200 Hour SOMM Yoga Teacher Training

This 200 hour yoga teacher training is run by The School of Modern Meditation in Freemans Bay, Auckland, New Zealand, and is taught by Raquel Minh and Claire Robbie. It is for people who want not only to teach yoga but to live it: those who dream of guiding others, deepening their own practice or shifting their career. The course treats yoga as a philosophy, a discipline and a way of being, and brings ancient wisdom together with modern science and psychology, trauma-informed principles, meditation and self-inquiry.

You can study by livestream from anywhere in the world or follow the Zoom recordings at your own pace. The program is accredited with Meditation Alliance International certification.

What to Expect

The training is built around four modules, each taught by livestream, with everything also available as an online recording if the live times do not suit you. A final assessment closes the course.

- Module 1, The History, Heart and Foundation of Yoga: the origins and philosophy of yoga, and establishing a personal practice.
- Module 2, The Body in Motion: anatomy, physiology and embodied teaching methods.
- Module 3, The Art of Sequencing: the structure of a class and how to build an inner arc within a practice.
- Module 4, The Business of Teaching: finding your teaching voice and vision, defining your offering and sustaining a teaching practice.

The modules run month by month across roughly four months, with the final assessment due by the end of the training period. An online training portal holds your meeting times, recordings and resources, so you can fit study around a busy life. Guest speakers and other experts join across the modules to share current applications of yoga.

The aim is to teach you how to guide a class, and also how to find your own voice and build a practice you can sustain. You will learn the essentials of starting and running your own teaching practice.

An optional 50-hour module in Trauma-Informed Community Yoga, Breathwork and Meditation can be added to the 200 hour program.

About Raquel Minh

Raquel Minh is the founder and owner of Kanuka Yoga. She teaches trauma-informed teaching, ethics, inclusion, and business and marketing within the training.

About Claire Robbie

Claire Robbie is the founder and owner of The School of Modern Meditation. She leads the philosophy, history, ethics, business and meditation strands of the course.

Before You Go

The course page lists no formal prerequisites, and the training is taught in English. If you are unsure whether it suits your current level of practice, the team welcomes your questions before you enrol.

Included are the four modules, livestream teaching and online recordings, access to the training portal, guidance from the lead faculty and guest speakers, the final assessment and the Meditation Alliance International certification. The optional 50-hour module is not part of the core course.

If you would rather not take the full program, individual modules can be completed on their own. Payment plans are available for the full training, and a small number of partial scholarships and low-income positions are offered to people experiencing financial hardship, with priority given to applicants from underrepresented communities.