Journey Within Foundational Teacher Training

Established 2025

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Purpose

perience of your practice—rooted in self-discovery, community, and purpose. Over the course of our 200-hour Foundational Yoga Teacher Training, you’ll be immersed in an in-depth exploration of yoga’s many dimensions while being supported by a nurturing community of fellow seekers.

What to expect

Together, we will study the history and philosophy of Hatha Yoga and the Eight Limbs of Yoga, exploring how these timeless teachings come to life through asana (posture), pranayama (breath), and meditation. You’ll learn to understand the body from the inside out through the study of anatomy, alignment, and teaching methodology, building the skills to craft intelligent and accessible sequences for Every Body. Our program meets one weekend each month in person and once monthly on Zoom for continued study and integration. Between sessions, you’ll be encouraged to maintain a regular personal practice and engage in self-paced study of our required readings and reflection assignments—deepening your understanding through lived experience. More than a teacher training, this is an invitation to live your yoga—to embody its wisdom in daily life, to find your authentic voice as a guide, and to inspire others by the way you move through the world. Together, we’ll journey inward to unlock the profound potential within and cultivate a deeper connection to your practice, your Self, and the world around you.

Style/Lineage

The Journey Within Yoga Teacher Training is grounded in the rich tradition of Hatha Yoga, following the lineage and teachings inspired by B.K.S. Iyengar. Our approach emphasizes alignment, support, and mindful awareness, creating a strong foundation for safe and intelligent practice. Through this lens, students learn how to bring the body into balance, cultivate steadiness in posture, and deepen their understanding of yoga as a holistic path of transformation. While alignment remains at the heart of our training, we also integrate the fluid, breath-centered movement of Vinyasa Yoga, encouraging practitioners to find grace and presence through mindful flow. Gentle and restorative foundations and prop support are woven throughout to support yoga for every body, honoring the uniqueness of each student’s anatomy, energy, and lived experience. The program embraces a multidimensional approach to yoga, reflecting the many paths that lead to union: Hatha Yoga – cultivating balance between strength and ease, body and mind. Nada Yoga – exploring the healing power of sound and vibration through mantra, chanting, and sound meditation to attune the inner and outer being. Jnana Yoga – the yoga of wisdom and self-inquiry, studied through the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and other sacred texts, guiding students toward insight and understanding beyond the physical practice. Through these integrated teachings, the Journey Within YTT offers more than a certification—it offers a personal and spiritual awakening. Students are invited to deepen their own practice, find their authentic voice as teachers, and embody yoga as a living, breathing expression of love, service, and awareness.
Additional Information
Applicants should have a minimum of one year of yoga practice experience. In addition to the cost of the program, there are several books that are required for purchase. Some are available as free digital downloads.

Core competencies

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

Yoga History & Theory
  • Describe essential yogic philosophy from the yoga sutras including the 8 limbs, the kleshas, chakras, koshas, and bandhas, for personal development
  • Demonstrate basic nāda yoga practices such as humming, toning, mantra recitation, and mindful listening (śravaṇa) with correct tone, pacing, and pronunciation
Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics
  • Describe the major components of the musculoskeletal system (including bones, joints, muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues) by explain their structure, function, and anatomical terminology relevant to yoga practice.
  • Define fascia and describe its structure, functions, and role within the body’s interconnected myofascial system include key concepts such as tensegrity, proprioception, interoception, hydration, elasticity, and fascial continuity across movement chains
Teaching Skills
  • Design yoga classes that support nervous system regulation by integrating pranayama, asana, and meditation practices that promote homeostasis and increase a student’s capacity for self-regulation.
  • Design a 60–75 minute all-levels hatha yoga class that includes centering, warm-up, sequencing to a peak pose, cool down, pranayama, and meditation.
  • Guide students through at least three pranayama techniques including nadi shodhana, diaphragmatic breath, and samma vritti, by explaining key differences in thier purose and mechanisms.
  • Develop classes that are accessible and trauma-informed by integrating principles of alignment, sequencing, and safety by using props, modifications, and inclusive language to support students of all levels and abilities
Practice Skills
  • Demonstrate proficiency in over 40 foundational yoga postures across five categories: seated, standing, backbends, forward folds, and supine poses with adaptive and skillful variations
  • Demonstrate engagement of the primary bandhas (mula, uddiyana, and jalandhara) by coordinating them with asana, pranayama, and core stabilization to enhance stability, energetic integrity, and mindful movement.
  • Practice beginner and intermediate pranayama techniques including nadi shodhana, diaphragmatic breath, samma vritti, ujjayi, kapalabhati, and sitali with appropriate posture, breath ratio, pacing, and mindful awareness
  • Practice vipassana, metta, and body scan techniques with correct posture, pacing, and attention to cultivate mindful awareness, compassion, and embodied presence.
Lifestyle & Ethics
  • Design class themes rooted in yogic philosophy and ethics such as the yamas and niyamas that weave together intention, cueing, sequencing, and closing reflections into a cohesive experience
Business Skills
  • Apply for professional insurance and accreditation while upholding ethical standards in teaching and communication.
  • Describe the business of yoga including how to market authentically, build community, and maintain professional integrity

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
  • Written exam
  • Teaching evaluation

Did you graduate from this program?

Program Faculty

Featured Faculty

Danielle  Mcdonald-Bourbeau
Danielle Mcdonald-Bourbeau
Level 2 Yoga Teacher Badge
Danielle trained in 2004–05 in the Iyengar tradition, Shes since studied with a range of respected teachers in many traditions. In 2023, Journey Within Yoga & Wellness opened, an RYS offering yoga, meditation, sound healing, Reiki, craniosacral therapy, coaching & grief support.
Hubbardston, MA, US

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