Friday, September 22, 2023
HomeYoga For Anxiety Teacher Training

Yoga For Anxiety Teacher Training

Recent Yoga Teacher Training Graduate

45 Minute Yoga Class – Yoga for Anxiety

My experience has been extremely positive. Physically, I have gained strength and the ability to listen carefully to my body to give it the right amount of exercise and rest. Emotionally, I have learned to identify how emotions affect my body, where they sit and how to modulate the affect they have on my body. The readings and in-class teaching have stimulated my mind and deepened my understanding of the breadth of yoga. Having the opportunity to understand and practice all components of a yoga lifestyle on a step-by-step basis has made the implementation into daily life more manageable. The course as a whole has guided me in my path towards a greater understanding of spirituality

Is This Training Right For Me

This training is designed specifically for Yoga Teachers

THIS TRAINING MIGHT BE FOR YOU IF:

  • You want to learn how to best support your yoga students experiencing mental health challenges in your general yoga classes
  • You have an interest in mental health and yoga psychology
  • You are a Yoga Teacher and a Mental Health Professional and would like to learn how to integrate these two fields
  • You are interested in traditional AND evidence based practice
  • You are committed to ongoing professional and personal development
  • You want to connect with like-minded colleagues
  • You are big-hearted, compassionate and have an open mind

THIS TRAINING IS NOT:

  • For therapists wanting to learn yoga skills for the therapy room
  • To learn to become a therapist
  • For Yoga Teachers who want prescriptive postures, practices and sequences for mental health
  • For Yoga Teachers who are currently experiencing their own mental health crisis

Who This Course Is For:

  • This course will suit kids yoga teachers who would like to be able to help children with anxiety to manage and overcome their anxiety using yoga and mindfulness practices
  • This course will also suit early childhood educators, school teachers and high school teachers who would like to show children how they can use yoga and mindfulness practices to manage and overcome anxiety
  • This course is also wonderful for parent of children who have anxiety, you will learn what your child is experiencing when they are having anxiety and how they can use yoga and mindfulness to manage and overcome anxiety
  • This course will also suit those working with children, such as psychologists, councilors and support workers, who would like to provide children with practices they can use to manage and overcome anxiety

Also Check: Yoga Arm Balances

Choose From Two Certification Options:

  • Basic Certification: 40-hour certification includes onsite instruction and independent online study
  • Advanced Certification: 100-hour certification includes onsite instruction, independent online study, and an end-of-course practical application

Students who completed the 40-Hour Basic Certification in 2016, 2017, or 2018 may count those hours towards the 100-Hour Advanced Certification.


This in-depth training with Ghada Osman, a Harvard-educated PhD, psychotherapist, yoga therapist, and yoga teacher, offers a comprehensive understanding of how yoga can effect positive change across a wide spectrum of mental health challenges and disorders. Content areas include:

  • Understanding the philosophy and science behind yogas effect on mental health
  • Overview of mental health conditions, the role of the therapist, and the models of human development as they relate to psychological well-being
  • Assessing a clients readiness for working with therapeutic yoga
  • Breaking down the components of yoga therapy into asana, pranayama, mudras, bandhas, dhyana, and developing witness consciousness
  • Applying a straightforward, yet comprehensive three-pronged approach to working with yoga for mental health
  • Developing protocols to work with clients experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, PTSD, ADHD, addiction, eating disorders, and body image.

Please note: This course is limited to 16 students.

Prepare To Be Transformed

Yoga for Teachers to Reduce Stress

Working closely with yogis from all walks of life and meeting the physical and mental demands of your training can be life-altering. But dont worry if it takes time for you to fully absorb your experience. Your personal transformation may happen quickly or it may kick in as you become responsible for a classroom and introducing your students to yoga.

OHaverty says, At the time I was disappointed, I wanted something instant. About two years after I finished my program it hit my like huge cosmic punch. Its difficult to describe, but it all just came pouring down my life, perspective and attitude had altered. It was as if something fundamental had been recalibrated.

