YogaRenew

YogaRenew is an online yoga teacher training school for learners who want to teach yoga, or study it in depth, on their own schedule. Its home page puts the offer plainly: "Our self-paced, online programs will certify you to teach yoga anywhere in the world!" The school is led by its two directors, Kate Lombardo and Patrick Franco, who write that they have worked together for 10 years, co-owned two award-winning yoga studios in Hoboken, NJ, and together have "taught over 15,000 hours of yoga classes and trained thousands of students worldwide." The About page describes three pillars: teacher certification programs and courses, the YogaRenew app, and an in-person studio in Hoboken that it calls its HQ. The home page also states that YogaRenew is a Registered Yoga School (RYS®) with Yoga Alliance.

The core teacher trainings

The main path is three programs: the 200 Hour, 300 Hour and 500 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training. All of them are online and self-paced. The home page lists what an online training with YogaRenew includes: lessons on demand through an online database, printable handouts and workbooks so learners can study offline, live Zoom classes where students "interact with other yoga students and teachers from all around the world," and lifetime access to course materials on any device. Courses and certifications sit behind their own login on Teachable, separate from the app login.

The Yoga Alliance link is the detail a future teacher should note first. The home page says: "YogaRenew is a Registered Yoga School (RYS®) with Yoga Alliance. Upon graduation, you can use your certification to register as a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance." For anyone planning to teach at studios that ask for a registered credential, that is the practical value of the certificate.

Graduates' reviews on the testimonials page fill in how the 200-hour program runs. One describes written content and video lectures plus "live calls that happen every single day of the week (yes, even on weekends)," including anatomy calls, live practices and pose dissections. Another mentions exams, writing class plans and observing yoga sessions, and says the course covers yoga traditions, Sanskrit, basic anatomy, the structure of a yoga class and marketing tools for the business side of teaching. Others mention quizzes, feedback on assignments, sequencing guides and class scripts, and "complimentary live Zoom calls for students and graduates to continue their education and log in continuing education credits." These are reviewers' accounts rather than a published syllabus, and the home and About pages do not print prices for the three core trainings.

Specialty certifications and workshops

Beyond the core path, the course menu lists specialty certifications in breathwork and pranayama, Yin yoga, restorative yoga, prenatal yoga, children's yoga, mindfulness, mindful eating, yoga anatomy and yoga philosophy, plus a Vinyasa Yoga Sequencing Lab. A workshops and continuing education section offers specialized courses "including Ayurveda & more!", and the school also runs yoga retreats and in-person classes.

The Yoga Philosophy course is the one the site documents in full. It is a 30 HR online, self-paced course taught by Julie Pasqual, and the course page says it is "Eligible for YACEP credit with Yoga Alliance." Topics include understanding the soul, the three parts of the mind, samskaras, the senses and the Upanishads, material versus spiritual, the gunas, the law of karma and the yugas. Two longer units cover the four traditional paths of yoga and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with the yamas and niyamas, concentration, meditation and samadhi. The FAQ adds "classical and modern yoga philosophies (like Vedanta, Bhakti, Karma), yoga history, and how to apply these teachings to your life and teaching." Delivery is by video modules, downloadable readings, a comprehensive manual and guided reflections, and learners are introduced to the harmonium and practice chanting sacred mantras. Once a learner finishes all required modules and any assignments, the FAQ says, they receive a certificate from YogaRenew confirming completion.

The course page shows a one-time payment of $297.00, offered on sale for $97, or 4 monthly payments of $79 a month, offered on sale at $39 a month; the sale price carried an end date. Enrollment includes lifetime access and a 30 day guarantee: "If you'd like to unenroll for any reason, just let us know within your first 30 days and we'll refund you in full."

The YogaRenew app

The app is the school's practice membership, separate from certification. The home page says it offers live and on-demand classes, series, challenges and workshops, works on a computer, phone, tablet or Apple TV, and starts with a 7-day free trial. A free account opens over 200 free yoga classes and pose tutorials, ad-free, with favorites and offline viewing, and classes can be browsed by experience level, goal, intensity or duration. Subscribers get "over 1,000 on-demand classes, in-depth courses and workshops," along with series, daily live classes and exclusive live events led by the school's teachers, according to the About page. The press page notes that the company launched free classes in a new version of the app for International Yoga Day 2025.

Teachers and reputation

The About page introduces the full instructor team, from the two directors to teachers such as Julie Pasqual, Mélie Purdon, Joe Miller and Joanne Silver, several of whom also lead the free classes the site links to. The home page says the directors recruited teachers they had trained and worked with in the greater New York City Metropolitan area to lead its classes. Kate Lombardo, per her bio, has a background in education and taught for over a decade in her own studios before YogaRenew moved online; Patrick Franco's bio credits him with knowledge across yoga and eastern medicine.

The testimonials page shows 10,000 five-star ratings and a 190 countries figure, and the home page carries the line "Rated The #1 Online Yoga Teacher Training Program Internationally" beside a Trustpilot badge. Reviews on the testimonials page come from Trustpilot and Google, and the same themes recur: self-paced study that fits around a job or children, lifetime access, and live sessions that keep online students from feeling alone. One graduate writes: "I could not have picked a better school! The program is in depth. The teachers are knowledgeable and helpful."

Who it suits

YogaRenew suits someone who wants a teacher training from a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School without moving to a studio's timetable. Parents, people with full-time jobs and career changers appear again and again in its reviews. The live Zoom classes and graduate calls answer the usual worry about online training, which is learning alone, and lifetime access means the material stays available long after certification. Students who already hold a 200-hour certificate can continue to the 300 and 500 hour programs or add a specialty such as prenatal, Yin or children's yoga. Working teachers looking for continuing education can start with the Yoga Philosophy course, and practitioners who only want classes can begin with the free app tier.

The trade-offs are those of any self-paced program. Without fixed deadlines, finishing depends on the learner's own discipline, so the daily live sessions are worth building into a routine. A buyer comparing schools will also want the price of the core trainings in hand before deciding. For people near New York, the Hoboken studio and the retreats add an in-person option; everyone else trains fully online, which is how the program is designed.