Bogota looks to certify students as yoga instructors and launch yoga minor

By Zoe Strozewski | Published by March 22, 2019

Since the school was founded in 1855, Kean’s College of Education has given students the chance to be trained as teachers in areas such as early childhood education, physical education and, most recently, yoga. Tara Lynn Bogota, from the School of Health and Human Performance within the College of Education, has pioneered an initiative to certify students as legitimate yoga instructors, while also aiding in the creation of a yoga minor at Kean.

Bogota is a full time faculty member responsible for teaching courses on yoga and gymnastic fitness, as well as providing advisement for physical education and teacher certification. Before becoming part of the Kean community a little over a year ago, she owned her own health and wellness business where she instructed on yoga and natural foods cooking.

Her decision to transition over to a university was inspired by her passion for teaching and desire to contribute her talents to the student body.

“Being able to be the person who introduces yoga first time to students was exciting to me,” Bogota said. “It’s just kind of a culmination of me feeling like everything I had done to this point could really help me share more with this university.”

A teacher since 2003 and practitioner of yoga for approximately 20 years, Bogota has a goal of both spreading the practice and the ability to teach the practice.

“My mission is to share yoga with as many people as possible. Yoga is so mainstream now and so many different students moving into the professional realm can share the teachings of yoga with whoever they work with, whether it’s clients, organizations or coworkers,” Bogota said.

The 200-hour certification program will be carried out through Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit organization for yoga educators.

“Yoga Alliance is basically the gold standard within the industry. We’re in the process of getting our curriculum approved through them,” Bogota said

Upon completion of this certification program, students will be able to apply the skills they learned in a variety of areas, such as personal training, social work and even corporate settings.

“It is a foundation, so students are certainly encouraged to continue their education. There are other levels after that, but that is the basic certification,” Bogota said. “It’s very entrepreneurial, where they can do with it whatever they choose.”

There are currently two yoga courses offered at Kean. The first, Yoga I or EXSC 1023, focuses on the physical action of yoga, the history of yoga, meditation, mindfulness and breathing techniques. The second, Yoga II or EXSC 2023, offers a more thorough study of the practice and teaches students how to organize and build their own classes.

The proposed yoga minor would consist of three required classes and then a set of electives. Interested students will be given the opportunity to complete both the certification and minor in conjunction with each other or complete just one without the other.

According to Bogota, student reception to these new opportunities has been warm, especially because her yoga courses are already being taken in high numbers and her services are frequently requested.

“Each semester I teach about eight sections of yoga and to be honest they’re always really full, between 20 and 25 students. I’ve definitely spread the word and it’s getting out there through just teaching that course,” Bogota said. “Now I feel like the word is growing as well because I’m getting different groups on campus asking me to come and lead classes or workshops.”

On top of the certification program and yoga minor, Bogota is now beginning to offer free yoga classes for both faculty and students in the D’Angola facility every Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.. These classes will feature the Ashtanga Primary Series, a type of modern yoga.

“It’s a little bit more of a vigorous practice, but it can be modified and it has a very rich tradition. It was a practice when I was studying with my mentor that we did religiously almost every day,” Bogota said.

Overall, Bogota believes that the practice of yoga has an array of physical and mental benefits for anyone who partakes in it and can be especially useful in the context of a university like Kean.

“It’s a very holistic practice where we really are interested in the wellness and the wellbeing of the individual. For college students and even faculty, it decreases stress and lowers anxiety and helps with depression,” Bogota said. “Yoga is also a therapeutic approach for addiction or mental health, so it is quite diverse. I just think a huge benefit is overall balance.”

---