26 Day 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training in Maui, USA

Certification

Students who complete their subsequent trainings are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®).

The Yoga Alliance-certified 300-hour advanced teacher training is designed to lay a solid foundation while providing an uplifting experience on the beautiful island of Maui, with its sparkling blue water, beaches, and natural beauty. Transformation, cultivation of voice and inner power, as well as strength, spirit, balance, and knowledge, will all contribute to this foundation.

Curriculum

The curriculum is based on the educational standards of the Yoga Alliance, providing a framework of five specialized categories to ensure adequate training for yoga teachers, enabling them to teach safely and competently.

In the 300-hour training, you will dive deep into the art and science of yoga. The experienced and knowledgeable staff will guide you in becoming a more versatile teacher and practitioner, able to work one-on-one with students, teach pranayama and meditation, and build a successful and fulfilling yoga career.

You will go deeper into both Hatha and Raja yoga practices, as well as the application of yoga and meditation tools. Calling on contemporary research and the threads of inspiration that weave together wisdom traditions throughout the world, the course will cover the spectrum of meditation and yoga practices.

You will explore yoga as a healing art, the practice and teaching of meditation and pranayama, and more, in order to be able to share with your clients and students at all levels and in many different settings.

You will build on the basic 200-hour training to share wellness practices and therapeutic applications that enable a teacher to bring yoga and meditation to many aspects of the community, and build a thriving and sustainable yoga business and lifestyle that is a source of light and inspiration for others.

Techniques, training, and practice (TTP)

• Asana postures with hands-on assistance for deepening awareness
• Asana flow sequences
• Pranayamas
• Chanting and energetic effects of mantras
• Modifications for varying levels
• Integrating bandhas into practice
• Meditation techniques and kriyas
• Hawaiian spirit and chants, and the meaning of aloha

Anatomy, physiology, kinesiology

• Exploration of the major body systems in relation to asana practice
• Benefits and contraindications for all techniques
• Effects of structural alignment on overall health
• Muscle and fascial physiology
• Avoiding common injuries in yogic practices
• Using props and variations to individualize practices
• Body-mind-prana relationship
• Teaching and giving safe instructions

Philosophy, lifestyle, and ethics

• Teaching as a yoga practice
• The eight limbs of yoga
• Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
• Yogic diet and nutrition
• Gardening, farming, and yoga - kuleana and the 'aina
• Yoga chants
• Yoga off the mat
• Yogic texts
• Insurance and liabilities
• Organic, natural lifestyle
• Living Maui Aloha yoga all day

Teaching methodology

• Multiple intelligence education
• Class management for mixed levels
• Clarity in teaching language
• Incorporating hands-on assistance and modifications
• Nurturing creativity in the learning process
• Cultivating personal style in content and delivery
• Business aspects of teaching yoga
• Teaching Maui Aloha yoga

Practicum

• Practice teaching exercises in small groups, public classes, and workshops

300-hour program overview

Asana-guided practice

Experiential practice of key poses, alignment, advanced poses, and yoga kriyas. Students will be guided by senior teachers to use their teachings in their asana practice.

The chakras

Explore the chakras in-depth, their relationship with consciousness and the body, and the functions of these energy centers. You'll discuss the functions of the chakras in relation to associated organs / body parts, and the related mental and emotional issues. You'll also learn the spiritual and energetic qualities of the chakras, and participate in chakra meditations.

The three gunas as expressed in the Bhagavad Gita

A discourse on the three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas as related by the classic Indian scripture, The Bhagavad Gita. Students will receive insight into the qualities, forces, or modes of nature that make up material existence, or Prakriti, and how yoga opens one's awareness to purusha and the soul.

Community building practicum

This involves visiting local schools to teach yoga classes, creating a community event in which free yoga classes are offered, as well as opportunities for service in conjunction with the event. Through these outreach experiences, students will have the opportunity to offer their art as a means of establishing connections and building community relations through Karma yoga, the spirit of service.

