Insight Yoga Teacher Training with Sarah Powers
An 8-day online 50-hour Yoga Alliance registered intensive. For Yin/Yang Yoga Teachers and Dedicated Practitioners.
Essential teachings on Yin Yoga, Mindfulness and how to sequence Yang poses with Yin sequences.
This course is intended to deepen one’s understanding of the experiential, philosophical and practical application of yoga and meditation. It is intended for those with at least two years of practice or more. It is recommended that you have attended a prior teacher training course if you intend to teach this material. It will benefit most people to have taken a 200-500 hour yoga training program before coming to Sarah’s 8-day Primary Level. This is not essential for those interested in simply cultivating their own practice.
This intensive will deepen one’s ability to teach/practice both a receptive Yin style and an active flow or Yang style of yoga with an interest in promoting a conducive inner environment for meditation. Please come with a basic understanding of the practices (having read Sarah’s book Insight Yoga), and a strong interest in committing to the further exploration of both yoga and meditation.
This is a 50-hour Yoga Alliance training and attendance in the entire program is required – 40 hours of live online teachings and 10 hours of required pre-reading/viewing (outlined below) and essay writing (details provided at the end of the course). In order to be eligible to receive the Certificate of Completion for this course, you must attend all of the hours of the training, and complete the required assigned essay. Each day will include teachings on Yin Yoga, Yang Yoga, and Mindfulness Meditation.
In this training we will explore:
- Yin Yoga — how, why and when to practice this style safely and effectively
- Organ health and Yoga practice (sequences for the kidneys, liver, etc.)
- Balancing the Yin style with a Yang practice to support structural strength and stability
- Proper physical alignment in active postures
- The primary focus of ujjayi breath in asana: length, depth and direction
- Mindfulness in asana
- Sequencing of postures for various levels, from the beginner to the intermediate
- How to assist those with injuries
- Skillful verbal communication
- The teacher/student relationship
Asana
The physical discipline of hatha yoga centers on the harmonious embodiment of postures. How we practice these postures is as important as which asana we choose and how we orchestrate them. Increasing our repertoire of different ways to practice allows us to vary our sequences at different times in our life, continually keeping the practice appropriate as well as fresh and alive.
Philosophy
- Subtle body anatomy according to Yogic and Chinese philosophy
- Meridian theory and Chinese Medicine
- Buddhist Psychology and emotional maturity
Pranayama
Pranayama is the expansion of the life force through breath regulation. It is the profound practice of circulating and redistributing prana in both the physical and subtle body through various breathing and visualization practices.
Overview of Pranayama practices
- Kumbhaka (breath retention)
- Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing)
- Kapalabhati (breath of fire)
Meditation
The essence of a committed yoga practice is meditative focus and awareness. Developing and sustaining a formal meditation practice can be a continual source of insight, rejuvenation and compassion. It is a practice that can reveal and disempower our negative, fragmented aspects while potentially revealing our essential nature. Meditation can also deepen one’s awareness and acceptance of oneself and of the world, deepening one’s openness and wakefulness. We will discuss and practice Buddhist mindfulness meditation (Sati Patthana–The Four Foundations of Mindfulness), with an emphasis on how to share these practices with others.
Study and Reading
Acquiring an intellectual understanding of the rich diversity of Yoga and Buddhism inspires one’s dedication to the path of awakening; it also fosters a clear level of communication and discussion with others.
Students are required to read the books and view the video assigned for this training before they arrive. Readings from these books and viewing of the video are an integral part of the training so please order the materials upon registration of the course so you have ample time to read/view them before the training begins.
Outside reading prior to and during the course will be required to enrich one’s overall understanding.
To be eligible to receive the certificate, you will also be asked to write a 2-3 page essay on the purpose and methods of Yin yoga upon completion of the course for assessment.
A teacher-training manual with articles will be emailed a few days ahead of first class. Everyone will also be required to have Sarah’s book Insight Yoga during each class, and to have viewed, at minimum, her video, Insight Yoga.
Required reading and viewing:
- Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers
- Insight Yoga (Video) by Sarah Powers
- Yin Yoga: Principles and Practice by Paul Grilley
- Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
- Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith
- Suggested listening and viewing:
- Yin Yoga (MP3) by Sarah Powers
- Earth: Balancing Yin Energy (Video) by Sarah Powers
- Heaven: Balancing Yang Energy (Video) by Sarah Powers
- Yin & Vinyasa Yoga (Video) by Sarah Powers
- Anatomy for Yoga (Video) by Paul Grilley
- Yin Yoga (Video) by Paul Grilley
T’s & C’s
- To register, you must be willing to commit to participating live.
- This is a 50-hour Yoga Alliance training and attendance in the entire program is required, along with writing an essay, to be eligible for the certificate.
- Please view the recordings of the time you missed as close to the time they occurred as possible.
- At the end of each day (time depending on when Zoom downloads to us) you will receive access to the live recording. The recordings will be available to you for 10 days. Please view the recordings of the time you missed as close to the time they occurred as possible to prepare for the next day’s training.
- Non-refundable. You will receive access to the live recording for 10 days.