200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training
All 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings are on hold for right now. Join our wait list.
Our 200-hour program includes 5 weekends of intense study of yoga postures and the professional skills you need to teach successful, safe, powerful classes; 1 weekend of intense study of anatomy; 2 weekends of workshops and 40 hours of conference calls, retreats and yoga conferences to complete the course. All supplies are provided.
Our Teaching Philosophy:
The best yoga teachers touch us because they speak from experience and authenticity. At Shri School of Yoga, we provide a comfortable space for each trainee to explore the profound shifts that can take place in the focused practice and study of yoga, making the learning experience a living experience.
From our first weekend of grounding and connecting, we unfold the teachings of yoga, the skills for teaching, and the opportunity for self-discovery in the way that yoga unfolds – pada-pada, step-by-step. Each new teacher then speaks and teaches from the authentic place they’ve opened in the process, with the confidence of real knowledge.
Shri School of Yoga is based in Colorado & serves North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana & Wyoming.
Our Past Teacher Trainings
Minot, ND
2020
Watertown SD
2018
Dickinson, ND
2019
Sidney, MT
2019
Minot, ND
2017
Dickinson, ND
2017
Jamestown ND
2020
Williston, ND
2016
Williston, ND
2020
Williston, ND
2018
Williston, ND
2015
With a mix of mandatory courses geared to the professional teacher, and optional courses to broaden and deepen your knowledge, the program simply works. It is practical, useful, contemporary information to set you on your path as a “good yogi” AND a solid, confident, professional yoga teacher with skills and tools to make it in the booming yoga market.
Training Modules and Outcomes
COURSE 1: YOGA TECHNIQUES (100 HOURS)
Mastering technique means LOTS of yoga practice, posture labs and more. Each weekend, we learn and practice yoga techniques in a logical unfolding of information. This allows the evolving teacher to integrate each technique into their practice and personal experience, without being overwhelmed with information.
You will learn:
- Pranayama
- Bandhas
- Mudras
- Mantras
- Meditation
- Cleansing Techniques
- Technique for over 108 poses
- The energetic, anatomical and physiological aspects of 108 poses
- Posture adjustments for all levels of students including prenatal, obese and illness-recovery
COURSE 2: TEACHING METHODS & PRACTICE (40 HOURS)
Methodology means learning to teach. As a teacher, your students will have many ways to learn and understand. You’ll need good communication skills and the ability to address specific individual needs within the group. We give you the freedom to teach and explore various types of yoga to find your most authentic teaching style.
You will learn:
- Visual demonstration of yoga poses
- Strong verbal cuing
- Hands-on adjustments
- How to find your authentic teaching voice
- Class sequencing
- How to theme classes
- How to adjust for all levels
- How to create powerful beginnings and endings to your sequences
- Business and marketing skills needed to create classes for your unique audience
- Teaching confidence and professionalism
COURSE 2: TEACHING METHODS & PRACTICE (40 HOURS)
Methodology means learning to teach. As a teacher, your students will have many ways to learn and understand. You’ll need good communication skills and the ability to address specific individual needs within the group. We give you the freedom to teach and explore various types of yoga to find your most authentic teaching style.
You will learn:
- Visual demonstration of yoga poses
- Strong verbal cuing
- Hands-on adjustments
- How to find your authentic teaching voice
- Class sequencing
- How to theme classes
- How to adjust for all levels
- How to create powerful beginnings and endings to your sequences
- Business and marketing skills needed to create classes for your unique audience
- Teaching confidence and professionalism
COURSE 3: ANATOMY (30 HOURS)
You will:
- Study the anatomical differences in all bodies
- Study the therapeutic uses of yoga
- Understand stretching science
- Learn anatomically-based modifications for various client populations, allowing you to work with private and special needs clients- a growing, profitable segment for good teachers
- Identify muscle weaknesses and asymmetries and learn how to correct it in individuals as well as apply it in group classes
- Learn the importance of and how to activate the parasympathetic nervous system
- Learn the chakras and subtle anatomy
COURSE 4: ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY, LIFESTYLE OF YOGA: (30 HOURS)
The yoga lifestyle and philosophy is about ethics. All Shri School of Yoga trainees will study the 8 Limbs of Yoga and understand how to apply the practices to their own lives, and create their teaching practice with integrity at the heart. We will review and discuss yoga ethics in every weekend of training, as it applies to practice, teaching, business, and life.