Either way, a teacher training program will likely bring you closer to understanding who you are. The training process includes the nitty-grittymodifying poses, dealing with special populations, creating sequencesbut also leads you to the understanding of what it means to teach and live your yoga. You dont have to show up as somebody else, says Williams. I think when people finally get that, theres something that shifts. Theres a kind of warmth that starts to show up. They can start to be who they are authentically and theres a level of fulfillment that I think is pretty cool.


Read Also: What To Do Instead Of Yoga

Yoga Poses To Relieve Anxiety

  • Forward folds,
  • grounding poses ,
  • side stretches
  • twists

These can all be effective in managing symptoms associated with anxiety. Side stretches free up the intercostal muscles , which can become tight in people who experience regular anxiety. Freeing up these muscles paves the way for a fuller breath.

Twists are, perhaps, an unusual inclusion in this list because they actually compress the abdomen and so restrict the movement of the breath. Ordinarily our abdominal organs are moved from their usual place by the diaphragm drawing down as we inhale. When the abdomen is compressed the movement of the abdominal organs is limited. This can momentarily increase feelings of anxiety as we have an experience of the breath as constricted, but learning to breath into a tight spot with poise and composure is a valuable tool both on and off the mat.

Long-term anxiety can lead to vital exhaustion so when approaching your yoga practice it is important to keep things simple at first. Make sure you recharge the batteries before you dive head first into an intense physical practice.

Shades of Yoga is a yoga teacher training company running year-round yoga teacher training courses in Bali and Costa Rica. Details here.


Practice And All Is Coming

Teaching, like everything else, takes practice and discipline. Sometimes it will go well, sometimes it will not. Keep going! You learn to teach by teaching. Practicing teaching yoga will only ever make you a better yoga teacher. Start small and keep it simple, over time you will evolve into the kind of teacher you aspire to become.

Read Also: Can I Walk After Botox

How Does Yoga Help With Anxiety

If you are interested in starting a yoga routine, an online class could be an easy way to make a low-pressure commitment. A beginners yoga routine does not require much equipment so as soon as you choose a course, you will probably have everything you need.

You may need to purchase a mat, however, which you can easily order online for less than $50. There are more expensive mats and additional props.to consider as you advance in your practice.

Yoga is a combination of the following elements:


  • Poses
  • Breathing
  • Meditation

Any of these separately can be used to help with anxiety, but the impact is more powerful when all are practiced together. They compliment each other. Even practicing just a few postures a day can reduce overall stress during an emotional time.

Yoga Your Way From Anxiety To Calm

MY STORY – ANXIETY (MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES), YOGA TRAINING, STARTING SOCIAL MEDIA Q& A

Its ironic that yoga teachers should need calming down before yoga teaching. Surely, as yoga teachers, we are already stress and anxiety-free? Nothing can rumple our inner calm. Unfortunately, were also human beings and so we too suffer from all the usual anxieties that are felt by everyone else.

The final trick that we can reach for is the reason why were up at the front of the class in the first place. Yoga itself. Instead of powering through a hard-core home practice, try an anti-anxiety yoga sequence for a week and see if it helps relieve your yoga class anxiety:

  • Tadasana
  • Prasarita Padottanasana
  • Adho Mukha Svanasana head supported
  • Sirsasana
  • Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana on a chair, feet to the wall
  • Ustrasana
  • Supta Baddha Konasana
  • Supta Virasana
  • Setu Bandha Sarvangasana feet to the wall
  • Viparita Karani
  • Savasana
  • Read Also: How Does Yoga Help With Weight Loss

    With Ghada Osman Phd Lmft Pyt E

    This course has been designated by the International Association of Yoga Therapists as an Approved Professional Development course offering 45 CE credits. It is also approved for CE units for Florida LMFTs, LCSWs, and MHCs, and for California LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.

    The 100-hour certification course is open to all certified yoga teachers, as well as AUMs enrolled Yoga Therapy students and those who have taken the 40-hour training in the past.

    Due to COVID-19, this course has been moved entirely to an online Zoom format. Save on travel costs and earn approved recertification hours from the comfort of your home while maintaining social distancing!

