200 HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
June 1 - October 26, 2025
2 full weekends per month plus select evenings
2025 SCHEDULE: here
Why this training?
This 200 Hour Teacher Training is the entry point to mastering your own yoga practice, while learning to share it with others in a way that brings you joy and transforms lives.
Every human being is “an island of excellence”*, born with a unique and priceless gift longing to be revealed. Yoga is the science of awakening and sharing these gifts - a way of joining in the dance of life that leads to ever greater thriving, purpose and joy. It requires daily dedication and the willingness to change and grow. Our Tantric approach is to first experience inwardly, then radiate outwardly our own infinite nature - a brilliance that is our birthright.
Body, mind, and breath are the most incredible tools for our quest. Our journey will emphasize skillful integration of these 3 tools to move us towards greater wholeness and vitality. In the end, it is less about finding ripped abs or even inner peace, and more about healing and transforming ourselves on all levels - body, mind and heart - into the brightest beings possible. We then learn to reflect that brightness back out into the world through all that we do.
Students will be challenged to weave together all aspects of practice - from the most physical to the most subtle - in order to lay a solid foundation for the journey ahead, then step onto that path and begin walking!
By addressing the nuts and bolts of the physical practice of asana in a clear, thorough, and systematic way – anatomy, alignment, cuing, sequencing, adjusting, etc – students learn to access stability, ease, and delight in the body while safely and effectively teaching a group class.
By investigating breath as the link between body and mind, students discover the integrating power of prana, the life force. They will explore the art of shaping the physical practice using both intention and pranayama (breath) to profoundly affect not only the body, but also the mind and the heart.
By experiencing meditations that grow out of the skillful sequencing of asana and pranayama, students will step into a new level of perception – an experience of truth that blossoms not from the thinking mind but from embodied experience.
In the moment that body, mind, and breath are united as one -
that is the state of yoga,
the true ground of thriving and even transformation!
As we integrate all of the above into a cohesive philosophical world view, based on ancient teachings that are more relevant now than ever, students will gain clarity on their own role in the world moving forward as a yoga teacher.
This training is:
Grounded in Lineage - a Sri Vidya tradition of the Himalayan Masters
A Tantric approach that skillfully works with prana to uncover our hidden potential, find an inherent source of joy, and become a light to the world
Easily adapted to various styles of yoga, with lots of opportunity to practice teaching in a supportive and mentored environment, allowing each person’s unique spark to shine through
Led by an accomplished and passionate teacher, Mary Johnston-Coursey: Mary brings expertise from 45 years of teaching yoga, 50 years of meditation practice, 25 years as a professional dancer, certification in Yoga Therapy through I-AYT, certification in Vishoka Meditation, E-RYT-500 through Yoga Alliance, former faculty of the school of ParaYoga, former faculty of SL Community College Yoga Teacher Training, and ongoing study with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait - a master teacher within a lineage.
Available to all interested students, whether your goal is to teach yoga or to deepen your own understanding of practice. All are welcome.
*Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Secrets of the Yoga Sutras
How does this training compare to others? This training is:
Rooted in the tradition of the Himalayan Masters, a lineage that gives us access to an unbroken stream of knowledge over 2,000 years old
Integration of ancient wisdom with contemporary knowledge around body, breath and mind
Emphasizes a deeply spiritual approach to yoga that is geared towards self-transformation, while being fully compatible with any religious belief
This is not a pot-luck! Offers clear and systematic principles of sequencing that can be applied to any style of yoga you choose without limiting its potential for transformation. You will gain in-depth knowledge of what you are offering and why, rather than a more shallow understanding of many varying approaches
Presents an approach to teaching yoga that is accessible to all bodies, all abilities, and all populations
Informed by principles of yoga therapy and alignment-based practice to support the safe teaching of yoga
Introduces the Tantric science of working with prana for awakening and transformation
Includes more hours of direct contact with teacher than most programs (count them!)
Topics covered include:
Anatomy/kinesiology, alignment principles, functional movement
Cuing, use of voice, hands on adjustments
Contraindications for practice, dealing with emergencies in class
Categories of poses and their energetic effects - sequencing for energetic effects
Prana Vayus and the asanas
Energetic anatomy - chakras, nadis, kundalini shakti
Teaching groups, adapting to mixed populations
Dance of Consciousness and Matter - prakriti, purusha, guna, dosha
Pranayama practices and their effects
Meditation - the nature and practice of meditation
Kriya - A Tantric approach to meditation
Designing practices around a theme
Lots of practice teaching!
On teaching contemplative practices - savasana, pranayama, meditation
History and Study of the Yoga Sutras and its application to life
Bhagavad Gita and Dharma - finding our purpose in life
Yoga philosophy and worldview
Mantra - healing for the soul
Getting started as a teacher, survival as a yoga teacher
Expert mentoring and ongoing guidance
Sangha - like-minded community
Requirements
At least one year of practicing yoga before training begins in order to receive certification through Yoga Alliance
Completion of all sessions, either through attendance or recordings. Missed in-person sessions must be okayed by instructor. Recorded make-ups must be documented by a journal entry
Satisfactorily complete all assignments - reading, practice teaching, written prompts, quizzes
Schedule:
June 1, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14
July 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20
August 14, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24
September 25, 27, 28, October 2, 4, 5
October 16, 19, 23, 25, 26
Weekends 9:00-6:00
Weeknights 6:00-9:00
5 additional hours for Practicum TBD by the group
Zoom livestream and recorded make-ups can be made available
Payment:
$2,950 after May 4
Early Bird - Register by May 4th and save $100! (Use 200TT! at checkout)
Payment plan available - contact me below if interested
To Register:
200 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING
$2,950.00