200-Hour Yoga Alliance Approved Yoga Trainer Training Certificate Program

About the program

Etkin İnsan Gelişim Institute, founded in 1999, has been training yoga trainers in Turkey since 2007 and has trained more than 4,000 of them. The 200-hour program is the foundation of this path: someone just starting yoga and someone who has been on the mat for years can join the same program.

As of 2007, the Yoga Trainer Certificate Program, started in cooperation with the Ege University Continuing Education Center, became the first yoga trainer training in Turkey to receive state university approval.

Etkin İnsan Gelişim Institute is the one and only Yoga Alliance approved fully comprehensive institute in Turkey. Since 2007, it has successfully completed yoga trainer trainings in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Antalya, as well as on Zanzibar Island and Bali Island.

Program aim and objectives

• Being able to implement the basic philosophy and discipline of yoga for a healthy life.
• To contribute to the consciousness of being human in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual integrity.
• To teach yoga's basic philosophy, bodily postures, breathing studies, sense - focus - concentration - meditation and relaxation methods to those who want to adapt yoga to life or to become a trainer.

Program content

The program runs from the philosophical foundations of yoga to the skill of teaching a class. Every topic is covered both in theory and in practice.

• What is yoga and what does it involve?
• Fundamentals and sources of yoga
• Yoga schools and branches
• The theory of yoga practice: stationary postures, breathing exercises and cleansing exercises
• Yoga as a way of life
• Yoga's relationship with the sciences
• Yoga and health
• 8 steps of yoga: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi
• Yama: social discipline rules
• Niyama: individual discipline rules
• Asana: settled postures
• Prana: source of life
• Prana resources and effects of prana
• What is pranayama and how to proceed?
• Pancha Kosha – Tri Sharira
• What are chakras and what effects do they have?
• Components and structure of mind
• Self-awareness
• Spine health and its connection with life
• The importance of correct movement and posture
• Breathing exercises
• Breath anatomy
• Relaxation methods
• IRT – Instant Relaxation Technique
• QRT – Fast Relaxation Technique
• DRT – Deep Relaxation Technique
• Surya Namaskara – Sun salute series
• Kriyas – body cleansing exercises
• Yoga and nutrition
• Focus, concentration and meditation
• Types of meditation
• The teaching process and considerations
• Teaching methods
• Basic and functional anatomy

Duration, format and schedule

You can complete the program in either of two formats — both cover the same 200-hour content; only the weekly rhythm differs:

• 23 full days. Full days on Saturdays and Sundays (11 weekends), followed by an exam on one Sunday.
• 46 half days. Weekday evenings, followed by an exam on a Sunday.

In the 2026–2027 season, many weekend groups open between November and June. Contact us for current group dates and availability.

Certification requirements

The certificate is issued when all three conditions are met:

• Attending all classes with no absences
• An average of at least 70 out of 100 — written exam 60%, oral exam / participation / discipline / attitude 40%
• Submitting written and practical assignments within one year of the program's end

Photos from the program

Photos from the 200-hour trainer training program at our Istanbul studio.

Our graduates tell their stories

Post-training experiences of our graduates who completed this program.

Nelin Beste Eryılmaz

200-Hour Yoga Trainer Training · 2020

“I have meditated since childhood. I got to know the philosophy of yoga early on, and once I added the practice to my life I realized I was ready and decided to start. While searching online, I came across Etkin İnsan.”

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I have meditated since childhood. I got to know the philosophy of yoga early on, and once I added the practice to my life I realized I was ready and decided to start. While searching online, I came across Etkin İnsan.

My aim was first to practice yoga well myself, and then to spread that light to the people around me. I went deeper in my own practice. Then I taught classes to my friends and family. After that I started giving private lessons. Now I have a yoga studio of my own, where I teach more than 60 classes a month.

I have taught so many group and private classes that I can’t keep count. At first we practiced at my home or at the homes of students who wanted to do yoga. In time, though, my journey outgrew those limited spaces. I have also taught some classes as a volunteer.

There is always more to learn about yoga and about life, and I keep training myself in every sense.

Ediye Malak

200-Hour Yoga Trainer Training · 2020

“My intention was not just to get a certificate but to practice yoga as a profession. I felt the change that yoga brought, both physically and spiritually.”

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I met Etkin İnsan through social media. After a short search, I got in touch the same day and learned that a 200-hour trainer training was starting in Izmir a week later. After thinking about it for a few days, I registered. My intention was not just to get a certificate but to practice yoga as a profession.

I felt the change that yoga brought, both physically and spiritually. I think I grew during this process. Of course, my surroundings and my life inevitably changed along with it.

After completing my training, I actively started teaching yoga classes for children, teens and adults. I have also given private sessions recommended by a psychologist. We opened “One Yoga Home,” Biga’s first and only yoga studio, and we now hold our classes with our members here. Many thanks to Etkin İnsan.

All 200-hour yoga trainer training reviews (10)

Frequently Asked Questions