Long Beach City College is now offering a yoga teacher training program to aid student mental health and employment opportunities.
The program is “an in-depth journey into the fundamentals of teaching yoga, designed to empower students,” Rick Anderson, who teaches the program at LBCC, said.
It became available in January 2024, and has 18 students enrolled with 16 set to graduate in the spring according to Anderson.
Dario Guerrero, a student in the program, fell in love with yoga after an injury last year.
“I was messing around on a skateboard and broke my leg. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I saw that LBCC was offering yoga for the summer and I loved it,” Guerrero said.
“Yoga is more than just a workout,” said Guerrero. “It is a philosophy and a system of life. It goes beyond just breaking a sweat. You become a better person.”
This notion of yoga improving students’ lives is exactly why Anderson pushed so hard for this program.
“There was a big demand for this, not just with students but with administration too,” said Anderson. “The program will create jobs and better student’s mental health”.
Not only does yoga aid students with their well-being, the yoga teacher training program offers employment opportunities as well.
“When Rick approached me about the yoga teacher training program, I saw that the demand for yoga was growing. It was helping students with their mental and emotional health. I said ‘Let’s go for it,’” said Grace Pokorny, Department Head for health science and health education at LBCC.
The yoga teaching training program is designed to be accessible to those interested.
“In two semesters and 16 units, you can be certified to be a yoga teacher. It’s open to anybody. Rather than paying 3,000 dollars somewhere else, you’re just paying for 16 units here,” Anderson said.
The road to becoming a yoga teacher becomes much simpler after completing the program.
“You can get certified here, register with Yoga Alliance, and go straight into a job at the YMCA, a gym, or a yoga studio,” Anderson said.
The yoga teacher training program, and those similar, creates opportunities for students they otherwise would not have.
“It wasn’t something I knew about before. I can see myself teaching yoga now,” said Guerrero.