TTC1A – Level 1 : Yoga Teacher Training
Total 250 hours (200 hour YOGA ALLIANCE course registration)

This qualification covers the basic skills and knowledge required for conducting a short beginners yoga class under supervision. It would enable graduates to undertake basic tasks in assisting in larger, general classes. It is common for level 1 graduates to work under the direct supervision of a senior teacher.

Australian Yoga Teacher Alliance-accredited requirements
9 units must be selected for this qualification including:

BYC4 – Level 2 Yoga Teacher Training
Total 250 hours (500-hour senior YOGA ALLIANCE course registration)

Subjects covered in level 1 are revisited in greater detail and trainees learn to teach pranayama and meditation.

This qualification gives graduates the necessary skills and knowledge for conducting a small general class at an existing school. This qualification would enable graduates to undertake the basic tasks in assisting in larger, general-to-intermediate classes. It would be common for graduates at this level to work at an existing school where they could seek the supervision or guidance of a senior teacher.

Australian Yoga Teacher Alliance-accredited requirements
8 units must be selected for this qualification including:

Required texts

1. Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar (RRP $35)
2. The Anatomy  Colouring Book, Version 3  by Wynn Kapit / Lawrence M. Elson (RRP $40)
3. Light on Pranayama, B.K.S. Iyengar (RRP $35)
4.Yoga: Path to Holistic Health by B.K.S. Iyengar, published by Dorling Kindersley (RRP $60)
5. Yoga Anatomy (Paperback) by Leslie Kaminoff (RRP $35)

These books can be ordered from the Byron Yoga Centre, ia email, telephone or in person. Postage applies.

Subject breakdown
NB: the subject breakdown is the same for Levels 1 and 2.

Techniques
Training and practise techniques include asanas, pranayama, relaxation, meditation and chanting. This is a mix between analytical training in how to teach and practice the techniques, and guided practice of the techniques themselves. Both areas receive substantial emphasis.
Total hours on campus and in required self-directed study: 100 hours.

Philosophy, ethics and lifestyle
Includes the study of yoga philosophies, yoga lifestyle, and ethics for yoga teachers.
Total hours on campus and in required self-directed study: 30 hours.

Anatomy and physiology
Includes both human physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.), and energy anatomy and physiology. The study of the subjects and the practical application of its principles to yoga practice (benefits, contra-indications, healthy movement patterns, etc) will be addressed.
Total hours on campus and in required self-directed study: 20 hours.

Yogic physiology and psychology
Study of the Ashtanga system, Vedic cosmology, the influence of the three gunas, and the nature of the atma.
Total hours on campus and in required self-directed study: 25 hours

Teaching methodology
Includes principles of demonstration, observation, assisting and correcting, instruction, teaching styles, qualities of a teacher, the student's process of learning, business aspects of teaching yoga, communication, timing, and safety awareness of individual students.
Total hours on campus and in required self-directed study: 25 hours

Integrative practice and teaching
Includes teaching practice, receiving feedback, observing others teaching and hearing and giving feedback. Also includes assisting students while someone else is teaching.
Total hours on campus and in required study: 50 hours

Assessment process
A holistic assessment process is used in Byron Yoga Centre’s teacher training courses. Based on the principles of adult learning, the trainees’ activities are assessed regularly throughout the course using at least three different assessment tools, ie: performance checklist, portfolio checklist, verbal and written checklist.

Training course units are structured with units of competence and performance criteria within a range of variables, and students are individually assessed using the above methods.

Copies of completed checklists are signed by the assessor and the trainee with the original retained by the Centre and a copy given to the trainee.

What constitutes approval or non-approval?
The student is found either competent or not-yet-competent in the subject being assessed based on satisfactorily meeting the requirements of the performance criteria. If a student is deemed not-yet-competent then provision for further study or practice is made and the student is assessed again within the timeframe of the course.

A student wishing to appeal against an assessment decision may make a formal request for re-assessment of their work by submitting a request for re-assessment form, which is available on request.

Attendance is a necessary part of the assessment process with students requiring an 80 per cent attendance rate to be eligible for certification.

Accreditation
On successfully completing all units in level 1 or 2, participants are issued with a Certificate of Attainment from the Byron Bay Yoga Centre. The level 1 course is registered with the Yoga Alliance 200-hour accreditation. The level 2 course is registered with the Yoga Alliance Senior 500-hour Accreditation and the Australian Yoga Teachers Association.

Recognition of prior learning
Byron Yoga Centre acknowledges previous formal or informal training, work experience and/or life experience that a student has gained. You can apply for advanced standing by submitting an Application for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), in which you would provide sufficient evidence of past learning/experience, as determined in the RPL process. You would then undergo a process of assessment in relation to the exemptions for which you are applying.

The process of formal assessment for RPL will attract a fee of $100 that will be deducted from the course fee if the application is successful. Application forms are available from the Byron Yoga Centre office.