Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign hello and welcome to Deep in your Yoga Practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, the owner, founder and lead teacher trainer at True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri and today I'm going to talk a lot about advanced yoga teacher training today and I'll let you know why in just just a little bit. So if you're interested in the path of teaching yoga or going deep in your yoga practice, which I'm assuming you are because you're listening to Deepen your yoga practice, you might get a lot out of this episode and it might help you consider different options for your future as far as how you would like to study yoga, how you would like to interact with it, and how you might elevate your yoga practice, teaching leadership and etc. So welcome. I have talked about my journey of becoming a yoga teacher on this podcast before one of the first episodes and for me I felt a calling to teach yoga as many people do. And a lot of times people feel a calling just to study yoga more deeply, whether or not that leads to some kind of teaching. And one of the most efficient and accessible ways to do that is through a really great 200 hour yoga teacher training. So, so I did a yoga teacher training 13 I did an immersive training and I was in the jungle of Costa Rica with Frog Lotus yoga and my teacher Jennifer Yarrow and anatomy teacher Jenny Lee Toner for a little over three weeks, studying for 12 plus hours a day and it completely changed my life. I'm so glad that I listened to the whisper finally to go ahead and do a yoga teacher training and eventually to teach yoga and whether or not it would become my career, which, spoiler alert, it did. I knew that it would make a profound difference in my life how I saw myself and give me this framework for a more intentional, healthy and purposeful life. And those were all things that I was looking for. I was looking for framework, accountability and guides to really become my best self. So that was quite a few years ago.
[00:02:18] I was teaching a lot after that and eventually some of my students started asking if I was going to lead a yoga teacher training because they were also feeling that call, that whisper, wanting to go deeper in their practice, perhaps wanting to add yoga teaching to their career options. I was really flattered they asked me, but I just didn't feel like I was ready. In my mind, it was, I don't know, just a baby yoga teacher really. And while I loved teaching and felt like I had a lot to offer, I did feel like there was room to go deeper. So I Said, okay, they're asking. It is a service I would like to provide. I think I would like training teachers, but I need more experience.
[00:03:02] So that's when I decided to do a 300 hour training or an advanced yoga teacher training, which took me all over the world, which was very cool. It helped me go deeper and it helped me build more confidence in my yoga teaching so that I could take my career to the next level, which it definitely did. Nobody really has to do a 300 hour training. Doing a 200 hour training that is comprehensive and foundational is a great starting point for anyone who wants to deepen their yoga practice and become a yoga teacher. So 300 hours are really for people looking to elevate in the way that I was, not necessarily to be a yoga teacher trainer, because you don't even need to have a 300 hour training for that. You have to just through the Yoga Alliance, I believe, be an experienced 200 hour teacher. But I just wanted to immerse myself in yoga again in a way that created less pressure because I already had become a yoga teacher. I was going back out of my own volition to go deeper and to elevate. And the 300 hour just had a totally different energy to me than the 200 hour. I wasn't fulfilling some kind of requirement. I was doing something really for me so that I could give back to my community in this deeper, more expansive way. So if you're feeling that call in any way, this episode is absolutely for you. I'm going to talk about advanced yoga teacher training and why it might be beneficial in your life. I'll also say I am getting ready to launch the True Love Yoga 300 Hour Waititi in 2026. So more details of that will be coming out really soon.
[00:04:47] So this will give you a little bit of preliminary information for that. I'm really excited to offer some insight as to why these trainings are so powerful and who they're really for. So a 300 hour wait is done after and in addition to a 200 hour YTT. So once you've done both, you would be considered a certified yoga teacher with 500 hours of training.
