ORIGINAL HOT YOGA
TEACHER TRAINING 2026

Do you want to be a Hot Yoga Teacher or do you want to take your practice to another level? PURE Yoga Institute’s 30-day Teacher Training will immerse and prepare you to teach an energetic and dynamic 90-minute Original Hot Yoga class. We also have training “audit” packages available for those interested mostly in the “deep dive!”

Do you have questions about PURE Yoga Institute’s Teacher Training? Watch the video below from our March 7, 2023 Information Session

Led by Mardy and Jeff Chen from PURE Yoga Texas, along with industry veterans Erin Frank, Afton Carraway, Christopher Totaro, Lea Zemmour, Laine Edwards, Ida Jo Pajunen and Scott Lamps, our curriculum consists of 300+ hours of practice and study and will prepare you to be an effective teacher at your home/mentoring studio. Our goal is that each trainee is equipped to reach the Original Hot Yoga Association standards for a Level 1 Original Hot Yoga Teacher.

Nothing compares to an intense and immersive teacher training experience.

The next 2026 intensive will be in Austin, Texas, from Saturday, July 11 through Sunday, August 9, 2026. We start our pre-requisites in late March, 2026, with weekly Sunday evening, 2-hour Zoom calls, designed to keep you on track and accountable for your important preliminary readings, recorded video content, and class teaching dialogue memorization. You will take on your own personal 30-day hot yoga challenge during the month of June at your home studio to prepare you physically and mentally for the 30-day immersion in Austin, Texas, where you will complete your training. Click here to view the 2024 calendar of topics covered during the intensive.

Mardy Chen has been practicing hot yoga since 1998 and teaching since 2002. Jeff Chen has been practicing since 2000 and teaching since 2008. Together they now own and operate three (3) hot yoga and fitness studios in Texas, with their first location in 2003. They have been fixtures in USA Yoga Asana Championships for over 15 years and dedicated 10 years to the scientific study and research into hot yoga. They traveled to the Ghosh Yoga College of India with friends and colleagues Scott Lamps and Ida Jo Pajunen (ghoshyoga.org) to deepen their understanding of hot yoga as a therapeutic system of yoga. You will learn from their two decades of practicing, teaching, owning and operating yoga studios and leading others through their transformational journeys.

Your PURE Yoga Institute faculty are OHYA Level 3 experienced hot yoga teachers and seasoned veterans of teacher trainings with specializations in the following:

  • Christopher Totaro [2006] (Anatomy and Physiology)

  • Afton Carraway [2007] (IAYT 1500 hour Yoga Therapy)

  • Erin Frank [2009] (Doctor of Physical Therapy)

  • Lea Zemmour [2012] (Nurse Practitioner and PhD Candidate)

Click here to watch the Information Session held on March 7, 2023

Teacher Training Details

  • Trainees are responsible for transportation, lodging, and meals and required published book purchases. We will provide all other learning materials, mats, towels, and yoga clothing laundry service. We have refrigeration space for each trainee’s personal meals. We will also register you as an OHYA Intern.

  • • Two classes per day, every day (except Sunday)

    • Daily Posture clinics and teaching workshops

    • Lectures include Anatomy and Physiology with Christopher Totaro, Yoga Philosophy and History of Yoga with Scott Lamps and Ida Jo Pajunen (ghoshyoga.org), Medical protocols with Lea Zemmour, Yoga Therapy and Pregnancy Yoga with Afton Carraway, and Physical Therapy and Yoga with Erin Frank

    • “Stand and Deliver” Sunday practices to work towards a full class delivery by the last week of training.

    • Personal and professional development, including special guest teachers.

  • $3800 Early Rate if Fully Paid by December 31, 2025

    $4100 Rate if Fully Paid by February 28, 2026

    $4500 Payment Plan ($1500 on 1/31/26, 3/31/26, and 5/31/26)

    All the above do not include lodging or meals.

“So much fun! Instructors were so knowledgeable, kind, and passionate about their topic presented. The training was physically and mentally intense, but I loved it. A word of advice: Memorize at least through Cobra Pose before the 30-day intensive starts in July!”

— PURE Yoga Teacher Training graduate

Teacher Training FAQ

  • For those coming in from out of town, we can assist in the search for suitable lodging. The summer months tend to have rooms available for rent within a 10-15 minute walk from the studio. The earlier you inquire, the better!

  • Whole Foods Market headquarters is 0.4 miles away. Trader Joe’s is 0.5 miles away. There are several coffee shops and restaurants nearby, as well.

  • Generally you should commit to being at the training facility anywhere from 12-15 hours per day. Start times vary, but generally 9am to 9:30pm Monday through Friday and 8am to 6:30pm on weekends. There will be enough half hour and 1 hour breaks to nourish and replenish. Get ready. It’s intense!