Comprehensive, Inclusive Yoga Teacher Training

Flexible training format includes asynchronous course delivery you can complete on your schedule and 8 weekends of live instruction.

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Yoga Sanctuary is committed to bringing outside voices to the center of yoga education. 

We teach in a deliberate way that is safe and welcoming to divergent bodies and minds. 

You will leave this training with the ability to lead inclusive, thoughtful group classes in a variety of settings. 

Everyone comes away with a deepened personal practice that enhances, and in some cases transforms, their personal life. 

Whether you decide to teach yoga or not, the skills and self-discovery that occur during training will make you more available, open, and purposeful in your life.

200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certification available upon graduation.

You will get the most out of our program if you:

• Want to learn to offer classes that welcome and celebrate diversity in gender identity, sexual orientation, body size, culture, and ability.
• Are excited to learn and discuss yoga philosophy.
• Want to learn more about subtle practices like restorative yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques.
• Are interested in teaching straightforward poses and sequences that are not necessarily easy, but that are adaptable and accessible to most people.
• Want to learn movement principles that adapt to a variety of bodies rather than alignment principles that ask all bodies to conform to one particular shape.

We've Created a Teaching Schedule that Accommodates Your Life.

Our flexible program includes recorded, self-paced instruction as well as eight live weekends for discussion, connection, support, and accountability. 

Live weekends:  Every other weekend September  6 - December  15

Friday 5 - 7 PM & Saturday and Sunday 9 - 5 PM

Sept 6 - 8, Sept 20 - 22, Oct 4 - 6, Oct 18 - 20, Nov 1 - 3, Nov 15 - 17,  Nove 29 - Dec 1 , Dec 13 - 15

Asynchronous Component

You will complete approximately 10 hours of prerecorded content and coursework between each live weekends. Your instructors will be available for questions as you go. 

Click here to schedule an intro call with Katy Cryer, the program director.

For many students, the primary value of completing the training is the personal growth that results from practicing and studying yoga in an ongoing and structured way. 

This profound and lasting change has been our experience, and we will do everything we can to support that transformation in you.

In Yoga Sanctuary's training, you can expect to gain:

• An experience of yoga in the broader context of its history, philosophy, and tradition.
• A new understanding of body mechanics so that your practice increases your well-being and is sustainable over time.
• The ability to go farther with your practice using breath practices and meditation.
• An emotional and physical challenge that allows you to stretch your stress tolerance and increase neuroplasticity in a safe environment.
• A practical understanding of why yoga is so effective at improving physical and emotional well-being
• A deeper understanding of your entire, interconnected self

Click here to schedule an intro call with Katy Cryer, the program director.

We train informed, well-rounded yoga teachers who are ready to lead inclusive, flow-based group classes when they graduate. 

In the professional component of the training, you will:

• Practice teaching in a collaborative, friendly environment.
• Become familiar with methods for creating emotionally and physically safe spaces for yoga.
• Craft skills to work knowledgeably with a wide range of bodies.
• Learn sequencing techniques so that your classes are safe and intelligently structured.
• Learn best practices for teaching both in-person and online classes.
• Create a path to teach yoga in a way that is sustainable for you and your students.

Click here to schedule an intro call with Katy Cryer, the program director.

Such a positive environment was created that felt self and inclusive. All the instructors were great and inspirational, so experienced and educated in the subjects they taught. In the beginning I often wondered how I was going to learn all this information and now after graduating, I have so much confidence about teaching yoga to carry with me out into the world. - Devin N. 

Teacher training at Square One Yoga was an intense and challenging experience for me.  I was 66 years old, and had been practicing yoga since my teens, without much depth.  In the course, I increased my knowledge of asanas, pranayama, yoga philosophy, and anatomy, and met an inspiring yoga community.  I am using the knowledge I gained in my daily life and in teaching seniors.  -Mary L.

The training provided a safe, loving space for me to meet my own personal challenges and to grow my practice from where I began. No one in my class looked like the yoga teachers you might see in a magazine, but the training helped each of us to cultivate our practice and identify the particular gifts each of us had to offer to the yoga community. –David D.

It was a transformational experience and my life has been forever changed. –Pallavi R.

I feel infinitely grateful for having done my yoga teacher training with Square One! It is led by amazing teachers, who are down-to-earth with such a passion for sharing the transformative gift of yoga. They helped create a safe and empowering place to explore and deepen my own practice, and equipped me with the tools to help others do the same.  -Ashley C.

