500hr Program Details

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500hr Yoga Teacher Training Certification Program

Deepen Your Practice. Advance Your Teaching.
Learn. Laugh. Grow. Serve.

500 Hour Flexible Certification – complete in your own time!

See Details Below….

 

Yoga Serves Teacher Training School Vision:

The Yoga Serves Teacher Training School approaches yoga in a non – dogmatic way as a path of service to the individual and the community. Our Yoga Serves Kunga programs are unique in that we emphasize yoga as a practice off the mat and offer all participants creative, challenging and dynamic opportunities to serve; both locally and globally.

The vision of the Yoga Serves Flex 500 Hour Certification is to support you in the development of your personal practice of living yoga, to develop confidence in your teaching style, and to offer inspiration and opportunities to offer the practice of yoga as service to all beings. The intention of the 500Hour Certification is to provide a format for you that is flexible, allowing you to collect your hours as you go, and choose from a broad range of topics to fulfill your interests and development as a teacher.
If you are simply wishing to deepen your yoga knowledge, you are welcome to participate in any individual module. Any level of practitioner from beginner to advanced is welcome unless otherwise noted in teacher training modules.

Yoga Serves Core Values

Our programs are created based on the following core values:

  • the teaching and practice of Ahimsa “path of least harm” – through mindfulness, speech, and action
  • an openness to all “styles” of yoga & cultivation of community
  • focus on creative exploration & constant evolution
  • cultivation of the arts – through music, movement, sound, and pure fun!
  • approaching yoga as a path of service – for people, the planet, and all beings

Yoga Serves School Benefits

  • Unique vision: offering yoga as service to our local and global communities
  • Leading reputation as one of the largest, most dynamic training schools in the Southeast, training over hundreds of students since 2003
  • Expert faculty with decades of experience
  • Non – dogmatic, welcoming, multi – disclipinary programming
  • Experiential curriculum and teaching methodologies focused on yoga as a healthy lifestyle
  • Creative ways of gaining CEU credit hours, such as optional international volunteer Kunga Service Journeys or local Rest & Rejuvenation Retreats
  • Flexible curriculum model allowing you to start/end anytime, finishing in 1 year or up to 5 years.

 

Benefits of our Wilmington Location

  • Lifestyle immersion within a beach retreat environment, with free or economical homestays available
  • Connection to nature; breathtaking Wrightsville Beach located within 10 minute drive.
  • Wilmington studio location nestled in within the county’s “wellness mecca” housing Tidal Creek Organic Health Foods Cooperative Market & Café and Blue Ginger Spa.

How to move through the Program

1. Please send in your application and begin at anytime, completing your modules in any order. There is an application fee of $25 to start your 500-hour program. This fee registers you into our program. It also covers a review of any previous hours you may have gained from previous trainings for which you would like to request credit. There is no formal application or acceptance process, you are automatically admitted into our system upon sending in your registration form and fee.
Click to Download Application

If you have any previous trainings or workshops that you would like for us to consider for transfer credit, please include them in your application.

Please mail in all of the above with your $25 fee to:
Wilmington Yoga Center
Attn: Teacher Training Coordinator
#5329 Oleander Dr. Ste 200
Wilmington, NC 28403

OR
Please email your application and transfer hour requests to trainings@wilmingtonyogacenter.com and call 910-350-0234 to pay your $25 fee over the phone.

2. Complete your 10 Required Modules and additional elective hours of your choice at any time, in any order. You may complete these simultaneously. Based on Yoga Alliance standards you will complete 270 contact hours. Over 25 modules and workshops are offered per year at our home studio in Wilmington, and many are also offered at other host studios around the country. (If you are interested in hosting one of our programs please contact trainings@wilmingtonyogacenter.com to apply).

3. In addition to your 270 contact hours, you will complete 30 non – contact hours, through your choice of teaching hours gained or additional modules taken.

4. Once you have completed your 300 hours, you will fill out a completion grid, and may then submit your CEUs, along with a copy of your 200 Hour certification. Upon completion of your hours, there is a $75 fee to review your CEU’s and issue your 500 hour certification. After completing all of your hours you will be registered with us as a Kunga Yoga Professional Level 500 hour Teacher.

