Becoming an Iyengar Yoga Teacher
Teacher Training with Lulu Bull -Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher
TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMME:
As per the guidelines, before commencing training with Lulu at the studio the applicant will need to have personal practice of Iyengar Yoga for 3 years*, and have regularly attended classes over that time, preferably to the level 3 standard.
LEVEL 1-Teacher Training
To attain the teacher certificate at level 1 the trainee will need to have completed:
At least 300 hours of teacher training
100 Hours of assisting (With Lulu )
Completed a basic physiology and Anatomy course (36 hours)
Have a current CPR certificate
Have professional liability insurance (The trainer will fill out a statement of compliance form)
Receive a referral of" readiness to sit assessment" from their trainer (Lulu)
Generally speaking, the training will take 2 years however, the readiness to sit assessment will be determined by Lulu at the time.Lulu tends to take on no more than 4 or 5 trainees at any one time.
NEXT INTAKE FEBRUARY 2024
Yoga Teacher Training is run alongside an apprenticeship program.
This format will vary for those who live close by to those who attend from a distance.
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For those close to the studio :
The training times run weekly over a 10-week term where you are required to attend the following sessions /classes.
2 Classes per week with Lulu
Tuesday level 2, 530 p.m. Thursday level 3, 930 am2 assignments per term covering Yoga principles, philosophy, and the Yoga Sutras
A fortnightly Teacher training session on teaching techniques and the practice syllabus for level 1. Wednesdays 12.00-230 pm x 5.
Assist on the Friday 9:30 am level 1 class
Practice with Lulu -Fridays 11-00-1.00 pm
Attend Lulus January 5-Day Intensive
Attend and assist Lulu on her annual 5-day residential retreat.
Cost per 10-week term $1000
(retreat and workshops not included ) -
For those who live at a distance the format will vary.
Lulu will require that the trainee attends:
A week long" in house “ programme once per term.
This equates to 4 weeks per year.
This is minimum and we encourage all trainees to come as much as they can.Completes all assignments
Attends 2 classes on zoom per week where feasible.
Attends both the 5 day January intensive and the 5 day residential retreat (and assist)
Completes the necessary hours of training and assisting as per guidelines
Applies for assessment when lulu feels they are ready .
If the trainee lives close to an Iyengar studio ,an arrangement can be made to work in accordance with a local teacher.
Cost :Please email lulu for the breakdown of costs here
“It is relatively easy to be teacher of an academic subject, but to be a teacher in art is very difficult, and to be a yoga teacher is the hardest of all, because yoga teachers have to be their own critics and correct their practice .
The art of yoga is entirely subjective and practical. Yoga teachers have to know the behaviour of the people who come to them and how to react and be ready to help, protect and safeguard their pupils .”
New and Ongoing Professional Development
Lulu offers bi-annual Professional Development sessions for teachers wishing to upgrade or simply maintain their professional standards.
These sessions can be attended on zoom or in person at the studio.
Sessions for current Level 1, 2, or 3 teachers are available.
Next professional development session
Level 2
June 22 and August 24
$80 per session
Yoga Teacher Training Testimonials
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I undertook teacher training with Lulu Bull officially in 2020. Prior to this I spent multiple years attending classes, eager to know more, discover deeper parts of myself and be involved with this community.
Teacher training for me began just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was the only trainee to be with Lulu at this time which made me slightly nervous but mostly very excited to have the privilege to be working so closely with her.
I knew I wanted to work with Lulu because I was inspired and captivated by the way she delivered and taught the practice of Iyengar Yoga. Every class maintained such a high quality of attention and precision.
My experience of Teacher Training at the Blue Mountains Iyengar School is that it has honestly been the most invigorating, challenging, and transformational experience of my life. A program which has continued to keep me accountable even through the fluctuations of everyday life. I feel excited and blessed to know that I will forever continue to study this fascinating art and science.
The commitment to attending regular weekly classes, teacher training sessions, while also assisting and demonstrating countless practices under Lulu’s guidance has never felt like a chore! If anything, this program has ignited a further passion and dedication for the tradition and linage of Iyengar Yoga.
Lulu has always been professional, encouraging, and appropriate in her approaches to training. The continuous feedback throughout the years has not only assisted my teaching development but also allowed me to recognise and challenge my own limiting beliefs. I feel blessed to have had this opportunity and have grown immensely from dedicating my attention to this practice and program. I am now looking forward to a lifetime of study and professional development in Iyengar Yoga.
Thank you, Lulu, for providing a space in which this could take place and sharing your years of knowledge and depth of practice.
Courtney Rattle
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Lulu's Professional Development course online was extremely detailed, precise, and informative.
Lulu's aim for the weekend was to help us understand our own practice more deeply, cultivate clarity, and observe how this informs our teaching.
