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Teaching Skills
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Design a complete one-hour yoga class plan that includes a theme, a logical pose progression, breath practices, a meditation, time estimates, and modification options for each major pose.
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Apply a layered cueing approach in a taught class segment, integrating anatomical cues, action cues, breath cues, and experiential invitations to guide students through a pose sequence.
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Apply trauma-sensitive and accessibility-centered practices in a taught class segment, including opt-in cues for assists, clear modifications for common poses, and language that invites rather than directs.
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Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics
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Apply movement terminology accurately in verbal cueing, using directional and anatomical language to guide students toward safe alignment.
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Identify the structural components of the spine, the three main spinal regions, and the major muscles that move and stabilize the back.
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Identify the bones, joints, and primary muscles of the foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, and hip, including the structure and function of the knee meniscus.
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Identify the major divisions of the nervous system, including the autonomic nervous system's sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, and describe the basic anatomy of respiration.
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Practice Skills
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Demonstrate proper alignment and verbal cueing for a set of standing poses, showing awareness of student safety, breath continuity, and accessible language.
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Demonstrate correct alignment and safe verbal cueing for a progression of backbends from supported to deeper extension, including relevant modifications.
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Demonstrate a restorative yoga sequence using props correctly, cueing students through setup, breath awareness, and mindful transitions between poses.
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Describe the anatomical demands and contraindications of inversions, explaining which conditions require modification or avoidance and why.
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Demonstrate Surya Namaskar A and B with accurate alignment and clear verbal cues, and guide a small group through at least one complete round while offering modifications.
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Demonstrate pranayama practices with correct technique and clear cueing, noting each breath's appropriate placement in a class and its known contraindications.
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Guide a small group through a short meditation or mantra practice, using language that is clear, non-dogmatic, and suitable for students with no prior meditation experience.
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Yoga History & Theory
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Describe the three Gunas—tamas, rajas, and sattva—and explain how each quality manifests in the body, mind, and the rhythm of a yoga class.
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Describe the contribution of Patanjali in codifying the practice of yoga, explaining how the Sutras provide a complete map from ethical conduct through to meditative absorption.
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Apply the principles of a chosen Yama or Niyama to a teaching decision, demonstrating how yogic ethics shape language, sequencing, or student interaction.
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Demonstrate a short dosha-balancing yoga sequence by selecting appropriate poses, pace, breathwork, and language for a specific doshic focus.
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Lifestyle & Ethics
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Describe the history of colonization and cultural appropriation as it relates to yoga in the West, explaining why acknowledging this history is part of ethical teaching practice.
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Explain how a decolonial approach to teaching yoga—including attribution, ongoing learning, and humility—is itself an expression of the yama satya and the niyama svadhyaya.
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Identify the personal practices and professional boundaries that protect a yoga teacher’s long-term wellbeing, including clear scope of practice, emotional boundaries, and a consistent personal sadhana.
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Business Skills
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Apply mindful marketing principles to build a basic professional presence, including a teacher bio, yoga philosophy statement, and a plan for using technology such as social media and online scheduling.
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Explain how values-aligned communication—rooted in authenticity, cultural humility, and a clear sense of your teaching identity—attracts students who are genuinely well-suited to what you offer.
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Create a first-year professional launch plan that includes a teacher bio, a philosophy statement, an initial offering, a pricing structure, and a basic strategy for growing a local or online student community, and describe potential revenue streams including studio employment, drop-in classes, series, workshops, private clients, corporate wellness, online content, and community offerings.
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