Professional yoga teacher training and continuing education

Learning objective: Understand the origins, development and aims of yoga and apply its ethical foundations to your own teaching.

Topics

• History and development of yoga, its aims and common misconceptions
• Hatha yoga and its classical texts, with an introduction to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika
• Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the eightfold path (Ashtanga)
• Yamas and niyamas as professional ethics for teachers

Learning objective: Understand the musculoskeletal system functionally and apply that knowledge to postures, variations and hands-on support.

Topics

• Bones, joints, ligaments and joint mechanics
• Muscles and fascia, muscle chains and how they work together
• Spine and pelvis
• Shoulder girdle, elbow and wrist
• Hip, knee and foot
• Anatomical variation: why bodies arrive in postures differently

Learning objective: Understand the body systems that breathing, relaxation and movement techniques act on, and know how to respond in an emergency.

Topics

• Breathing mechanics and respiratory physiology
• The autonomic nervous system, the stress response and recovery
• The cardiovascular system and exertion
• Homeostasis and basics of exercise physiology
• First aid in yoga classes

Learning objective: Analyse forces and load in postures and derive safe variations, progressions and alternatives.

Topics

• Levers, forces, stability and mobility
• Alignment based on individual proportions rather than a template
• Standing postures, forward bends, backbends and twists
• Inversions and arm balances
• Load on the spine, knees, shoulders and wrists
• Progressions, regressions and purposeful use of props

Learning objective: Adapt practice to limitations and capacity, recognise boundaries and know when to refer to a doctor or physiotherapist.

Topics

• Foundations and limits of yoga therapy
• Health questions before class and how to act on the answers
• Adaptations for complaints in the back, neck, shoulders, hips and knees
• Yoga for stress and exhaustion
• Contraindications and warning signs
• Working with doctors and physiotherapists, and referring to specialists

Learning objective: Build classes in a structured way and guide students clearly, safely and respectfully.

Topics

• Class structure and sequencing
• Language, cueing and demonstration
• Observing and adjusting: verbally, and with touch only after consent
• Mixed-level groups and one-to-one sessions
• Teaching environment and safety

Learning objective: Shape your role as a teacher professionally and plan your path into teaching.

Topics

• Professional ethics, boundaries and responsibility
• Basics of liability and insurance
• Class offers, pricing and self-employment
• Routes to further qualification

Learning objective: Deepen your own practice and perform, vary and teach postures precisely.

Topics

• Sun salutations and vinyasa transitions
• Standing postures, forward bends, backbends and twists
• Inversions and arm balances with preparatory stages
• Yin and restorative yoga
• Props: blocks, straps and bolsters

Learning objective: Practise and teach breathing and meditation techniques safely, including their contraindications.

Topics

• Ujjayi, alternate-nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana), Kapalabhati, Bhramari and Sitali
• Contraindications of breathing techniques
• Meditation: concentration, mantra and mindfulness
• Relaxation and yoga nidra

Learning objective: Progress step by step from cueing single postures to teaching a full class, putting feedback into practice.

Topics

• Cueing single postures and short sequences
• Teaching in small groups and in front of the whole group
• Classes with adaptations for mixed-level groups
• Feedback from the lead teacher and the group
• Final practice class: teaching a full session