2011-2012 Yoga Therapy Certification Programs

In this comprehensive, 300-hour Yoga Therapy Certification program, the curriculum is 50% theory and 50% hands-on practice. The learning environment intensive, yet nurturing, and in addition to daily curriculum, students will participate in daily asana practice and meditation. Students will also be living and sharing meals together and will be encouraged to conduct self-exploration during the training process. Those with 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training approved by Yoga Alliance may also receive 500 hours advanced Yoga Teacher Training certification with specialty in Yoga Therapy.

Programs

Topics for the program

• Functional Yoga Therapy

  Instructor: Maria Kali Ma

  Utilizing the techniques of ancient yoga practices, modern Structural Yoga Therapy techniques, Integrative Therapeutic yoga models and Ayurvedic yoga concepts, this program will delve deeply into hands-on assessment tools and their practical treatment applications. Beyond basic anatomy, physiology and range of motion experience, this class will explore advanced anatomy & physiology and its relationship to specific structural and physiological issues within the body. In addition, using the panchamayakosha model of yoga therapy, the human body will be studied as a sacred temple with all of its myriad complexities from both an assessment and individualized therapeutic application.

  Participants will be guided in teachings pertaining to advanced postural assessment, range of motion, muscle strength & flexibility testing and practical ayurvedic concepts related to the assessment and treatment process. Specific tools will be taught; from the use of a goniometer, specialized balls for release, & Marma point concepts, to the understanding of the client’s emotional anatomy and training in practitioner sensitivity & awareness. Most importantly, each participant will gain a deeper understanding of themselves in their own journey of enlightenment.

  Each day will involve hands on work related to the specific topics being taught. Participants will both experience and facilitate all assessment techniques taught. Participants will have a more thorough understanding of specific symptomatic presenting issues, while maintaining the greater focus of the client as a fully integrative whole human being.

• Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy

  Instructor: Dr. Marc Halpern

  This course is designed for yoga teachers to advance their knowledge and training in both yoga and ayurveda. Participants will learn how to adapt yoga classes toward the specific needs of each individual. Graduates will be able to provide deeper instruction in the use of asana, pranayama, chanting, and meditation for healing based upon ayurvedic principles. Participants will also take a deep journey of healing inside themselves, exploring their own ayurvedic constitution and how to create a lifestyle that leads to inner peace and healing.

• Adapting Yoga for Heart Disease

  Instructor: Nischala Joy Devi

  Learn how to meet the special needs of cardiac patients. This curriculum is both instructional and experiential and is ideal for yoga teachers and health professionals who would like to safely share yoga with people living with heart disease. Specific topics include: the yogic view of disease, lifestyle and dietary considerations, risk factors, the physiology and psycho-social aspects of heart disease, and the adaptation of postures and breathing practices and relaxation techniques.

• Yoga for Chronic Pain

  Instructor: Neil Pearson

  Yoga therapists require an understanding of the pathophysiology of common disease processes in order to provide individualized yoga instructions and ensure the safety of students and clients. Equally important is a clear understanding of tissue healing and the neurophysiology of pain. Over three days, you will explore common injuries, diseases and pain from a biopsychosocial perspective. This knowledge will be integrated with the wisdom of yoga, enhancing and broadening your perspective of yoga as a preventative and rehabilitative modality.

• Healing our Backs with Yoga

  Instructor: Lillah Schwartz

  Transform chronic and acute back issues with this customized therapeutic program. Lillah will clarify the alignment and action principles of yoga, introduce a simple set of poses that can be applied to a wide range of back conditions, and offer a practical understanding of stretching physiology and how it applies to our yoga practice. The yoga philosophy skills of kindness, self-study, and reverence toward our greater Being will be exercised.

• Yoga for Grief

  Instructor: Antonio Sausys

  Grief is the body’s response to loss, any loss. When going through any given condition, we not only loose the ‘dream of a healthy life’ but we also experience the loss related to the restrictive nature of the condition’s symptoms. It is then important to identify some symptoms related to grief and to learn ways to address them. In this workshop participants will learn about the physical symptoms of grief, its psycho-neuro-immunological bases and a set of simple Yoga exercises to address them while aiding the psychological transformation of grief into a resource of personal growth. A comparative analysis is made of the Western and Eastern models of the Psyche stating the importance of the psychic centers’ involvement (particularly the ‘Heart Chakra’) both physically and emotionally and specially in regards to the yogic theory of Attachment. The methodology alternates theoretical lectures with experiential work.

