INSTITUTE
Enhance Your Understanding of Yoga
at Mount Madonna, California
Foundational
Yoga Studies
Online Modular
Yoga Teacher Training Online 200 Hours
Whether you are a serious student or certified yoga teacher, this program is designed to expand your knowledge of the theory and practices of Classical Ashtanga yoga. Guided and supported by a faculty of over 30 teachers, the 200 hour level training serves to systematically develop and enhance your understanding of yoga.
You will develop skills for teaching a well-rounded beginners level yoga class. This course is ideal for those who want to immerse themselves in an intense discipline to begin or to deepen a personal practice. Advanced techniques and theories are explored in many of our specialty classes.
Our 200-hour Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training Online (YTT 200) focuses primarily on the systems of Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga and the methods we teach include shat karma (purification methods), mudra (symbolic gestures), pranayama (breathing techniques), dhyana (meditation), and asana (postures). The foundational theory that supports these practices is taught in classes on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Samkhya Philosophy, basic principles of Ayurveda, subtle body theory, anatomy, and physiology. Teaching methodology, or how to share this ancient knowledge, is woven throughout the program.
Our YTT 200 is offered in two formats. The modular online version consists of one long weekend per month over six months which results in a paced program that can be completed alongside work and family commitments. Alternatively, the Summer Intensive meets in-person for one full month of dedicated immersion and is suitable for those in transition or with a summer break.
Mount Madonna Institute has been a Registered Yoga School (RYS) with Yoga Alliance since 2002 and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
What you will Learn
Classical Ashtanga (8-limbed) Yoga
- Beginning pranayama practices
- Styles of meditation
- Proper alignment and manual adjustments
- Modifications and the use of props as needed
- Health benefits and contraindications
- Ayurveda basics and classification of practices according to the three doshas (constitutions)
- Anatomy and physiology, gross and subtle
- Teaching methodology
- Designing a balanced class
- Teaching beginners with varying abilities
- Setting up classes in your community
- Evolving a personal teaching style
- Foundations for safe sequencing
DATES
Enrollment for Winter & Spring 2024-25 is paused. Stay updated on Summer and Fall 2025 programs.
Tuition
Estimated Total: $2,525
See full details below.
See our 2025 Catalog
More Information
For more information regarding our programs and admissions, please email us at info@mountmadonna.org or call (408) 846-4060.
Modular Program
Online Training Sample Weekend Schedule
| Thursday Evening | |
|---|---|
| 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Opening Circle and Theory |
| Friday – Sunday | |
| 6:30 am – 8:30 am | Pranayama and Meditation |
| 8:30 am – 9:30 am | Breakfast |
| 9:30 am – 11:00 am | Theory Class |
| 11:00 am – 12:30 pm | Asana |
| 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm | Lunch |
| 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Theory Class / Core Asana |
| 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Theory Class / Core Asana |
| 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Integration |
| Pacific Time Zone |
Studying Affordably
Financial Aid opportunities for your education
- Alumni Discount: Ask us about our Alumni Discount when you submit your application.
- Scholarship: Check the scholarship box on your application.
- Payment Plans: Available to all students. Talk to an admissions counselor for more information!
Yoga Faculty & Staff
Tonia Mayerle.
BA, E-RYT 500
Kathy Paez,
E-RYT 500
Sean Neesley,
MA, E-RYT 500
Populi
Secure and Intuitive
Populi is a web-based learning management system (LMS). It covers academics, admissions, billing, people, reporting, library, integrated email and calendar. MMI uses Populi as its student information and learning management system, where all student and classroom activity is recorded. Application, enrollment, course work, lessons, assignments, quizzes, grades, transcripts, and financial balances are all located in Populi.
Testimonials
About Studying at The Source
Ayurvedic Health Counselor (AHC)
FROM IOWA
“At the AHC, I am enjoying the possibility of studying with many different instructors” – Tonia
YTT 200 Summer Intensive
FROM CALIFORNIA
“This place and this program is a crucible for self transformation” – Aubrey
YTT 200 Summer Intensive
FROM CALIFORNIA
“This has been the most life-changing and transformational month of my life” – Antonia
YTT 200 Summer Intensive
FROM CALIFORNIA
“It’s truly astounding how well organized this program is and how they were able to create connection in an online platform” – Dawn
YTT 200 Summer Intensive
FROM CALIFORNIA
“The program goes far beyond the transmission of information. It is the application of that information” – Bholenath
“unparalleled”
“I could not have hoped for a more authentic YTT program…The scope of information covered makes certain that I know what I am talking about when I am teaching…the level of personal attention given to students is unparalleled.”
