Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (300hr)
Deepening your knowledge and experience
Study with Experts
Learn with like-minded people
Certified by
Yoga Alliance Professionals & Aruna Academy
Prerequisite - Foundation 200hr Certified Yoga Teacher Training or other Somatic Baised Qualification
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WAITING LIST OPEN
Discover more about somatic and embodied yoga.
Learn more about fascia and other aspects of anatomy, from a totally fresh perspective, without the ‘leaning off’ or the boredom.
Increase the types of services you offer, to include workshops and retreats.
Spend less time finding new students and more time keeping the ones you have. Do you want to work with students you love, and who love what you are offering?
Do you want to ensure you are teaching in a trauma-informed, empowering, and accessible way? Do you want to build your confidence in offering adjustments to your students?
Do you want more time off and more energy, while also making more money and having more energy?
Do you want to learn more about how to put boundaries in place, and how to stop overdelivering, over-committing, and still offer your students life-changing benefits?
Study with world-renowned Yoga Educators & best-selling authors of Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews via their YogaAnatomy.netFundamental (only available from approved Teacher Training Academies)
What style of yoga is it and what styles can I teach afterward?
Often you come to your first teacher training directly from your personal class and teach the style of your teacher. And we categorize yoga by ‘types’ - Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Hatha, Iyengar, Yan, Restorative, Kundalini, etc.
And while some lineages create their own names for poses; Different approaches spend less or more time in poses; Different teachers say more or less, or use texts, poetry, or silence in different amounts; … what they all have in common is - using breath, asana, and language to create conditions, to support students to feel better, move better and live better.
This is my starting point. Our job is to offer students options to play with different tools to reconnect with themselves and to feel better.
Where I differ from some traditions is that I believe we should give the power back to the student. In reality, most people are very unaware of their body, and the sensations within it. We are also very happy to hand over agency to an ‘expert’, be that a trainer or a doctor. Students ask ‘What should I be feeling?’ rather than recognize what they do feel. People do not know where the line between ‘release’ and ‘pain’ is. Too often in an effort to ‘chase the stretch’ students go too far, or ignore pain, compression, or other sensations ACTUALLY PRESENT within their body.
Somatically informed Embodied yoga is about GIVING YOU THE SKILLS TO TAKE YOUR TEACHING - within your current style - TO THE NEXT LEVEL,.. by supporting you DEVELOP THE AWARENESS, THE LANGUAGE AND THE SKILLS
YOU SUPPORT YOUR STUDENTS TO TAKE THEIR PRACTICE AND THEIR LIVES TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
An exploration of embodied and functional anatomy but more than that - learning how to share it with your students.
The course will be a practical exploration of anatomy, developing your own somatic awareness.
We will also explore teaching and developing how best to share these experiences with your students.
Laura has spent the last 35 years exploring yoga, only in the last number of years has she discovered a new level. She has deeply explored somatics, embodied yoga, anatomy and working on integrating it all together.
Her experiences with iRest and working in the National Rehabilitation Centre along with her training with Gill Hedley have shaped the way she views and explores anatomy.
Including a module taught with Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews, Internation teachers and best selling aurhtors of ‘Yoga Anatomy’
Integrate new ideas to your yoga classes and personal practice
“Asana is not a destination (or a goal), its a treasure map to allow you (or your student) investigate and discover hidden treasures”
I want to do the training BUT…
“I don’t have enough teaching experience”
When I initially did my 500hr it was all one course so I went straight from year 1 to year 2. In year 2 I was teaching while doing the second part of the training so if you have just finished your 200hr we can support you in all of those growing pains. Learning on the ground. Different people will be coming from different perspectives and different backgrounds, doing it now will support you in your teaching. Support while starting your journey as a teacher is fundamental to good habits and have support to overcome all the growing problems. There is no time like the present.
“What style of yoga is it?”
Embodied yoga can be incorporated into any style. Rather then being a ‘stile’ in the traditional sense, it is an approach.
Some of the key ideas include - Giving agency back to the student - Inviting the student to inquire rather then tell them what is or ‘should be’ present - know that every body is unique in this moment, so not expecting a pose to have a set of instructions, or a look. As such,
Hence this approach dose not force you to adopt a specific style. At our studio, we all teach from an embodied perspective, yet some teach vinyasa flow, others Restoritive and others a more BMC inspired flow.
While this is an idea we can all get behind, our habit and our underlying unconscious paterns can be hard to break,
“I don’t know if embodied yoga is for me”
What does embodied yoga mean to you? There is definitely the potential to have a flow class, a class without form and that may not be how you want to teach or be of interest to you. However even within the more traditional asana based classes there is wonder to be found in embodied yoga. You can bring form from another way to your students and allow them access it through a different path. Even if you never use embodied yoga in your teaching, having it for yourself in your practise is beautiful as it gives us more avenues in and supports us not be so rigid in our thinking.
