200 Hour Teacher Training
NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF INTEGRATIVE YOGA THERAPEUTICS
The New England School of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics is the home of the Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Teacher Training Programs and is connected with the Center for Integrative Yoga Therapeutics.
Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Teacher Training Program (200-hour)
Designed for teachers, aspiring teachers, and dedicated students of yoga
The mission of the Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Yoga Teacher Training Program is to promote the integration of mind, body, and spirit in the teaching of yoga. We aim to provide the highest caliber of mind-body training to help yoga teachers, mental health professionals, and bodyworkers teach yoga from a therapeutic, mind-body perspective. We seek to instill in them a sensitivity to and expertise in working with the thoughts, emotions, and physical issues of their students to reduce stress, shift long-held patterns, awaken internal awareness, and facilitate the process of healing and growth.
All trainings are held at the Arlington Center in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Continuing Education credits (80 total) are offered for this program through the National Association of Social Workers.
Accreditation:
Yoga Teachers:
The Elemental Yoga Mind/Body Teacher Training Program is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the 200-hour level. Required elements are the June intensive and each additional weekend training.
In addition, each student is now required to teach 5 hours as part of their contact hours in training.
Social Workers:
The Elemental Yoga Mind/Body Teacher Training Program is approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Provider #886459124) for 80 Continuing Education contact hours.
Psychologists:
Elemental Yoga is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Elemental Yoga maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Elemental Yoga offers 30 CE credits to psychologists for this program.
Application Process:
Our application procedure requires taking a minimum of three Elemental Yoga classes with Bo Forbes. Second, you must schedule and participate in an informational interview with one of our teacher training graduates. Please complete both of these stages of the application process before sending in your application. Thank you.
Application Process:
Our application procedure requires taking a minimum of three Elemental Yoga classes with Bo Forbes. Second, you must schedule and participate in an informational interview with one of our teacher training graduates. Please complete both of these stages of the application process before sending in your application. Thank you.
Training Dates for 2009-10:
| Weeklong Intensive | June 23-30, 2009 | $2,325 |
| Sanskrit with Nicolai Bachman | June 19-21, 2009 | $200 |
Note: Our 2009 Teacher Training Weeklong Intensive and Sanskrit dates have changed. The new dates, above, reflect this change. Thank you.
All trainings are held at the Arlington Center in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Additional training required as part of 200-hour certification
Weekend Workshops:
| Restorative Yoga: A Force for Healing | July 17-19, 2009 | $225 |
| Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | Sep. 4-6, 2009 | $225 |
| Yoga: An Energy Map to the Mind and Emotions | Oct. 2-4, 2009 | $225 |
| Art of Assisting, Level I | Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2009 | $225 |
| The Bhagavad Gita with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | Nov. 13-15, 2009 | $225 |
| Art of Assisting, Level II | Dec. 4-6, 2009 | $225 |
| Yoga Thereapeutics I: Spinal Anomalies | Jan. 1-3. 2010 | $225 |
| Yoga Therapeutics II: Chronic Pain, Arthritis, Anxiety, Insomnia, Depression, Pregnancy, Hypermobility |
Jan. 29-31, 2010 | $225 |
| Yoga for the Emotional Body: Healing Anxiety, Insomina, and Depression |
Feb. 26-28, 2010 | $225 |
| Sequencing: The Architecture of a Yoga Class | March 26-28, 2010 | $225 |
| Yoga Therapeutics III: Balancing Asymmetries | April 23-25, 2010 | $225 |
Training Dates for 2008-09:
| Sanskrit, Levels I and II | June 28, 29, and 30, 2008 | $200 |
| Weeklong Intensive (Core Training) | June 20-27, 2008 | $2,300 |
Additional training required as part of 200-hour certification
Weekend Workshops:
| Restorative Yoga: A Force for Healing | July 18-20, 2008 | $210 |
| Yoga Philosophy II (Yoga Sutras) | Aug. 29-Sep. 1, 2008 | included |
| Yoga: An Energy Map to the Mind and Emotions | Sep. 19-21, 2008 | $210 |
| The Bhagavad Gita with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | Oct. 3-5, 2008 | $210 |
| Art of Assisting, Level I | Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2008 | $210 |
| Art of Assisting, Level II | Dec. 5-7, 2008 | $210 |
