I get asked on almost a daily basis for recommendations for yoga teacher training programs. You would think that after 25 years in yoga, I would have some, but the truth is very different. Yoga teacher training programs vary widely, change regularly, and come with a host of problems. On this episode with my friend and colleague, Michelle Lehrman, we discuss some of the biggest issues with YTTs, including forcing participants to make and accept hands-on adjustments, shaming people who hold different opinions or do things differently, and forcing a one-way approach to this ancient, adaptable practice.
Michelle Lehrman is a certified 200-hour and trauma-informed yoga instructor who has been teaching in New York City since 2016. She currently teaches at Crunch (yoga and spin), Sacred Space Astoria, and Lionheart Health, and works with private clients. I met Michelle when she participated in the Three and a Half Acres Yoga Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training a 20-hour supplemental training for teachers with a 200 + hour yoga teacher certification. This training hopes to undo some of the damage caused by many YTTs and offer a safer approach to teaching yoga.
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Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.