I’ve written before on The Mat’s yoga teacher training offerings, particularly the 200-hour training that is offered most years and I’m excited to see another year of their 300-hour teacher training will be offered later this year. Even if you think you may not be ready for a full 300-hour training program, there are still opportunities to watch out for over the year.
So first: How is the 300-hour different than the 200-hour training?
I can only speak from my experience, having taken both a 200 and 300 training with The Mat years ago, but the 200-hour in my mind was the foundation for teaching. It was how we learned about the different poses, like what parts of the body are engaged, options for modifications, what some other poses leading up to one may be (i.e., preparing those parts of the body for a “peak” pose), which lead into creating class sequences. We also spent some time on philosophy, but again, this seemed to me like the foundation from which we could then begin teaching a flow cash (if we so wished), or take with us to strengthen our own practice.
The 300-hour went deeper. We had weekends devoted to a topic of practice: restorative, mindfulness, my year also had a weekend of children’s yoga. Throughout the year, we also designed our own workshops we presented at the end of the year. That was what really drew me to the 300-hour! I loved the idea of taking what I learned and putting it together in a workshop that was something I’d want to take. I loved seeing my fellow trainees’ workshops and how each was so personalized to them.
But as I said above, even if you’re not intending to take a 300-hour training or have other commitments in the upcoming year, there is still much to look out for. Some of the weekends will have components that are available to the wider community. These sessions offer an opportunity to learn from visiting teachers and/or about subjects into which you may want to dive deeper.
If you want to learn more, the studio also offers some Q&A sessions leading up to the training. You can ask your questions directly to the training’s lead teachers. If you’re interested, keep an eye out on their socials and workshops page to see when the next Q&A may be. And if this isn’t the year, still keep an eye on that same workshops page for those sessions that are open. That’s also a great way to get a taste of the 300-hour training to consider for a future year!
This is the part of a series of posts for The Mat Yoga Studio, sharing my thoughts and observations as a student only. The views and opinions are my own experience.