[00:05:17] And if you were to register with the Yoga alliance, you would be an RYT500. It's in my mind quite different than a 200 hour yoga teacher training, which I know our training helps deepen one's yoga practice and refine it and really expand what it means for them. But also it has a pretty simple goal of teaching you how to teach a great yoga class, the 300 hour is different. You're coming, you come in with knowledge, you come in hopefully with some experience in teaching yoga or at least experience with your 200 hour training. And it helps bridge you to more of a level of mastery, of expertise, of business, business acumen, and of an even deeper relationship to the philosophical, physical and mental components of Yoga. The 300 hour builds upon the foundational 200 hour training, but includes things like advanced asana, advanced sequencing, more subtle anatomy, deeper philosophy. So really going into like the nature of reality, things like that, energetics, and then this component of leadership and legacy and really stepping into this, this next level. It's all about evolving how and why you teach, not just giving you the components of what you teach. So there are definitely a few wonderful reasons to consider an advanced training. One would be to again, deepen your personal practice. A lot of people choose to do a 200 hour to do this, and this is really going to take it to the next level, moving beyond physical postures into more energetic awareness, philosophical integration and ritual. So the really nice thing about this is we already kind of speak the same language, so we don't have to start off with all the basics. We can assume this shared knowledge and then go even more deeply into it and you can feel even more connected and authentic in your own practice. I know that when I did my 300 hour training, I was teaching yoga a lot. I had started building my business and at times I felt kind of disconnected from my own personal practice. Having this opportunity to dive back into me and reconnect with the feeling I got in my 200 hour was deeply appealing. I remember my teacher asked what our intention was for the training and the word that came to mind was to nourish. I wanted to feel more nourished with this deeper yogic knowledge and to give back to myself so that I had essentially more to give. Advanced trainings can also advance your teaching skill set with things that are more subtle at times, like reading the rent, energy in the room, modifying on the fly, crafting sequences that are intuitive and feel really transformative and are deeply meaningful series as well. And to improve things like verbal cueing and hands on assists and class design. So again, you have all these beautiful components you were given for a 200 hour training. But how do we finesse that and go deeper and integrate that really into your own style? Advanced training can also help you reconnect with a sense of purpose. Teaching can feel really routine. We can feel stagnant at times, and advanced training reignites Inspiration and helps clarify your mission. And like I said, that really did that for me and that was a huge purpose of me doing a 300 hour training. And it can help you really begin to lead from a place of wisdom, not just knowledge. So I would say a 300 hour helps you take your foundation, move it to the next level, and then embody yoga as a lifestyle, as a practice, as a service, so that you are serving your students in your community again from this place of wisdom and experience, rather than just the things that we know. And advanced training can also help you hold space on a higher level. So we might move from guiding poses to guiding people through experience of growth and healing and transformation. And that might be through 60 minute yoga classes, but it could also be through series and workshops and private lessons and retreats and trainings, maybe studio ownership, whatever your maybe larger containers are that you are dreaming up for your yoga business, your yoga offerings, you can become this teacher that you students return to for depth and consistency and to really feel nurtured and like they are in expert hands, which always feels so good. You can benefit from a 300 hour training by growing your business and offerings. I just named some a few moments ago. But learning to create retreats, workshops, businesses that are rooted in purpose and ethics is something that we really only have a short amount of time for in the 200 hour training. But now that you have this foundation of teaching, this deeper knowledge of yoga, maybe experience of teaching in different yoga environments, you can really refine what you want to offer, where you want to offer it, who you'd like to offer it to, and then elevate to that, that level of expertise. So in that a 300 hour training can really help you think very strategically, so armed with how to create a container for your business and market it, attracting students, etc, while still staying very aligned with your yogic values. And to me, the world needs more of that, right? We need more grounded yoga spaces that are of service and that are sustainable over a long period of time. A 300 hour also helps you shape the future of yoga. So the yoga world is always evolving and you get to step into a space of leadership, and especially leadership that is inclusive and soulful and visionary and aligned with yogic roots. That's thoughtful, that's trauma informed and to me, if you want to have a legacy, this path helps you shape it with clarity and grace and the wisdom that's needed to do so. This 300 hour yoga teacher training is for people who have been teaching consistently, but are feeling ready for Something more. Something that feels a little deeper, more purposeful, more transformative, perhaps for themselves and their students.
[00:11:58] It might be for a teacher who has taken some trainings but feels a little bit fragmented and is ready to go deeper in a more cohesive and complete way.
[00:12:12] This 300 hours is a lot of time to go deep and it's mine that I'm offering at True Love is very well organized and thought out to be extremely comprehensive and to create this container of growth and wisdom and change over a whole year. Maybe you want to feel more confident with things like theming, with sequencing, with energy, with anatomy. You've got a good foundation in your 200 hour, but you're ready to take all of those things to the next level.