| Yoga Therapeutics I: Working with Spinal Anomalies | Jan. 2-4, 2008 | $210 |
| Yoga Therapeutics II: Pain disorders, Injuries, Pregnancy, Anxiety, and Depression |
Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009 | $210 |
| Yoga for the Emotional Body: Healing Anxiety, Insomnia, and Depression |
Feb. 27-March 1, 2009 | $210 |
| Sequencing: The Architecture of a Yoga Class | March 27-29, 2009 | $210 |
| Yoga Therapeutics III: Balancing Asymmetries | April 24-25, 2009 | $210 |
| Teacher Training Clinics | TBA 2009 | $100 |
Integrative Yoga Therapeutics™
Integrative Yoga Therapeutics™ forms the heart of the Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Teacher Training Program. Created by Bo Forbes, Integrative Yoga Therapeutics combines both Eastern and Western healing systems. Drawing from Bo’s two decades of experience in Clinical Psychology, its central focus is the Mind-Body Matrix, the intricate network that links the nervous system, immune system, mental body, emotional body, physical body, and pain modulation pathways.
Using Elemental Yoga’s unique Five-Body System of assessment and intervention, we will study the basic techniques of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics, including physical postures, therapeutic postures designed for fascial expansion and release, Restorative Yoga, breathwork, meditation, relaxation, and compassionate self-observation. This method forms the backdrop for all other areas of study in our training program, including the art of assisting students, addressing special issues such as spinal anomalies or emotional imbalances, and sequencing a yoga class.
Through the use of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics, we will examine ways to detect and address spinal anomalies such as scoliosis, lordosis, kyphosis, and sacral/lumbar spine issues. We will also work with students who have physical injuries, chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia and arthritis, hypermobility, and emotional issues such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, and mixed anxiety and depression. Unlike many other didactic programs, this program's therapeutic component is deeply experiential and kinesthetic, and takes place in live clinic settings. These live clinics involve real people from the community, which offers our teachers-in-training the opportunity to see physical and emotional imbalances expressed in "live" students, and to observe the efficacy of therapeutic yoga interventions in action.
The Neurobiology of Yoga and the Mind-Body Matrix
This portion of the training highlights the neural and biological networks supporting the Mind-Body Matrix. We will examine the interplay between the limbic system, or emotional regions of the brain, and the nervous system, immune system, and pain modulation pathways. Highlights will include the ways in which memories, emotions, and experiences are stored in the mental, emotional, physical, and energy bodies and the psycho-neuro-immunology of the mind-body connection. We will explore the central role of the nervous system as an intermediary in healing, examining the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, the vagus nerve, and the limbic system. We will examine yoga's impact on the mind, nervous system, immune system, and limbic system (emotional body) of students in both group and private class settings.
This portion of the training will also highlight the intersection between Psychology and Yoga. It is interwoven with the Self-Study and Professional Development component of the training.
Self-Study/Professional Development
This component of the training will highlight the intersection between Psychology and Yoga. It is predicated upon the concept that excellence in the teaching of yoga requires a strong commitment to one's own growth and healing. To this end, we will investigate the ethical principles of yoga as they apply to teaching and personal practice, looking at the yamas and niyamas as well as the ethics of teaching. We will explore the dynamics of therapeutic work, the ethics of the student-teacher relationship, boundaries, self-awareness, the nature and evolution of personal samskaras or patterns of thought, movement, and behavior. We will also discuss the personal and professional intersection of these issues, including the awareness, development, and regulation of empathic skills.
As part of your self-study process, you will become adept at monitoring and intervening in your own fluctuating internal states. As a teacher-in-training, you will examine your strengths and challenges, how they influence your path to self-awareness, and how they impact your personal and teaching relationships. You will learn methods of igniting and potentiating an ongoing practice of self-exploration and reflection to enhance your spiritual development and teaching ability. You should be prepared for self-examination (in verbal and written form) throughout the year.
