The Ultimate Guide to Lineage-Based Yoga Teacher Training
Choosing a yoga teacher training is a significant decision. For many students, it marks a turning point—not only in how they practice yoga, but in how they understand themselves, their health, and their relationship to the teachings.
With hundreds of yoga teacher trainings available worldwide, it can be difficult to discern what truly constitutes a high-quality, lineage-based education. This guide is designed to support you in making an informed choice, particularly if you are seeking depth, authenticity, and long-term growth rather than a fast-track certification.
What Is Lineage-Based Yoga Teacher Training?
A lineage-based yoga teacher training is rooted in a living tradition that has been passed down through generations of teachers and students. Rather than drawing from a mix of trends or fitness-based approaches, lineage-based training emphasizes:
Direct transmission from teacher to student
Consistency and integrity of methodology
Respect for traditional teachings while adapting intelligently to modern life
Ongoing lifelong studentship, not just certification
In classical yoga traditions, lineage ensures that what is being taught has been practiced, tested, and refined over decades or centuries by dedicated practitioners.
Why Lineage Matters in Modern Yoga
In today’s yoga landscape, it is common to find teacher trainings that blend multiple styles, techniques, and philosophies carelessly into a single program. While this can appear comprehensive, it often lacks coherence and depth.
A lineage-based approach offers something different:
Clarity of practice – each posture, sequence, and teaching has a purpose and has been practiced over a long period of time, it does not include trendy new additions
Depth over breadth – students learn why practices work, not just how to perform them
Sustainability – practices are designed to support lifelong health and adaptability and stem from the underlying philosophies
For students who wish to teach, or who simply want yoga to be a meaningful, lifelong path, lineage provides a stable foundation.
The One Yoga Method: A Foundational 200-Hour Training
The One Yoga Method Foundational Teacher Training is a complete 200-hour program offered through two intentional 100-hour immersions. This modular structure allows students to integrate their learning over time while receiving a full, internationally recognized yoga education.
Students may complete one 100-hour immersion as a stand-alone experience or continue on to complete the second 100-hour training to receive their full 200-hour certification. To learn more, visit our 100-Hour Foundational Training page. This format also prepares students for One Yoga’s advanced training and therapeutic training pathways.
Learning From a Living Lineage
One Yoga’s Founder and Lead Trainer, Ryan Leier, has trained hundreds of yoga teachers over more than a decade. His teaching is shaped by a deep commitment to personal practice and continuous study.
Ryan is a senior student of Srivatsa Ramaswami, one of the world’s foremost teachers of Vinyasa Krama Yoga and Yoga Philosophy, who learned directly from the renowned guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya. This lineage informs every aspect of the One Yoga Method, including breath-centered sequencing, intelligent progression, philosophy, and traditional chanting.
Ryan’s approach is not static. His teaching continues to evolve through ongoing study, inquiry, and lived experience—ensuring that students receive an education that is both traditional and deeply relevant.
A Highly Intentional Approach to Yoga Education
One Yoga has become synonymous with the highest quality of yoga education available. This training is not a generalized blend of styles or a trend-driven interpretation of yoga.
Instead, it is:
Highly intentional
Carefully structured
Rooted in classical teachings
Adapted with precision for modern practitioners
Each element of the curriculum builds upon the next, creating a coherent system of practice, teaching, and self-inquiry.
Meet the Teaching Team
Ryan is supported in the trainings by his partner Dani Hébert, senior teacher and director of One Yoga. Dani has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and studying for more than 15, with thousands of hours of training and teaching experience in the Sri T Krishnamacharya lineage.
Her background includes:
Yoga therapy from the Svastha School with the Mohans (Sri T Krishnamacharya lineage)
Extensive experience teaching diverse bodies and needs
Deep study within the Vinyasa Krama lineage with Sri Shubha and Srivatsa Ramaswam (Sri T Krishnamacharya lineage)
Dani brings a therapeutic, embodied, and compassionate perspective to the training, ensuring students are supported not only intellectually, but physically and emotionally as well.
Who Is a Lineage-Based Training For?
This type of training is well suited for students who:
Want more than a surface-level certification
Are interested in yoga as a lifelong practice
Value depth, integrity, and mentorship
May or may not intend to teach, but want genuine understanding
Are seeking personal transformation alongside professional training
Who want to be viewed as a leader and serious practitioner and teacher
Many students enter the One Yoga Method training for personal growth and later feel naturally prepared to teach, many teach and many choose not to.
Immersive Learning and Integration
The immersive format of One Yoga’s 100-hour trainings allows students to step away from daily distractions and fully engage with the teachings.
Immersion supports:
Deeper embodiment of practice
Strong community bonds
Focused study and reflection
Meaningful integration of philosophy and practice
This depth is difficult to achieve in fragmented or purely online formats.
Preparing for Advanced Study
The Foundational 200-hour training is not an endpoint—it is a beginning. Graduates are well prepared for:
Advanced teacher trainings
Yoga therapy education
Mentorship and continued study
Teaching from a place of confidence and clarity
Because the training is rooted in lineage, students have a clear pathway forward.
Choosing the Right Yoga Teacher Training
When choosing a yoga teacher training, consider asking:
Who trained the lead teacher, and with whom do they still study?
Is the training rooted in a clear lineage?
Does the curriculum feel coherent and intentional?
Is there an emphasis on practice, philosophy, and personal inquiry?
A high-quality training should leave you feeling grounded, empowered, and inspired to continue learning.
Continuing the Journey
If you feel drawn to a lineage-based, immersive yoga teacher training that values depth, integrity, and lifelong practice, the One Yoga Method Foundational Teacher Training offers a supportive place to begin.
You may choose to join a single 100-hour immersion or complete both modules to receive your full 200-hour certification and prepare for advanced study. Learn more and enroll via our 100-Hour Foundational Training page.
Yoga is not something to be rushed. When taught with care, clarity, and respect for tradition, it becomes a profound companion for life.
