Yoga for Mental Health

Support students experiencing mental health challenges with compassion, confidence, and skill.

1 Year Online Teacher Training

Take your teaching knowledge and skills to the next level by joining this 1-year professional training and learn how to hold safe spaces and teach classes to deeply support your yoga students and clients experiencing anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, and high sensitivity.

Our training is registered with the Yoga Alliance and counts towards your continuing education hours.

YACEP Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider

Somatic. Embodied. Healing.

What makes us different is our experienced interdisciplinary teaching team, our therapeutic and somatic approach to yoga, and the inclusion of psychotherapeutic skills so that you can turn your classes into deeply healing experiences.

Learn & Teach

You’ll not only learn science-backed techniques for the therapeutic application of yoga for mental health. You’ll also dive into deep self-exploration so that you can teach and share your own wisdom from an embodied understanding of the therapeutic process of body-mind practices and inner healing work.

Are you interested in learning more about psychology,

somatic movement, therapeutic yoga, and inner child work

to turn your classes into deeply healing

experiences?

Join us now and learn:

Therapeutic Yoga

Mindfulness

Therapeutic Skills

Somatics

Psychology

Breath & Voice Work

At the end of this course, you will be able to confidently sequence and teach trauma-sensitive classes to deeply support students experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, high sensitivity, and burnout.

Course Modules for the 1−Year Training

Therapeutic Yoga & Mental Health
  • Continuum of health and dis-ease
  • Difference between yoga, therapeutic yoga, and yoga therapy
  • Why we assess and don’t diagnose
  • The importance of somatics and embodiment work for mental health
  • Therapeutic yoga teachers working on the intersection of psychology and spirituality
  • Yoga therapy framework: bodies (koshas), tendencies (gunas), and elements (chakras)
  • The 3 tendencies and mental health (stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout)
  • The 3 tendencies and the nervous system
  • Creating a safe space for yoga classes: setting up your room, spacing mats, attitude of a therapeutic teacher, tips for the use of music, fragrance, adjustments, language/cueing, and being trauma-aware
The Nervous System
  • The nervous system and mental health
  • Polyvagal theory
  • Exercises for Nervous System Regulation & Training
  • Vagus Nerve & Vagal Toning
  • Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
  • HeartMath
Yoga for Mental Health
  • Teaching Yoga for Depression
  • Teaching Yoga for Anxiety & High-Sensitivity (HSP)
  • Teaching Yoga to Prevent & Recover from Burnout
  • Trauma-Sensitive Yoga & Embodiment
  • Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and PTSD
  • Self-Care for Yoga Teachers: How to take care of your own health & energy to prevent burnout & compassion fatigue
Somatics & A Somatic Approach to Yoga
  • The why & how of making our approach to Yoga more somatic
  • Different approaches to movement and somatic awareness
  • Overview of somatic modalities
  • Developmental Movement Patterns
  • How to bring somatic wisdom into Yoga classes
  • Cueing students towards a felt sense
  • Somatic exercises for mental health and emotional wellbeing
Therapeutic Application of Breathing Exercises
  • Introduction to Breathing, Yogic Breathing Exercises (Pranayama) and the need for therapeutic adaptations
  • Contra-indications & Safe Breathing Practices for Students Experiencing Mental Health Challenges
  • Therapeutic Adaptations for Breathing Exercises
  • Embodied Voice Work
Psychology & Therapeutic Skills
  • Introduction to the different lines of development of spirituality and psychotherapy
  • Introduction to Yoga Psychology
  • Guided relaxation as a tool for deeper psychotherapeutic work
  • Integrating Inner Child Work
  • Self-Holding and Soothing Self-Touch Exercises
  • Therapeutic Skills for Yoga Teachers
  • Etnicity, Belonging, and Trauma
Mindfulness & Meditation for Mental Health
  • Introduction to the Different Approaches to Meditation
  • Indication & Contra-indication for specific meditation techniques for mental health challenges
  • Somatic Meditation
  • Mindfulness
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Compassion-Based Resilience
  • Non-Dual Meditation for Heart-Centered Healing
  • Ritual, Devotion, and Chanting for Heart-Opening and Emotionall Well-Being

All our lead teachers are senior yoga and meditation

teachers with additional training in yoga therapy,

trauma, psychology, or therapeutic modalities.

Your Teachers

Deniz Aydoslu

MSc, E-RYT 500, YACEP

MSc Criminology

Therapeutic Yoga Teacher

Somatic Movement Teacher

Alexa Owen

BA, C-IAYT, E-RYT 200

BA Psychology

MA Clinical Social Work (in training)

Compassion-Based Resiliency Teacher

Yoga Therapist

Rebekka Lehmann

MA, RYT 200, TSY

MA Psychology & Trauma Counselor

Trauma Sensitive Yoga Teacher

Burnout & Compassion

Fatigue Specialist

Ava Irani

E-RYT 500

Yoga Teacher

Non-Dual Meditation Teacher

Trauma-Informed &

Functional Spiritualiy

Andrea Trank

Ed.S., M.Ed., E-RYT, GSY

Yoga Teacher

Trauma-Sensitive

HeartMath® Practitioner

Integrative Medicine Health Coach

Brittany Williams

Trauma-Sensitive

Shadow Work Facilitator

Advocate for Communities

and Leaders Holding

Marginalized Identities

Akari Tamura

Yoga Teacher

Embodied Voice Teacher

Kirtan Leader

This course is for:

Yoga teachers, teachers in training, coaches, therapists, mental health professionals, medical professionals, and holistic therapists with some yoga knowledge.

