Announcing our 200-hour and 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certifications in 2024!

Yoga Teacher Training is one of the most fulfilling experiences of a lifetime. Whether your aim is to deepen your knowledge of the philosophy, root more firmly into your own practice, begin a path of teaching, or continue seeking the deeper layers of wisdom contained within you - our trainings are irreplaceable.

Yoga is a lifelong journey. It is a transformation of your inner and outer worlds. It awakens you to your life, and your ability to create it, in a profound way.

Our programs are experiential and interactive. We will give you the skills you need to safely, confidently and compassionately guide yourself and a variety of students through their own yoga practice. And we will continue to support your learning as you grow and evolve.

We offer both a 200-hour Inter-disciplinary Yoga Teacher Training and a 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training to serve you. The 200-hour program is offered as a 3-week immersion and the 300-hour program will be a combination of 1-week immersions and weekend master class-style modules. Each exceeds Yoga Alliance standards for excellence and certification.

Led by beloved local instructor Anne Howard, our Yoga Alliance certified programs are eclectic, inter-disciplinary approaches to Yoga with a broad focus on various asana techniques, pranayama and yoga philosophy. We appreciate Yoga in all its forms and intend to give students an understanding of the primary traditions and theories while encouraging them to find their own comfort and voice.

OFFERING 200-HOUR & 300-HOUR ADVANCED PATHWAYS...

YOUR GUIDE

Anne Follenbach-Howard
eRYT-500

DIRECTOR OF YOGA TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM + YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Anne asks us to follow our heart, to allow our yoga practice to open doors of happiness and true knowledge.  She urges us to slow down, enjoy every step, accept who we are, and notice which fears block our hopes, potential and freedom. Her credentials are vast but what is truly inspiring is that she never repeats the same combination of movements and asanas. For every class she follows her intuition and honors her students in that moment. In her words, “I have the privilege and the honor to see my students evolve. They open their wings with elegance, each with its own colors, shape, heart, and voice. They help each other create new possibilities, new strength, appreciation, and joy. I feel blessed to be part of their yoga journey. They motivate me and continue to invite me to explore the yoga philosophy, "L'art de vivre" in the present, full of respect and true love for all ‘light’ on earth.”

Anne honors and lives the wisdom of yoga, with a continual search to find communion between Jnana, Bakti and Karma (knowledge, divine love and action).

A beloved teacher with 10,000 hours of experience, she leads classes that are ever evolving. Challenging, yet balanced with softness, relaxation and humor.

Anne has been leading our Teacher Training Programs since their inception over 10 years ago. Anne received her initial 220-hour yoga teacher certification from Stephanie Keach in 2008. She has since studied Ashtanga with Tim Miller, David Williams, David Swenson and David Garrigues, Anusara Yoga, Vinyasa with Sean Corn, Anatomy with Stephanie Keach and Leslie  Kaminoff, and Power Yoga with Beryl Bender Birch. Anne is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a eRYT-500 Instructor and Continuing Education Provider since 2009. She is also certified in Yoga for Trauma, Pre-natal & Yoga for Kids. 

My personal yoga practice was something I’ve always wanted to advance, something I thought I could do by reading books, practicing with different teachers and learning from videos, but never in my life considered teacher training. Previously, my practice consisted of pushing my body to its limits in power yoga classes and in heated studios. I thought this was what yoga was about – building tolerance and strength by challenging your mind and body through asanas. However, this perspective quickly changed after just one class with Anne. I’ve since embraced the beauty and challenge of a thoughtfully curated, intentional vinyasa flow. 

Just 4 days prior to starting our first day of training, I severely injured my lumbar area. I arrived to an 18-hour weekend of training sitting on a mat and hardwood floor with oils, creams, ice, heat, bolsters, blankets, anything to comfort me in a room full of new faces. I felt embarrassed, nervous, so out of place, and questioned whether I should’ve been there. The learning environment that Anne provided was free of criticism and judgment, full of wisdom and compassion. I was humbled by the sacred space, community, and support co-created by my classmates that first day. What a rush it was to share this beautiful energy with this group. I was eager to return the next day and the weeks after that. The days were long and painful on my back, but my heart and mind were overjoyed. Over the months, I was able to self-rehabilitate my back by practicing yoga every day, as much as I could tolerate. By the end of training, my back healed to the point of attempting inversions. I thought inversions were so out of sight, out of my realm of capability, that I never considered them in my practice. It was in this training that I’ve been empowered to attempt any inversion of my choosing with grace, poise, and humility. In this training, I learned so much beyond inversions and asanas. 