– MMI Alum
“empowering”
“Mount Madonna has many inspirational teachers. They…answered questions with ease, grace, and humor. Breaking out into small rooms…to practice teaching as well as doing the practice teaching in the afternoon core asana classes was very empowering.”
– YTT Student
“Fine-tuned, controlled, and mindful!”
“Teaching was excellent. A lot of attention was given to warm-ups and preparatory movements. I have been really enjoying asana practice throughout this training. It has…allowed me to experience Yoga in a different way. Fine-tuned, controlled, and mindful!”
– YTT Student
“life-enhancing...life-altering”
“Soma’s presentation was extremely inspiring. It was perhaps the most life-enhancing or life-altering talk I have ever experienced. She used metaphors that brought her topics into clear focus…I look forward to watching it again and again.”
– YTT Student
"a transformational experience"
“I did my [YTT 200] in 2016, AHC in 2019, and [YTT 300] in 2023…Each of these MMI programs was a transformational experience for me.”
– MMI Alum
"deeply appreciative of MM"
“I did [YTT 300] at MMI in 2021 and then had the joy of apprenticing [YTT 200] in 2022 and [YTT 300] in 2022-23. My dream is to become a yoga therapist and I’m hoping to take the AHC and AYT trainings at MMI. I’m deeply appreciative of MM [satsang]”
– MMI Alum
"YTT 300 was the cherry on the top"
“It was by living at [the] center that the marinating happened, and Yoga & Ayurveda became a way of life for me through selfless service, study and lots of play…[YTT 300] was the cherry on the top of my entire experience at MMC! I’m so grateful for it. ”
– MMI Alum
"Beyond incredible."
“Beyond incredible. I came into the program…with the feeling that I would never be able to learn how to teach these asanas, but I soon came to have faith through the well-thought-out and elegant ways they were presented…[A] great and inspiring weekend.”
– YTT Student
"MORE than I anticipated"
“The program is already MORE than I anticipated…Babaji’s influence, teachings, and all the staff are so devoted that I am grateful and privileged to be in this course with each and everyone on staff…”
– YTT Student
"This course is a precious gift."
“I hope you bring back more [virtual] classes…so I can continue this journey once I am done! This course is a precious gift. Thank you for creating and sustaining this offering. These weekends are so rich. I look forward to all the rest…”
– YTT Student
"gratitude for Mount Madonna"
“Such great gratitude for Mount Madonna and this training. I know I’m a part of something very special and so thankful for that”
– YTT Student
"impactful"
“Awesome weekend! Loving learning core asana poses and continuing to explore pranayama! I feel I am learning a lot and every class thus far has been impactful.”
– YTT Student
"back to myself"
“This program gave me the means to find my way back to myself.”
– YTT Student
"'reinstill' the stillness within"
“In reflection, YTT helped ‘reinstill’ the stillness within…”
– YTT Student
"my newly-found satsang"
“It was such a wonderful thing to collaborate and co-create in study, in practice, and with my newly-found satsang (company with those on the spiritual journey; those, “seeking truth”).”
– YTT Student
"led me to a place of inner knowing"
“Yoga Teacher Training exploded my world – in the most positive way! Walking hand-in-hand with a group of people, it led me to a place of inner knowing.”
– YTT Student
"so much more"
“All of the study and practice meant so much, yet especially in the Prāṇāyāma and Meditation practices – so much more than the āsana postures most equate with ‘Yoga’ – that I now know myself as a different and transformed person.”
– YTT Student
"deeper than I had imagined"
“This whole experience was such a ‘Svādhyāya‘ for me (a process of inner reflection and self-study) – much deeper than I had imagined. I now have an understanding of the teachings, and how they apply to my life, on a completely different level.”
– YTT Student
"the world needs these methods"
“To know that all the people I’ve met here will be taking these teachings out into the world is something I carry with me; I think the world needs these methods of creating peace within and without.”
– YTT Student
"I loved the modular format"
“I loved the modular format; not only did it allow me to integrate YTT into my current life – each long weekend, along with the mid-month meetings, became an anchor point to support me.”
– YTT Student
"helped me to find my own spiritual path"
“I am grateful, stronger, and more confident from the experience of this Yoga Teacher Training…the deep questions I was asked in the course of studying philosophy and in learning all the practices helped me to find my own spiritual path.”
– YTT Student
Open House & Info Sessions
Join us for an In-Person Open House or an Online Information Session to learn about upcoming Yoga & Ayurveda Programs.
More Information
Contact Us
For more information regarding our programs and admissions, please email us at info@mountmadonna.org or call (408) 846-4060.
FAQs Yoga
Frequently asked questions about our Yoga programs.
