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Supporting Our Students
We believe in excellence in Yoga teacher training.
For us and our students, this is far beyond teaching asana.
Contemporary Yoga is a truly holistic programme that offers a transformational experience for students that explores deep into the Yoga tradition and modern movement theory to build skills that support and enhance a life of Yoga practice and Yoga teaching.
The amount of knowledge and understanding, experience and love that has gone into the teacher training is truly epic and has enabled such a deep and rich learning experience.
Caroline Bindon
Diverse, enlightening and empowering. The course exceeded my highest expectations and has equipped me with a toolbox of yoga teachings that I could apply in many circumstances to a wide variety of students.
Cam McLeay
Are you interested in deepening your understanding and experience of Yoga practice?
Not sure if you would like to teach?
Contemporary Yoga Teacher Training is in its 11th year of offering teacher trainings. Many of our students join us to deepen their understanding of all aspects of Yoga not necessarily to teach. Although, often through the process of training, students change their mind and want to teach - sometimes beginning with their family, friends and community.
This year, recognising that some students want to fully immerse themselves in Yoga without learning to teach, we have crafted our 200 hour teacher training into two parts:
Our next 200-hour courses:
Immersion & 200 hour Training 2025
Part 1: 5th - 13th July (break day 9th)
Part 2: 20th - 28th Sept (break day 24th)
January 2026
Approximately 18 days from early January.
Dates to be confirmed by April 2025.
Inquiries and expressions of interest welcome: info@yogateachertraining.nz
Trainings are in two parts:
Part One: Diving into Practice: Yoga immersion - for Yoga lovers: Can be taken as a standalone course.
Part Two: Emerging to Teach: Immersion & teacher training with certification: Part one must be completed prior.
The 200 hour trainings includes up to 40 hours of teacher directed and supported online learning.
Part One - Diving into Practice
Yoga immersion - for Yoga lovers
5th - 13th July 2025
(break day 9th)
Part Two - Emerging to Teach
Immersion & teacher training with certification
(must be taken with part one)
20th - 28th September 2025
(break day 24th)
Course Investment
Part One only: $2,140
Deposit $500
Part One and Two: $3875
Deposit $500
Part One - Diving into Practice
We offer part one as a standalone immersion into the principles and practice of Yoga including history, philosophy, essential anatomy and guidance on developing a personalized self practice. These are all the ingredients to develop and enhance understanding and experience of Yoga as a sustaining and deepening life practice.
Who is this for?
Lovers of Yoga practice in classes and at home and Yoga teachers with curiosity and interest who want study with our passionate, experienced and highly skilled faculty who are eternal students themselves.
Part Two - Emerging To Teach
This is a practical, in-depth immersion into Yoga pedagogy, the ethics of teaching, developing effective and inspiring class plans, in-depth and relevant learning about anatomy and physiology, teaching skills, creating a brand, safe and supportive teaching practicums. The programme includes introductions to somatics, irest - yoga nidra, Restorative Yoga and more.
Who is this for?
Students interested in developing and sustaining a teaching practice.
Students who successfully complete both parts one and two of this training receive a 200 hour Contemporary Yoga Teaching Certificate - recognised by both YogaNZ and Yoga Alliance.
The 200+ hours of Yoga teaching training is truly to an exceptional high quality standard of teaching. The guidance and support during my training with you all has been a once in a lifetime experience.
Vicki Beatty
Everyone should take this course! It is such a unique course and experience that you will not find anywhere else.
Ruru Yang
Contemporary Yoga …

Go Beyond Asana
Understand and experience the very foundation of natural, functional movement.Â
Each posture, transition and philosophy is a process that you’re lovingly and personally guided through to discover ease, stability, clarity and joy.
You’ll take profound life skills away with you, along with a personal resilience to support every part of your life.

Passionate Teachers
It’s our greatest joy to offer you the decades of experience between us.
We honour and encourage the process of curiosity, enquiry and discovery, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Each of us brings a highly specialist background and a whole lot of soul.
And we can’t wait to meet you!

Be Moved
We’ll take you deep into essential anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and postural analysis, and uncover how our natural developmental movement patterns grow into naturally aligned and easeful asana.
Get ready to go inward.
You’ll rediscover how you were meant to move and breathe in the most balanced and enjoyable way.