You will learn:
- Yoga Ethics
- The 8 Limbs of Yoga
- The History of Yoga
- The Yoga Chakra System
- The Philosophy of Yoga
- The main styles and schools of yoga and how they apply to the modern Western teacher
- Meditation and cleansing
- How and what to eat as a modern yogi
- How to apply yoga ethics & philosophy in a non-dogmatic way for your yoga business and life
COURSE 4: ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY, LIFESTYLE OF YOGA: (30 HOURS)
The yoga lifestyle and philosophy is about ethics. All Shri School of Yoga trainees will study the 8 Limbs of Yoga and understand how to apply the practices to their own lives, and create their teaching practice with integrity at the heart. We will review and discuss yoga ethics in every weekend of training, as it applies to practice, teaching, business, and life.
You will learn:
- Yoga Ethics
- The 8 Limbs of Yoga
- The History of Yoga
- The Yoga Chakra System
- The Philosophy of Yoga
- The main styles and schools of yoga and how they apply to the modern Western teacher
- Meditation and cleansing
- How and what to eat as a modern yogi
- How to apply yoga ethics & philosophy in a non-dogmatic way for your yoga business and life
What’s Included
At Shri School of Yoga, we provide 200+ hours of training + all training materials, including
- Binder with all its tabs, pockets and over 300 pages of filler
- Journal
- Crystals
- Body Care Materials
- Body care materials
- Any required books I may choose
- Personality tests
- Intuitive natal chart reading (optional)
- Tarot readings (optional)
- Plentiful, organic, yummy snack food and beverages throughout the weekend
- Any other creative or business tools for self-study we may choose
- Binder with all its tabs, pockets and over 300 pages of filler
- Journal
- Crystals
- Body Care Materials
- Body care materials
- Any required books I may choose
- Personality tests
- Intuitive natal chart reading (optional)
- Tarot readings (optional)
- Any other creative or business tools for self-study we may choose
How It Works
I come to your yoga studio and together we complete 200 hours of training in 8 weekends. The studio owner & I will pick the weekend dates. Throughout the 8 weekends, plus online material, you will easily complete your 200 training hours.
1 weekend of anatomy; you’ll earn 20 hours toward your certification and leave with more knowledge about how the body really works, and what’s important for yoga, then you ever imagined.
5 weekends of teaching skills include deep study of the fundamental poses and practices of yoga, anatomy of the poses, and the essential tools of teaching: good verbal cues, good posture knowledge, sequencing knowledge, pace, timing, delivery, and practice, practice, practice. You’ll start teaching postures, then short sequences, then short classes then a full class and then another. In workshop weekends, all trainees are welcome to offer course material to the schedule, allowing you to teach “more than a mat class” as early in your career as you’d like.
2 Workshop weekends: Throughout the training season, we offer workshops, regular webinars, and online programs to help you complete your remaining 60 hours in the way that best fits your life and your teaching dream. A mix of senior teachers, guest teachers, and teachers working on advanced certification will offer classes and workshops on all aspects of yoga. You can offer classes and workshops if you like. There are some mandatory requirements, and a lot of freedom to choose how you want to complete the hours.
Join the wait list
We will be opening up more 200 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings. Join our wait list to be notified when trainings become available.
A Typical Weekend Schedule
Most weekends have a lunch break on Saturday, and the rest of the time we break frequently for 10 minutes to stretch, grab a snack, refresh, and return. This maximizes our time together.
Friday (3 Hours)
5:30 – 6:30pm
Asana Class
6:30 – 8:30pm
Opening Meditation, Discussion,
Teaching Practice, or Yoga Tools
Lab (e.g., mudras), Closing Meditation
Saturday (10 Hours)
7:30-8:30am
Morning Asana Class or
Teaching Practice
8:30-11:30am
Anatomy: Understanding the Body
11:30-1:00pm
Break
1:00-7:30pm
Posture Lab:
10 poses, understanding,
advancing/modifying, verbal cuing
and adjusting. Teaching Methods
and Practice.
Sunday (7 Hours)
7:30-8:30am
Morning Asana Class or Teaching Practice
8:30-2:30pm
Anatomy or Additional Lab
and Teaching Practice time.
Material Review and Testing,
or Student Projects
Your Teachers
I’m Allison Rissel and I believe one good yoga teacher can change a life and create a community.
I am a consultant for yoga teachers, a yoga teacher trainer and a yoga therapist.
I became a yoga teacher in 2006. In addition to my master’s degree in exercise physiology, I have completed over 1,600 hours of yoga and yoga therapy trainings. I teach weekly group and private yoga therapy classes in Longmont, Colorado and I specialize in working with people in chronic pain or pre/post-surgery.
