Online Open House for BIPOC 200-Hour Teacher Training

Please join Nitika Achalam, Rukmini Ando, Mia Velez, Rev. Kamala Itzel Hayward, and Arturo Peal and learn more about our BIPOC 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program.

Join our live-online Open House to learn more about our second BIPOC Teacher Training (TT). 

This TT will consist of 100% BIPOC teacher trainers and participants. Our curriculum is based on 40 years of Integral Yoga teacher training tradition coupled with harm reductive and anti-racist practices. Students will learn skills to become a knowledgeable yoga teacher for in-person and online classes.

At the open house:

  • Meet the members of this all BIPOC teaching staff
  • Explore the importance of a program specifically designed to address systemic racism and lack of equity in the yoga community
  • Discuss how this training has been effectively transitioned to online and how we use modern technology to support the ancient technology of the yogic teachings
  • Have all of your questions about the training answered

This high-quality training meets the Yoga Alliance standards. 

Mia, Rukmini, and Nitika talk about why BIPOC 200-hour TT

BIPOC 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training
May 31–Nov. 1, 2022

with Nitika Achalam, Rukmini Ando, Mia Velez, Rev. Kamala Itzel Hayward (Raja), Arturo Peal (Anatomy)

TUITION: $2500.00

We acknowledge that accessibility is one of the obstacles that perpetuate systemic racism, therefore, we utilize a sliding scale fee structure that meets students where they are financially. Apply here for the Teacher Training and financial assistance. If you would like to request financial aid please submit your application by May 3, 2022.

Date and Time Details:

May 31–Nov. 1, 2022
Tuesdays: 5:30–8 pm PT(Every Tuesday)
Thursdays: 5:30–8 pm PT (Every Thursday in June, July, and August)
Sunday: 9 am–4 pm PT (Every Sunday except Jul. 3 and Sep. 4)

Yoga Alliance Hours: 200

The Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco is pleased to announce the 2nd annual 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We recognize structural and institutional racism that exists in wellness communities, and acknowledge the lack of diverse representation in Yoga classes. In an effort toward dismantling this imbalance, IYI SF is offering this Yoga Teacher Training consisting of 100% BIPOC teacher trainers and participants.

This 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) provides a great foundation for practicing, teaching and understanding the science of Yoga and yogic lifestyle. Our curriculum is based on 40 years of Integral Yoga teacher training tradition coupled with harm-reductive and anti-racist practices. 

Whether you want to teach others or deepen your personal practice, this training will provide an authentic experience of living Yoga. This program supports students in establishing a firm regular practice and deepening their understanding of the teachings. Upon completion of the training, graduates will have the ability to teach beginner and advanced beginner level Haṭha classes in any Integral Yoga center around the world and register with Yoga Alliance for RYT-200 designation. In consideration of the modern landscape students will learn skills to lead sessions in person and online.

YTT can be a profound and transformational experience. Teacher Trainers and staff are committed to providing a high quality program for all participants. In unison with Yoga Alliance criteria, our virtual teacher training provides dedicated staff to oversee and provide online coaching support every step of the way.

Support and Community

The trainees are supported as they develop skills to teach a full class. They receive weekly guidance during practice sessions from our mentoring staff. Graduates of our program may apply to teach at the Integral Yoga Institute. If accepted, they receive additional free training with a mentor and ongoing continuing education.

This training program includes free access to all Yoga classes offered at Integral Yoga San Francisco and free access to IYTV, a large and ever-expanding library of recorded Integral Yoga Teachings, throughout the duration of this training!

The Curriculum

The Teacher Training program offers thorough training in asana (postures), pranayama (breathing practices), meditation, philosophy, anatomy and physiology. It also includes many hours of training in yoga teaching methodology, including how to make adjustments, teach yoga workshops, and more. Graduates receive a certificate to teach Beginner Level Hatha Yoga.

Online

We are committed to providing a safe and high quality program for all participants. Our graduates will develop skills to teach in person or online. The Yoga Alliance criteria about training teachers online is adapting as we move forward. We have dedicated staff to oversee the online coaching to have personal connections throughout the training.

Technological Requirements

Please be aware that you must have regular access to the Internet to participate in this online training. You must be able to run Zoom on your computer or tablet, and have an active email account for delivery of course materials. Running Zoom by your phone is too small of a screen for proper learning and we request that all students are clearly visible and audible for the live sessions.

For any questions, please email [email protected] 

Payment Information and Refund Policy

A $25 non-refundable application fee will be applied towards the tuition. After your application has been accepted you will be prompted to make a payment. Full payment is required one week before the start of the program. Those who arrange a payment plan are required to make the first payment by May 17, 2022.

If you plan to request financial aid please submit your application by May 1, 2022. 