    Days one and two are included as part of AUMs Clinical Yoga Therapy and Bridge Programs enrolled students receive discounted tuition for the Basic or Advanced Certification.


    To order Ghadas 4-hour Yoga for Stress & Anxiety Reliefrecording, !A donation is made to the Shala for each purchase that includes us a referral.

    Yoga Teacher Training: Anxiety Disorders

    If you practice and teach Yoga daily, you probably have a handle on anxiety. One intern in a Yoga teacher training intensive had entered the course to master a method that would reduce or eliminate his anxiety. A few years later, he let us know that it had worked for him. His objective was self-mastery first and possibly to teach Yoga classes down the road.

    Depending on our outlooks and our life styles, we all have some degree of stress in our lives. Some people, however, are so afraid or anxious that these feelings hardly ever go away. Around 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders like panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and phobias every year. According to the April 2009 edition of the Harvard Mental Health Newsletter, Yogic exercise helps us to master these conditions.

    Regardless of its cause, every real or imagined threat we encounter activates a series of physiological changes in the body, most of which occur simultaneously.

    The brain signals the adrenal glands to release harmful hormones into the bloodstream, preparing the body to flee or to fight.


    Breathing speeds up, and the body releases fats and glucose to supply energy to fend off the danger.

    The heart beats up to five times faster than usual, and blood pressure rises.

    Blood vessels constrict and direct blood and oxygen away from the organs and to the muscles and brain.

    Muscles contract as they prepare for action.

    15 Asanas for Anxiety Disorders


    Don’t Miss: Can You Do Yoga After Botox

    Level One: Foundations: creating Safe And Engaging Mind

    Learn to share yoga and mindfulness with children and teens ages 3 to 18. Take an in-depth look at the relationship between the brain, the body, and the nervous system. Explore our 5 Element framework connect, breathe, move, focus and relax. Learn to create developmentally appropriate lesson plans.

    Balance Your Emotions And Transform Your Mind With The Yoga For Anxiety Course

    Yoga for Teachers to Reduce Stress

    Both Yoga & Ayurveda have the power to reduce your anxiety disorder, stress, and even depression. With the yoga for anxiety course, youll receive a complete Yoga and Ayurveda Wellness Planner and many other tools. This course encourages you to keep moving forward and gives you time to see positive results. In addition, youll get specific yoga videos to practice for alleviating anxiety, stress, and depression.

    With this yoga and Ayurveda course you live with more freedom and can prevent yourself from many health issues. Various health problems can be solved with the help of this course and the protocols provided. During the course, youll come to know some invaluable techniques and strategies that can help in managing stressful situations. As a result, youll boost self-confidence, enhance your mental focus and improve your emotional well-being.

    Don’t Miss: Can You Do Yoga After Botox

    Indigo Yoga Studio Reviews

    Love this Studio!Genya is a highly skillful and attentive teacher, and his classes are just the right combination of challenge, creativity and care. I feel fortunate to have such a gifted teacher and lovely studio in my neighborhood.

    Wonderfully creative yoga class ! Genya teaches a wonderfully creative yoga class, addressing multiple ability levels effortlessly, and sensitively tuning into both physical and philosophical nuances. This is yoga at its finest.

    Challenge your mind and body! Indigo Yoga Studio is the rarest gem in the neighbourhood. Genya has created an incredibly inviting, accessible space to practise yoga, barre and pilates at every level. When I walk out of class I feel taller, stronger and ready for wherever the day may take me.

    What Is Performance Anxiety

    Performance anxiety comes about when our energy is occupied by ourselves and our anxiety instead of focusing on the task at hand. Anxiety is a powerful emotion, triggering the release of adrenaline, which prepares the body for danger by readying it for fight or flight. This happens even when the danger is in our mind and not in reality.

    If this anxious state is maintained it can give rise to a whole host of physical symptoms: excessive sweating, heart palpitations, dry mouth, clamminess, pins and needles, muscle tension, aches and pains, an inability to concentrate and a sense of impending doom amongst other things.