The training nourished me a in a way I never thought possible. I came out of the training in awe of what my body could do and loving myself more than ever. My fellow trainees and teachers taught me that there is so much more to advancing your yoga practice than perfecting complicated asanas. Even when my body grew tired, I knew that everyone was rooting for me and it gave me the drive to keep going. -Josephine K.

Talking with other friends who took trainings, I felt grateful for the thoughtful and thorough curriculum I was a part of. I was offered a well-rounded and inspired start to my learning.  -Ashley B.

The training was a great experience that has provided me with the tools to start a new career and find personal growth in so many ways. The program will give you all the necessary tools to get into that headstand *and* find your own path to a fuller and more wholesome self. -Darlene C.

I'd love to talk to someone about the program. How do I get more information?

Please click here to schedule a 15-minute call with Katy Cryer, the program director.

How do I know if I'm ready to do a teacher training program?

Students who want to learn more than what is available in most classes or afternoon workshops are great fits for 200-hour programs. If you are willing to learn, grow, and participate fully in an intensive training program, then you are ready.

What if I am not interested in being a yoga teacher?

Our teacher training is a broad education in yoga, from poses to philosophy to breathwork and meditation. Yogi Bhajan said, "If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it." Many students said they didn't want to teach at the beginning of the program and ended up teaching regularly. You never know!

Are there any prerequisites required for registration?

The only prerequisite is a strong desire to deepen your yoga practice. If you plan to teach, we recommend you have at least two years of regular practice before beginning teacher training.

What style of yoga will we be studying?

We are trained in different styles and traditions and offer a non-dogmatic approach to studying and teaching yoga while honoring the various lineages that have informed our practices. Having said that, the sequencing and asana techniques that you learn are geared towards teaching gentle to moderately paced flow classes.

What if I am not able to do certain poses or have limitations because of illness or injury?

We invite everyone to come as they are. All of our instructors are trained and dedicated to making the practice accessible to a wide range of bodies. The majority of our practices will consist of simple, everyday poses and sequences. Students will be encouraged to go at their own pace and take care of their individual needs.

There will be physically challenging aspects of the program, but the real teaching is for everyone to work within a range of effort and motion that is healthy for their body. 

If you have still have questions, or you would like to request any accommodations, please book a call with Katy. 

Katy Cryer, MS, E-RYT 500, has been practicing yoga since 2002 and teaching since 2008. She incorporates elements from a wide range of styles, from classical hatha yoga to modern vinyasa to create classes that are accessible, yet challenging and enjoyable for a broad range of students. She is the founder of Square One Yoga, a small chain of community yoga centers in the Bay Area whose focus was on making yoga accessible to a broad range of students. After fifteen years and thousands of students served, Square One closed at the end of 2023.

In 2020, Katy published the book Yoga for Addiction: Using Yoga and the Twelve Steps to Find Peace in the Present Moment. Drawn from her own experience in recovery, Katy's book explores the complementary nature of the twelve steps and yoga's eight-limb path. It also offers readers practical tips and practices to support their recovery. 

Teaching math was Katy's first career, and she studied education in graduate school. She brings her love of teaching and expertise in delivering student-centered, experiential education to her classes and longer courses. Her primary teaching goal is to guide students to develop an embodiment practice that brings them joy and healing and to train yoga teachers to do the same.

Gillian Hull (E-RYT 500, C-IAYT) trained in Raja Yoga at Niroga Institute for both her 200-hour and Yoga Therapy certifications, where she learned empowering, trauma-informed practices with an emphasis on mindfulness, breath, and awareness. She has had the privilege to teach in a variety of settings, including serving elementary and middle-school children in the classroom and after school, cancer survivors at Herrick Cancer Center in Berkeley, and those in recovery from addiction. 

Supporting students as they learn to connect with themselves is the foundation of Gillian’s teaching. She loves to teach beginners in class and in workshops, to watch walls come down for students of all experiences at retreats, and to support new teachers as they learn their craft. After graduating from her 200-hour training, Gillian served as admin and coaching support for subsequent cohorts of Niroga's teacher training program, setting the groundwork for her later work as part of the faculty for Square One's Yoga Teacher Training. She specializes in subtle anatomy, pranayama, and mindfulness, weaving yoga philosophy through classes designed to meet students where they are in their own practices and experiences.