“I have too much teaching experience”
Excellent teachers stay excellent by utilising their body of experience to hone what they do. By not allowing themselves become bored and lose their passion.
If enhancing your teaching isn’t of interest to you then maybe this course isn’t for you. For me every time I learn something new for myself I get to share it with my students, every time I share it with my students I get to find a better way to do it the next time around. So for me this is a life long process
Dive beyond the musculoskeletal system
“I don’t teach and don’t want to teach”
We will be discussing teaching methods and philosophies for a section of each Saturday and as a section of the other work.
However it can be interesting if you are in a partnership, teaching, parent or management role to look at communication and how to expand what you are doing and feel outside your comfort zone, it may be of interest to you.
However if it really doesn’t light your fire you don’t need to partake in those aspects if you are not looking for a teaching certificate.
“I already teach retreats”
While for some people an advanced teacher training affords them the opportunity to expand their offerings to workshops and retreats. However, for others its a chance to reassesess their current offerings, are you expending too much energy? are you getting burnt out? do you want to offer higher value offerings? do you want to become more effective and offer these things with less energy needed.
With this training it is a personal journey and about reaching YOUR next level, so if you are already doing loads, it could mean doing less for the same return
“I already have a 500hr”
Me too! I’ve done 3 different 500hr trainings. After your first one it’s not about the piece of paper it is about giving yourself the gift to continue learning. If you want to do something for yourself and take your practise and your teaching to the next level whatever that is, there is always a next level.
“Is fully in person not better?”
There are advantages and disadvantages to being online and in person. Having only one or the other would give you all the advantages of one but also all of the disadvantages. Having a blended course means we get the best of both worlds.
There is nothing that beats the experience of hands on and eyes on approach to teaching which means on our Saturday workshops we look at all of the asana, adjustments and experiential stuff. However there is no need to be sitting uncomfortably in a room listening to a lecture, which was always a part of traditional teacher training and so instead the new information you get to do online, at your own pace, in your own way.
The magic comes from being able to pause, stop and replay. When we are receiving new intellectual information or trying out new things for example some of the embodied yoga it is nice to be able to repeat it. Or if there is something we were slightly zoned out for we can revisit it. Or if I’m 3 months time the penny drops and you want to revisit it with a new understanding the material is always there. When we hear something once live in a room we can never press replay. The third aspect is supporting it land and integrating into our lives we do through our tutor groups, so we get to practise and wonder together.
What Students have said…
Hear from some Aruna students about Laura and her teaching style
Expert teaching from a centre of Excellence in Teaching and Training
Including guest speakers & tutors throughout the training
“Expand your offerings, while protecting or even increasing your energy”
What is somatically informed embodied yoga & what are the benefits for your students?
What is somatic-informed embodied yoga and how is it different from what I’m already teaching? This was my question. I thought all yoga should surely be somatic and embodied. Why would I want to train in what I was already doing?
I was already a yoga teacher with my 500hr. I was a yoga therapist, with 30 years of practicing yoga and over 10 years of teaching. I had a busy studio and a clinic, Why would I do this training? Thankfully something other than my head made me sign up. At the time … it was something for me, Laura, rather than me as a teacher, trainer, or studio owner.
However, I had NO IDEA.
It totally transformed how I move. It has totally transformed how I think, it has totally transformed how I teach, it has totally transformed how I LIVE.
This is what I am offering you -
No matter what style of yoga you currently teach, or what level of experience you have, this training will take you to the next level. Somatic-informed embodied yoga is about reconnecting with what is actually present, becoming aware of patterns, and retraining ourselves so we have more choice, and more freedom in movement (physically obviously, but also across all the koshas; mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).
This may sound very abstract, however, the impact I have observed with my students and clinical clients has been breathtaking. The speed students access areas of movement, find freedom, and strength while building balance and resistance within their bodies exceeds all other methods I have used.
I combine this experience with my experience in education, psychology, philosophy, and business to support you transform your practice and your teaching to have more ease, elegance, and success.
The Structure of the Course
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For this section, we partner with Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews, two of my favorite teachers. You will meet others later in the course.
The video content will be presented by Amy and Leslie, while the in-person integration will be led by me, Laura.
Leslie and Amy are world-renowned Yoga Educators & best-selling authors of Yoga Anatomy. Using what they've learned in their combined 50-years of experience training yoga teachers, they've created a unique online + in-person course that's exclusively available through licensed Teacher Training programs.
