Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign hello and welcome to another episode of Deepen your yoga practice. I am Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today I'm going to talk all about 200 hour yoga teacher trainings, particularly the True Love Yoga 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training. So if you have any little intuitive feeling or curiosity or interest about this process of becoming a yoga teacher, and particularly through the true love yoga teacher training, this episode is for you.
[00:00:51] And I also recorded another episode that aired a couple of months ago called are you ready to become a yoga teacher? So you can consider this maybe a companion episode to that one.
[00:01:04] So welcome. So I'm really excited to talk about this today and share with you all of the goodness of this transformative journey of yoga teacher training. And we'll talk a bit about who it's for, what makes it unique, how to afford a training, why our community, in my opinion, is the best, and other things that you might need to know. So I started this training in 2018. I became a yoga teacher in 2013.
[00:01:38] I did not think that I would be leading a yoga teacher training so soon, but soon after I opened True Love Yoga, which was Karma Tribe Yoga. Back then I had students asking me if I was going to have a 200 hour yoga teacher training program. And I kind of brushed it off at first. And then I talked to my teacher about it and she said, well, maybe the students are asking and it's time for you to get ready for it. So I took that to heart and decided that yes, I wanted to offer a 200 hour yoga teacher training, but no, I didn't feel quite ready yet. So I made it my mission to be ready by 2018.
[00:02:22] So I spent 2017 really enhancing and fortifying the education that I'd already gotten. I got my 300 hour certification. I traveled to India through that to really experience the yoga there and the culture there and just got myself, I think, into the best form possible while also writing the outline for the training, et cetera. And then we launched the training in 2018. I had 30amazing people do this training and at first it was a nine month program and we spent a really immersive weekend once a month and that format worked really well for that time period. And then every year I'd refine the training and bring in different guest teachers and stuff like that. And this is how we were set up in 2020. And then you know what happened? The world shut down. I had to move the training fully online, but I couldn't really change the format of it. So we kind of sat on the computer for, for two days a month that were really intense and it went well that year. But it really got me thinking about how I want to present this training in the future and make it pandemic proof, to be quite honest.
[00:03:47] So now the format that we still have is that we have a lot of the components of the training on Teachable, which is an online educational platform that, that hosts courses.
[00:04:00] And then we also have six months with one Sunday a month where we meet and do our most potent work that we can do live, whether that's online joining us or in person joining us. So that way it's become really accessible to a lot of people. I'm a busy mom now. My life is wildly different than it was in 2018. So being able to do some things at my own pace and then have that really focus, potent time in person is such a great balance in my opinion and really opens up this training to people's modern lifestyles. And like I said, over the years it's really changed. I've really loved going in and improving the training every year, taking the feedback from my previous year's trainees so that I can make it better and better and more suited to what people are needing, how they learn and really give them all of these tools that they need not only to teach yoga, but to live their life with more consciousness and intention and love. Before I get into more about the training, I do want to say that we have a 500 early bird discount. So if you go in and fill out your application now and then pay, which I'll talk about in a little bit, by January 31st, you automatically get $500 off the training. So keep that in mind if this is something that you're interested in. So let's talk about who this training is for and who it has served in the past. As well. So this will be our eighth year of this training. One obviously is aspiring yoga teachers. And if this is you again, I'd go back and listen to that episode of are you ready to become a yoga teacher?
[00:05:49] I did want to become a yoga teacher when I did my initial 200 hour teacher training, but I was also open to just whatever happen to happen.
[00:05:58] So it is for people with that in their mind or in their heart. It's also for practitioners who are just wanting to deepen their practice. So it's a really good systematic way to learn about all of these different facets of yoga, including anatomy, including asana technique and adapting asana for many different bodies, in particular your own. So it really helps you refine your own practice and really get to know your own body and its needs so that you're able to recognize that in other students we go into Yogic philosophy, we talk about the Bhagavad Gita, but we spend most of our time on the yoga sutras and really go through the different ethics of yoga within that. And the eight limb yoga path, I have an episode on that as well, if that's something you'd like to dip your toes into. But we'll go a lot deeper into it in the training. We go into how to sequence a yoga class. We have a big trauma informed yoga component. So you learn what trauma is, I think how to better deal with it in your own being or how to widen your window of tolerance. And certainly not how to treat anyone's trauma. That's not our job or scopes as yoga teachers, but how to hold space for people in a way that is really safe and compassionate. We talk about theming yoga classes, we go into the business side of yoga, we talk about developing your daily sadhana or spiritual practice, we talk a bit about Ayurveda mythology, we really build you from the ground up in your practice.
[00:07:49] So this is definitely for anyone who, who is just wanting to deepen their practice or is wanting to deepen their practice while also aspiring to become a yoga teacher.