[00:12:41] Maybe you dream of hosting retreats or building a sustainable yoga career that lights you and others up. Maybe you're curious about leadership, maybe about intuitive teaching, subtle energetics, things that we don't really get to go into in depth in our 200 hour. And maybe you want to reconnect with the community of passionate and dedicated teachers. And I'll say, for me, that was one of the best parts of my advanced teacher training. Everyone was there because they wanted to be, not because they had to be. Everyone came in with their own knowledge, maybe even areas of expertise with their experience.
[00:13:20] And we got to collaborate together and elevate with each other. I personally found it way more fun than my 200 hour because the pressure is really off. Again, you don't have to do a 300 hour training, but to me it was just so joyful and fun because getting to learn in that way was like, I don't know, it was like candy to me, as I've said before, because it just felt like such a treat to be connecting with other yoga teachers and to go deeper in that way together, to like talk about the meaning of life together and to practice and play with it advanced asanas and to already have this basis of knowledge and this groundedness in self, to be able to do it in this way, that felt really productive and professional as well. So again, I've created a 300 hour program for true Love Yoga that will come out next year. More details of how to sign up and such will come soon, but a little preview of it beautifully weaves together mastery, tuition and leadership.
[00:14:27] I created this program because, just on a personal, professional level, I love working with yoga teachers.
[00:14:34] I love teaching our 200 hour program, I love creating workshops for yoga teachers, I love nurturing the teachers in our own studio. And it just felt like okay, this has been in my heart for a couple of years. I think it is time like for this professional challenge for myself. But also we have around 200 YTT grads or will by the end of this year and I know there has to be people who are thirsting for this deeper knowledge and for that sense of community again and who want to go deep and who want to do it within the container of true love. Because I think we have something really special here as far as inclusivity. Being trauma informed goes with respecting the roots of yoga while also being really open and mindful of the present. And I wanted to create that professional environment for teachers looking to go deeper and go to that next level. It will include things such as advanced Asana and Yin restorative and Yoga Nidra mastery, Intuitive sequencing retreat and business strategy Glide Yoga philosophy one on one mentorship with me as well as this relationship with the small community of trainees as a whole. And we'll go deeper into more energetic and subtle body work as well. I absolutely love how this training is laid out. We go chakra by chakra and really build from this beautiful grounded place into the more subtle of the more esoteric over time. The training will be over 12 months, January through December of 2026. So we'll have three three month modules with one month breaks in between to integrate the knowledge to catch up if that's needed. Just like our 200 hour, it's a hybrid learning experience so we have virtual pre recorded content through teachable as well as in person immersive experiences. Unlike the 200 hour training, you'll get a lot more feedback from me and personal mentorship. So one to one mentorship, goal setting, check ins et cetera are built into this. You'll get a lot more practice teaching and feedback from your colleagues and from me as well. Guidance on planning retreats and series and workshops. We'll do philosophy deep dives together and this is approved by the Yoga alliance. So once you are done with it, you'll be certified according to Yoga Alliance's standards to be a 500 hour designated registered teacher. If you're interested in going deeper, if you Already have your 200 hour certification, go to trueloveyogakc.com and to our 300 hour page and there's a form to fill out there with your email. And once you put in your email I'll send you a PDF of 10 signs you're ready to level up so it goes a little bit more deeply into are you ready for this or not. And then I'll continue to send you information as I have it about this training and signing up and early bird discounts and all of that. So if this is something that you're interested in, you might reflect with yourself. Where in my teaching do I feel confident? Where do I feel like there's room for growth as well as the question, what legacy do I want to leave as a yoga teacher? I want to thank you so much for listening to this, for being on this journey with me. I invite you to explore this next step of your teaching not from a place of pressure, but from a place of possibility and excitement of potential. And I encourage anyone listening to really listen into your own inner voice to see if something like this is right for you. And if so, it might be time to take that next step. If you're curious about the 2026 training again, go to our website, put in your email, we'll send you that PDF and more info so that you can be on the wait list and one of the first to know when the training is open for enrollment.
[00:18:40] I'll put that link in the show notes. I want to thank you all so much for listening today, for being interested in this inner inquiry or Swadhyaya, and for having such a big heart of service. I hope that I can help support you in that into your next level of purpose of being a leader, of being a guide. So much love to you. Until next time, Om Shanti Own Peace.
