FAQ

I am a Hatha / Ashtanga / Restorative / Yin / Vinyasa / Flow / Prenatal / Chair Yoga Teacher. Is this course suitable for me?

Yes!

This course is especially designed for yoga teachers and teachers in training.

Mental health aware and therapeutic yoga is designed to apply to ANY style of yoga teaching.

It’s important to know that therapeutic yoga is not a new style of yoga, but rather a set of principles that can be applied to any style of yoga that you’re teaching.

I am a Psychologist / Psychotherapist / Social Worker. Is this course suitable for me?

This course is for you if you are a helping professional and want to integrate yoga and somatic tools into your client and patient sessions. To take this course, you need some yoga knowledge and be willing to practice yoga throughout this course. You’ll learn a lot of valuable information and techniques to integrate into your sessions.  This training does not replace an initial 200h yoga TTC, so it doesn’t educate you as an all-round yoga teacher. It is a continuing education program for yoga teachers and mental health professionals that enjoy yoga and mindfulness practices.

I’m not a yoga teacher. How will this training benefit me in 1:1 consultations with clients outside a yoga hall?

I’m not a yoga teacher or therapist, can I take this course?

It depends. We welcome all professionals that are in a position of help and service AND who are experienced yoga practitioners. We welcome teachers in training, therapists in training, and other professionals in training too. If you’re a serious yoga student thinking of a career change, you’re welcome to join this course too. Some prior knowledge of yoga is needed for this course.

Can I take this course for my own healing?

While this program for sure offers a lot of personal development, it is designed for people who are already working in an area where they help others, like yoga teachers and therapists, or those who are studying for such a career. In other words, you’ll learn a lot of information and skills to help others that you can also use to help yourself, but the focus of the program is to train practitioners, not to heal yourself.

This course does not offer personal therapy. If you are severely struggling with your own mental health, please find a qualified healthcare professional to work with.

Is this a psychotherapy training?

No. While we cover both Western and Eastern psychology in this course as well as psychotherapeutic techniques, this course is not a degree in psychotherapy. During this course, you’ll learn therapeutic skills and practices to support students in their psychological healing that you can integrate into your yoga classes and 1-on-1 sessions.

How long is this course?

The course takes a full academic year, from September until the end of June with breaks in Autumn, Christmas, Spring, and Easter.

Is this an online course?

Yes, all classes take place LIVE online so that you get a real academic experience and are in continuous touch with your teachers.

When do the live sessions take place?

Live sessions take 1-1,5 hours and are generally on Saturdays 3pm CEST. This is:

• 15:00 Brussels/Paris
• 14:00 London
• 09:00 New York
• 06:00 Los Angeles
• 23:00 Sydney/Melbourne
• 20:00 Bangkok
• 18:30 New Delhi

Some classes may be on a different day and/or time depending on the teacher’s time zone. We have teachers from Europe, USA, and Australia on the team!

If we end up with a large group of students from the same part of the world, we may adapt the class hours to better suit that time-zone.

Nevertheless, we choose 3pm CEST as our standard class time for this course because it makes that the class is at an acceptable time everywhere in the world.

What if I can’t make the Live sessions?

Ideally you join as many live sessions as possible to make use of the transformative power of group energy. However, the live sessions will be recorded and you can watch them when it suits you. All content will be accessible online 24/7. You’ll be asked to write up some notes while you watch the class and share them with us so that we know you’ve caught up on the lesson.

What happens during live sessions?

Each class centers around one of the main teaching topics. You’ll receive a lecture and there may also be guided practices, discussions, and Q&A.

Do I get extra video practices?

Yes, absolutely. For some classes, you’ll receive an extra video practice that you can practice at your own time throughout the week to further deepen your understanding of the taught material.

Will I get the chance to practice teaching?

Yes, absolutely. Gaining teaching practice and confidence is an important aspect of this course. That’s why we’ve built teaching practice into the course structure. Occasionally, you won’t have class on Saturdays and will meet with a peer instead to practice teaching 1-on-1 or group classes. On top of these dedicated teaching moments, you are encouraged to practice teaching as much as you can, either online with your peers or face-to-face with your students.

How many hours do I need to dedicate to coursework?

You’ll have 1,5 hours class each week and we recommend students to set aside another hour for course work or additional reading. Of course you can set more time aside to go through the extra reading materials that we recommend.

Expect to dedicate between 1,5 to 2,5 hours of time to this course each week.

Will we have weeks off?

Yes, there will be a break during autumn, Christmas, spring, and Easter.

What certificate will I get after completing this course?

After completing your coursework, you will receive a certificate ’80h Somatic Yoga Teacher Training for Mental Health’. You can claim the course hours with Yoga Alliance as continuing education (CE) hours.

Does this course certificate allow me to become a yoga teacher?

This course is a continuing professional education course. This means that it doesn’t qualify you as a yoga teacher if you do not already hold a 200h certificate. While this course covers topics like yoga postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga psychology, it covers them at a more specialist level. This means that we won’t cover the basics of teaching yoga.

Is this course approved by the Yoga Alliance?

Yes, we are a registered YACEP. After completing this course, you can claim your course hours as continuing education hours with Yoga Alliance.

Are the exams for this course difficult?

We know that the word ‘exams’ can bring up a whole lot of anxiety. From our experience, exams are necessary in order to test a student’s ability to run safe classes for mental health. Passing this exam gives the student extra confidence to then go out and teach, knowing that they are able to help and hold space for their students. It also makes sure that in the occasional case where a student demonstrates that they are absolutely not ready to offer this work, we can withhold certification until the student is ready.

The exam is not a big scary event. It consists of coursework that we supervise throughout the year as well as 2 video recordings you send us of you teaching at the end of the year. This means that it’s not all down to 1 pass-or-fail exam but that there are multiple course projects and teaching practices that are supervised.

Do you offer refunds?

No. However, we understand that life sometimes gets in the way of plans, that’s why we are flexible if for any reason you are unable to attend or complete the program. You can either choose to join the course next year, or to complete the course at your own pace. All lectures are recorded, so you can take the course at a later time at your own pace. If you’d like to get your certificate upon completing the program, please get in touch with us as soon as you know that you won’t be able to attend the program. You can go through the course at your own pace within 3 years of signing up and we’ll offer you a free one-on-one 30 minute Q&A session with one of the lead teachers so that you still get personalized support. After that, you’ll hand in your exam work. If instead you choose to join a live course and postpone your studies, you can join a live course when it runs next time.

Do you offer scholarships?

Yes. We have 2 scholarships available for people who are highly motivated to take this course but are struggling to make ends meet. Typically, these scholarships go to people from minority communities and people in third-world countries that are already doing amazing work in their communities.