[00:08:00] And due to all of these components, it's really also for individuals who are seeking personal growth and a deeper understanding of yoga. And those things go hand in hand. The more you understand yoga, the more you understand yourself.
[00:08:15] And it's really been an honor for me to see these really deep and personal transformations that happen over this six month period. And a lot of times they almost catch people by surprise because that's not necessarily why they signed up for the training in the first place. But it is probably the biggest benefit that they felt from it was this personal growth practice that is really worthwhile, that isn't always easy, but gives you these beautiful skills that you can take with you for the rest of your life. So I've now seen something around 180 people go through this training and there's also 180 different stories of what these folks are doing now. We have students who never went on to teach. It wasn't really their purpose, or maybe they tried it and it just wasn't for them. But now they have this beautiful practice to carry with them through their lives and they use the different ethical principles in whatever job they have within their own families, within community organizing, etc.
[00:09:23] Maybe through being a parent. We also have individuals who teach within their current career. So we have one grad who teaches yoga to his colleagues. He's a, he's a teacher at an elementary school. I have graduates who incorporate yoga, yoga techniques, yoga philosophy into their therapy practices. We have nurses and doctors who have graduated from the program. We have social workers, servers, artists, people who may not directly be using yoga or teaching straight up yoga, but are weaving it into what they're already doing, which is really, really beautiful to me. It's really an honor being able to pass these tools on because I know that they're helpful for so many people, especially when combined with other acts of service. We also have graduates who teach part time, so who might have a full time job or maybe they are at home full time or something like that, but then teach a few classes a week for their own personal teaching practice because they love it because it's part of their, their dharma or their purpose.
[00:10:35] And then we also have graduates who teach full time and who have full on yoga businesses. So that might mean teaching at community centers and gyms and YMCAs and yoga studios and pop up classes and anywhere you can teach. That also means opening yoga studios. That means teaching international or domestic yoga retreats, holding private classes, holding yoga events. We have someone who does smoga classes, so yoga and, and cannabis classes. It really runs this huge gamut of how people are applying the skills that they learned in this training. And again, it is really cool to see on my part. I love seeing how training ripples out into the world in so many ways that are really surprising too. And I feel so proud of so many people who are leading heart centered lives and serving their families and their clients and the public in this really beautiful way. I personally think our yoga teacher training is really unique and I think it has become even more so over the years. Not only in the way that it's offered in the structure, but into what we offer and how we offer it. So this awareness of trauma is really woven within everything. So the languaging that you learn for teaching the way we learned, we talk about like nonviolent communication, the way that we teach asana and give lots of different choices that all has this backbone of being trauma aware. We also bring in Dr. Auburn Ellis who is an amazing educator and yoga teacher and we do a workshop on anti racism in yoga and Kemetic yoga or Egyptian yoga. I also think we have this really nice balance of offering, yes, let's be honest, kick ass Vinyasa yoga that will make people work hard and strive and build heat and all these beautiful things that happen when you practice Vinyasa or Hatha yoga, while also offering this space of safety for our students so they can work really hard in our presence if that's the intention of the class, while feeling safe and held, not judged. And what a beautiful thing to be able to bring into a lot of different spaces, not just yoga. Inclusivity is really important to me as well. In 200 hours, we can't go into a full accessible yoga training, which if that's something you're interested in, I highly recommend doing that. Accessible yoga is teaching people really in any state that they might be in, including a hospital bed or from a chair.
[00:13:30] But this training is more for like the general public. And we're able to create a really nice sense of inclusivity among most, I think, and I'd like to think that the people who participate in the training really feel included as well. Something I consciously do is break us into small groups quite a bit.
[00:13:54] And yes, I love having discussions as a whole class that can be really fruitful and that is something we do. But I know some people feel a little more comfortable opening up and learning in smaller groups. So I think that helps people feel really included as well and that also helps foster this sense of community. So I think it's really special every year watching people go from strangers to becoming really this family by the end of the six months. And that might sound trite or cheesy, but it really does happen every single year because really from day one, we're really open with each other or introspective. We're encouraged to be curious, to make mistakes even. And that fosters a sense of safety and closeness that really carries through this whole training and then afterward as well. I love seeing the relationships that continue to thrive even after graduation. We also really balance spiritual roots of yoga, like learning the history of yoga while applying a lot of modern teaching techniques. So we dive into the roots and hold on to them while also looking at this modern context. What does a modern body need in a yoga class? How do we modify postures to help serve people best according to their current lifestyles?
