Advanced Studies: 600-Hour Yoga Educator (Ed.Y.) Training Program

 

The Yoga Educator (Ed.Y.) Program is the most complete course of study offered through The Breathing Project's Advanced Studies Program. It reflects The Breathing Project's mission to create innovative learning opportunities and to teach principles of human structure and movement in relationship to the individual nature of every body.

In the Ed.Y. Program you will have an opportunity to develop your skills using embodiment practices blended with an in-depth understanding of anatomy, kinesiology, embryology and physiology. You will be challenged to develop your own ideas about what it means to be an educator and to put those ideas into practice as a movement professional.

The Yoga Educator (Ed.Y.) Program consists of three courses with Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews, allowing you to take up to six hours of in-class study a week and monthly weekend workshops. There is additional time spent outside the courses assisting, taking other classes and doing homework, for a total of more than 600 contact hours in the program.

These courses can be done in any order and at varying levels of intensity. If all of the courses are taken at the same time, the full program can be finished in two years. Alternatively, the courses can be spread out over three to six years. Students who have completed all the required courses and homework will be issued a certificate of completion documenting their hours of study.

This program is open to movement professionals in all areas. While the context for the exploration of this material is yoga and asana, the principles can be applied in any somatic field, including martial arts, sports, dance, Pilates, fitness and bodywork.


CURRICULUM GOALS

Anatomy & Kinesiology

  • Understanding asana from the perspective of different body systems and tissues
  • Using principles of anatomy and kinesiology to explore and adapt asana
  • Integrating principles of anatomy and kinesiology in teaching asana and vinyasa
  • Empowering individuals to use their own embodied experiences as a foundation for exploration.

Asana Analysis

  • Developing observation skills in relationship to movement and stillness
  • Analyzing the effects of different choices in language, focus and orientation
  • Exploring how form is shaped by function in different approaches to asana

Transmission Skills

  • Finding precision and flexibility in your language
  • Becoming mindful of your own preferences and patterns
  • Valuing different approaches to transmission and learning
  • Distilling your own values and principles

COMPONENTS

Courses
Three courses are included in the Yoga Educator (Ed.Y.) Program. These are: Yoga Anatomy, Embodied Anatomy & Kinesiology, and Somatic Synthesis Workshops. Click here for a complete description of our Anatomy Courses.

These courses can be taken in any order, though if you do not have any previous experience with anatomy and kinesiology, it is recommended to take either Yoga Anatomy or Embodied A&K before taking the Somatic Synthesis weekend workshops.

Assisting
Assisting Amy Matthews and/or Leslie Kaminoff in classes and workshops will be an opportunity to observe and discuss different teaching choices and to witness the effects of those choices in class. 40 hours of assisting is required to complete the program.

Spectrum classes
With the goal of understanding the value of a variety of approaches to teaching yoga, an additional 30 hours of asana class are required. These classes should be in at least 10 different approaches - i.e. Anusara, Astanga, Bikram, Kundalini, Sivananda, etc. (The cost of these classes is not included in the Ed.Y. tuition.)

Spectrum class reports
After attending the 'spectrum classes' program participants will be asked to write a review of each class, focusing on the strengths of each style or tradition and how each supports an embodied experience of asana.

Book discussions
The final part of each Somatic Synthesis Workshop will be a discussion of a book from the reading list. A small group of Ed.Y. students will be responsible to lead a discussion of the book and its relationship to yoga, practice, and teaching. Each Ed.Y. student (even if not leading the discussion that month) will be responsible for contributing to the discussion.

Research project
Each student will choose a commonly made teaching statement that somehow references anatomy, kinesiology, or physiology (such as "twists wring out the organs") to research and present their questions, explorations, and conclusions. In their presentations students will be expected to address the accuracy of the statement, its possible usefulness, and contexts in which it might be helpful or harmful.


PRE-REQUISITES

Pre-requisites for the full Yoga Educator (Ed.Y.) Program are previous training in anatomy and kinesiology and at least one year's experience teaching. Possible prior training could be Leslie Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy course or Amy Matthews' Embodied A&K course, in which case you can fulfill the pre-requisites within the course of the program. You may also fulfill the requirements by having a certificate from a 200-hour teacher training program, or equivalent training in another discipline.


ENROLLMENT

For schedules, prices and application information, please go to our Enrollment Page.


2010 - 2012 READING LISTS

YOGA ANATOMY AND EMBODIED ANATOMY & KINESIOLOGY:

Required:

  • Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews, Yoga Anatomy

Highly Recommended:

  • Wynn Kapit & Lawrence Elson, The Anatomy Coloring Book
  • Frank Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy
  • Werner Platzer, Color Atlas of Human Anatomy, Vol 1: Locomotor System
  • Kay W. Seig & Sandra P. Adams, Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy

Additional References:

  • Abrahams, Hutchings & Marks, McMinn's Color Atlas of Human Anatomy
  • Andrew Biel, Trail Guide to the Body
  • Blandine Calais-Germain, Anatomy of Movement
  • Carmine D. Clemente, Anatomy: A Regional Atlas of the Human Body
  • David Gorman, The Body Moveable
  • Henry Gray, Gray's Anatomy
  • Florence Kendall, Muscles: Testing & Function
  • Pamela Levangie & Cynthia Norkin, Joint Structure and Function
  • Thieme Publishers, Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System

SOMATIC SYNTHESIS WEEKEND WORKSHOPS:

Required:

  • Robert O. Becker & Gary Selden, The Body Electric
  • Christine Caldwell, Getting in Touch
  • Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Sensing, Feeling and Action
  • Norman Doidge, MD, The Brain that Changes Itself
  • Irene Dowd, Taking Root to Fly
  • Mark Epstein, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart
  • Karl E. Geis, A Book of Twelve Winds/The Twelve Winds of Aikido and Judo
  • Michael Gershon, The Second Brain
  • Edward T. Hall, Beyond Culture
  • Linda Hartley, Wisdom of the Body Moving
  • Don Hanlon Johnson, Bone, Breath, & Gesture
  • Dean Juhan, Job's Body
  • Candace B. Pert, Molecules of Emotion
  • John J. Ratey, A User's Guide to the Brain
  • Leonard Shlain, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
  • Neil Shubin, Your Inner Fish
  • Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
  • Mabel Todd, The Thinking Body
  • Steven Vogel, Cat's Paws and Catapults


For schedules, prices and application information, please go to our Enrollment Page.


Documentation/Certification

This program is not a certification program and does not grant certification as a yoga teacher. Instead, you will receive a document of completion that outlines your hours of study and the materials covered.