I believe in the power of community and I’ve dedicated my life to helping build yoga communities. I’m the co-founder of the North Dakota Yoga Conference and I’m the president of the non-profit, Yoga Teachers of Colorado.
I offer in person 200 and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado where I train yoga teachers to be knowledgable, safe, ethical and authentic community leaders. I also offer consultations for yoga teachers looking to create communities through conferences, studios, workshops and events.
I’m an extroverted optimist and I love hiking, skiing, being outdoors and enjoying a craft beer with my husband, Sean.
Meet Allison at the next Yoga Teacher Talk in Longmont.
Allison Rissel
Lead Teacher
Shauna Hylenski
Lead Teacher
Shauna is the owner of Shri Studios in Longmont and manages and teaches in the Powered by Shri Yoga program at Longmont Climbing Collective.
She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and has been teaching all ages and skill levels for 8 years. She was initially drawn to yoga as a supplement for her dance technique classes in NYC.
Shauna quickly realized there was more going on in her practice than the physical experience, which motivated her to learn more. The basis for her training has been in the Anusara Yoga system and has been greatly influenced by her experiences in AcroYoga and she has recently completed her Aerial Yoga Teacher training.
What can you expect from a class with Shauna? To feel grounded and calm. Shauna expertly guides her students deep inside their own bodies and minds, where they will discover their own inner wisdom and true teacher, themselves.
Meet Shauna at the next Yoga Teacher Talk in Longmont.
Join the wait list
We will be opening up more 200 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings. Join our wait list to be notified when trainings become available.
Testimonials
I had been teaching for 8 years prior to the training. I took this training because I wanted a deeper understanding of yoga and to refine my teaching style.
Since this training, my classes have become more mindful and I have a much larger “tool box” which adds to the variety of classes that I teach. I’m actually already thinking about getting my 500hr training and it’s because of Allison.
I’ve taken 8 other types of yoga educational classes and Allison is by far the best. Her knowledge, energy and passion are contagious.
Before working with Allison, I was worried that I couldn’t do yoga teacher training because I’m not outgoing enough, I didn’t know enough about yoga or because I don’t know how to speak Sanskrit. After completing Camp Utopia’s 200-hour teacher training program with Allison I now understand the different aspects of teaching- yoga is not necessarily about looking like someone on Instagram but learning about my body and finding my perfect posture. Allison is super positive, open, accepting and nice. I’m now more optimistic and open to opportunities with becoming a yoga teacher.
My confidence waivered when yoga teacher training was about to start. I was worried about my body image not being the typical “yoga cover” type. As soon as I started working with Camp Utopia I felt very accepted, comfortable and 100% capable. Allison provided a personal level of support and encouragement that just dissolved my fears. Allison has a great background in teaching, nutrition and personal coaching that it gives people a higher quality of training. She is a beautiful ball of happy & growing energy.
Since this training, I have become an effective teacher with a toolbox of shills to prepare a yoga class. Personally, I have seen growth and a change in my family and home life. My husband even commented my participation in the training has changed the atmosphere of our family and home life in a positive, loving, more balanced way.
I was very excited to take Camp Utopia’s yoga teacher training with Allison. As a personal training and experienced fitness teacher, I had been wanting to teach yoga for a while but did not have the knowledge of the poses or other components such as the history of yoga or the chakra system to give my clients a safe and enriching experience. This course had a great balance of physical yoga practice as well as teaching you the history of yoga and how to use it as a lifestyle. I loved the focus that Allison and Camp Utopia had on teaching to 90% of the population. It sets you up for success as a teacher while giving you a good foundation and room to explore other yoga avenues. I’ve noticed my teaching is more authentic- I’ve gained more confidence in my teaching practice and feel more comfortable creating and delivering sequences. Allison gives you the tools and then the space to create your class & practice. I’ve had so much fun learning from and working with Allison. She is positive and high energy with a wealth of knowledge. Her passion for yoga and teaching is contagious and inspiring!
I’ve been teaching yoga for over 10 years. Before Camp Utopia’s yoga teacher training, I was bored with my same-old sequences and I wasn’t feeling as inspired as I used to. I was beginning to question my competence as a teacher. After working with Allison & Camp Utopia I have a renewed energy and belief that I can be an effective guide to helping people improve their lives. I am refueled and excited to share again! Allison is so patient and open minded with an infectious energy and positive can-do attitude!