If you have worked with me before, you will know that this is not your average anatomy training.
Don't expect hours of "which bone is which" that make you feel like you're back in school science classes. We spend time on the things that matter most to a yoga teacher and skip the memorization.
We'll help you establish a broad base of knowledge by sharing examples, analogies, stories, and guiding you through physical experiments that make the material helpful and applicable to teaching yoga to students.
We are all very different, with different learning and teaching styles. We will also share our own favorite teaching strategies like...
* How to make poses accessible for any student
* What to do when students have an injury and still want to practice
* Simple cues that help every student find success on the mat
Together we combine our unique blend of humor and expertise, along with the best both online and in-person have to offer - makeing sure you have access to the absolute best team, in the absolute best way, to guide you through this phase of your journey.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You'll join Amy & Leslie at home via 20 hours of guided video lessons, including: new content, reflection, personal exploration, and teaching preparation.
They'll lead you through movement experiments that will help you apply anatomy ideas to your own practice, and give you tools you'll be able to access as a teacher. You'll have time to soak up the material and try it out it in your own asana practice.
This means that each time we come together as a group, you'll already have a strong foundation in that unit's content and we'll be able to dive even deeper into the material, rather than spend valuable group time on basic concepts and memorization.
Our group time will be spent in hands-on application. We'll break into discussion groups, share movement exercises, and observe exactly how this information interweaves with our tradition.
By the time we're finished, you'll have a broad understanding of the anatomical concepts that are most important to a yoga teacher so you can begin teaching with confidence.
The modules for this section are:
"Foundational Units"
Unit 1 - Building Blocks: Sthira & Sukha / Connective Tissue / Bones / Muscles
Unit 2 - Breath: Prana & Apana / Diaphragm / Ujjayi / Bhandas
Unit 3 - Muscle Physiology: Strength / Flexibility / Movement / Joints
Unit 4 - The Spine: Curves / Disks / Backpain
Unit 5 - The Lower Limbs: Foot / Knee / Hips / Pelvis / Walking / Alignment in Standing Postures
Unit 6 - The Upper Limbs: Hands & Wrists / Forearm / Elbow / Shoulder / Alignment in Inversions
"Application Units: Anatomy in Asana"
Unit 7 - Anatomy in Asana and Asana Philosophy: Introduction to working with Asana / "Benefits" of a Pose / Asana Analysis / Begin Standing Poses
Unit 8 – Anatomy in Asana and Pain & Sensation: A Body-Mind Perspective on how to work with pain / Complete Standing Postures / Begin Seated Postures
Unit 9 – Anatomy in Asana and Vinyasa: Breath + Movement / Continue Seated Postures / Move to other Floor Postures
Unit 10 – Anatomy in Asana and Arm Supports: Arm Support Poses / Final Words of Advice from Amy & Leslie
In terms of your Teaching:
This section offers tangible skills that are quickly and directly implementable in your teaching immediately.
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This section forms the core of the training. We will be using a number of different models to explore what it is to be human (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).
Firstly we will explore using the anatomical systems as our map.
Muscular & Skeletal systems
Digestive system
Nervous system
Cardiovascular system
Respiratory system
Endocrine system
Immune & Integumentary systems
Integumentary system
Urinary & excretory systems
As before all new information and invitations for home inquiry will be offered in video, audio, and workbook formats so that when we meet in person we are free to do hands-on exploration. Gill Hedley will be one of my teachers I will be inviting you to explore in this section.
Each section will include inquiries relating to the physical body as well as our emotional, mental, and spiritual selves.
For most, this will be a paradigm shift, and so need to be experienced in your own body before trying to integrate it into your classes. Confusion is the first step to breaking patterns, and learning something new. However, it is not a great place to teach from. So during this section, while you are exploring this material for yourselves, and embedding the skills from the last section, we will be focusing on the more general aspects of teaching. This will be led by what you require, for example, we may look at running longer offerings (workshops or retreats), trauma-sensitive teaching, adjustments, student retention, managing your energy, pricing, class planning, etc.
Finally, all modules will include ways to integrate your learning into your actual lived life. There is no learning theory for the sake of theory in this training. It is ALL very experiential, hands-on, and designed to support you to be the best you can be, not just as a yoga teacher but also as YOU.
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At this point, I have 2 contradictory intentions.
Practice teaching from an embodied perspective in your classes - this is a skill, so starting while you have the support of the training is critical. Before now, it was too ‘confusing’ to bring to your class
Dive deeper into your personal exploration of embodiment.
