200-Hour Teacher Training
Our Teacher Training is recognized by the World Yoga Federation This international organization recognizes JBRYS as an authentic yoga and yoga education provider. Additionally, Yoga Alliance has approved all of our teacher training programs and we are in compliance with their elevated standards.
Join Our 200-Hour Teacher Training Graduates!
Since the creation of the Just Breathe Registered Yoga School in 2017, more than 20 individuals have completed our 200-hour program and have gone on to teacher not only at JBYS but elsewhere as well.
This comprehensive 200-hour training helps trainees build a Toolbox of meditations and sequences throughout the program. When they leave the program, they will feel comfortable leading a class through Asana, Meditation, and Pranayama. Throughout the program, they will practice hands-on adjustments and cueing techniques.
- Each training class will include meditation and pranayama practices.
- Trainees will have time throughout training to practice teaching asana, pranayama, and meditation techniques.
This curriculum allows Trainees to get in front of the class very quickly, and to start vocalizing and hearing their voice as a teacher. Trainees will rotate through leading meditation, pranayama, and asana with peer feedback.
What You will learn:
Yoga History & Philosophy
Trainees will learn the origins and history of yoga including the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Yoga Sutras with an emphasis on the 8 limbs of yoga. Trainees will gain a broad understanding of the 8 limbs. They will learn about yoga’s journey to the West and the Yoga Masters who brought it to the West developing the various yogic styles as we know in modern yoga. Trainees will learn the various systems of yoga. Trainees will be introduced to Sanskrit, the original language of yoga.
Teaching Yoga: Techniques & Methodology
Trainees will learn the importance of class etiquette and the creation of a space for teaching yoga effectively. They will learn to teach to the students in front of them. Trainees will learn to instruct, cue, and explain the basic elements of asanas and how to teach them as a sequence. Trainees will learn how to cue, modify, and vary asanas for individual students as needed. They will also be introduced and given a brief overview on how to handle specific special circumstances so that they can be prepared for these situations, should they arise with a student coming to their class. I.e. Pregnancy overview, working with injuries and teaching in special settings.
Business of Yoga & Professional Development
Trainees will be introduced to the business of yoga including:
- The difference between working as an independent contractor versus an employee.
- How various places pay instructors and what to expect.
- The importance of liability insurance and waivers as an instructor.
- How to market yourself.
Additionally, trainees will learn about Yoga Alliance, the path of a yoga teacher, and the importance of continuing education. Yoga is lifelong learning.
Qualities of a Yoga Teacher and Ethics
Trainees will learn what makes a good yoga teacher, the qualities a yoga teacher possesses, and how to live the yogic path in their teaching. They will learn about professionalism in the yoga industry. Trainees will learn about Inclusion and ethics within the industry, as well as, professional and equitable treatment of students. As part of this portion of training, all trainees will be asked to sign a code of conduct and a code of ethics.
Anatomy & Physiology, Biomechanics
Trainees cover the following body systems: skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, respiratory, cardiovascular, lymphatic, digestive, urinary, and reproductive, and how they apply in yogic practice. Trainees will receive a general overview of these systems and they will further see how the biomechanics of the human body working together as a unit affects yoga asana. With attention brought to a specific set of asanas.
Asanas
Trainees will learn the types of asanas, what makes up a pose, how to categorize asanas, the objectives and benefits of individual asanas, to level asanas, the elements and alignments of asanas, and how to vary or modify for each student. Trainees will build their toolbox of asanas throughout the program in collaboration with their peers. Four asana-focused days are set up throughout training. Trainees will be assigned asanas and expected to complete an information sheet for each. On asana days, trainees will practice teaching each other as they explain the details of each asana.
Pranayama
Trainees will be introduced to various forms of pranayama, the respiratory system, and how pranayama techniques affect it. Trainees will explore how they breathe themselves which will better help them to assess these aspects. Pranayama techniques introduced will include: Dirga, ujjayi, nadi shodhana, Kapalabhati, still, and viloma
Meditation
Trainees will learn what meditation is, the benefits of meditation, and will be able to better understand meditation as part of the 8 limbs of yoga. They will be introduced to various types of meditation throughout training. Trainees will learn to lead a meditation and will be assigned specific days of training to either begin or end training with a method of meditation of their choice. They will work to develop a personal meditation practice throughout this training and take note of their results.
Personal Wellness
Emphasis is placed on the importance of personal wellness in this training. To be effective as a yoga teacher one must apply the principles in one’s own life. Using methods outlined in True Yoga by Jennie Lee, practices such as journaling and an introduction to a wellness wheel, which will showcase where trainees are lacking in various areas of their lives, trainees will be able to grow personally and learn to apply the yoga philosophies into their daily lives.