Yoga for the Emotional Body: Anxiety, Insomnia, and Depression
This module of the training underscores the ways in which our yoga practice can both mirror and bring healing to each element of our being, including the mind, emotional regions of the brain, physical body, immune system, and pain modulation pathways. We will look at the limbic system and emotional memory, and visit the ways in which mental and emotional strain and trauma can be housed in our physical and energetic bodies. We will learn how to read students' mental and emotional states, and how to facilitate physical and emotional release and expansion.
An extensive portion of the training will be devoted to addressing anxiety, insomnia, and depression in students in both class and individual settings; we will learn the anatomy of anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and depression, their impact on our mental, emotional, and energetic bodies, and how to employ tools from Integrative Yoga Therapeutics to intervene in and improve these issues.
We will also journey into the energetics of yoga, including the nadi and chakra systems and the structures of the nervous system. We will discuss techniques designed to assess students' difficulties and help restore balance to the nervous systems of individuals as well as groups.
Anatomy, Alignment, and the Physical Practice
Within a framework of yoga anatomy, we will undertake an in-depth study of the major yoga postures, including the Sun Salutations of the vinyasa practice, standing poses, revolved standing poses, standing and seated twists, balancing poses, forward bends, backbends, prone and supine poses, and inversions. We will review the finer points of alignment, focusing on the 'four grounds' of the feet, pelvis, thoracic spine, and cervical spine, with an eye toward the therapeutic applications of postures for creating maximum freedom and space in the body.
Lou Benson will guide us through an exploration of basic anatomy, reviewing the fascial and fluid systems of the body as well as the joint and muscle groups most pertinent to the practice of yoga. We will explore the insertions, attachments, and actions of certain muscle groups and fascia as they relate to asana.
As the training year progresses, this lens of anatomy will facilitate the development of our assisting skills in both vinyasa and restorative classes. As the training year draws to a close, we will use this growing cache of skills to delve into the study of sequencing and the architecture of a yoga class. Sequences to alleviate anxiety, insomnia, and depression will be discussed, as well as the necessary preparation of the body for safe opening and expansion. The Sequencing module of the training will also explore the building blocks of a class to facilitate advanced postures, the opening of particular parts of the body, classes of postures, actions within postures, or effects of postures. We will also look at sequencing targeted to impact students' mental and emotional bodies, therapeutic sequencing to deal with injuries, asymmetries, and special issues, and individualized sequences for home practice. Students will design their own therapeutic sequences and teach them in live class settings.
We will cover basic pranayama techniques, including ujjayi pranayama as it pertains to the vinyasa practice, as well as other pranayama techniques and their impact on the nervous system. We will examine the core body in depth from physical, emotional, and energetic perspectives (emphasizing mula bandha, uddiyana bandha, and the psoas muscle), and discuss the ethical issues pertaining to the development of core strength and power. We will focus on the development of dristi (attention) on both external and internal levels during the physical practice, and the roles of dristi and ujjayi breath on facilitating the release of tension held in the body's organ systems and connective tissue.
The Art of Assisting: Vinyasa and Restorative Yoga Therapeutics
Drawing from our understanding of anatomy and alignment, an integral portion of this training will delve deeply into yoga's therapeutic potential in both class and private settings. We will explore the art of assisting students in postures using verbal directions, pressure point and physical assists, hands-on physical adjustments, and modification with props. Energy anatomy and body reading will be a special focus as it pertains both to assisting and teaching.
The practice of Restorative Yoga is an integral portion of the training, encompassing a full weekend in its own right. Restorative Yoga's extraordinary power for healing at both gross and subtle levels will be explored in detail. Teachers-in-training will learn how to adapt Restorative Yoga to address the nervous system, immune system, and emotional body, both in their own practice and in class and private settings. They will also learn the Restorative Yoga Therapeutics sequences for anxiety, insomnia, and depression designed by Bo Forbes.
Completion of the training requires assisting, with live supervision, in ten (10) vinyasa classes. There will also be two-three student clinics throughout the year; run by graduates of the program, these student clinics will facilitate the further assimilation of the challenging art of assisting students. Students who wish to may also assist in Restorative Yoga Therapeutics classes with Bo’s supervision, thought assisting in these classes is not a requirement of the training.
