300-hour teacher training
Have you already completed a 200-hr. training? Do you feel like it just scratched the surface? Are you looking to take your teaching to a new level? Our Advanced 300-hr. training is a Yoga Alliance-certified program designed to give you the tools and skills to become the teacher you want to be!
The Yoga Garden has teamed up with The Works yoga studio in Malvern to bring you the experience and expertise of veteran teachers Mark Nelson and Tessa Jenkins, along with a host of visiting presenters. You'll come out of the training with a deep understanding of the skills you need to take your teaching and your students’ experience to new heights. This is the advanced training you’ve been waiting for.
300-hr. training starts January 8, 2027
Sign up early and let the journey begin!
During our 300-hour Teacher Training you will study:
- Medically informed anatomy
- Detailed asana and hands-on assists
- Intelligent, creative sequencing
- Yoga philosophy through classical texts
- Modern applications of ancient practices
- Energetics and healing modalities
- How yoga affects the nervous system
- Trauma informed teaching practices
- Creating a dynamic, welcoming class environment
- Pranayama, meditation, and the art of savasana
- Ethics, professionalism, and legal considerations
- Running a successful yoga business, including workshops and retreats
2027 Schedule:
Our 300-hr. training takes place from January 8 through May 23, 2027. We meet for eight modular weekends, alternating between the Yoga Garden in Narberth and The Works in Malvern.
Fridays: 6:00-9:00pm (Zoom or in-person)
Saturdays: 9:00am-5:30pm (in-person)
Sundays: 11:30am-4:00pm (in-person)
2027 Program Dates & Locations:
Jan. 8-10 (Narberth)
Jan. 15-17 (Malvern)
Feb. 5-7 (Narberth)
Mar. 5-7 (Malvern)
Mar. 12-14 (Narberth)
Apr. 9-11 (Narberth)
Apr. 23-25 (Malvern)
May 21-23 (Malvern)
Perks and Benefits:
You may attend unlimited yoga classes at the Yoga Garden and The Works for the duration of the program. All workshops associated with the training are free and you are eligible for discounts on non-training workshops. After the training, we regularly invite past graduates to attend free refresher sessions to keep your skills sharp.
Yoga Alliance Certification:
Upon successful completion of all program requirements, teacher training graduates will receive their 300-hour Yoga Alliance recognized certificate of completion. This allows you to grow as a teacher and to pursue additional certifications and specializations.
Reading List:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by Edwin F. Bryant
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran
Breath, by James Nestor
Buddha’s Brain, by Rick Hanson
Pricing:
Enrollment: $4,500
Discount for previous grads of The Yoga Garden or The Works: $250
Required Experience:
200-hr. Yoga Alliance Certification
Please contact Mark directly for more information:
610.909.7300 or email mark@yogagardenphilly.com
Testimonials from past graduates
Phenomenal school - I’ve been to many over the years living in Philly and The Yoga Garden studio is the best, hands down. The learnings you gain and growth you achieve and relationships you build there with the teachers are what make its diversity of classes so valuable. - Rebecca
Excellent instruction especially with how to format a class setting. Words to use in cues, anatomy knowledge, kindness and philosophy. - Eileen
Yoga Garden's program provides a strong foundation in both the physical asanas and the underlying philosophy of yoga. I feel so lucky to have found this program and have benefited from the community created by both the program and the studio itself. - Adrienne
The Yoga Garden training was everything I could have dreamed of and more. The studio space itself is always impeccably clean and relaxing, all the yoga instructors and front desk staff are welcoming and kind, and I found the windows looking out above Narberth to be very grounding. Mark is an exceptional teacher - patient, kind, and always willing to break down concepts and ideas into bite-sized pieces. He truly wants you to succeed and grow in your own practice. To me, there is no other place to consider getting your certificate! The Yoga Garden is simply the best. - Danielle
What makes a good teacher training program?
Teacher Training goes so far beyond learning how to teach. It’s a rare opportunity to explore the key aspects of yoga in a structured, guided environment. Far more than just taking more workshops and classes, a training curriculum puts the pieces together in an organized, systematic way.
The 200–hour vinyasa yoga training at the Yoga Garden combines the most essential elements of a traditional yoga lineage with modern, scientifically-informed insights as to how yoga can benefit us in our daily lives. We honor the philosophical and energetic traditions of yoga through a deep study of the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and the Devimahatmya, where you'll learn lessons that apply as much to your daily life as to your teaching skills. We continue the oral tradition of yoga through storytelling and skills development in public speaking. We take the time to learn the Sanskrit names of the asana with all the colorful imagery and cultural richness they contain. And then we bring all of that up to date in a modern, evolving world where facts matter and a medically-informed understanding of how bodies work allows us to create a practice that is as healthy as it is sustainable over time.
Teacher training is about learning in community. Through diversity and variety of thoughts, backgrounds and experiences, new ideas come forth. At the Yoga Garden, we seek to make our teacher training groups inclusive and to honor different cultural traditions and personal expressions. We've experienced firsthand how the mixing of traditions and viewpoints enlivens the learning for all of us.
Over the many months and weekends of a teacher training program, the transformation in our trainees is visible. We see connections being formed between them, confidence in opening up and expressing themselves, formulating clear lesson plans and how they present them, not to mention the depth of knowledge about yoga.
So, if you’re considering a teacher training program, ask yourself what you’re looking for. If your goals go beyond simply learning how to teach a well-organized class, you’ll need a program that offers depth, diversity, updated information as well as a respect for the traditional origins of the practice. You’ll want a teaching method and a framework that gives you the knowledge to truly take your yoga to a new level and apply it out in the world.
