A 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Accredited Teacher Training Programme with Sandy Shum

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

If we concentrate on what we have, we’ll always have more. If we concentrate on what we don’t have, we’ll never have enough. With the attitude of gratitude, this teacher training seeks to transform and evolve you – centring around cultivation, expression, meditation, and practice with intent.

Under Sandy’s careful guidance and tutelage, come discover how this programme can greatly advance your personal practice as well as give you the confidence and competency required to teach safely and effectively.

This part-time training is flexible for working professionals, aspiring teachers and yoga practitioners wanting to further their yoga journey. You will thoroughly review the key components of yoga and discover how your practice fits into its history and philosophy. The focus will be on traditional Hatha Yoga – gaining an extensive and thorough understanding of the basic asanas, intelligent sequencing as well as alignment and adjustment concepts. The training is structured in accordance with the Yoga Alliance standards on Asana Practice, Yogic Practice, Anatomy and Physiology, History and Philosophy, and Teaching Methodologies.

The fundamental skills you learn in this programme will give you a solid foundation from which to either teach a yoga class or to deepen your yoga practice. 

Yoga Alliance Accredited School
Pure Yoga is a registered school with Yoga Alliance. Our teacher training programmes and teachers are internationally accredited, have exclusive recognition and qualify for the 200-hr Yoga Alliance Certification.

Yoga Alliance is an international governing board for yoga teachers and training programmes in the U.S and globally. Graduates of our programme are automatically eligible to register as a RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. Becoming a RYT means having a higher profile and gaining international recognition as a yoga teacher, attributes that many hiring studios look for.

Mission Statement
We offer this training in an effort to grow our community of committed yoga practitioners, empowering those who demonstrate dedication to a personal practice, by sharing the knowledge, skills and tools we have learned so that they too can start teaching yoga. We intend to guide trainees toward a healthy self-confidence, while at the same time invoking in them a sense of humility and excitement, knowing that they are at the beginning of a long journey.

Syllabus Summary

Techniques, Training & Practice               100 Hours

Anatomy & Physiology                               20 Hours

Yoga Philosophies & Ethics                        30 Hours

Teaching Methodologies & Practicum    50 Hours

Total Hours: 200

I. Techniques, Training & Practice [100 hours]

1. Asana – Historical contexts; asana practice – (1) standing poses; (2) forward bends; (3) backward bends; (4) arm balances; (5) hip openers; (6) twists; (7) inversions; (8) restorative; complete sequencing; anatomical and alignment principles and contraindications
2. Pranayama and subtle body – Historical context; practice; complete sequencing
3. Meditation – Knowledge of key terms; meditation methods; chanting, mantras and mudras

II. Anatomy & Physiology [20 hours]

1. Anatomy – Skeletal system, including major bones; types of joints; major muscles involved in asanas; types of muscle contraction
2. Physiology – Nervous system, including “fight, flight, freeze” stress response; vagal theory; overall mind-body connection; cardiovascular / circulatory, endocrine, digestive systems as they relate to yoga practice; respiratory system, including muscles that affect breathing, involuntary vs. voluntary breath, how air enters and leaves the body
3. Biomechanics – Types of joint movements; joint stabilisation; safe movement as it pertains to balancing, stretching, awareness, trauma; contraindications, misalignments and adaptations

III. Yoga Philosophy & Ethics [30 hours]

1. History – Yoga lineage, style and methodology; vedas, vedanta, hatha, colonial and modern yoga
2. Philosophy – Definition of yoga and key terms; relationship between asana, pranayama and meditation; Yoga Sutras; Bhagavad Gita; Upanishads; Hatha Yoga Pradipika; self–reflection on philosophy relating to practice
3. Lifestyle – Yoga and diet; gunas; balanced diet
4. Ethics – Ethical precepts; Yoga Alliance Scope of Practice and Code of Conduct; equity in yoga; accountability measures; self-reflection on ethics relating to practice and learning

IV. Teaching Methodologies & Practicum [50 hours]

1. Teaching methodology – Sequencing; pace; environment; dialogues for effective teaching; the art of demonstrations; the art of adjustment; class management
2. Professional development – Yoga-related professional organisations; credentialling process; Scope of Practice and Code of Conduct; lifetime learning and continuing education; professionalism including punctuality, consistency and cleanliness; marketing and promotion; liability insurance, waivers and invoicing
3. Practicum – Practice teaching; mentorship and feedback