Subtle Energy, Chakras, and Ayurveda
Trainees will receive an in-depth understanding of subtle body anatomy which will include the chakra system, nadi system, and koshas. Through the study of each chakra, trainees will learn about prana and what it is, as well as, how it flows through the nadi system, how to control it with bandhas, and will come to understand the koshas. Trainees will be introduced to yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda. They will be introduced to the Doshas, and their characteristics and will discover their own predominant Doshas.
Sequencing & Class Planning
Trainees will learn to develop a class plan. They will receive an in-depth understanding of class sequencing and the construction of a yoga class. Throughout the entire training, trainees will be expected to develop 5+ sequences of their own. This will be completed as each part of a class is introduced and reviewed: opening, warm-up, surya namaskar, standing portion, peak asana, cool down, closing, and savasana. Trainees will come to understand the overall progression of a class, the basic arc structure of a class, and how to use transition asanas to complete a class and make it flow from beginning to end safely and effectively. Trainees will also learn how to level their sequences, preparing them to be more effective yoga teachers and enabling them to teach to any student.
Practicum
Trainees will regularly teach and evaluate each other as they develop their teaching styles. They will utilize the sequences they will be developing throughout training. Trainees will be expected to start a training day by teaching one another. They will also have training days where they will work together on refining their sequences and class development. The trainee observation evaluation used throughout training by peers will also be used to evaluate the final practicum.
The final practicum will include an evaluation of the trainee's teaching skills in two areas: a private session and a studio class. They will draw on the entirety of their training to complete these. They will be assessed on their performance. Trainees will schedule a 30 min private one-on-one, they will be given a scenario in advance and evaluated on how they handle this situation effectively. Trainees will also teach a yoga class to be evaluated by the lead trainer/facilitator to complete this training.
About Your Facilitator: Nicole Hayman-Sherman
Nicole is a Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT500) and a Grand Master of Yoga through the World Yoga Federation. She has been teaching in CNY for 12 years, having over 8000+ hours of teaching experience. Nicole has 1300+ hours of training, including 300 hours of yoga therapy-based training. Additionally, Nicole is a registered children’s yoga teacher (RCYT), a registered prenatal yoga teacher (RPYT) a certified meditation teacher (CMT), and a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP). Nicole is also a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist. She is also the facilitator of JBYS’s Yoga Teacher Training Programs. Nicole has mentored yoga instructors across the US & Canada as well as in the UK. Nicole previously spent 30+ years in marketing, sales & public relations in the Mohawk Valley, owning her own marketing consulting business, working as a regional manager for the local cable company, and years in sales management positions. After practicing yoga almost her entire life, Nicole decided to make a life-changing decision, to pursue becoming a certified yoga teacher-completing her initial 300-hour certification in 2012. In January 2013, she became the Owner and President of Just Breath Yoga Studio, where she had been teaching since completing her certification. Nicole received her Children's Yoga Certification in May 2013, her Meditation Teacher Certification in April 2014, completing her 500 training and receiving her designation in February 2015, and her Prenatal Yoga Certification in August 2015. She reached the E-RYT 500 level, which recognizes having taught 2500 hours of yoga in 2017. in 2022, she completed 300 hours of yoga therapy training as well as her Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist training. In addition to the classes, she has taught at Just Breathe Yoga Studio, Nicole has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Mohawk Valley Community College, been an instructor for Madison-Oneida BOCES, and taught a regular Senior Stretch Yoga class at Ava Dorfman Senior Center. She has also been involved in various other local programs, such as teaching yoga for the Rome Art & Community Center’s Teen Summer camp, and a facility introduced special instructor for Annsville Residential Center for Girls and several others. Having memories of doing yoga with her mother at 3 years of age, and almost 50 years of yogic practice has allowed Nicole to experience various styles of yoga, including Hatha, Iyengar, Power, White Lotus, Bikram, ISHTA, Kripalu, Vinyasa, Restorative, and Yin. It is this experience she brings to her teaching of yoga.
About Faculty Member & Program/Syllabus Manager: Gabby Griffin
Gabby Griffin is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance. Gabby started her yoga practice while extremely ill as an ‘alternative’ to ‘traditional exercise’. She quickly fell in love with the way that yoga made her feel and began practicing multiple days a week. Gabby become a yoga instructor just a few years into her practice to learn more about yoga and gain the ability to share her love of yoga with other people. She concurrently works full-time as a Sign Language Interpreter, in addition to teaching at Just Breathe Yoga Studio. Gabby is an RYT500, having completed her 300-training in Fall 2021. She also keeps the sanity & organization of Just Breathe as the overall office manager and program manager & faculty member of the registered yoga school division.