If you think yoga is limited to sitting in lotus pose and breathing, you haven't tried power yoga. This fast-paced approach is as close as yoga gets to an aerobic workout. Based on the Ashtanga yoga school of Pattabhi Jois, in which sequences of poses were linked with triceps pushups, backbends and abdominal-intensive jumps, power yoga has found its way into gyms and yoga studios around the world. If you want to teach power yoga, you can apply for a certification program with one of the celebrity power yoga teachers, or a teacher who is lesser known but still adept.
Learning Close to Home
Some yoga studios offer training certification courses that run over the course of many months. As of 2011, for example, Bill Raup at Power Yoga Works in Malvern, Pennsylvania, offered a 200-hour course that meets on the weekends and costs $1,500. This schedule works well for people who want to take their time learning to be a teacher, and for those who don't have the vacation saved up to go away for intensive training.
Learning Far Away
Of course, you might not have a power yoga teacher training opportunity close to home. Many high-profile yogis arrange for groups to study together in far-flung locations. Usually, these are warm places with scenic beauty. Power yoga leader Baron Baptiste leads training sessions at the Kalani Honua retreat center in Hawaii. His level one teachers' boot camp lasts for one intensive week. As of 2011, the costs for tuition and accommodations ranged from $2,295 for a campsite to $2,995 for a shared cottage.
Application Process
Since power yoga is a more advanced physical practice than many other types of yoga, trainings are limited to the ablest students. Baron Baptiste's website warns that his training is not for everybody. You must apply to be accepted. Tiffany Cruikshank, a power yoga teacher in Portland, Oregon, requires a year of consistent power yoga or vinyasa practice, and a current practice of four to six days per week.
What to Expect
In addition to doing postures, power yoga teacher trainings cover many of the same topics as other yoga training. Students will learn how to pronounce Sanskrit words, how to modify poses for people with different limitations, yoga philosophy and hands-on adjustments. But each training has its own quirks. At Baptiste's trainings, for example, students are expected to refrain from caffeine.
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