With both our ‘in person’ weekends and your ‘out of weekend’ study, our mission is to deliver comprehensive trainings so that you are ready to teach at the end of the course.
Every course is different, and the needs of you as a student will always dictate how and what we teach. Our syllabus is adaptable, which means that we focus on giving you understanding and confidence as a teacher rather than ticking off a checklist of ideas without fully understanding them.
Through the modules in the syllabus, we aim to give you an understanding of the four cornerstones of yoga, Awareness, Breath, Movement, & Rest.
You will explore these four cornerstones in their application to your own practice as well as learn how they shape what you teach.
Awareness means you will explore the meditative side of yoga, developing a mindful practice, and also bolster your knowledge to understand what really is yoga anyway.
You will explore the importance of breath in yoga, develop good breathing habits as well as look at traditional yogic breathing exercises.
An important part of yoga, movement means that you will develop & improve your own physical practice in postures, as well as learn and understand the theory behind common types of movements in yoga, not only for yourself but also as a teacher.
Often overlooked, rest is an important part of yoga and on the course you will spend time looking at and understanding what happens in yogic rest, so that you can competently guide others into states of deep relaxation.
As well as the four cornerstones of yoga, you also develop your skills as a teacher and learn about the practicalities of teaching yoga.
The course does not stop at the end of each weekend. As part of your course hours you are expected to complete one homework assignment each month. There is also an expectation that you will develop a dedicated self practice at your home, and you also have the optional of assisting Laurence at his public lessons.
The above content will be delivered through specific modules.
A discovery of where yoga comes from and the thinking behind it, Patanjali’s philosophy of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, including the Yamas and Niyamas, learning from teachers past and present and gaining insight into different forms and styles of yoga.
Gaining a deeper understanding of the workings of your wonderful ‘Inner Space’. Even though we explore individual systems in the body (for example, the skeleton, fascia, the digestive system, respiration etc), we look at the body as a continuous network of aliveness, spending a great deal of time exploring the somatic / felt sense, especially relating to our spines. You’ll discover why your pinkie toe affects your neck, the jelly-fish concept, the wonderfulness of T12 and more. And most importantly, how your physical body dwells within your emotional, subtle and mental bodies.
There are dedicated anatomy-based workshops, however, you will find the anatomy weaves itself into all aspects of the course.
We also look at how to deal with some ‘common’ medical conditions that may present themselves in classes, such as arthritis, cardiac and respiratory issues and more.
Understanding the reasoning behind asana and ‘modern’ asana; questioning alignment ques by recognising, understanding and assessing different body types and abilities – why people look different in the same posture; learning gentle adjustments according to the individual’s needs, and understanding why asana isn’t the goal of yoga. You will often hear us say: it’s not what it looks like, it’s what it feels like. We encourage somatic movement, emphasizing internal physical perception and experience.
Looking into the subtlety and power of the breath and prana, and how the soft, quiet breathing from the Yoga Sutras can change our lives profoundly. We see how some ‘modern’ breath practices dovetail so perfectly with yoga breathing, and delve into safe and mindful ways to practice these various breathing techniques, including some pranayama practices.
The juicy stuff of Yoga: Learning some Kriya from the Hatha Yoga tradition, getting in touch with your Bandhas, discovering the Pancha Koshas, understanding the Vayus, experiencing the vibrancy of the Chakras, the balancing of your Nadis… and inviting Kundalini to stir (perhaps even awaken).
In order that we might stop the whirlpools of internal chatter in our mind having power over us, we practice, compare and contrast meditation methods and techniques from different traditions. These include sense withdrawal, concentration, mudras and mantra, all of which can take your practice to the deeper levels.
Besides keeping you in balance in life, deepening your self-practice is also the key to your teaching. There will be times on your training and teaching career, and in life it’s self, that you may feel overwhelmed, and it’s these times that your own practice is so important. We spend precious time developing your intuition in your practice, so you become your own ‘guru’: listening to the beautiful song of your body, breath and mind.
We explore how to take yoga ‘off the mat’ and find out things of interest to you. Time is put aside on the course for research days, where we spend time with books and practice to develop your specific interests.
Explore different relaxation techniques, so enabling a complete letting go in Savasana and in life. This includes the powerful meditation technique of Yoga Nidra (psychic sleep meditation) so that you can not only experience the power of using visualisation techniques, but also gain the tools and understanding to lead these meditations yourself.
This includes: Planning and Teaching Classes, Self Evaluation, Teaching as a Vocation, Health and Safety/Emergency Action Planning, Risk Assessments, Safeguarding, Legalities and the Business of Yoga.
By the end of the course you will have the tools to start up your yoga business and be a safe, relaxed, happy, confident & professional yoga teacher, teaching in a style of your choice.
Sometimes being a Yoga Teacher can feel very lonely, and as much as we try to prepare you for all eventualities that may arise when you start your teaching journey, inevitably something else may happen! We offer post qualification mentoring and support, where you are always welcome to contact us regarding any challenges that may arise in your teaching career.
We invite you to workshops and teacher get-togethers, and have a dedicated wats-app group for our teachers to share experiences and ask questions, so you never need to feel alone – you are always supported by like-minded yogary-folk.
We do require that you complete and log a minimum of 20 hours Continual Professional Development per year. Even though we do offer CPD, you do not need to complete this with us, as we’d be happy if you find workshops and courses that further your own interests. The details of CPD will be discussed on the course.
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