I learned introspection through yoga philosophy, a lifelong practice that I will carry with me forever. At a very challenging time in my life when I felt alone having moved to a new town, across the country from everything I knew, so out of touch with who I was and what I desired, I was invited to this training when I needed it most and to have the community of my classmates when I needed it most. Anne helped me shine a light on my shadows and helped me break through the barriers that I’ve unconsciously placed on myself. I am very grateful to have been a student in this training, to have had Anne’s guidance when I frequently doubted my aptitude. What a gift it has been to expand my yoga journey through Anne’s knowledge and teachings. If you’ve ever felt a calling in your heart to do something and then receive a personal invitation to embark on that journey, that is the power of the universe’s divine timing and alignment, a clear sign of awakening. Completing this training was my own awakening, and I am so fortunate for it. - Jen Yang

Having sealed the mala of our first yoga training together, I can look back at where I - where we - began and say that what I have learned and how I have had my heart and eyes opened since the beginning of this training has far surpassed my expectations

Anne, beyond the shadow of a doubt, has devoted her heart and soul to living and breathing the life of a true yogini! She shared every ounce of her years of knowledge and wisdom and the message is one of Love. She shared it wholeheartedly and without reservation.

I feel that Anne has amply prepared us to go out into the world and, like bharadvajas, share our knowledge and Love with the world. I feel beyond blessed to have been guided on my journey of Yoga at the tutelage of Anne Howard! Truly the journey of a lifetime.

I would take another training from her in a heartbeat. - Mary Syrrist 

How do you even begin to evaluate something that has changed your life? When I hear people shake out their mats, toss them around and just throw them to the floor to prepare for class I visibly shudder, because I find it so disrespectful now.

I now think of yoga with the reverence it deserves, and that is a gift that I know I only received because of the knowledge Anne provided. I also know that gift is immeasurable.  This training, just like Anne herself, has been the perfect blend of sthira and sukha. The training material and weekends of classes were very difficult, so difficult at times I wondered if I would get through them. Then you would provide a beautiful poem, or perfect meditation that would give me the courage and sense of ease in my heart to know it would be ok. Sthira and Sukha always doing the dance.

I remember the first weekend and going through the handouts, and books, and talking about adjustments and just feeling completely overwhelmed. But, oh what a method to the madness. You have designed the training in such a perfect way.  The foundation from that first weekend held up. Each layer that was added with each weekend of training and materials provided, brought a greater sense of clarity and wisdom. I would not suggest changing a thing about the training, and I could not come up with one thing I think did not work. I will be studying the books and all of our handouts forever.  I will not pack them away, they are too precious. - Beth Fariss

Very few experiences in life alter its course in such a powerful, unexpected and beautiful way.  Outer Banks Yoga’s Teacher Training - brilliantly taught by world class instructor Anne Howard - is absolutely one of them.  

The program is meticulously and seamlessly orchestrated behind the scenes - which means participants can sit back with confidence and relax and know that all that needs to be taught is being taught, and that Anne, for over two hundred hours, refers to not one instructional note (not one) - it all comes from her heart and the place that only a gifted, inspired and experienced yogi can access. 

I knew I wanted to take the course and I knew for over a year that it’s commitment to the authentic tradition of yoga fit me perfectly. 

But the truth is after weekend two, I felt strongly I was out of my element and that every other person in class was more advanced than I. Then the real learning about yoga and myself began.

Yoga is about so much more than poses and nifty outfits.  It is about mostly how you choose to live life - truthfully, without attachment, with love and light and the desire to spread all of that to the world. 

I was hooked and I was back full throttle to dedicate myself to the parts that scared me - the poses.  I had been holding myself back - unknowingly - after breast reconstructive surgery - having been told I would be lucky to one day regain range of motion.  I didn’t share this with Anne until many weeks later ... after she had supported me to a headstand, a wheel and a full back bend.  Flexibility back - strength back - self esteem highest as I’ve had in years. 

If I could put into one sentence what Anne and this course did it was “to open doors to possibilities and give us the keys to walk through.”  

We are nearing the end of our scheduled trainings - but we are all positive that there is no end to what has begun at this modest, pure, loving and special studio - you see family and love and light have no end.

I am forever grateful for this opportunity to enhance my yoga practice, deepen my understanding of myself and others and join a family of like-minded people who I’m convinced will change the world. 

Thank you Michelle Madden Smith - owner and orchestrator extraordinaire - and Anne Howard - yogi teacher and mentor - for the details seen and unseen that make this program unique, impactful and life enhancing.  Forever grateful. - Dianne Beard 

“My experience at the Amalam School of Yoga at Outer Banks Yoga was truly a unique one, a comprehensive interdisciplinary teacher training in Kitty Hawk North Carolina. Studio manager and teacher training director Anne Follenbach Howard, quickly became the instructor I naturally gravitated towards as a student, as I was eager and diligent to deepen my practice and Anne immediately became so obvious, as a passionate and endless source of yoga knowledge and direction.

