Yoga Teacher Training

Become a Yoga Teacher

Our foundational 200-hour yoga teacher training has run at our Carrboro studio (just across the town line from Chapel Hill) since 2011.

In this yoga teacher training, aka YTT, you’ll gain:

  • all the tools you need to lead well-balanced yoga classes and to deepen your own practice
  • invaluable skills for use in the yoga classroom—and you’ll find these skills apply in a variety of situations.
  • new layers of self-knowledge

Our program is a fine choice even if you think you have no desire to teach.

Next Session Begins Spring 2025

This seven-weekend program is led by professional educator Alexandra DeSiato, E-RYT500—herself a graduate of the program.

Our program gives you a thorough grounding in:

  • the philosophy and history of yoga
  • the yoga techniques of asana (poses), pranayama (breath work), and meditation—nuts and bolts, safe practices
  • anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology, from both Western and Eastern perspectives
  • teaching skills, from language to sequencing to modifications
  • how to create an inclusive classroom

Your lead teacher, Alexandra DeSiato, has:

  • twenty years’ experience leading college classrooms
  • fifteen years’ experience teaching movement, including Pilates and yoga
  • coauthored three books: Lifelong Yoga and Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses, both cowritten with teacher training program director Sage Rountree, and Whole Mama Yoga, cowritten with day-one Carrboro Yoga teacher Lauren Sacks

Schedule

We meet seven weekends over four months. This model allows for a deeper dive and an opportunity for self-study, plus the freshness of a compact timeline.

Dates for SPRING 2025

Weekend 1: January 24–26
Weekend 2: February 7–9
Weekend 3: February 21–23
Weekend 4: March 7–9
Weekend 5: March 21–23
Weekend 6: April 11–13
Weekend 7: April 25–27

Got a busy life? We got you!

This schedule was created for attendees who are juggling a family life while moving into a deeper experience of yoga.

Times

Fridays, 6–9 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m.–noon, 1–5 p.m.
Sundays, 9 a.m.–noon, 1–4 p.m.

In addition to these hours, you will meet five times in small groups for practice teaching. The times for these meetings will be determined by your teaching group.

Alexandra DeSiato describes our teacher training and whom it is for

Join a Free Info Session

Join Alexandra for a free information session on a Thursday evening, and stick around to take our teacher trainees’ community class at 7:30 p.m.!

We look forward to seeing you either:

  • Thursday, October 24, 6:45–7:25 p.m.
  • Thursday, December 12, 6:45–7:25 p.m.

Student Obligations

In addition to attending all sessions and reading the required books, you will be expected to:

  • Attend at least one led class every week during the program. Not all these classes need to be taken at Carrboro Yoga, but at least half should be. You receive a free class each week as part of your enrollment.
  • Practice at home at least 15 minutes five days each week
  • Complete homework assignments: reading and viewing

required reading

Please purchase (or borrow) and read the following books.

Student Perks

You’ll get:

  • one free class per week at Carrboro Yoga during the program
  • an option to upgrade to an unlimited membership that runs the duration of the program for a one-time payment of $300
  • free classes with Alexandra during the training

Pricing

When you are accepted, a $500 deposit, payable within a week by check or credit card, will secure your spot.

Early bird program cost: For payment made in full before December 1, $3200 (this includes the deposit), plus $100 nonrefundable surcharge if you would like to pay the balance by credit card

Regular program cost: $3500 due the first day of the training (this includes the deposit), plus $100 nonrefundable surcharge if you would like to pay the balance by credit card

Reparatory and gratitude discount: We need to get more Black, Indigenous, and Non-White people in front of yoga classrooms. Thus we offer a 25 percent discount on our yoga teacher training and our continuing education workshops for teachers for people who self-identify as part of this group.

More to Know

Here are some policies to keep in mind. You’ll agree to them when you sign the YTT contract after acceptance.

Program Size

We have a minimum of six students for the program to run, and a maximum of 15. If we do not meet our minimum, you will be refunded in full.

attendance

If you must be absent, we will handle makeups case by case. Expect to complete at-home assignments and, in some cases, to pay for personal tutelage. You must complete 90 percent of the program to qualify for graduation.

Voluntary withdrawal from the program

Should you have to withdraw from the program before it begins, you’ll receive a refund, minus a $150 administrative fee, of 100 percent by two months out; 75 percent by one month out; or 50 percent by three days out. Refunds after the program begins will be in the form of a credit toward the next teacher training program cycle.

Involuntary withdrawal from the program

Should you be asked to leave the program, you will receive a prorated refund, minus a $150 administrative fee.

Application

Our program best suits mature students of any age who have at least a year of consistent practice under their belts. Beyond that, there are no prerequisites or pose requirements!

If you’re interested, the first step is to chat with Alexandra. You’ll discuss what the program offers, how that meshes with what you are looking for, and any and all other questions you have.

When you’re ready to apply, come back here to fill in the application.

Our Students Say

Take a Class with Our Trainees

Our current training cohort leads a community class starting in October! Come take their class, chat with them, and project where you might be during our 200-hour yoga teacher training.

We meet Thursdays, 7:30–8:30 p.m., starting October 3.

Not only is lead trainer Alexandra DeSiato a graduate of our yoga teacher training, so are several of our regular staff members. Come take a class with any or all of them, see what kind of teachers we produce, and ask anything you want to know about yoga teacher training! Look for:

  • Lindsey Alexander
  • Alexis Besosa
  • Alaina Godfrey
  • Joe-Paul Naughton-Travers
  • Diana Newton
  • Martha Pickett
  • LaRita Schoor

Still Have Questions?

Yoga teacher training is a major commitment to your practice and to your growth. There’s a lot that goes into making a decision whether and where to enroll. We’re here to help!

We’ve made you the “Essential Guide to Questions to Ask About Yoga Teacher Training.” It works as you evaluate any program you’re interested in, and it comes along with our answers to these important questions.

Pop your details in the form here and we will send it right over!

Next Steps

When you’re ready to talk to a person, book a call with Alexandra, or come right to one of her classes. She’ll be happy to talk you through everything you need to know, and things you wouldn’t have thought to ask!

Alexandra teaches these general population classes at Carrboro Yoga:

  • Pilates, Mondays at 4:30 p.m.
  • Flow Yoga, Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m.

Sign up for any from the Sign Up button in the menu here.

And she has lots of availability across the week for you to schedule a chat.

Ask All the Right Questions

We bet you have tons of questions about yoga teacher training. We’ve been offering YTTs for over a decade, and we have lots of answers!

We made you this free guide. It works as you evaluate any program you’re interested in, and it comes along with our answers to these important questions. Sign up here and we will send it right over!