Live Well
Feel into the true depth of the Yoga tradition to develop skills that support and enhance your wellness as a human, and as a teacher.
This is a sustainable and nourishing training, designed to put you deeply in touch with inner resources that help you flourish on and off the mat.

Grow Your Yoga
Our vision is for you to leave confident to begin teaching safely and skillfully out in the community with a passionate sense of your own unique offering.
We’re registered with two major yoga communities - Yoga Alliance, and Yoga New Zealand.
Plus our specialised training programmes and mentorships are there to help advance you on your path.

Affordable and Flexible
This comprehensive Yoga training is designed to be within reach for students of all levels.
Choose from three formats of our 200 hour yoga teacher training throughout each year, and modules of your choice within our ongoing and specialised 300 hour training.
Early bird pricing and payment plans are on offer for all programs.
Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, Retreats and Events
What Our Graduates Say
(read more here)
From Our Blog Read All Articles >>
From Our Blog
Read All Articles >>
Reflections on the evolution of a Yoga practice and teaching practice over two decades
Over the early years of teaching yoga I am often asked by students “Am I doing this right?”
I began to question what defined “right Yoga” and then in contrast what defined “wrong Yoga”. I feel it speaks to an ingrained cultural trajectory that values getting better or improving oneself – as if there is something at the beginning that even needs improving.
This self-improvement idea translates into Yoga practice as ‘better’ or ‘good’ by being defined by how complex or bendy one can be and is often accompanied by what one looks like while preforming Yoga postures.
Meeting the challenges of training under Covid, and our policies for upcoming teacher trainings
We want to let you know how Contemporary Yoga Teacher Training is meeting these challenging times, and about our policies around upcoming teacher trainings.
As with many trainings worldwide, we are in the process of pivoting a significant part of training to be offered online, with pre-recorded videos, assignments and reflections, as well as live-streamed lessons over Zoom.
Graduate Interview: Steph Le Gros
Steph Le Gros is a recent graduate of our 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. Based in Nelson she is a trained health coach, personal trainer, reiki healer and now a qualified Yoga teacher. We put together some sentence beginnings and asked Steph to complete them.
To me Yoga is … the practice that reminded me I had a body. A sensing, feeling, alive body and all the delights that that can bring.
Teacher Interview: Amy Massey
Amy’s passion is Ayurveda which has been guiding her life for more than a decade. Her online module, Ayurveda and Yoga for Women is available from the end of July 2021.
It is my most sincere hope and intention this course may make these deeply nurturing traditions of care more accessible to women, their families, friends and communities, in turn bringing greater well being to women and children.
Graduate Interview: Emma Parsons
Emma Parsons completed her 200-hour teacher training with us in January 2020.
She was invited back to support faculty and students on our 2 x10 day training later that year. Emma teaches in Dargaville and Baylys Beach. She has started her own business called Mind, Body and More.
We sent Emma a series of starter sentences and invited her to complete them …
Graduate Interview: Charlotte Inglis
In this interview, Charlotte Inglis she shares her gratitude for the transformative power of Yoga in her life and her experiences getting started as a Yoga teacher.
Teacher Interview: Michaela Sangl
This week’s interview is with Michaela Sangl – one of the most experienced teachers of yoga for children in New Zealand and the founder of Yogi Kids Professional Development.
Her primary focus is now sharing her wealth of knowledge with educators, yoga teachers, practitioners and caregivers.
Yoga and Cacao: Part 1: Yoga Meets Cacao: Practices of Homecoming (conversations with Steph Le Gros)
Steph Le Gros is a health coach, personal trainer, Reiki practitioner, and qualified Yoga teacher based in Nelson. In this three-part article, Steph talks about her passion for cacao as an important part of her yoga practice.
She introduces us to yoga and cacao as practices of homecoming; shares a delectable recipe and ritual; discusses the tradition of cacao; and finally shares some of her poetry and practices inspired by yoga and cacao.
Graduate Interview: Shelley Fitness
This week’s interview is with Shelley Fitness. Shelly completed the CY 200-hour Teacher Training in 2022. She is a school principal who somehow finds time to teach two Yoga classes a week – one for pre-teens at her school, and the other for adults at Yoga and Oils Studio in Te Awamutu.