5. Once we have issued you your certificate you may register with Yoga Alliance as a graduate of our 500Hour Registered Yoga School. You may then teach Kunga classes, and many other styles of yoga. You will also have access to our teacher’s database, discounts, and teaching and service opportunities with future Yoga Serves & Kunga Journeys projects locally and overseas.
Additional Info

  • You may simultaneously be enrolled in WYC 220hr program or any other YA approved Yoga Alliance 200hr program, while you are also gaining CEUs towards your 500 hour certification.
  • Our Wilmington location offers workshops, trainings & retreats several times a month, and all 500YA programs are denoted as such.
  • Pick & choose what you feel the desire to study, with over 20 approved workshops per year.  Depending on the length of the workshops you choose, you may gain your CEU’s in as little as one year.
  • We will occasionally allow some transfer credit hours into our program from other schools with approval from teacher training coordinator.  Limit of 30 transferred hours allowed before entering our program. Some exceptions may be made with approval from the teacher training coordinator.
  • Workshops range anywhere from one to five days and two to thirty-five hours in length; always check our website for updates.  Most modules are our two and a half day format: Friday pm, and two session each on Saturday and Sunday. The cost of these modules typically ranges from $150 – $385 each, depending on the amount of hours, and the level of the training.
  • Some workshops are open to public, others are closed teacher trainings – to be denoted.
  • We welcome teachers and students from other traditions who wish to take courses in our training for personal enrichment or CEUs.
  • Participants in the 500hr program are required to complete at least 30hrs of training per year at WYC in order to maintain their status in the program.
  • Because our program does not have a “start” or “end” date, our program and offerings update yearly and continue to evolve. Always check back on the website for new exciting presenters, topics, and updates!

Required workshops/teacher trainings

  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Ayurveda
  • Hot Detox Vinyasa or Rhythmic Dance – (your choice)
  • Kunga Vinyasa & Hands On Assists Teacher Training
  • Meditation & Gentle Yoga – (retreat OR workshop format)
  • Pre/Post Natal Yoga Teacher Training
  • Yoga for Trauma – PTSD Teacher Training
  • Rhythmic Flow Yoga
  • Thai Yoga Massage Training
  • Therapeutics Yoga Teacher Training

*Each of the above required modules are full weekend workshops, ranging from 15 – 35 hours each.
*Full participation in each training is required in order to receive required module 500YA credit.  Partial trainings can be used for elective hour credit
* Some module requirements and presenters change yearly due to director availability, however most core modules stay the same.
Elective Choices:
*Noted Below are elective choices. Please note that we are always adding exciting new workshops that may not yet be added below! Just look for the “500YA” approved denotation in our workshops calendar to be assured you will receive credit. 500 Hour trainees must participate in the entire workshop in order to receive CEU credits.

  • Acro Yoga
  • Advanced Pranayama & Yogic Texts
  • African Dance, Yoga & Healing
  • Anusara Yoga Immersion
  • Ashtanga
  • Iyengar Yoga Immersion
  • Kids Yoga Teacher Training
  • Kunga Journeys Volunteer Service  Retreats – India, Jamaica, Bali, Thailand
  • Living Yoga in Action Teacher Training for Underserved Populations
  • Non Violent Communication
  • Patanjalis Sutras & Yogic Texts
  • Power Flow Yoga
  • Prana Flow Yoga Immersion
  • Rest & Rejuvenation Yoga & Meditation Retreat – Prama Institute Blue Ridge Mtns
  • Rest & Rejuvenation Yoga &  Meditation International Retreat – India, Costa Rica, Greek Isles, Bali
  • Rhythmic Dance
  • Senior Yoga Teacher Training
  • Teacher’s Exploratorium Training
  • Teacher Mentor Program (New!)
  • Vegan Cooking 101
  • Yin/Yang Teacher Training
  • Yoga for Classrooms Teacher Training
  • Yoga for Goddesses
  • Yoga for Weight Loss & Healthy Living – Mind, Body & Soul

* Note that module offerings change slightly year to year, so please take advantage of a workshop as it may or may not be repeated!
* Approved modules will be denoted with “500YA credit” in sign up information.
*Similar modules at other locations may be pre – approved. Please email teacher training coordinator with your request at trainings@wilmingtonyogacenter.com and include the YA curriculum breakdown for the training.
*Optional participation on local or international Yoga Serves Kunga Service Journeys is not required. However, all trainees who do choose to travel on denoted Kunga Journeys retreats or rejuvenation retreats will receive credit hours for these trips – typically up to 45 hours! Kunga Journeys are yoga service retreats held overseas, predominantly working with orphanages in 3rd world countries. Please visit our retreats page for more details, and visit www.kristinyoga.com to view past service trips to Home Of Hope Orphanage India, and Whitehall Estates, Jamaica.