What's Included

✓ Weekly live group classes via Zoom (recorded for replay)

✓ Additional self-paced video classes and practices

✓ 1-on-1 Teaching practice with peers

✓ Supervised teaching practice and teacher feedback

✓ Training manual

✓ Optional exam at the end for certification

A real academic experience with live classes with expert instructors & lots of teaching practice
to train your skill and confidence.

Full 1 Year Training

80 hours of which

✓ 45 hours weekly live Zoom classes and recorded practices

✓ 20 hours teaching practice with peers

✓ 10 hours project research & presentations

✓ 5 hours group discussions

 

with a break in autumn, Christmas, spring, and Easter

This training is fully accredited by the Yoga Alliance. Upon completion, you can register the course hours for continuing education credits.

YACEP Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider

How much time do I need?

Expect to dedicate between 1,5 hours to 2,5 hours of time to this course each week (weekly live classes and teaching practice included!)

We decided to spread this course over a full academic year to keep the workload minimal AND take you deep by giving you plenty of time to assimilate and practice what you have learned−with lots of free time to do extra reading if you like.

You’ll have holiday breaks as well as weeks off where you meet with peers to practice teaching.

Examination

Completing your course work and examination is optional but necessary in order to receive the 80h Somatic Yoga for Mental Health Certificate.

Examination:

Course work throughout the year:

✓ Participation in the classes and group projects

✓ Teach an online group class (to 2 of your peers) that is supervised by one of the lead teachers

✓ A video recording of one of your online teaching practice sessions with a peer (we recommend recording all your teaching practices with peers and then choosing one of them to hand in as part of your course work)

End of year examination:

✓ A video recording of you teaching an in-person group class (minumun 2 students) preceded by a short introductory lecture on a topic of your choice

✓ A video recording of you teaching an in-person 1-on-1 class on a topic of your choice

Upon Completion

✓ 80h Somatic Yoga for Mental Health Certificate

✓ Listing on the School for Somatic Soul Work Website

Are you ready to become a trauma-informed somatic yoga teacher and teach classes for mental health with compassion, confidence, and skill?

Our next course starts on 9 September 2023

Course Fee

Early bird price if you sign up before 1 February 2023

2400 euro

1997 euro

Pay In Full

Our lowest price if you sign up and pay in full before 1 February 2023

1997 euro

Payment Plan

Pay in 8 monthly installments of 265 euro if you sign up before 1 February 2023

265 euro

How To Enroll

1. Fill out your online application form

This only takes a few minutes. We ask you all the basic info we need in order to enroll you in the course.

2. Schedule your onboarding call

This is a short 10-minute talk to get to know each other and make sure that the program is a good fit for you.

3. Finalize your payment

Please finalize your payment as soon as you have been officially accepted onto the program during your onboarding call.

Welcome on board!

After you've completed the above 3 steps, you are all set! Now just sit back and relax. You will receive your welcome pack 2 weeks before the start of the program. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us at deniz.aydosl@outlook.com

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?

There are 2 ways in which the training can benefit you: through the framework we offer and teach you, and through the tools you’ll learn.
 
The framework we teach you will help you understand mental health challenges, in particular anxiety, depression, burnout, and high sensitivity, from a yogic holistic perspective. This means that we’ll look at what happens in the body, energy, and mind and how we can help clients self-regulate and improve their emotional and mental wellbeing. This includes teachings on trauma, the nervous system, and the yogic subtle body or energy system. This yoga therapy framework gives you the knowledge of how and when to use advise and practices that you already have in your toolbox (the modalities you already work with). You’ll understand the particular challenges of mental health problems from a yoga therapy perspective and how we can help our clients restore energetic and mental balance.
 
Then there’s the toolbox. Even though we don’t teach you how to teach and correct all the basic yoga postures (that’s for a regular teacher training), you’ll learn some great tools that you can bring into your client sessions
* You’ll learn how to guide an embodiment practice for complex trauma
* You’ll explore different types of therapeutic movement
* You’ll learn how to guide breathing exercises
* You’ll learn how to sequence a yoga practice
* You’ll lean how to guide an inner child healing journey
* You’ll learn how to guide meditation
 
As part of the course there is a lot of opportunity to practice what you have learnt. So you’ll have the chance to practice new tools as well as explore how you can integrate them into the work you already offer.

 

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.

We also offer 2 reduced rates at a 20% discount for people who are finding themselves in a difficult financial situation.
 

Are you ready to become a trauma-informed somatic yoga teacher and teach classes for mental health with compassion, confidence, and skill?

The course starts on 9 September 2023.

Course Fee

Early bird price if you sign up before 1 February 2023

2400 euro

1997 euro

Pay In Full

Our lowest price if you sign up and pay in full before 1 February 2023

1997 euro

Payment Plan

Pay in 8 monthly installments of 265 euro if you sign up before 1 February 2023

265 euro

How To Enroll

1. Fill out your online application form

This only takes a few minutes. We ask you all the basic info we need in order to enroll you in the course.

2. Schedule your onboarding call

This is a short 10-minute talk to get to know each other and make sure that the program is a good fit for you.

3. Finalize your payment

Please finalize your payment as soon as you have been officially accepted onto the program during your onboarding call.

Welcome on board!

After you've completed the above 3 steps, you are all set! Now just sit back and relax. You will receive your welcome pack 2 weeks before the start of the program. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us at deniz.aydosl@outlook.com

Your spot on the teacher training program will be secured after payment.

You’ll receive an e-mail to confirm your participation within 1 week of signing up, along with an enrollment questionnaire.

If you encounter any problems during your sign-up process, please e-mail us at deniz.aydoslu@outlook.com

Cancellation policy: due to the digital nature of our courses, we can not offer you a refund if you change your mind. However, you do receive lifetime access to your course. It’s also possible to transfer your place to a friend or join the program live next time it runs.