My practice became a lifestyle, sometimes taking multiple classes a day and the benefits became hard to ignore. My thirst for more knowledge of myself and yoga seemed endless and it was Anne who was always there with an answer about the asanas, insight to the lineage, and sincere encouragement, even sometimes a maternal nudge of discipline. After several invitations to partake in the teacher training, I apprehensively agreed and with all due sincerity it quite possibly could have been one of the greatest decisions of my adult life.

I now teach at four yoga studios and co-own one of them I teach a multitude of classes weekly and have manifested a loyal following of people who seek of themselves and great health, relationships and friendships that have now so obviously become priceless. Yoga, as a student and now an instructor, has given to me happiness that is immeasurable. It’s truly an honor to be a graduate of the Amalam School, and the confidence and pride in my teaching is direct result of being under the tutelage of Anne Howard, I’m a teacher to hundreds now but I’ll always be her student, some teachers are too special to equal.  So, in review, after speaking, visiting, attending classes at just about everywhere, it’s not presumptuous to say I feel like I’m a graduate of Harvard for yoga. I know that with the knowledge I’ve acquired with Anne, at the Amalam School, I could teach anywhere with confidence providing a safe and beneficial environment for all my students.

So if it is paramount that you’re calling is to teach yoga or just to deepen your practice, please, please, please treat yourself to perhaps the greatest 220 hour gift one could give. I sat with Anne  for 200-plus hours and the woman never once was redundant in her instruction, solely because of the honesty in her teaching. Anne truly lives yoga, and thanks to her I too live yoga.” - Scott Lawlor

My life and my practice have been forever changed, and I would not have it any other way. Anne shared so much good knowledge and wisdom with discipline, tenderness and love. I simply can not begin to describe how much I have  taken from this training. The best part about it all is... this isn’t the end, it is just the beginning. Anne is a true gem on this little beach of ours.  - Denitzza Ramirez

“Signing up to become a student in Yoga Teacher Training with Anne Howard of Amalam School was one of the kindest and most challenging things I've ever done for myself. I feel as if I've been forever changed for the good in many ways; physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. The enhancements Teacher Training brought to my life are immeasurable. If you are considering signing up, I encourage you to take the leap! Even if you aren't interested in teaching, you will not regret the investment of time and money. You are investing in yourself, and you will come out stronger, more inspired and your happiness will increase. Open the door, step inside. A whole new world is waiting for you.” - Karen Bachman

”In 2016, I came for the stress relief and to touch my toes.  And stayed because I discovered so much more in a world I truly didn't know existed.  I was hooked.  Separate from the physical, I began to see the mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of the yoga practice, and I wanted to learn more. Two years later, I registered for the 220-hour yoga teacher training program through the Amalam School of Yoga and never looked back. Studying under the wise sage Anne Howard has been uplifting and inspiring, a testament to her kindness and grace. Through this training, I overcame some of my own fears (headstands, kale, and Sanskrit terms, to name a few). I enjoy encouraging my students to overcome their own fears and self-doubt, to stretch their bodies and minds further than they thought possible, and to leave the practice with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. When not on the mat, I run a management business with my wonderful husband, have raised three kind young men, love to play tennis, dig in my garden, and search for beach glass. 

And yes, I can now touch my toes.” - Kelly Shields

"In some ways yoga teacher training was everything that I expected.  I knew i would grow from the experience. The fear and uncertainty I felt while contemplating the training signaled to me that growth would certainly take place. I just did not know how or in what ways.  I did not expect to be so moved, inspired and more awakened after just one day of training.  The training gave me the knowledge, practice, and confidence to begin teaching and to assist fellow yogis on the path, but it also strengthened my foundation personally, encouraging my heart to open and compassion to flow freely.  I am so grateful to Anne and my fellow trainees for what has been and still very much is a beautiful learning experience." - Amy Landes

"YTT at Outer Banks Yoga is absolutely amazing! The organized, caring and commitment of Anne is so special! She "cooks" each student in a motherly way, making sure we are ready. Students can continue to grow/ learn even after the 240 hours are complete.  Anne and fellow classmates keep their door open for comments and questions, always!  It is truly an honor and privilege to be part of the Outer Banks Yoga kula. You should do it!  - Linnea Woodson

“Having Anne as my yoga teacher has been healing and inspirational. There is so much wisdom and compassion that radiates from her. I can’t really explain in words how I have been touched emotionally and spiritually just by being her student, but she’s able to speak to my heart through her teaching.” – Dominique Sprouse

“I am thankful for the physical mental and spiritual gifts you gave from your heart during the Yoga Teacher Training Class. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” – Sue Reynolds

“As a yoga teacher, I want to help others realize the divine light that they have inside of them, the same way Anne has encouraged and supported me. I am so thankful for her guidance, kind words, and knowledge she has shared with me. She really pours her heart into this training!” – Sarah Lucento