500 Hour Program

The program is for any yoga teacher who has completed the 200-hour requirements as per accreditation standards developed by Yoga Alliance. The program is designed so that one may go at their own pace and start the program at any time. The program is in full compliance with Yoga Alliance for the National Teachers Registry.

The Objectives

Program Overview

This course curriculum has an emphasis on practicum, which means The 500-Hour YTTI program is built upon the foundation of a 200-Hr- certification. Throughout the program you will have ample opportunities to acquire the additional 300 hours to complete your 500-Hr-certification. As the program follows the guidelines and hours required by the Yoga Alliance, most of your hours (250) are what we call contact hours. Contact hours are obtained through YTTI intensives or programs with Mokshapriya. You may also accumulate 50 hours as contact hours through designated or approved teachers.* Your matriculation fee is $300 yearly and is separate from the fees below.

The program is structured to be completed within two years. Therefore we would like you to accumulate at least 150 of the 300 hours within the first year (12 month period). Also, a report on Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by David Coulter must be completed at least every two months.**
Your progress will be monitored either by Karen Dubi or Mokshapriya. It is advisable that you meet with your designated mentor at the time of matriculation and at least every 6 months to set goals for your progress. YTTI is committed to give you a very personal experience in this leaning journey and you will always have access with any questions, concerns and guidance from either Karen or Mokshapriya.

Criteria for contact hours:

  1. Any workshop that you take with YTTI, regardless of the teacher, are considered contact hours. You may attend these workshops for a full or partial day. YTTI workshops are billed at $10 per hour if you sign up in advance, $95 at the door, and partial day at $14 per hour.
  2. Any workshop that you take with Mokshapriya at any other studio, will be billed by that studio and will go toward your YTTI 500-Hr certificate. These are considered contact hours that require no reports and no additional fees to YTTI.
  3. You may take 50 non-YTTI hours that can count toward contact hours. Those hours that you take with designated or approved teachers* aside from YTTI you will require a written report within 3 weeks of taking the training (except for Karen) and will be billed by YTTI at $4 per hour. In addition, the student is responsible for any expense associated with taking those non-YTTI hours of training.
  4. When YTTI is training students (200-hour or children) you may attend or assist in the training. These hours are billed at $10 per hour and are contact practicum hours.
  5. The designation of hours is outlined below. There are five categories: techniques, teaching methodology, anatomy & physiology, philosophy and practicum.

Criteria for 50 non-contact hours:
All non-contact hours are billed by YTTI at $4 per hour and require a written report within 3 weeks of the training. These hours can come from any teacher or book.

  1. 10 of those hours are based on the reports for the Coulter book, and fulfill your anatomy hours.
  2. 10 come from studying teaching methodologies. You are required to take 5 yoga classes from different traditions and teachers.
  3. 10 are philosophy of which 3 hours are for the report on the book The Untethered Soul.
  4. 20 are for techniques that you learn from any other teacher.

* Designated teachers are Marianne, Valerie, Stacy, Karen, and Janine. Intensive workshops will be offered with a number of YTTI senior teachers throughout the year.
Teachers such as Beryl Bender Birch and others that we approve will also be designated as contact. Please get approval prior to taking other contact-hour courses.

** The Coulter Book: Read the book chapter by chapter. Take from it what you have learned. We do not need a book report, but to know what you have learned and can use. Each chapter is one report. For each chapter that refers to an asana, students should list the benefits, application, contraindications and the systems that are affected by the asana. Reports must be at least 3 pages for each chapter. There are 10 chapters and they are due in 2 month intervals. Those intervals start when you sign up for the program.

Guidelines for Reports:

  1. All reports will be submitted either to Karen or Mokshapriya.
  2. Each report should have your name, hours requested and in what division you would like the hours applied.
  3. Reports must be typed in Arial font, 12Pt double spaced.

Record Keeping: It is your responsibility to keep a detailed record of all the hours. That should be in a specific stitched notebook like a composition book. The book should be set up so that each of the nine study areas has a division within the book and tabs. For example, one tab is "Techniques Contact Hours" and the next division is "Techniques Non-contact". Each division should have at least ten pages. The last division is teaching hours. Keep a good log of all your teaching hours you will need that for your Yoga Alliance application.
All logged entries should include the date, location, the subject and the hours. Hours should be in one column for easy addition. You also need to have a place where you can keep the certificate of completion designating the hours that you have earned.
In addition you need to have a copy for all of your reports.

Requirements:

 

Contact Hours

Non-contact Hours

Total

Techniques

100

20

120

Teaching Methodology

25

10

35

Anatomy

20

10

30

Philosophy

35

10

45

Practicum

70

 

70

Total

250

50

300

Techniques include asanas, pranayamas, kriyas, chanting and meditation. These hours include both training in the techniques and the practice of them. For techniques contact hours, we will give monthly workshops in Queens. Workshops may have special emphasis on specific yoga practices such as: Assists and Uses of Props, Classical Asana Practice, Restorative Yoga, Yoga for Children, Partner Yoga, Vinyas Yoga, Adaptive Yoga (special needs), Prenatal Yoga, Praana and Pranaayama, Mudras and Bhandas.
Teaching Methodology - Contact: includes principles of demonstration, observation, assistance/correction, instruction, teaching styles, qualities of a teacher and the student's process of learning.
Teaching Methodology - Non-contact students must participate in at least five classes of different yoga teachers and traditions. Credit will be applied after a review of their written essay on the various teaching methodologies learned from these classes.
Anatomy & Physiology - Contact includes both physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.) and astral/energy/subtle anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.) This requirement is met through workshops and retreats.
Anatomy & Physiology - Non-contact sudents will be required to study the book: Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, by H. David Coulter.
Philosophy includes study of Yoga Scriptures (Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, etc.), ethics for yoga teachers, living the life of the yogi, etc.
Practicum includes student teaching, as well as observing and assisting in classes taught by the directors or other qualified instructors. This may include asanas, pranayama, mudras and bandhas, shat karmas, philosophy, meditation and anatomy.

Certification

It is the student's responsibility to keep their own record of the contact and non-contact hours, and when they can demonstrate that the requirements have been met, we will review student records and school records. After the review, the student will graduate and receive a certificate of completion.

Ethics

Students are given the California Yoga Teachers Association statement of Professional Standards and are expected to follow their guidelines. Students will follow the eight-fold path outlined by Patanjali - yam, niyam, asan, pranayam, pratyahar, dharan, dhyan and samadhi.

Studies

Ongoing personal yoga practice is required and regular attendance at a yoga class.

Fees and Application

We will require a matriculation fee of $300 with your application for the first year, which is non-refundable. Each subsequent year will also be a fee of $300. The 250 contact hours will be billed at the average rate of $10 per hour. The 50 non-contact hours will be billed at $4 per hour. Required textbooks and props will be additional costs.

Other fees for the non-contact hours (such as observing and taking classes with other teachers) will also be an additional cost. You may access the application at this link to print it and mail it to us.

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