Gardening, farming, and yoga

Gardening and farming bring a relaxing, meditative quality to your mind since they require much patience and concentration while sowing seeds, planting, weeding, pruning, watering, and harvesting. Incorporating the yogic practices of breath, asana, and mindfulness will be explored while working with the 'aina,' or the land of Hawaii.

Through hands-on organic garden and farming activities, students will learn how nurturing and working with the Earth with a sense of kuleana, or privileged responsibility, provides wonderful opportunities to nurture the whole being and create a healthy and sustainable environment.

Teaching yoga for healthy shoulders

Learn the correct alignment of the shoulders while gaining insight into an array of shoulder openers. Also know how to properly handle a shoulder injury or address shoulder pain.

Restorative yoga

Being a much slower teaching style, Restorative yoga requires a certain quality from a teacher. Students will learn the theory and practice behind a Restorative yoga class, and also learn pranayama and visualization techniques.

Uplifting the teacher's voice

The teacher's voice is the one used when you're standing in front of your class. It's a professional voice and often different in quality from your day-to-day speaking voice. The projection of a strong voice and the inner power behind it will be explored, as well as patterns of communication in the classroom.

Incorporating exercises with Sanskrit syllables for toning the voice, students will be able to increase the volume and power of the voice for confidence and effectively maintain the attention of a class.

Moving deeper into the five koshas

According to the yoga tradition, you have five sheaths, or koshas, each made of increasingly finer grades of energy. Students will gain an understanding of these yogic bodies called koshas or "sheaths" as described in the yoga classic, the Taittiriya Upanishad.

Anatomy for yoga teachers

Understanding how the human body moves is integral to teaching in a manner that is safe, appropriate, and effective. You will explore the human movement system - primarily the skeletal, nervous, and muscular systems as they relate to movement and motor learning.

Students will also learn about planes and directions of movements, joints, and the muscles that create movement at the joints, as well as learn which primary tissues are at risk during asana practice and how to protect them.

Yoga Sutras

Dive deep into the teachings of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by chanting and discussing the sutras individually, and gaining an understanding through the transmission of each sutra.

Ashtanga yoga: The eight limbs of yoga

An in-depth learning and discussion about the eight limbs of yoga includes yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dyana, and samadhi. Learn how these individual categories become a whole, as well as about the practical application of these sacred teachings in daily life.

Dristi

Dristi translates to "gaze." During your physical and meditation practices, you will use your gaze to increase concentration, calmness, and ultimately, stillness, achieving the one-pointed concentration, dharana.

In-depth hip opening

Specific poses are preferred for deeper hip openings. In order to move deeper into the hips, there must be a knowledge of how to keep proper alignment in the process, as well as how to instruct verbally a sense of release for a client, class, or community. Students will also learn how to take a client deeper into the emotional connections that you have in your hips.

Pranayama

Several pranayama techniques will be presented to explore the science of breath regulation and the cultivation of life force, or prana. Understanding the physical, physiological, emotional, and spiritual effects of pranayama, students will be able to incorporate these techniques to help increase vitality, awareness, and well-being in themselves and their students.

Ethics for yoga teachers

Instruction and discussion on practicing yamas and niyamas, limbs one and two of the Ashtanga yoga philosophy, in the daily activities of life, to set a professional and ethical example as a teacher of yoga. You will learn the appropriate application of the practices and teachings of yoga to influence the teacher / student’s living standards in a helpful, safe, and transformative way.

Nutrition and the science of Ayurveda

Awareness of what one puts into the body as food and its effects on physical well-being, and of how it impacts the overall psychological well-being, is an important factor in the yoga practice and lifestyle. Along with the study of certain aspects of the yogic science of diet, you will explore the connection between what and how you eat as well as other factors affecting your life.

Students will also learn how the integration of healthy eating habits and nutrition supports yoga practice and a healthy lifestyle while expanding access to organic, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.

The paths of yoga

Paths of yoga within the classical system of Raja yoga include Jnana yoga, Bhakti yoga, and Karma yoga. Knowledge of self through chanting Sanskrit verses, service from within to the whole, devotional practices, and connecting the paths, are explored. By experiencing the yogic disciplines through practice, you will see how each path is uniquely used to achieve a higher purpose.

