My Vinyasa Practice

My Vinyasa Practice, often shortened to MVP, is a yoga studio in Austin, Texas and an online yoga school. The school at school.myvinyasapractice.com is where learners take its self-paced teacher trainings, continuing education courses, meditation certification, yoga therapy training and somatic courses, and it is the part of the business this entry covers. The studio's About page says it started in 2016 in Michelle's garage studio as a place for newly trained teachers to gain experience, and the school's home page says that the same year MVP started facilitating online yoga teacher training at the 200 hour level. It now describes itself as "an online yoga community with over 80,000 users in over 100 countries", and the school's headline promises "Over 100 Accredited Certifications in Yoga, Somatics, Meditation, Mindfulness, & Business".

Teacher training at 200, 300 and 500 hours

The core product is online yoga teacher training in three tiers. The school's home page lists a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training for people just starting out, a 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training for teachers ready to refine their voice and expand their practice, and a 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training for those who want to master the craft and teach professionally. In the page's words, "All programs are Yoga Alliance certified, 100% self-paced, and delivered online", so there is no cohort start date to wait for.

The FAQ explains how the online format meets Yoga Alliance standards. The 200, 300 and 500 hour programs are described as fully registered with Yoga Alliance and meeting current educational requirements, including philosophy, anatomy, methodology and practicum. Students complete interactive assessments, submit teaching videos and receive personalized feedback from the lead trainers, and after graduating they are eligible to register as an RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. The main site adds that trainings can also be completed in Austin or on retreat, and the menu lists in-studio teacher trainings next to the online ones.

The teaching material is broad. The main site lists recorded live lectures, pre-recorded lectures, guided meditations, asana practices and digital anatomical models, and it names sequencing, cuing, hands-on adjustments and assists, modifications, trauma-informed techniques and inclusive language among the topics. The school stresses that it does not push every graduate into one mold: "Not every teacher looks the same. Your lived experience, your voice, and your healing matter." Graduates might lead classes, work one-on-one or bring yoga into coaching or therapy. One verified Yoga Alliance review on the school's home page, from Laura Humphrey, calls the course "comprehensive covering Asana, pranayama, and philosophy".

Continuing education, yoga therapy and somatics

For working teachers, MVP sells continuing education. The school's home page offers a Yoga Therapy Certification that teaches students to apply yogic principles "through a trauma-informed, therapeutic lens", along with Yoga Alliance CEU courses for teachers maintaining their credentials. The main site's menu also lists an IAYT Yoga Therapy Certification and a Yoga Therapy Clinic. According to the FAQ, specialized modules such as Trauma-Informed Yoga, Yoga Therapy Foundations and Ayurvedic Nutrition are eligible for Yoga Alliance CEUs and can be submitted for NASM CEUs and IAYT professional development, "depending on your membership type", with documentation available on request.

Somatic healing is another track. A post on the MVP blog describes it as an approach that integrates body awareness and movement to process trauma, stress and emotional blockages, and explains how to become a somatic healing practitioner through the school. The menu also includes coaching courses and corporate wellness, and the blog mentions free online yoga courses such as Yoga for Anxiety for people who want to try the teaching style first.

The meditation certification as an example

The Foundations of Meditation Certification shows how a single course is set up. It is a self-paced, remote continuing education course "Accredited with Yoga Alliance", and the course page says it accounts for 75 CEUs. Learners study breath awareness, mantra, mindfulness, loving-kindness and yoga nidra, along with the science of meditation and its effects on the nervous system, and how to adapt practices for different students. The course details list a minimum of 6 weeks, prerecorded lectures, e-books, one-on-one support and mentorship, and the only material needed is a composition notebook for journaling. All required texts are included in electronic format, together with pre-recorded video lectures, asana practices with Michelle and PDF downloads. A syllabus is available to download.

The course page names the teachers: Michelle Young, described as a certified Yoga Therapist specializing in Cardiac, Cancer, Eating Recovery and Behavioral Health, supported by Tara Cleven, E-RYT 500/C-IAYT. The page sums up the course as a "blend of traditional practices and modern science", offered "With lifetime access, expert mentorship, and a trauma-informed approach". Student testimonials on the page come from a longtime practitioner who wanted a path to teaching and from Karen Howser, who needed "a flexible training to be able to facilitate meditation for my team".

How the online school supports students

Support is more than a help inbox. The main site lists weekly office hours, weekend lectures, free community events and one-on-one Zoom sessions with lead trainers, plus peer support. The meditation course page describes live support during business hours with various weekly live calls. The school's home page promises lifetime access to content and live support, and the FAQ says graduates get lifetime access to job placement support, alumni networking and business-building resources.

Two apps extend the school. The MVP School App brings training and certification content to iOS and Android, and lets students download courses to keep learning anywhere. The MVP Wellness App gives access to the studio's library of pre-recorded classes and live-streaming classes. One reviewer on the school's home page, Alyssa Zerebecki, says the virtual format let her study on the go while working full-time with two children.

Refunds, funding and studio prices

The refund terms are clear. The school's home page advertises a "30 Day Money Back Guarantee", and the FAQ says that if you are not satisfied within the first 30 days of enrollment, "you can request a full refund", no questions asked, by contacting the support team in that window.

Tuition is not printed in the text of the training pages. The meditation course page's metadata carries two different figures, $250 and $420, so the price shown at registration is the one to go by. For funding, the main site's menu includes a MyCAA scholarship application and a page on paying with HSA or FSA funds.

The Austin studio has its own pricing. Classes and workshops at the Highland Studio, on the ACC Highland campus, are open to the public on a donation basis, seven days a week. Studio memberships cost $120 a month for unlimited classes, $175 a month for unlimited classes for two members, or $1,000 a year, and all three include 20% off MVP merchandise, one guest pass a month and one private session a year, with the annual plan adding the MVP Wellness App. The studio calls itself "the only brick-and-mortar studio" combining daily donation-based yoga, a live-stream studio, apps, free outdoor events and teacher training, and shows a 4.9-star rating from 284 Google reviews.

Who it suits

MVP suits a new teacher who wants a self-paced 200 hour training that fits around a job and family, with Yoga Alliance registration at the end and live calls and mentors along the way. It suits working teachers who need CEUs, especially those also tracking NASM or IAYT requirements, and coaches or wellness professionals who want a meditation or somatic qualification to add to their practice. Austin locals get the added option of in-person classes and trainings at the studio.

The caveat is the one that comes with any self-paced program: with no cohort schedule, finishing depends on the student's own discipline. Learners far from Austin will do everything online, with the in-person studio community out of reach.