Director & Staff

The Director of 220/500hour Yoga Serves Kunga Trainings School is Kristin Cooper, 500 ERYT. Kristin teaches several of the required 500hr modules, along with a group of highly experienced guest faculty who are known nationally & internationally. Kristin has taught full time since 1999 and trained hundreds of yoga teachers. She has worked with children, seniors, and students living with cancer and HIV, and is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Kristin has worked privately with celebrity clients Katie Holmes, Ashley Judd and Cheryl Hines. She is founder and director of the Wilmington Yoga Center, and travels as a teacher trainer and percussionist for Shiva Rea, working as a mentor for Shiva’s Prana Flow 500hr Teacher Training. Kristin is a guest presenter for various teacher trainings in the U.S and has assisted the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health Teacher Trainings. She has contributed to Yoga Journal and is the creator of Rhythmic Flow Yoga w/live drumming and founder of Kunga Journeys volunteer service retreats. Kristin leads trainings and international service retreats around the world with her percussionist husband, Loren Gulak & the Kunga Drummers. The Kunga team is grateful for the opportunity to use yoga as a tool for collaboration, education, connection, and fundraising for underserved children around the world. For info on Kristin and upcoming service events, please visit:  www.kristinyoga.com

Guest Faculty

Our guest faculty presenters are caring, experienced professionals in their fields with decades of experience, and many are registered at the 500E-RYT level. Past & future presenters include Desiree Rumbaugh, David Keil, Jonas Westring, Paul Grilley, Gabriel Halpern, Yoganand Michael Carroll, Deon de Wet, Dave Stringer, Sara Avant Stover, Hilary Garivaltis, Heather Till, Twee Merrigan, Tamal Dodge, Lisa Flynn, David Emerson, Donna Gardner, Katie Serino, Deven Sisler, Judith Lasater and more! Guest Faculty are added yearly, so please continue to check our Workshops & Events Page for each year’s special guests!
Additional Info on our Kunga Service Classes & Overseas Volunteer Trips
*Please click on the Retreats link for more information on our Kunga Journeys & Yoga Serves Foundation non – profit work and opportunities.

What are Kunga Journeys?

All Rhythmic Flow Yoga & Kunga trainings, retreats, and workshops are service based programs, dedicated to educating the public about approaching yoga as a path of service. All of our projects involve fundraising for Class 5 non-profits serving children, animals, and the environment. Most programs provide hands on oppurtunities to volunteer with underserved communities. Some highlights of our service work have included placing over 100 yoga teacher trainees in underserved communities, taking western students overseas for volunteer work with orphans, and raising over $30,000 in funds and schooling for various local and international charities. Please visit our retreats tab if you would like to volunteer with us.

What are Kunga Classes anyway?

Once you graduate from our 220 or 500 hour programs, you will then be qualified to teach Kunga Yoga as well as a vast range of yoga classes. What is a Kunga Yoga class? Kunga Yoga is very simple – it is an open physical practice of yoga, any style, but with the intention of inspiring students to approach their yoga practice from a place of service. Each month Kunga Yoga graduates are given a Kunga service theme, such as a reading or teaching to share in Kunga classes. Trainees are also given teaching tips & practice suggestions for sequencing and asana as it relates to that month’s theme. All Kunga yoga teachers commit to donating 5% of Kunga Class proceeds to the Kunga Fund. The Kunga Fund supports our mission to enhance and improve the lives of underserved populations around the world, specifically to orphanages in developing countries.  It also provides free and sliding scale yoga classes to local and global communities. As a Yoga Serves Kunga Yoga graduate you may participate as a volunteer or assistant in various Kunga Journeys & Yoga Serves projects around the globe! Past projects have included service retreats to the Home of Hope Orphanage in Kerala, India, service retreats at the Whitehall Children’s Estate in Negril, Jamaica, and more. Stay tuned as we release more information on all Kunga projects and happenings! In the meantime, you may view www.kristinyoga.com  for a small view some of our past projects. All service retreats and projects are completely optional.

For new upcoming trainings & workshops, please click on our workshops page.