I say these are contradictory and competing aims because you require a level of clarity to bring the work of the previous year to your students, However, diving deeper into the practice will raise more questions and more uncertainty.
For me, this is the dance of life. It is how I am still teaching yoga and meditation… over 15 years later … despite never staying in any previous role for more than 5 years. It is this that keeps me learning, develops my auw and wonder, and keeps both me and my students learning and growing.
At this time we will dive into the BMC and developmental movement modules. I will be introducing Bonnie Bambride Cooan, the mother of embodiment and the founder of Body Mind Centering (BMC). I will also be encouraging you to reconnect with Amy Mathurs, and to explore Lisa Pertersona and Tara Dudail, two more of my favorite teachers.
We all offer the same material but in very different ways. As you begin to develop your own voice it is useful to hear a different language and slightly different models.
The format will be the same. Some theoretical content, some practices, and some inquiries; all offered during the month on the platform, via video, audio, or workbook. We will still be exploring all aspects of what it is to be human - body, mind, emotions, and sense of source (spiritual self).
At this stage, the modules will be
The Breathing body - Cellular life
The Fluid Body
The Organ Body
The Skeletal Body
The Connective & Muscular Body
Scenes and Preceptions
Development movements
Integration
What will I learn?
Asana
Embodied, somatic, functional & trauma informed are words used a lot today in marketing. When i first considered training in embodied yoga I was wondering why I was called to do this because surely all yoga is embodied? and I was already teaching from a trauma informed place, HOWEVER once I experienced this it transformed everything.
I have never moved so freely in my body, despite having 35 years of daily practise. The freedom I experienced in my body was something I had never experienced.
We will be exploring asana from an embodied approach rather than going for the ‘picture perfect pose’. We will look at asana, both form and formless, alignment and when it's useful and isn’t useful, approaching asana and the structure of asana and structure of classes from an embodied perspective
We are looking for freedom to choose - we want to look at a full variety of paths in.
Discover the many avenues into asana, and have the freedom to choose
Teaching
Each month we will look at a different aspect of teaching.
We will explore the art of teaching yoga. Sharing your experiences and imparting your love of yoga to your students.
Some things we will explore throughout the training is:
language
intention that we set
adjustments
injuries and common ailments
retention
ethics
Teaching is a skill. How can we have more impact with less words, with less time? How can we be crisper, cleaner and more succinct in how we communicate?
How do we manage our own boundaries and the business side of teaching?
We will also go beyond just looking at in person weekly yoga classes, how do we transfer to online, an evergreen product, a workshop, a retreat, a shorter class or a longer course?
We will look at this from a practical and a philosophical point of view
The Art of Sharing Your Passion
Anatomy
Our study of integrated anatomy will inform your practice, your language and your teaching. We will explore the different systems of the body such as the cardiovascular system.
Our exploration of anatomy will be practical and somatically informed. The training will focus on embodied yoga and functional anatomy.
We will be looking at it from a number of perspectives. We will be coming from an embodied perspective BMC (Bonnie Bambridge), Integral (Gill Hedley) and also a functional perspective and finally from a developmental perspective.
To provide and combine these many different avenues into anatomy we will be using Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews “Fundamentals Course”
We will be looking at the different systems of the body as one map. As another map we will look at the different layers of the body so we can access asana through any of these different maps.
The Science behind Yoga
“All models are wrong, but some are useful”
Philosophy
Philosophy is integrated through all aspects of the course. Our personal philosophy will inform everything we do.
How do we get clear what our dharma is
How best to share our dharma with the world
We will use Indian mythology as archetypes to notice and see within ourselves, we will also look at sutre and the 8 limbs of yoga. There are lots of different tools within the realm of philosophy but the key is finding what speaks to us and suits us.
As with the anatomy and asana it is about making this accessible, letting us integrate it into our lives and then supporting our students to do the same
Changing your life from within
Why Now?
Why not now? Later is just later. How long are you going to wait until you take the leap?
Trust yourself to be able to turn your passion into your profession.
Trust us to support you each step of the way
Make this your year and take the leap
The Accrediting Body
This Yoga Teacher Training is accredited by Yoga Alliance Professional. Successful completion of this training allows you to apply for membership to the international professional body YOGA ALLIANCE PROFESSIONAL
There are assessment elements in each of the modules. The assessments are designed to be supportive and to encourage you to learn and grow.
