Foundational 200hr Yoga Teacher Training

Established 2001

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Circle Yoga Shala

AR 7, Jasper, AR, USA

Jasper, AR

Program Instances

In person Sep 17 – Mar 7, 2027 172 days • 108 hours • $ 2850+ Jonesboro, AR, US	Led by Holly Krepps CYT-L3		Inquire See up-front pricing
In person Feb 6 – Dec 6, 2026 304 days • 108 hours • $ 3000+ Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, VI	Led by Holly Krepps CYT-L3		Inquire See up-front pricing

Purpose

Graduates leave with the ability to step into the seat of the teacher right away:

Teach any style, any level
Teach beyond asana
Sequence creatively and intelligently
Cue with clarity
Offer seamless modifications
Provide trauma-sensitive adjustments
Step into professionalism

What to expect

Our training unfolds through four immersive intensives, each one building on the last. Each intensive reinforces what came before, while adding new dimensions of depth, nuance, and application.

Intensive 1 lays the foundation for the entire training. We dive into the fundamentals of asana, biomechanics, and yoga philosophy, while beginning practice teaching from day one.
Intensive 2 focuses on the study of forward folds and closed-hip postures. Pranayama (breathwork) and Patanjali's Yoga Sutra are introduced as a powerful tools for training attention.
Intensive 3 turns to the families of open-hip postures and backbends. Practice teaching expands to include respectful, non-invasive adjustments. You’ll also add meditation to your teaching toolkit
Intensive 4 brings everything together by expanding your range as a teacher and preparing you for the realities of today’s yoga marketplace. You’ll refine your teaching, while learning to also serve special populations such as children, seniors, and athletes. In philosophy, we turn to the Bhagavad Gita.

Style/Lineage

What we teach in this program is foundational to all styles. By the end of the training, you will know how to blend the 5 techniques of Hatha Yoga to generate practices that serve all styles and populations.

Our lineage is rooted in the teaching of Krishnamacharya.

Additional Information

There are no prerequisites for this program or required materials. You will receive a printed workbook on the first day as well as access to our online hub, where you'll find philosophy talks, video practices, and more.

Core competencies

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

Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics	Apply principles of arch support (feet, hands, pelvic floor, respiratory diaphragm, and the palate) by using the program’s seven core actions as alignment cues to lengthen and broaden the body, free the breath, and promote efficient movement in yoga postures. Apply principles of neutral spinal and sacrum stability by using verbal cues as well as props to promote alignment, increase stability, reduce unnecessary strain, and promote whole-body integrity. Apply joint actions terminology (like flexion, extension, rotation, abduction, and adduction) by accurately identifying these patterns in yoga postures, making consistent selections for sequencing, and cueing them correctly during yoga instruction. Apply rotation principles of the feet and legs by selecting appropriate internal or external rotation strategies to support forward folds, backbends, and closed or open-hip postures. Create yoga sequences organized according to biomechanical complexity by progressing from more supported, less loaded positions to positions that are less supported and more loaded, as appropriate for the intended goal.
Business Skills	Describe the philosophy and methodology of their yoga teaching by articulating their approach through the program's five techniques of hatha yoga, and by communicating clearly the purpose, value, and scope of their teaching. Apply teaching strategies appropriate for beginner students by building students' skills progressively to encourage student retention, ongoing engagement and development toward intermediate and advanced levels.
Lifestyle & Ethics	Demonstrate teaching integrity by utilizing the program's "teaching outside of posture" approach (teaching without practicing alongside students) in order to maintain focus on student needs, monitor movement quality, support learning, and hold space throughout class. Apply the program's ecm (establish-clarify-maintain) language map by using action-oriented, non-invasive, trauma-sensitive language to 1) support student agency, safety, and inclusivity; 2) promote student independence and self-practice; 3) and reduce the need for physical adjustments. Apply the program’s principles of adjustments by using inclusive language, utilizing the program’s mirroring approach (demonstration), and engaging with minimal or optional physical touch in order to restore proper space in the joints and avoid muscular collapse. Explain appropriate guidelines for yoga participation by 1) encouraging students to listen to their own bodies, modify, or discontinue practice when needed to prevent pain or injury; 2) by recommending that students consult their physician when appropriate; and 3) by clarifying the limits of the yoga teacher’s scope of practice.
Practice Skills	Demonstrate the program's chandra namaskar sequence and other yoga postures from the curriculum by engaging the seven core actions, having proper alignment, displaying appropriate effort or minimum muscular effort (mme), maintaining focus, and modifying when needed. Utilize one's personal yoga practice as a foundation for teaching safely and effectively by clarifying the program’s biomechanical principles through direct experience, deriving cues and clarifications from embodied understanding, and distinguishing joint pain from appropriate muscular effort.
Teaching Skills	Start yoga classes by providing a short student orientation to establish the purpose of the practice, introduce key teaching concepts, demonstrate the goal posture, and overall prepare students for the intended experience. Apply the program's ecm (establish-clarify-maintain) language map by continuously cycling through body placement, the program’s seven core actions, clarifications, and ongoing reminders while teaching different aspects of the yoga practice (asana, pranayama, and meditation). Teach movement before stillness by first introducing dynamic movement to develop awareness, prepare the joints, and then progressively increase physical demand before teaching sustained, active holds. Teach biomechanically appropriate actions in posture practice by applying either internal or external rotation principles. Develop class sequences using the program's vinyasa krama approach by progressing from simpler (more supported, less loaded symmetrical) postures to more complex (less supported, more loaded, asymmetrical) postures. Guide student alignment and joint safety by identifying correctly the origin of the collapse and then progressing from verbal clarifications to the program's minimal physical adjustment protocol, when appropriate.
Yoga History & Theory	Describe teachings from foundational yoga texts by explaining key concepts from the yoga sutras and the bhagavad gita and their application to personal practice and yoga teaching. Describe the classical definition of yoga as ‘yoga citta vritti nirodha’, translated as ‘yoga is the surrender of the fluctuations of the mind' according to the yoga sutra of patanjali. Explain the relationship between education and transformation by distinguishing the acquisition of knowledge from the process of lasting personal change that cannot be undone.

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

Group Project Or Presentation
Solo Project Or Presentation
Oral Exam
Direct Observation

Our teachers are continuously and seamlessly evaluated throughout the course training: from the one-on-one practice teaching, to small group practice teaching and sequencing, to individual work. We know that our teachers are learning because they can immediately integrate new information: from giving a new cue, to making a better sequencing choice, to having a creative solution to an assignment. Individual feedback from trainers is given as further support. The goal is for each teacher to leave the training having competently taught a Yoga class according to the Circle Yoga Shala method, but done in a way that allows their unique gifts to shine through.

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Program Faculty

Featured Faculty

Holly Krepps

Holly is the visionary founder of Circle Yoga Shala. She has been a practitioner of Yoga and Ayurveda for over three decades and has had the privilege of training teachers to be of service in their communities for the past twenty-five years.

circleyogashala.com

Jasper, AR, US

Adjunct Faculty