Our teacher training program aims to do more than help you become a good yoga teacher. There are already thousands of good yoga teachers. What the world needs now is great yoga teachers. Exceptional teachers. Teachers who do more than teach people how to stretch and read inspirational quotes.
Good yoga teachers have experienced the transformative power of yoga and strive to help students discover that power for themselves. Good teachers have taken the time necessary to become strong and grounded in their physical practice. They are patient, compassionate, intelligent, mindful in speech and action, and have a great deal of respect for the yoga tradition. We love yoga teachers like that. But it is not enough.
We need yoga teachers out there changing the world.
Our program aims for more than just teaching people sequences of postures. We aim to create genuine change in people's lives so that they can become a living example of the healing and transformative power of yoga.
Awake Teacher Training can be taken as an entire 200 hour, Yoga Alliance certified course or as individual modules for previously certified yoga teachers who wish to expand their skills and become better teachers.
*all classes will be held online for the safety of ourselves, our students, and families
Connected Anatomy, Physiology, and Kinesiology (25 hrs), Sept. 11-13, 2020
Movement is complex and the way the body moves is intricately interconnected. Piecing out the body into individual muscles and bones makes little sense for yoga teachers or anyone working with movement. Learn key terms but more importantly learn about the body’s subtle interconnections and how we can teach smart healthy movement.
Histories and Philosophies of Yoga in Practice (24 hrs), Oct. 9-11, 2020
When we imagine ourselves as a yogi, we do so standing on the shoulders of generations of some of histories brightest and most expansive minds. Exploring the rich history and philosophy of yoga enables a connection to yoga that is deeper and more fulfilling than strictly performing yoga postures. This course covers a massive span of history from Brahminical Orthodoxy all the way to the big brands of modern commercial yoga.
The Asana Toolbox: What Every Yoga Teacher Needs to Know about Postures (79 hrs)*
The core asana curriculum will examine thirty core postures that inform all yoga movement. This course will take you through:
The breakdown of the key components of safe and effective movement
The progressive movements that build yoga postures
The contraindications of each posture to make practices safer for a wider population
Variation and options to make practices more accessible
*Multiple weekends: Nov. 13-15, Dec. 5-7, Jan. 8-10, Feb. 5-7
The Empty Cup: Unlearning Meditation (25 hrs), Mar. 12-14, 2021
Forget what you know about meditation. It won’t help you teach it. In order to safely and effectively share meditation with students, teachers need to be familiar with a number of meditation techniques and their results. After this course you will not only be able to teach focal, mindful, and pro-social forms of meditation, you will have personally experienced the effects of each of them.
Demystifying Pranayama AND The Subtle Body: A Yogis Guide to the Inner Galaxy (18 hrs), Apr. 9-11
Two workshops on one weekend!
Some of the oldest and most venerated practices in yoga involve the observation and regulation of the breath. Understanding pranayama starts with the recognition that it is not about controlling your breath but allowing it to be free from control.
Biomedical science is the source for best practices in safe and effective yoga classes. But there are elements of yoga that engage our minds in different ways. Storytelling, mythology, and visualization help to tap into parts of us that, left untouched, can leave our yoga feeling dry or uninspired. Chakras, koshas, tattvas, vayus, and kundalini are some characters you will meet in your journey through the inner galaxy.
The Ethical Business of Yoga (29 hrs), May 7-9th
Becoming a yoga professional requires more than just a website and social media presence. Yoga teachers need to engage with yoga in a way that is socially, culturally, and ethically responsible. This weekend will help you chart a course that prioritizes awareness and accountability in order to help build a global yoga community that is a model of the changes we would all like to see in the world.
About Your Teachers:
Colin Hall is a featured teacher for Yoga International and the writer and host of The Yoga History Podcast. He continues to contribute to yoga both through teaching and writing. He has logged nearly 20,000 hours of in-class and, together with Sarah has trained almost 200 yoga teachers. When Colin is not teaching at the Bodhi tree you can find him at The University of Regina teaching for the departments of Kinesiology, Sociology and Religious Studies.
Sarah has been a yoga therapist for almost two decades. She has taken thousands of hours of yoga therapy, yoga, and movement training as well as having over ten thousand clinical therapeutic practice hours. Sarah pioneered yoga therapy in Saskatchewan and is a highly respected therapist, teacher, and teacher trainer. Sarah is published by and is a featured teacher for Yoga International. In 2016 she received the CBC Future 40 Award and in 2017 she was awarded the YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
Tuition
Each of the modules in this course is available to students as individual yoga workshops. Students who complete a module will receive credits toward their 200-hour certification. Students would benefit tremendously from taking the whole course in a single year, so we encourage all trainees to seriously consider enrolling for the whole course.
All of the modules are $25/hr. The all-inclusive tuition for the course is $3500+gst plus the cost of books. We realize this is a significant investment. We have been studying and teaching yoga for the past two decades in order to bring you the highest quality, most thorough, and balanced teacher training on the available. This is an exceptional program designed to create exceptional yoga teachers. Your all-inclusive tuition includes all the workshops, fifty hours of curated online classes, and a mentorship program to start developing excellent yoga classes.
Who Is This Training For?
New Teachers: Get your career as a yoga teacher off to a strong start by training with two of Canada’s leaders in yoga.
Existing Teachers: Supplement your existing training to help you become a more well-rounded, successful, and valuable yoga teacher in your community.
Yoga Lovers: If you are not interested in teaching yoga, this program is a perfect immersion for you to expand your understanding of what yoga is and what it means to you.
Health Professionals: This program can help you integrate yoga into your existing practice in a way that your clients will appreciate.