Important Note

If you cancel before the start of the program, you forfeit $125 of your payment and the remaining balance will be refunded. Once you begin the program, the program tuition is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Trainers

Nitika Achalam

e-RYT 500

Nitika earned her first 200hr certification through Yogaville in 2000 and is a graduate of the Living Yoga Training Program. She’s certified to teach yoga for arthritis and chronic pain, therapeutic yoga, trauma informed yoga, and much more.

Nitika currently serves as the Executive Director of Project Yoga Richmond, a nonprofit organization working to provide affordable and accessible yoga and mindfulness classes in and around Richmond, VA. In this role, Nitika forges partnerships throughout the community to bring yoga to those who may not otherwise have access. She studied anthropology, specifically focusing on how ancient cultures and societies used plant medicine and ancestral remedies to prevent and treat disease. She founded True Grit Wellness in 2014 as a means of employing her 2+ decades of experience as an herbalist and to advocate for holistic wellness. Find out more at www.truegritwellness.com.

Mia Velez

E-RYT 500, YACEP

Mia Velez, E-RYT 500, YACEP entered Integral Yoga Institute in 2016 through the kitchen as a volunteer cook at their silent retreats, teacher trainings, and the weekly community lunches. In 2018 she certified as an Integral Yoga teacher to learn more of the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. After completing her first 200 hour teacher training in 2008, she began to see undeniable parallel in Yoga and Kung Fu. When she began teaching Kung Fu in 2014, she incorporated Yoga insight and principles in her classes. Her goal in teaching is to facilitate a safer space for self inquiry that hopefully leads to liberation. She shares her joy and knowledge of yoga as a co-trainer for the Basic Teacher Trainings at IYI to include the BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training; teaches the healing properties of yoga to incarcerated men; and provides stress management techniques with new parents. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, a preschool teacher, and an advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profits groups.

Nathalie Rukmini Ando

E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP

Nathalie Rukmini Ando, is a Yoga teacher, trainer, and graphic designer, Brazilian of Japanese descent. She lived in Yogaville, VA, where she served as a Yoga teacher, program development director, leadership team member, online courses administrator, DE&I (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) Committee member, and Anti-Racism Task Force member. She has been practicing Yoga since 2004, teaching since 2010, and has been a Yoga teacher trainer since 2022. She is certified in Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Integral Yoga, Raja Yoga, Adaptive, Stress Management, Yoga of Recovery, Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Basics of Ayurveda, and Neuroscience & Yoga. As a teacher, she's known for her clear instruction and her classes include fun, level-appropriate challenges. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and is a fine artist specializing in oil-on-canvas. You can see her artwork natiando.art.

Rev. Kamala Itzel Hayward

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT

Is a compassionate and fierce advocate for love. After serving as a public policy lawyer for 13 years, Itzel left her legal career and founded Attuned Living, a mindfulness and wellness organization that helps individuals heal the sense of separation they feel from others—or even from themselves. Her unique work—based on the teachings of yoga, mindfulness, and compassionate communication—ranges from promoting social justice work within organizations and communities to guiding individuals on their search for personal and professional fulfillment. Today, she holds retreats, classes, trainings, and private one-on-one sessions online, over the phone, and in-person with people from all over the world. Her mission is to gently remind you of your individual wholeness and your interconnectedness with others and all of life. Learn more at www.attunedliving.com.

Arturo Peal

Has spent over 30 years inspiring and educating yoga teachers, bodyworkers, and movement specialists across the globe through his classes in Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Therapeutic Touch. With a unique gift for translating complex scientific concepts into tangible teachings for his students, he raises awareness of how the body works. Arturo holds a Master’s degree in Chinese medicine and has practiced therapeutic massage for over 40 years. He is a 5th-degree black belt in Aikido and is the Chief Instructor at Aikido of New Orleans.

Yoga Alliance Hours: 200

Integral Yoga uses an inward, spiritually-focused form of Hatha Yoga to lead students to an experience of inner peace and greater awareness. To prepare teachers to lead students inward, our Yoga Teacher Training program offers a balance of theory and practice on a broad range of topics. Graduates are certified to teach Beginner Level Hatha Yoga and are qualified to register with Yoga Alliance as a RYT-200. Get started by filling up the application form below.
Yoga Alliance Hours: 200

Training Yoga teachers for over 50 years

With over 200 class hours, the training provides a strong foundation for personal and spiritual development, as well as the skills necessary to become a confident, knowledgeable Yoga instructor. Distinguished by years of personal practice and teaching experience, your teachers will support you as you learn to safely teach each portion of an Integral Yoga Level I class, offer modifications, and hold a nurturing space for your students. Whether you want to teach others or take your own practice to a deeper level, the 200-hour teacher training program will provide you with an authentic experience of living Yoga.