Helping You Stay On The Path to Health and Wellness Since 1990
Yoga Teacher Training
With Jerry Smith-Guidry and Acadiana Yoga and Wellness
Deepen your personal practice, expand your teaching skills, and engage with a supportive learning community in which to grow and explore your personal and professional capacities.
Testimonials
"This yoga teacher training ultimately has and will continue to help me find my voice and be comfortable speaking and sharing my truth." - graduate, LJ
"I'm so grateful I made the decision to go through this training. I wanted to learn everything I could about Yoga, and I got so much more! The benefits continue to reveal themselves. Every time I teach, I am reminded of how much I learned in Jerry's training." - graduate, KL
Jerry Smith-Guidry and Acadiana Yoga and Wellness offer an extensive, comprehensive, and enriching Yoga training program tailored to both aspiring teachers and serious students of all levels. Whether you seek to deepen your individual practice or learn the art of teaching with integrity and grace, this program and its teachers provide the sacred space, wisdom, and support necessary for you to blossom and grow along your own unique Yogic path.
Each student expands his or her Yogic knowledge through intensive personal study, hands-on experience, and practical application. The curriculum was developed to explore Yoga’s vast richness, including: applied anatomy and physiology as related to asana study and teaching methodology, philosophy, lifestyle, ethics, and principles of becoming and living as a Yoga teacher and lifelong student. With the emphasis on alignment-inspired asana, this 200 hour training prepares you to take the seat of the teacher and to lead students safely through a practice complete with yoga philosophy, properly sequenced asana, pranayama, chanting and meditation. Upon graduation, you will qualify for the Yoga Alliance RYT200 registration.
Requirements for Admission to our Program
There is a process whereby the student will complete the application form and pay a $500 non-refundable deposit or the discounted early bird price to hold your space.
Completed application & deposit, or entire fee, are required before training begins.
Each application will be evaluated on an individual basis.
Knowledge of the poses, and average physical stamina necessary for integration of information.
A minimum of 6 months of regular practice and public study is recommended.
It is not required that you desire to become a teacher through this program. Any student looking for a deeper motivation to learn and grow in their practice is a welcome addition to the group.
Practice Requirements
You will be encouraged to practice yoga on a daily basis. Your Asana, Pranayama, and attention to the Yamas and Niyamas is very important.
Homework and Reading Assignments
There is a required reading list, and each student is expected to write 2 reports. These include-
Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (any version)
Yoga-The Spirit of Moving Into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann
Anatomy and Yoga by Ellen Saltonstall
Requirements for Certification
Attendance of all dates and trainings.
Successful completion of assignments and quizzes
Observation or assistance in assigned public classes.
"I started this journey with the intention of deepening my practice and learning more so I could share with others. What I didn't realize was how profoundly it would change the way I approach everything in my life. I am grateful for your no nonsense approach to teaching. Your tough love and encouragement helped me to push through when I felt I had taken on more than I could handle." - graduate, CM
300 Hour Advanced Program Specifics
If you’ve graduated from any 200hr yoga teacher training, this is your chance to further develop your practice in yoga — and in life. Our 300hr yoga teacher training is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will serve you whether or not you ever choose to teach. Transform your life — enroll today.
The Advanced Teacher Training program is designed for those wishing to continue their studies and gain the level of 500 RYT. You may have taken your 200 hour training from any Yoga Alliance 200 hour Registered Yoga School. This more comprehensive phase of the training offers a more in-depth study and presents a broader view of the yoga tradition. It provides the experience, knowledge and confidence to establish a career as a yoga teacher, expand teaching opportunities and live a life inspired by one's own personal practice.
Examples of Topics
Ayurveda - Foundations, used in self-care, and used in teaching Yoga Advanced Pranayama techniques - for practice and for teaching Creating thematic classes to address different populations, settings and styles Refining the Art of Sequencing Cultivating the Art of Assisting - verbal and hands on techniques Facilitating participant centered individual sessions Dialogue to enhance the body/mind consciousness Creative adaptation for special populations How to use interactive communication tools Mythological figures as a method of weaving themes into classes Sanskrit - terms - meanings and pronunciations Teaching methods for various meditation techniques Body mechanics - precautions and contraindications Common conditions and symptoms Chakras and subtle body anatomy Using chanting and mantra to deepen the practice
Required Reading
Yoga, Path to Holistic Health by BKS Iyengar Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life Anatomy and Yoga by Ellen Saltonstall Yoga Sutras by Patanjali (student choice of translation) Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing by Dr. Vasant Lad Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization by David Frawley Upon graduation from the 300 Advanced Yoga Teacher training - you will qualify for the Yoga Alliance 500 RYT designation.
“For Those who have an intense urge for Spirit and Wisdom, it sits near them, Waiting” – Patajanli's Yoga Sutras (1,21)
“The Purpose of Life is a Life of Purpose” - Robert Byrne
"And the Day Came When the Risk to Remain Tight In a Bud Was More Painful Than the Risk It Took to Blossom.” – Anais Nin
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