Announcing our Advanced Teacher Training Program!

This week Emily and I are really excited to announce the launch of our Advanced Teacher Training program. As you know, we began offering our 200 Hour Teacher Training program in 2014, and next month we'll graduate our third Teacher Training class and our 21st TYR-trained yoga teacher!

This October, we're taking our training to a new level (or more precisely, Emily is taking our training to a whole new level, more on that later).

Whereas our 200 hour training provides all the instruction necessary to teach yoga, plus an introduction to teaching in an accessible, inclusive, and therapeutic style, our Advanced Training dives deeper.

In the Advanced Training, students will learn how to make yoga practice accessible and inclusive, and how to teach in a therapeutic style that is beneficial for EveryBody, including people who think they’re not flexible, people who are older, people with injuries, aches, pains, and health issues, and people with other types of special needs that are not typically accommodated in general yoga classes.

Our training program is unique and has a very specialized focus because we feel there is a need for more yoga teachers capable of working not only with the stereotypical young, thin, healthy yoga student, but also with a broader population of people who are interested in enjoying the benefits of yoga.

The TYR community had proven to us, time and again, just how powerful yoga is as a change agent in students' lives and, through our Teacher Training graduates, we are excited to be able to share our style of accessible, inclusive, and therapeutic yoga on a larger scale, outside the Round Rock area, and perhaps eventually throughout Texas and beyond.

In our 17 month, 300 hour, Advanced Teacher Training program, our students will learn how to teach yoga for:

  • Brain Trauma/Injury, Anxiety/Depression, Insomnia, Yoga Nidra, PTSD/Trauma, Chronic Fatigue
  • Heart Disease, High and Low Blood Pressure, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis
  • Hips, Shoulders & Neck, Back, Knees, Ankles, Feet, Joint Replacement, Pain Management
  • Infertility, Menopause, Scoliosis, Fibromyalgia, GI Issues, Prenatal & Postnatal

In my eight years of teaching yoga I have learned quite a lot from my own teaching experience and from my own research, but I'm very excited to personally sign up for our Advanced Teacher Training program to formalize my learning and earn the RYT-500 credential. I have a lot of respect for Emily's deep knowledge of the body and of yoga, and I'm so looking forward to learning from her.

If you're interested in learning more about our program, please click over to our new Advanced Teacher Training page. And please help us spread the word about our new Advanced Teacher Training program and how EveryBody can benefit from yoga, regardless of what they may have going on in their body.

To your good health!

Zelinda

2016 Teacher Training: Big Update!

Happy New Year! I hope you’re doing great! I’d like to share some updates with you about our upcoming Teacher Training programs.

Our 2016 200 Hour Teacher Training was scheduled to begin this coming weekend, January 9th, but last month we made the difficult decision to cancel the training for 2016 because, though we had lots of interest, only one person had actually registered.

The woman who had registered was very understanding about the situation, but she was also very motivated to begin Teacher Training. Understandably, she started looking for other TT programs in the Austin area and she found one that worked for her schedule.

She shared some of the details of the training with me, and, having known her for a couple of years and having a good understanding of what she hoped to gain from Teacher Training, I became concerned that the training she was about to sign up for would not suit her goals and end up being a disappointment to her.

Long story short, we decided that even if we don’t technically have enough people to meet our minimum, we’re going to offer our 2016 Training (in a compressed format) anyway.

We’re passionate about sharing and spreading accessible and therapeutic yoga, and since this patient lady is so enthusiastic about our particular style of yoga, we’re finding a way to make it work.

So, registration has re-opened for our 2016 200 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training!

Classes begin Friday, February 19th. Rather than our usual 11-month schedule, the 2016 training will be compressed into 8 months, so that means that some months will include 2 weekends of training. You can see the schedule details here.

We fully expect this to be a small training, with not more than 6 teacher trainees, so it will come with the added bonus of a really tiny student-teacher ratio.

If you've ever thought about becoming a yoga teacher and you truly believe in the concept of Yoga for Everybody, our Teacher Training program may be just right for you.

You'll learn not only how to teach yoga for healthy, fit people, but also how to make yoga accessible and beneficial for everybody regardless of what kinds of issues they may have in their bodies, including knee replacements, hip replacements, spinal fusions, balance issues, back pain, wrist pain, and pretty much any other kind of issue you can think of.

Please visit our Teacher Training page for more details, and let us know if you have any questions! We'll be happy to meet with you and answer any questions you may have.

All my best,

Zelinda

P.S. This will be our only 200 Hour Teacher Training in 2016. Our next training will begin in January, 2017, and after that we’ll offer it only every other year.

Congratulations Are In Order!

Congratulations are in order! Last weekend these 12 lovely ladies (and a baby!) graduated from our 200 Hour, therapeutics based, Hatha Yoga Teacher Training program.

Top Row: Me, Niki Jones, Vicky Jost, Cinzia Ubiles, Samantha Kaseberg, Kay Fairbanks, Teri Williams, Emily Bottom Row: Jan Michael, Mridula Anand, Jyothi Dodlatati, Hee Ja Henderson, Adria Ray, Karin Sladek

You may not know what goes into becoming a yoga teacher, but it really is a lot of work.

Yoga Alliance requires 180 instructional hours in the classroom, during which Teacher Trainees learn about anatomy, yoga philosophy, yoga poses (alignment, adjustments, and modifications), and teaching methodology.

On top of this, we use our Electives hours to focus on an introduction to therapeutic yoga, which is designing a customized practice to meet a specific goal.

Teacher Trainees are also required to observe and assist nine public yoga classes, then teach seven classes for their friends and family.

Our Teacher Training program meets one weekend per month for 11 months, which might seem like an easy-going schedule, but it actually is pretty demanding. Alongside all the technical learning and the challenges of learning to teach, Teacher Trainees experience a lot of personal growth.

One of the Trainees, Niki Jones, said, “Emily [the Director of Teacher Training] created an environment that felt safe for personal exploration. [After this training] I am much more patient with myself and others. I have tried to put my compassion forward and my judgement behind.”

Another Trainee, Kay Fairbanks, said that completing Teacher Training gave her a “sense of accomplishment and greater confidence.” And added that Emily “is is a very competent, experienced, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, encouraging, beautiful, and inspiring teacher. Learning from her and getting to know her was a joy!”

I think the feeling is mutual. Emily is so enthusiastic about teaching, and I know that she finds joy in guiding the Teacher Trainees on their journey to become confident, professional yoga teachers.

And of course I enjoy my time with the Teacher Trainees as well, both in the classroom and in my yoga classes where they observe and assist. They are a smart group of ladies, and I love to see the wheels turning and light bulbs turn on in their brains, especially when we cover deeper topics like Yoga Philosophy.

We can’t wait to see where our Graduates will go with their new certifications! Some plan to begin teaching in studios, gyms, or community centers, some will teach yoga for their colleagues at work, some plan to include yoga in the care plans of their patients. Wherever they go, we know they will be great.

If you’re interested in becoming a yoga teacher, or maybe just deepening your personal practice, please note that our 2016 Teacher Training begins January 9th. We’re currently accepting applications, and you can find more information on our 200 Hour Teacher Training page.

We second Niki’s words: “It is so much more than just a certification. I would recommend it even if you don't want to teach. It can help you be a better human.”

We agree completely. Yoga practice can help you be a better human. And Yoga Teacher Training amps it up to a whole new level.

XO,

Zelinda