• Yoga for Cancer

  Instructor: Antonio Sausys

  This course integrates techniques, thoughtful insights and, why not!, humor, towards a very dynamic class intended to provide practitioners with tools to better understand and cope with life with cancer. Suitable for those having or having had Cancer as well as those related to it, rather than presenting random series, this workshop features the use of specific series and techniques to accomplish specific goals. These goals include coping with the secondary effects of treatment and surgery as well as establishing a new psychosomatic dialogue with the body towards a stronger identification with the Spiritual aspects of the self that cannot have cancer. The emphasis is on the relationship of the physical techniques with their mental and spiritual correlates to empower those with cancer towards personal realization.

• Yoga Nidra

  Instructor: Karen Soltes

  Integrative Restoration (iRest) is a modern adaptation of the ancient meditative process of yoga nidra. During this workshop Karen guide you through the process of iRest using didactic lecture, interactive dialogue, and experiential practice. You will learn how iRest can serve as an effective tool that you can integrate into your professional and personal practice. iRest yoga nidra offers a clear-cut process for transformation and a context for how transformation unfolds as well as a framework for accessing the healing presence of pure Awareness in the healing process. This presentation will challenge and inspire you to approach yourself, your students, and yoga therapy as portals for experiencing the healing and ever-present nature of unconditioned, nondual awareness.

  Successful research has been conducted with the US Military to assess the efficacy of iRest for healing stress-related disorders (PTSD) in servicemembers returning from deployment in the Iraqi and Afghanistan warfronts. Significant research results have also been obtained using iRest with the homeless and college students. The protocol for these studies was developed by Richard Miller, PhD and is written about in his book, Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga (Sounds True) and in The Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy (Paragon House) in the chapter “Welcoming All That Is.”

• Yoga of Recovery

  Instructor: Durga

  This is the first comprehensive course to combine Ayurveda and Yoga with traditional recovery tools to offer a more holistic mind, body, spirit approach to addiction and self-destructive behaviors. This course is for therapists, social workers, addiction counselors, sponsors, yoga teachers, Ayurvedic practitioners etc. Anyone interested in a more holistic and complete view of the problem and its solution. Bringing the west (12 Steps) and the East (Yoga and Ayurveda) together offers us a truly empowering approach to counseling those who embark on a program of recovery. It is the evolution of the solution. Upon completion of the course you will have the skills to introduce the healing potential of the holistic sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga into your own life and those around you.

• Yoga for Depression

  Instructor: Amy Weintraub

  For thousands of years, yogis have understood what current research in neurobiology and clinical observations are demonstrating — that, working with a body and breath-based practice, we can manage our moods. LifeForce Yoga interweaves the power of an ancient discipline with current scientific findings to help you release what’s no longer serving you — withouut a story attached! In this two-day training, you will learn and practice breathing exercises, easy postures, guided meditations, and other experiential yogic tools for mood management that are not often taught in regular yoga classes but are useful in working therapeutically with individuals and groups.

  Suggested for Practice: Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga (Broadway Books), LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues – Level 1 & Level 2 (DVD) LifeForce Yoga® CD Series.

Schedule

The program’s daily schedule is as follows:

• 6:30–7:00 Morning Meditation
• 7:00–8:30 Morning Asana Practice
• 8:30–9:30 Breakfast
• 9:30–1:00 Morning Class
• 1:00–3:00 Lunch and Free Time
• 3:00–5:30 Afternoon Class
• 5:30–6:00 Personal Asana Time
• 6:00–6:30 Evening Meditation
• 6:30–on Dinner and free time

Home study

In addition to the 28 days of the program, students must complete 50 hours of home study between the first and second sessions, giving students the needed hours for their 500-hour Yoga Alliance certification. Home study is a very important part of our program, as it allows students to really integrate and learn to utilize what they are learning. It is designed to give students hands-on experience with interviewing clients, doing assessment and prescribing yogic tools.

Reading list

Required Reading

• The Secret Power of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi
• The Healing Path of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi
• Yoga for Depression by Amy Weintraub

Recommended Reading

• Overcoming Addictions by Deepak Chopra
• Ayurveda and the Mind by David Frawley
• Yoga Nidra: The Heart of Meditative Yoga by Richard Miller