Bandhas

The bandhas are the internal tools that you can use to harness, increase, and direct prana through the body. The word bandha translates to the word lock. When these locks are engaged, they stop prana from leaving the body. You will explore the bandhas in depth; how to use, manage, and maintain them; as well as where each one is located.

Mythological origins of the asanas

This class explores the origins of the asanas in a colorful way through ancient stories of yogis, sages, animals, creatures, and the deities. Practicing the cultivation of the qualities of divinity will open the way for knowledge, the responsibility of inner power, and its ultimate alignment with your highest goals

Sample daily schedule

Day 1

• Arrival

Day 2

• 07:30 - 08:30 Orientation
• 09:00 - 10:15 Practice
• 11:00 - 12:30 Methodology
• 13:30 - 15:30 Asana technique

Day 3

• 07:00 - 10:00 Methodology / practice / yoga in nature
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy / sequencing
• 13:30 - 15:30 Methodology / pranayama

Day 4

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 07:30 Hike / yoga in nature
• 300-hour teaching: Yin / Restorative

Day 5

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:30 - 10:00 Practice
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy / sequencing
• 13:30 - 15:30 Asana technique / teaching practice

Day 6

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 10:00 Anatomy
• 10:30 - 12:00 Asana technique / practice
• 13:30 - 15:00 Methodology / pranayama

Day 7

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy / meditation
• 09:00 - 10:15 Practice
• 11:00 - 12:30 Methodology
• 13:30 - 15:30 Pranayama / meditation

Day 8

• Day off

Day 9

• 07:00 Karma yoga (house / studio)
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy / meditation
• 09:00 - 10:15 Practice / observe
• 11:00 - 12:30 Methodology / meditation
• 13:30 - 15:30 Lee: Asana technique / practice

Day 10

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:30 Practice
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy / methodology / sequencing
• 13:30 - 15:30 Asana technique / teaching / practice

Day 11

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 07:30/08:00 - 14:00 Yoga in nature
• 14:00 - 15:30 Methodology / pranayama

Day 12

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:30 - 10:00 Practice
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy / sequencing
• 13:30 - 15:30 Asana technique / teaching / practice

Day 13

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 10:00 Anatomy
• 10:30 - 12:00 Asana technique / practice
• 13:30 - 15:00 Methodology

Day 14

• 07:30 Karma yoga (house / studio)
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy / meditation
• 09:00 - 10:15 Practice
• 11:00 - 12:30 Methodology
• 13:30 - 15:00 Pranayama meditation / anatomy

Day 15

• Day off

Day 16

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy
• 09:00 - 10:15 Practice
• 11:00 - 12:30 Methodology
• 13:30 - 15:00 Pranayama / meditation

Day 17

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:30 - 10: Methodology
• 11:00 - 13:00 Ayurveda
• 13:00 - 14:30 Practicum

Day 18

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy
• 09:00 - 10:30 Practicum
• 11:30 - 13:00 Practicum

Day 19

• 07:30 Karma
• 08:30 Practice
• 11:00 Test
• 13:00 Graduation
• 13:30 - 15:00 Methodology / pranayama / meditation

Day 20

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy
• 09:00 - 10:15 300-hour teaching
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy

Day 21

• 07:30 Karma
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy
• 09:00 - 10:15 300-hour teaching
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy
• 13:30 - 15:00 Pranayama / meditation

Day 22

• Day off

Day 23

• 07:30 Karma
• 08:00 - 09:00 Philosophy
• 09:00 - 10:15 300-hour teaching
• 11:00 - 13:00 Pranayama / meditation

Day 24

• 07:30 Karma yoga
• 08:30 - 10:00 Practice
• 11:00 - 13:00 Anatomy / sequencing

Day 25

• 07:00 Karma yoga
• 07:30 / 08:00 - 14:00 Yoga in nature
• 14:00 - 15:30 Pranayama / meditation

Day 26

• Graduation
• Departure