She is always open to assisting with questions and supporting limitations with compassion and encouragement.
Perfect for all levels to help deepen your practice and teaching. -
I am currently undertaking my Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training with Lulu Bull in the Blue Mountains, NSW. At present I am working towards my Introductory Level 2 Certificate. One of the main reasons I moved to the Blue Mountains 5 years ago was because Lulu trained her teachers through an apprenticeship rather than a course.
My training consists of the following;
I am required to attend a minimum of two classes a week with Lulu.
We have a teacher training session once every fortnight with all the trainees, where we are required to teach or practice in front of Lulu.
We are required to assist Lulu in one of her weekly classes.
As a part of our training we all teach at least two regular classes within the school.
Above all, it is expected that we have a consistent daily home practice of Asana and Pranayama.It is a huge commitment of time for my family and I. It takes dedication and discipline for myself and also for my husband, who looks after our son while I teach and practice, at the end of his own working day. Doing this style of training has reaffirmed to me that Yoga teaching is not just a job that you leave behind when you go home, but a way of life. Since undertaking the training my home practice has become very strong. My husband and child know that it is a part of my day and have adapted to that. One of the most valuable things I have learnt in my training is that a sustainable home practice will feed my teaching long after my Introductory Certificates are completed.
With this intensive style of training I feel like I am under the constant watchful eye of my teacher. I see my teacher at least three, sometimes four times a week. The amount of information that I receive formally through training sessions, and classes and informally through being a part of the yoga school and community, is rich and vast. Although I feel comfortable to approach my teacher with questions at any time, my queries are always answered before I have a chance to ask, either through a class or an observation or a point that she has made. The apprenticeship style of training is a constant exchange of information verbally and non verbally and it seems that sometimes my teacher can read my mind.
My teacher sees me in at least two asana classes a week and is consequently familiar with my body, it’s patterns; it’s strengths and weaknesses. Although a lot of my findings are from work on my own mat, my teacher is able to shed light on things that I have missed and give guidance on a way forward. I find this invaluable.
I regard my apprenticeship as a conversation between my teacher and myself, as opposed to a course that has a definite beginning and end. As my teaching and my practice become stronger we decide on a time to sit for the exam. This feels like a very natural and organic way of working. In the apprenticeship style you train solely with the one teacher. I have respect for her as a teacher, practitioner and as a yogi. With this respect I entrust that she will guide me in the right direction. My experience with Lulu and the Blue Mountains Yoga School is inspiring and fulfilling, as a yoga student, as a teacher and an individual. I feel very blessed.
Lulus Reflections on Teacher Training
Lulu Bull, Senior Teacher, Blue Mountains Yoga Studio
When I reflect upon how I became a teacher, I realise it was in the traditional form of an apprenticeship.
After a few years with various teachers, I settled with one teacher with whom I stayed with for many years. Attending classes, practising in the same room, doing all the intensives, retreats, assisting in class, all this punctuated by regular visits to Pune to study with the Iyengars. It wasn’t ever a set frame time, the readiness to progress to the next stage, determined by my teacher. At some stage I was asked to start teaching all the morning classes and when it was deemed appropriate I began the process of assessments. (Again the time frame between these was determined by my teacher).
However this was not the main thrust of the experience, it was the practice and lots and lots of it!! This was closely followed by assisting, attending classes and being involved in all aspects of running a school. This suited me, I wasn’t in a hurry, I lived close, I was young and I saw the many benefits of being near my teacher and having daily contact.
27 years later, and with over 20 years of experience running my own school, I have adopted the same approach with my trainees. On average there are 4-6 trainees at any one time, they may be at different stages of their training, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Those who are at the same stage seem to “buddy –up “ together to practice and those in earlier stages have the advantage of having them as mentors . The mix is good!
The emphasis is on practice and the understandings that come from time spent on the mat .The time frame for when they apply for assessments is determined by me and their readiness. It requires that they are totally committed to spending a lot of hours at the school, in class, practising, assisting, teaching, with an additional day every fortnight specifically for teacher training. And of course visits to Pune and where appropriate attending workshops with visiting senior teachers. It is an ‘in close’ experience, constant feedback, dialogues between trainee and teacher..so the relationship has to work, it has its benefits and its frustrations at times.
It does require that they live at a distance to make all this feasible, to allow them to fulfil all requirements.
From my perspective, it is a very different experience to attending a set teacher training course within a specific time frame. An apprenticeship system will not only train you as a teacher, but ultimately it supports you to develop your own practice, this being the natural source from which you can therefore teach. The teaching is more intuitive and less rote learnt. It produces yogis who are strong practitioners.
It is an on going process, an age-old method of passing on knowledge. Overall it may take longer, but the experience is rounded, the equivalent of a slow cooked dish, the flavours are rich and full, to be savoured not rushed.