Each weekend session includes a focus on one important yoga sutra, as well as one of the Yamas & Niyamas (from the Yoga Sutra). Through chanting and weaving the ideas of the yoga sutra into our asana practice, we learn how to embody these threads of wisdom. We also learn ways to easily pass this knowledge into all types and levels of yoga classes when you are teaching, rather than just saving it for advanced practices. We also read the compelling novel "How Yoga Works" which retells the Yoga Sutras through the journey of a young woman teaching Yoga in unexpected places.

HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I EXPECT TO SPEND ON YOGA PRACTICE AND HOMEWORK?

Plan to have about 20+ minutes a day for your personal yoga practices—which will be include dinacharya, meditation and asana.  This self-care time is an important investment in your growth, so please prepare a space to plant those seeds.  

The reading and writing assignments will take approximately 4-8 hours per month. The homework is designed to support the material covered in class and help you integrate what is presented into your own practice and teaching.

In addition to the scheduled HYTT & PT class meetings, you will attend one yoga class a month at Yoga Sanctuary to support your consistent practice and growth.  Each month, you will write a brief reflection on the class you attend in light of the current topics we are studying, developing an ever-sharpening focus of the lens through which you see yoga.  

ARE CLASSES AT YOGA SANCTUARY INCLUDED IN THE COST OF THE WORKSHOP?

Why yes! We have included 10 classes at Yoga Sanctuary with your Holistic Yoga Teacher Training tuition. This allows you to experience a variety of teaching styles within our community to broaden your scope and awareness of yoga.

HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED IN EACH TEACHER TRAINING SESSION?

We have room for 10-16 trainees. We are intentionally keeping our group small to cultivate community and create space for personal and collective learning and connection. We will need a minimum of 10 students to run the program.

IS THE SELF-CARE RETREAT INCLUDED IN THE TUITION COST?

The lodging is included in the tuition! We will spend many months preparing for this special event in the training, so you will get clearer details along the way, but if you are planning for costs, set aside about $75 for food and gas. Some of the delicious meals will be prepared for you, and some we will prepare together to learn more about Ayurvedic guidance.

WHAT IS THE CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY?

There is a $100 deposit to hold your spot, and once you are accepted into the program this deposit is not refundable. If you need to change plans and withdraw from the program before August 1st, any tuition that you have paid in advance will be refunded. After August 1st, we will handle each circumstance individually to come to a mutually agreed upon plan.

WHEN DO WE MEET? 

We meet together, mostly in-person and a bit on zoom, from September through May. Wednesday evenings (6-9pm 2/month) will be more about self-study and community building, lecture and discussion. Each weekend training (Saturdays 8-5, Sundays 9:30-4:30) will include approximately 6 hours of asana (physical postures) practices that build on the themes we are studying, as well as group lecture, personal reflection, partner processing, etc. as ways to approach the material from different perspectives throughout the weekend.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIVING MY 200 HOUR RYT CERTIFICATE FROM YOGA ALLIANCE?

• Attending the scheduled sessions, or making them up by listening to the recordings of the sessions that we will make available online.

• Reading texts and novels.

• Completing writing and journaling assignments.

• Teaching three classes—which you will feel ready to do after nine months building your knowledge, your sense of Self, and your connection to the community.

After graduation and receiving your certificate, you choose whether you want to register with Yoga Alliance or not.  Most yoga studios require teachers to be certified through Yoga Alliance.

WHAT IS YOGA ALLIANCE?

Yoga Alliance is an organization that was started in 1999 as a way to create nationally recognized standards for yoga teachers and yoga teacher trainings in the US. More and more yoga studios across the country are requiring their teachers to register with the Yoga Alliance, either at the 200-Hour or 500-Hour level.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOGA SANCTUARY

Yoga Sanctuary is a nonprofit, holistic studio in South Minneapolis. Shelley Pagitt started the studio along with others from Solomon’s Porch- a holistic, inclusive, Christian faith community. Shelley is the Curator, but there is no ‘owner’, thus, a non-profit. It is our deepest desire to create space for others to find wholeness and healing through teaching and practicing safe, fun, relational yoga every day to every Body within a supportive community. All are welcome!