[00:15:31] What might someone need if they're living on an ashram compared to they're coming straight from work and they're coming for an hour of yoga and then going straight home to their families to serve them? We really think about people's current lifestyles, needs, bodies, while also tethering ourselves to the ethics of yoga and to the roots of yoga. And I think that's really special. We don't sugarcoat anything. We talk about even some problematic aspects of the roots of yoga while wanting to serve in the highest way. I think the format of our yoga teacher training makes it really unique. So this hybrid approach of the self paced work, you have a month to do each module, there's six modules and also the in person work. And then we have check ins, you have sadhana support group, so you have smaller groups that you check in with every couple of weeks as well.
[00:16:30] And I think sometimes virtual trainings can make us feel really removed from the content and from a sense of community. But this has been been designed really intentionally in such a way that it fosters community and connection and that you have the live time and the in person time to get any clarity on anything that you need from the lessons. So again, some of our key topics are yoga philosophy, anatomy, asana technique, sequencing, anti racism, trauma, aware yoga, the business of yoga, and so much more. I can't say enough good things about the actual content. It really is going to give you a strong foundation to move forward from. So I'm not going to lie. Yoga teacher training is a big investment. Our full price for the training is $3,000. That is for six months of the training, you get the content for life and it also includes six months of unlimited classes. But we provide a lot of different ways to make this a little bit more accessible for people. So one, like I mentioned earlier, we have a 500 discount if you sign up by January 31, 2025. So that makes it $2,500 for the training.
[00:17:53] We also provide partial scholarships and there are a couple different ways that you can get that. One is by being bipoc or black and indigenous person of color, we provide that for equity. $500 off automatically on the training. So if you sign up early in our BIPOC, that's $1,000 off the training. We also provide $500 workshop work, trade scholarships and we have an application for that that we'll send you after you fill out our initial application.
[00:18:21] And that might mean working our front desk for one class a week during the training. Sometimes it's cleaning. I've had somebody do a full photography trade before because we always need photos for the training. So if you want to work the front desk or have any applicable skills that can help serve the studio or the business, that's something I'm always looking for and happy to accept.
[00:18:45] And then we have payment plans as well. I used to do the payment plans ourselves, but now I'm partnering with Affirm. So Affirm is a financing company and they provide really flexible payment options. So it's a lot, it provides a lot more flexibility for you than I personally am able to provide. So I think they have one option that is up to 36 months of payments.
[00:19:10] You can do like four, four months of payments or 36 months of payments and then there's a few options in between, and then the annual percentage interest rate might change depending on how many months you're choosing. But I tried this out with a training that I did recently that I took and did a four month payment plan at 0% APR. So I just wanted to kind of see how it worked and it was a really nice flexible option for me. So keep in mind that there are a lot of different ways that you can pay for this and a lot of different ways to save money or to budget this out according to your own needs. Keep in mind too that yoga teacher training, besides being like a career training, is an investment in your personal growth, in my opinion. I don't want to say the more you spend, the more you get out of something, because I've definitely regretted spending money on specific programs before, particularly like coaching or business programs. However, I really stand behind this particular program and I know that it's worth every penny because of the residuals it will give you the rest of your life, whether that is through teaching yoga or just the different lessons that you've learned and the foundation that you've created through this training to live a life that you love and feel proud of and that is yogic. So to me, the investment is absolutely worth it. And I will always say that the more you put into this training, the more you get out of this training. So consider this initial investment, you doing your part right, at least, at least part of it. And then really showing up and immersing in the training is so essential. So I really hope that you'd love to join our training and our community. In my opinion, it's so supportive and inclusive.
[00:21:08] Our teacher teaching team is expert, our teachers are wonderful and you'll get an unlimited membership through us. And most of our teachers have been through our yoga teacher training program and they love to answer questions and be a support to you through the training as well. You also get six month access to our online library of classes. So we have hundreds of classes online. So if you can't make it to class every week because there is a required component of the amount of practice hours you need to have during the training. You can access our library anytime. I also want to let you know that by signing up for this training, you get personal feedback from me and from my assistants during the training as well. And that's something I'm going to be incorporating even more of next year because I think it's a really important component of the training. So you'll always receive professional, expert and compassionate feedback from me that will help elevate your teaching to the next level, and I hope that's something that you can embrace and treasure through the process. So to conclude, I'd love to encourage you to join the program and really invite in this transformational experience for 2025 to be part of this beautiful community. It's something I'm personally so proud of. I want to remind you that we have a $500 discount if you sign up early, so before January 31, 2025, and you can go to trueloveyogakc.com to go and apply. You'll receive a letter after you apply to let you know if you've been accepted into the program and that gives you all the next steps that you need to sign up and to get that discount, et cetera. And I just want to let you know I'm really grateful for you for listening to this episode and no matter if you do our training or somebody else's or no teacher training at all, I am right there with you every step of the way of your yoga journey. I'm so proud of you for even considering this and I want to send so much love and excitement and gratitude to you. So thank you so much for joining today. I hope to work with you more deeply this year. So much love. Om Shanti Om. Peace.