Practical Assessment with support every step of the way
Our Training Philosophy
Aruna Values
A Awareness (of your thoughts, emotions, body (somatic) - in this moment)
R Real (real people with real lives)
U Unity (mind, body, spirit – no dualistic perspective)
N Now (being present)
A Abundance (in all things)
Leading to FREEDOM
Aruna Principles
Offering Excellence in Teaching and Education
Functional, Embodied, Somatic Practices – Student Lead, Teacher Facilitated
Yoga for Real bodies with Real needs
Facilitating yoga and its benefits integrated into your life
Allowing your “Whole Self” shine
What Students have said about Laura
Teaching Faculty
Head of Faculty
Laura Wynne B.Sc. M.Sc. B.A. (Psych)
Laura has been practicing yoga asana, meditating and teaching for almost 35 years. “ “While I always teach Hatha yoga I have been influenced by different schools along my way. I began when I was 18. After 6 years of practice I could still only just about do a headstand against the wall. In my 20’s and early 30’s I found an amazing teacher Linda S. I loved crab (because I could never do it as a child), shoulder stand and plow (We now know practicing shoulder-stand the way I did 20 years ago is not good for your body). Then came 3 children, pregnancy yoga and lots of sleepless nights. By my early 40’s I craved something stronger, and had a daily ashtanga practice for a number of years.’ Now at 50 I am really enjoying the freedom and flow of embodied somatic movements. I am much more interested in the why and how then the what”.
Having a background in Yoga Therapy Laura has always known the importance in adjusting the pose to suit the student. Her love of anatomy and learning informs all her teaching. However her practice has now developed to include a somatic embodied approach.
Laura’s teachers and influencers
I am grateful for so many amazing teachers I have had the privilege of learning from along the way. Just a few include
Gill Hadley, Lisa Petersons, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen , Elma T, Linda s, Lesley Kaminoff, Ole Larson, Luis Molinar.
Other Tutors
Amy & Leslie are two of my favorite teachers and I am thrilled to be able to bring them to you as part of this training.
You may know them as authors of the best-selling book ‘yoga anatomy’, now in its 3ed addition, and with all references to ‘stretch’ removed (thanks Amy)
Amy Matthews, CMA, IDME, BMC Teacher, RSMT/RSME is steeped in embodiment. She’s been teaching movement since 1994 and is a Body-Mind Centering® Teacher. She is also a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, an Infant Developmental Movement Educator, a movement therapist, and of course, a yoga teacher. Thanks to technology… while being based in Maine, she can also share her knowledge with us.
Leslie Kaminoff is a yoga educator inspired by the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar. He describes himself as '“an internationally recognized specialist with four decades’ experience in the fields of yoga and breath anatomy.” He is the founder of ‘The Breathing Project’, a non-profit, dedicated to the sharing of educational, community-based programming related to yoga, anatomy, and health enrichment. Leslie is based in New York City.
Amy & Leslie joins us (via on-demand video) for Part 1 - The Fundamentals (YogaAnatomy.netFundamentals). This training is only available through studios like ours.
The Specifics
Dates & Location
Beginning Saturday, March 9th, 2024, completing September 2025
One Saturday each month (usually the second Saturday of each month.) NO CLASSES JULY & AUGUST
March 9th
April 13th
May 11th
June 8th
September 7th
October 18th - Retreat Weekend (Friday18th - Sunday 20th)
Nov 9th
Dec 7th
January 11th 2025
February 8th
March 8th
April 12th
May 10th
June 7th
September 6th (Integration & Graduation)
Fortnightly Study Group Zoom Call (One hour at a time that suits your Study Group) (Excluding School Holidays- Easter, Summer, Halloween & Christmas)
Weekend Retreat October 18th to 20th, 2024 at Ballyvalloo Retreat Center, Co. Wexford (TBC)
Video drops The hybrid method means online learning videos each week (30 / 180 mins each week - Depending on the topic)
Practice There will be continuous opportunities to put the material into practice throughout the course, both in your personal practice & personal life, and within your teaching practice and business life.
Assessment There will be 3 personal learning reviews during the training, For the teaching certification, there will be up to 3 opportunities to get feedback on classes taught, and demonstrate an understanding and integration of the material, along with an ability to effectively deliver it to students, You are already a good yoga teacher, the challenge is to be a great embodied teacher, teaching your particular style of yoga.
Location:
Our in-person training days will take place at Aruna Yoga Studio
Prerequisite:
200hr Certified Yoga Teacher Training
or
Somatic or embodied practice qualification (e.g. Somatic Coaching/ Counseling, Ti Chi, Chi Gong, Bodywork, Psychology)
Your Investment
Investment €3750
Pay over 17 months (€221 per month x 17 months) or pay in a lump sum (deposit €550 today and then the remaining balance of €3200 by 23rd February 2024)
Hold my place please
BOOKED OUT FOR MARCH 2024
