35: The State of Yoga Education with Guest Teacher Jules Mitchell
In the conversations I have with colleagues about yoga teacher trainings, the focus is almost always centered on the idea that 200 hours is not enough time to produce high quality baseline yoga teachers. I brought this question to my friend and teacher Jules Mitchell to get her opinion and very quickly our conversation veered from the serious but simple question, “How many hours of training should foundational YTTs have?” to the much more complex questions of, “Who gets to have the power to decide what makes a good yoga teacher?” and, “If we raise the standards to make ‘better’ yoga teachers what communities get left further behind with less access to yoga than they already have?”
Spoiler alert: We came up with almost no clear answers to these questions, but I think it is important for us to have these conversations publicly and often.
If you don’t already know Jules, she is a San Francisco based yoga teacher, educator and massage therapist. She blends the tradition of yoga with her extensive study in biomechanics to help teachers develop their craft and empower them with education. She regularly contributes to yoga teacher training programs and leads workshops worldwide, balancing the somatic aspects of yoga with the most current exercise science.
Check out our previous interview to get to know more about Jules and the way she incorporates her knowledge of biomechanics into her teaching in Episode #9, right here! In this episode you’ll hear:
What Jules thinks is working well in the yoga teacher training culture.
A conversation about the current standards yoga trainings follow and how they are (or are not) are serving teachers and their students well.
Some thoughts about Yoga Alliance and whether or not yoga might be served by having an actual regulating body.
Jules and I go down the rabbit hole of “Who gets to decide what ‘good’ yoga teaching looks like...and is that something we think should be defined at all??”
Learn More From Jules:
Also! Yoga Detour Online Training is now open...It’s been a long time coming but my friends over at Yoga Detour are finally releasing their online course which is only open for registration until November 2! Detour Method Online bridges the gap between the yoga you know and love with all the other stuff you know the body needs in addition to yoga like strength work, mobility training and overall feel good movement. It includes live calls with Detour founder Cecily Milne (you can check out her interview on The Mentor Sessions right here if you don’t already know her!) plus a bunch of amazing bonuses like audio classes and downloadable resources. You can find out more about the course by checking out their website here and use the code “mentor” at checkout to get $50 off your registration!