Join Holly Krepps, Matthew Krepps and Stela Balaban from Circle Yoga Shala for four training weekends beginning Fall of 2026. Each 4–day weekend covers asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, biomechanics, and more! You’ll deepen your practice and understanding as you become a yoga teacher.
In the 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, we teach you what is foundational to all of the styles of yoga you may encounter or have an interest in practicing and/or teaching, which means a thorough grounding in the five techniques of Hatha Yoga: stillness (asana), rhythm (vinyasa), breath (pranayama), integration (bandha) and presence (drushti).
You will learn how to language and sequence these techniques in ways that continuously reveal their wholeness and that invite infinite creativity on your part. How you arrange them and establish a dominant focus moves them toward “styles” like restorative, vinyasa flow, alignment-based, etc.
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN
- Teach any “yoga style” and “level” with confidence and ease.
- Prepare elegant sequences that are filled with intelligence and creativity.
- Empower your students to keep themselves safe and to modify practice according to their individual needs.
- Professionally and successfully interface with students and studios.
- Be equipped to carry elevated conversations about yoga philosophy.
- Learn how to work through your own coping strategies.
- Find your authentic teaching voice.
- Pursue a path of genuine service to yourself and your community.
- Gain the support of a team of master teachers and an extensive network of graduates.
- Leave with the method to address your entire life in a new way.
- Become part of a lineage that understands the whole of yoga while not being required to take on new beliefs
Intensive 1: September 17–20
Intensive 2: November 12–15
Intensive 3: January 14–17 (inclement weather dates February 4-7)
Intensive 4: March 4–7
Times:
Thursday 4:00-8:00
Friday 8:30-12:00, 1:30-6:00
Saturday 8:30-12:00, 1:30-6:00
Sunday 8:30-12, 1:00-4:30
The 200YTT tuition begins with a non-refundable
$200 deposit to secure a spot
Save 10% when paying in full $2650 or pay $732.50 per intensive. financial aid/scholarship/work study opportunities available upon request
Homemade healthy meals & snacks available – $199 for all intensives. A light meal on Thursday evenings + 3 lunches and daily snacks, coffee, tea etc throughout the days.
If you are making up hours from another CYS 200-YTT, please note the daily schedule, as it differs from other trainings. The cost per intensive is $732.50 (unless you prepaid for your training). If you’d like to participate in person, you are responsible for securing your accommodations (there is one on-site at EL). Contact Stela to confirm your attendance and to determine your outstanding balance. Additional fees include the cost of virtual learning ($200/intensive) and lunches ($15/day).
Holly Krepps, Founder of CYS, C-IAYT, E-RYT500:
Holly has been a practitioner of the system of Yoga since 1992. Before her full-time endeavors as a yoga teacher, she had a lucrative career in broadcast media and advertising for CBS and NBC affiliates for 15+ years.
In addition, she was a consultant, public speaker, and trainer for programs such as, America’s Promise and Tennessee Partners in Education facilitating training and writing nationally implemented training curriculums on private and public sector collaborations.
After her career, she developed a yoga studio into one of the premier studios in the state. She worked an extensive private client base where she adapted Yoga and Ayurveda techniques to individuals who sought therapeutic modalities for issues ranging from structural pathologies, digestive problems, depression, anxiety disorders, and spiritual crises.
In 2009, Holly and her husband Matt founded Circle Yoga Shala, a wisdom school and a training center for teachers and yoga therapists.
Holly has been developing teachers in the Yoga system since 2000, extensively traveling to train teachers in and outside of the US.
She has been engaged in the practice and teaching of contemplative paths for the past three decades which brought her to the wisdom of the Enneagram. It touched her life deeply, as well as her teachings. She has been facilitating self-observation groups for personal transformation for the last two decades.
I lead a full and content life that is a result of fearless sensitive living and radical acceptance of what is.
If a way of ‘being’ has culminated or been reinforced from my engagement with Yoga, it is that of surrender. Surrender to the divine, and to what is happening in each moment, maintaining a felt connection to Self which is the opposite of getting lost in mechanical action as the basis for joy and peace in the midst of this beautiful play of MA(ya).
Matthew Krepps, Founder of CYS, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, Ayurvedic Chef, Philosopher, and Movement Enthusiast
Matthew has been a practitioner of Yoga and Ayurveda for three decades and has had the privilege of training teachers for over twenty years. He is responsible for developing Circle Yoga Shala’s 200-hour and 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training programs and the IAYT-accredited Yoga Therapy Program.
As an owner of a yoga studio for ten years before co-founding Circle Yoga Shala in 2009, he developed an extensive private client base for which he adapted asana, pranayama, and meditation techniques to individuals who sought Yoga as a therapeutic modality for issues ranging from structural/biomechanical pathologies to digestive problems, depression and anxiety disorders, and spiritual development.
He also utilizes his professional training as a chef to design Ayurvedic meals for those best supported by dietary change.
Matt uses Viniyoga techniques as a template for organizing strategies and approaches to working with private clients, combined with Western biological theories of development. So, the movements he uses in rehabilitation situations are gleaned and adapted from models of pre-and post-natal development and the sequence of gait acquisition that is universally observed in bipedal organisms.
His private work has grown to include designing programs for elite athletes, many of whom compete on the world stage: tennis players, bullfighters, beach volleyball players, and rock climbers.
“My work has been a crucible of convergence between eastern and western models of the human system. To that end, my life’s work is to help alleviate the suffering of individuals on all levels of being human for the purposes of flourishing and liberation.”
Stela Balaban, C-IAYT, E-RYT500:
Stela has been living next door to the Shala since 2017 and has since become an integral part of its diverse trainings and activities. Her contributions are wide-ranging, from teaching in the Yoga Therapy and Yoga Teacher Training programs to co-facilitating retreats on specialized topics like Ayurveda and the Enneagram. Additionally, she plays a crucial role in curriculum development, website management, and marketing.
Leveraging her corporate and academic experience, Stela brings exceptional organizational skills that have significantly enhanced the Shala’s offerings and enriched the learning experience for all participants. Her dedication to fostering a world-class yoga education, grounded in both ethical rigor and scientific insight, is matched by her deep respect for the sacred and esoteric essence of the teachings.
Personally, Stela is committed to building her homestead and continuing her transformative journey under the mentorship of Holly and Matt. Her passion lies in delivering a holistic yoga education that honors both the practical and spiritual dimensions of this ancient practice.
And if you’re wondering about her accent, she was born and raised in Romania. 🙂