Yoga Philosophy and the Study of Yogic Texts
We will undertake a study of the foundational texts of yoga with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D., renowned professor of Hindu Philosophy at Rutgers University and author of several books. This module of the teacher training program will include an in-depth study of the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita, including the background and context for these classical texts. Interwoven throughout the yearlong study will also be selections from the Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and other Vedic texts.
Sanskrit: The Language of Yoga
We will immerse ourselves in the study of Sanskrit, the original language of yoga, learning the Sanskrit alphabet and pronunciation of asana names. We will also experience the power and resonance of the sound of yoga through learning, memorizing, and chanting selections from portions of yogic texts and mantras. This portion of the training will be taught by Nicolai Bachman of Sanskrit Sounds, who has authored two books on Sanskrit and Ayurveda.
Affiliated Teachers
Nicolai Bachman, MA, RYT
Nicolai Bachman, MA, RYT has been teaching Sanskrit and related topics since 1994. His primary teachers are Vyaas Houston, Vasant Lad, David Frawley and Sonia Nelson. Nicolai currently teaches Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, and Ayurveda at teacher training programs, studios, and schools throughout the country. He has produced several highly acclaimed Sanskrit audio/visual learning tools including 108 Sanskrit Flash Cards and Asana Names and the Language of Yoga. Nicolai received his M.A. in Eastern Philosophy from St. John's College. He is also a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is pursuing a graduate degree in Nutrition. He is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level.
Edwin Bryant, Ph.D.
Edwin Bryant received his Ph.D in Indic languages and Cultures from Columbia University, taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently the professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University where he teaches courses on Hindu Philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, Sanskrit, Yoga, and other related subjects. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, and is the author of six books and dozens of articles. Edwin's Penguin World Classics translation of the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, which is the traditional source for the story of Krishna's incarnation, is aimed at the general public interested in Hinduism, as well as the yoga community. His forthcoming translation of the Yoga Sutras is specifically dedicated to the Yoga community and contributes to the growing body of literature on Yoga by providing extracts form the traditional commentaries on Patanjali's text. Edwin has been personally involved with yoga as an initiated practitioner in a traditional Vaishnava sect who has practiced bhakti yoga for 25 years, a number of them in India.
Lou Benson, RMT
Lou Benson is a bodyworker in Cambridge, MA, with advanced certifications in Structural Integration and Aston Patterning. Lou is currently on the faculty at the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge. She has been teaching anatomy and bodywork to massage therapists for over 12 years, and has been a yoga student for 4 years. Being multi-segmented 3-dimensional moving puzzles in a gravitational field isn't always easy; a primary focus in Lou's work as a therapist and teacher, therefore, is to increase one's kinesthetic awareness of neutrality and balance. Lou's goal in preparing this class is to provide a key piece of the foundation for seeing balance in asana practice through a practical and easily accessible view of anatomical structure and function.
Application Process:
Our application procedure requires taking a minimum of three Elemental Yoga classes with Bo Forbes. Second, you must schedule and participate in an informational interview with one of our teacher training graduates. Please complete both of these stages of the application process before sending in your application. Thank you.
Fees & Registration
Course Fees for students taking the 200-hour certification course:
The fee for the Weeklong Intensive is $2,325. The fee for additional weekends is $225, as listed in the table under "dates."
A deposit of $230 is due immediately upon registration. Course fees for the June, 2009 Weeklong Intensive are due by June 1, 2009 or immediately upon registration.
Registration:
Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot hold your space in the training without your application and deposit.
To register, please download and fill out the Teacher Training application and send to: bo@elementalyoga.com. The purpose of this application is to better know you and your needs.
You can send your deposit or full fee to:
- Bo Forbes
- Elemental Yoga Teacher Training
- c/o The Arlington Center
- 369 Mass. Avenue
- Arlington, MA 02474
Cancellations:
Less than 30 days prior to the training, deposits are not refundable.
If notice is given more than 30 days prior to the start of the course, full course fees can be refunded, less a $200 administrative fee.