    Its not easy doing Revolved Triangle pose at the best of times, but try doing it with just a few of the symptoms listed above its virtually impossible!

    See Also: Stress, The Real Deal Or Just An Excuse?

    Recommended Reading: Kettletoning Tone It Up

    Yoga For Mental Health Teacher Training Online 2021now 100% Online Independent Learning Formatthe Intention Of This Course Is To Help Yoga Teachers Practice And Teach Yoga In A Way That Supports Their Own And Their Students’ Mental Health This Course Reorients The Focus From The Teaching Of Poses And Practices To Using Poses And Practices As Opportunities To Sense Internally To Explore Curiously And To Respond Compassionately To Challenges And Opportunities As They Arise This Course Is Not A Certification In Teaching Yoga For Any Particular Diagnosis Nor Is It About Herding People With Mental Health Problems Together Into A Class This Course Is About Understanding Mental Health From A Yogic Framework And From The Framework Of Recovery It Is About Understanding How Yoga Works On A Scientific And Experiential Level And It Is About Knowing How To Create A Safe Ethically Responsible Trauma Informed Environment In Which To Offer Yoga This Course Will Give You A Framework For Understanding What Yoga Might Be Effective For A Particular Person At A Particular Time This Course Will Give You A Framework Of Understanding So You Can Keep Learning And The World Of Yoga For Mental Healthonline Versus In Person Trainings: In Person Trainings Offer A Live Intensive Group Experience However They Require Travel And Accomodation Expense And Sometimes The Intensive Aspect Of Live Group Immersion Can Be Intense And Doesn’t Leave Time For Integration Online Trainings Let You Go At Your Own Pace Listen To Lectures Again And Integrate The Material Into Your Practice I Am Hoping That This Online Course Gives Us The Best Of Both: Time To Digest The Lectures And To Practically Apply Your Knowledge In Your Own Teaching And Practice Monthly Discussions Groups Will Be 100% Optional But Will Provide The Chance To Ask Questions And Support You To Apply The Material In Your Own Teaching And Practice

    Course Content:

    • The Yoga for Mental Health Teacher Training is designed to educate and support yoga teachers to offer classes that train resilience, self-regulation and self-empowerment through yoga. In a safe environment, with a supportive teacher, yoga is a means of finding and cultivating a positive healthy relationship with ourselves.
    • The concept of Recovery in mental health and the Yogic framework for mental health
    • Scientific explanation of how yoga supports mental health
    • Bottom up versus Top Down approaches are explained and explored in practice
    • Evidence based approaches and practices which support resilience, recovery and self-regulation.
    • Important contraindications and guidelines for anxiety and depression.
    • A definition and explanation of trauma informed care and how to implement it in practice.

    How Does the Course Work?:

    • The course manual,

    Its Called Yoga Teacher Training

    Online Yoga & Mindfulness for Kids Teacher Training

    I don´t need to be able to do everything when I show up there. Im not supposed to be perfect. It´s called Yoga teacher TRAINING like, Im supposed to learn there. Im not supposed to be perfect and ready to teach when I show up there on my day one. Of course I could have done more, but working was also an important step of the progress, so I could actually afford going there. I cannot change this, and I´m not sure I would. These months of working to much also gave me wisdom and money

    So I will take a few breaths. I will acknowledge that Ive done the best I could. I will reassure myself that there are still three weeks until the actual training will start. That I still have time. But also, that my practice until then will be exactly like it is supposed to be. I should be enjoying the journey. Handstanding for a minute is not something I need to be a good yoga teacher. I know that. But also that the process of learning to hold a handstand for a minute will be magical.

    I will be grateful. Im making my dream come true. I will come back home as a new person. And I will thank this article that I just wrote for calming me down

    And to end this post, I will share this handstand picture of me my best one yet! Where I was so surprised for all the seconds I could hold it that I ended up falling down. Because this one Im very proud of! Because the truth is that it´s easy to forget where you came from, and Ive come a long way this year.

    Recommended Reading: How Many Calories Burned In Power Yoga

    RELATED ARTICLES

    Popular Articles