Yoga & Meditation Teacher Training

Established 2026

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Satya Meditation and Yoga School

Program Instances

Hybrid

Dates: TBD

200 hours • TBD

Led by

Sara Syed

CYT-L3

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Purpose

Designed for students seeking healing, growth, and a deeper understanding of yoga, this internationally accredited program combines traditional yogic wisdom with practical tools for modern life. Whether you aspire to teach or simply deepen your practice, you'll gain the knowledge, confidence, and community to support your path.

What to expect

Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle & Ethics

Deep dive into the Yamas and Niyamas, yoga’s foundational ethical guidelines for living with peace, purpose, and compassion.
Study the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, exploring the roots of yogic philosophy and inner transformation.
Learn how to integrate the principles of Ayurveda—India’s ancient medical system—into your daily life and teaching.
Understand how the gunas (qualities of nature) influence diet, lifestyle, and mental well-being.
Explore the ethics of teaching yoga, including leadership, boundaries, selfless service (seva), and the importance of non-harm (ahimsa) and truthfulness (satya).

Techniques, Training & Practice

Learn to safely practice and teach foundational yoga postures (asanas) with a focus on proper alignment and accessibility.
Explore therapeutic benefits of asanas, as well as modifications and props to meet diverse needs.
Practice hands-on adjustments that are safe, informed, and always consensual.
Gain confidence in teaching pranayama (breathwork) and various meditation techniques.
Develop creative, balanced, and authentic class sequences that reflect your unique teaching voice, mission and journey.
Practice savasana massage and other grounding techniques to enhance student relaxation.

Teaching Methodology

Experience and explore diverse styles of yoga, including Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga (Primary Series), Kundalini, Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra, and Meditation.
Learn to customize your teaching to special populations, including children, prenatal and postnatal students.
Increase your confidence, improve your communication skills, refine your voice, and practice effective language and cueing.
Discover how to create sacred space, hold presence, and support students with care and professionalism.
Teach in trauma-informed manner to create less harm.

Style/Lineage

More than a certification, this highly-rated training offers a journey of personal transformation.

Additional Information

Anatomy & Physiology

(Physical + Energetic)

Study essential anatomy and physiology to teach safely and understand the body in motion.
Learn about therapeutic applications of yoga for injury, pain, and common health conditions.
Dive into the subtle energy body, including chakras, nadis, prana, and the balance of masculine/feminine energies.
Understand how energy systems influence emotional and mental health, and how to teach from this deeper awareness.

Practicum

(Practice Teaching & Feedback)

Gain hands-on experience through structured practice teaching sessions.
Sequence and lead full yoga classes with confidence.
Receive personalized feedback from lead trainers and supportive peer reviews to strengthen your teaching.
Plenty of opportunities to practice, refine, and evolve your teaching style!

The Business of Yoga

(Yoga Professional Essentials)

Understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of teaching yoga professionally.
Learn basic tax, insurance, and liability requirements.
Explore authentic marketing strategies and build a heart-centered, spiritually-aligned business.
Get familiar with Yoga Alliance registration, credentialing, and continued education opportunities.

Core competencies

By the end of this program, graduates will be able to…

Teaching Skills	Compare a verbal cue with a hands-on adjustment to determine which better serves a specific teaching moment, considering student needs, clarity, consent, safety, and teaching context. Design an original lesson plan that sequences a complete class toward a chosen peak pose, demonstrating intentional progression, preparation, transitions, pacing, and appropriate counterposes. Assess a recording of personal teaching against established teaching standards by identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and specific actions for continued development.
Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics	Compare the qualities associated with lower and higher chakras by identifying similarities, differences, and the progression of qualities traditionally associated with each. Differentiate the qualities traditionally associated with the root chakra from those associated with the solar plexus chakra by comparing their themes, functions, and symbolic characteristics. Differentiate the qualities traditionally associated with the throat chakra from those associated with the brow chakra by comparing their themes, functions, and symbolic characteristics. Explain how the koshas describe progressively subtler layers of the self, from the physical body toward the innermost dimensions of experience.
Practice Skills	Compare shallow, chest-based breathing with full, diaphragmatic breathing by identifying differences in movement, breath mechanics, pacing, and subjective experience. Compare the alignment demands of a lunge pose with those of a standing balance pose by identifying differences in stability, mobility, weight distribution, and postural control. Compare the alignment demands of a seated twist with those of a supine pose by identifying differences in spinal position, grounding, mobility, and muscular engagement. Differentiate energizing and calming prāṇāyāma techniques by analyzing how pacing, breath ratios, effort, and other technique variables influence their intended effects. Compare concentration-based and awareness-based meditation techniques by identifying differences in attentional focus, method, practitioner engagement, and intended outcomes.
Yoga History & Theory	Assess whether a described yoga class reflects core principles of yoga beyond physical postures by examining its approach to ethics, awareness, breath, meditation, philosophy, and integration. Assess which limb of Ashtanga Yoga most needs development in a described student’s practice by evaluating the student’s behaviors, practices, and circumstances against the purpose and principles of each limb. Assess whether a described yoga community emphasizes one path of yoga over others and evaluate the potential implications of that emphasis for its students and community.
Lifestyle & Ethics	Develop a personal sādhana plan that integrates practices supporting energy, presence, self-awareness, and resilience across a sustainable teaching career. Assess personal strengths and challenges related to a chosen yama or niyama over a defined period of practice, using observations and experiences to identify patterns, growth, and areas for continued development. Develop a personal scope-of-practice statement that clearly defines professional competencies, limitations, ethical boundaries, and circumstances requiring referral or collaboration.
Business Skills	Develop a complete business plan for launching a personal yoga teaching practice, including services, target population, pricing, marketing, operations, financial considerations, and professional goals. Build a basic outreach plan for establishing oneself as a yoga teacher in the community by identifying target audiences, outreach methods, relationship-building strategies, and measurable goals. Develop a personal framework for evaluating future studio partnerships and contracting opportunities by establishing criteria related to professional alignment, compensation, scope of work, working conditions, values, and long-term sustainability.

AYC allows each school to state and evaluate the competencies each student acquires. Students rate how well the program delivered them.

Program Emphasis

Evaluation methods

Program evaluations

Oral Exam
Solo Project Or Presentation
Written Exam
Written Submission
Direct Observation
Graded Skill Demonstration
Group Project Or Presentation

Students will be evaluated through a combination of written/oral submissions, projects, skills assessments and direct observation

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Program Faculty

Featured Faculty

Sara Syed

Trained in the Ashtanga Yoga Tradition and Vipassana Meditation, Sara Syed blends the Buddhist practices of equanimity (non-reactivity) and awareness with the 8-limbed yogic traditions (ashtanga yoga) to offer transformational spiritual experiences.

sarasyedyoga.com

Cleveland, OH, US