YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 200 HR STUDENT MANUAL

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 200 HR STUDENT MANUAL

WELCOME! HI ALLEY CAT YOGA TRAINEE! Congratulations on making the choice to be a better version of you and share this better version with the world. Every journey begins by taking the first step. You ll find yourself feeling better, breathing great, teaching awesome classes and breaking down old boundaries that keep you from reaching your goals. This YTT manual is a combination of knowledge gained from multiple yoga trainings, our personal yoga practice, and from being badass yoga teachers over the past many years. None of what you see here is brand new or revolutionary and we don t claim to have invented anything. Instead, we ve put it all together in a simple, easy to use package to help you, and your students, be your most awesome self. Namasté (that s what the yogis say), -Ashley Jonas & Dave Frenz ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1 Homework (Be a Student)... Section 2 History and Philosophy... Section 3 Breathing and Meditation... Section 4 Yoga Poses............................. Section 5 Anatomy... Section 6 Class Creation... Section 7 Cuing... Section 8 Teaching Fundamentals... Section 9 Business of Yoga... Secont 10 Hosting a Workshop/Event... Section 11 Nutrition Guidelines... ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 5

YOGA BOOKS REQUIRED: THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho A journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. HOW YOGA WORKS, by Gesne Michael Roach A story of how to heal yourself with The Yoga Sutra, the ultimate source of all yoga. THEME WEAVER, by Michelle Berman Marchildon How to brand yourself and theme your classes. THE YAMAS AND NIYAMAS, by Deborah Adele Exploring yoga s ethical practice. YOGA ANATOMY, by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews Illustrated guide to postures, movements, and breathing techniques. RECOMMENDED: BEING OF POWER, by Baron Baptiste The 9 practices to ignite an empowered life. HAPPY YOGA, by Steve Ross with Olivia Rosewood Reasons why there is nothing to worry about. Learn to be a happy yogi. LIGHT ON YOGA, by B.K.S. Iyengar The bible of modern yoga. Every yoga teacher should have this in their library. LIVING YOUR YOGA, Judith Lasater What yoga looks like off the mat. THE DANCE OF THE LION AND THE UNICORN, by Mark Waller The secret to conscious relationships. ZEN MIND, BEGINNER'S MIND, by Shunryu Suzuki Informal talks on zen meditation and practice. ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 9

DOT STICKER ACCOUNTABILITY You know those dot stickers you can get in the office section of the store? The ones that people often use to mark prices at garage sales? Yeah, those. You can actually use those stickers in a way to help your daily life. Next time you re at the store, pick up some colorful circle stickers and use them with a purpose. Soon you ll be associating these colors you see in daily life with positive actions even without the stickers.. BLUE DOT If you only ever worked on taking deeper breaths in your yoga practice, you will start to feel better and live a longer and healthier life. We use blue dot stickers to learn to breathe deeper. Stick them in places in your environment as a reminder to take a deep breath. Favorite places include cell phone, work computer, and in your car. Soon, deep breathing will become a habit. RED DOT We stick the red dots in areas where you tend to need a reminder to sit up with good posture. Good posture helps strengthen your core and gives you more energy. Lift through the crown of your head every time you see the red dot. YELLOW DOT Smiling is one of the best anti-depressants on the planet, so the yellow dots represent smiling. Fitting, right? Place your yellow dots in places you need to remember to smile. The bathroom mirror is a great place to start. So is your office computer, your cell phone and pretty much every where. ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 23

WHAT IS YOGA? Yoga is simply the practice of awareness. Put another way, yoga is the art of witnessing, both internally and the world around you. It s more than just the shapes we make in our body, much more than the physical practice of poses. We can bring yoga into all areas of our life, on and off our mat. The word "yoga" is from the Sasnskrit language meaning to yoke, join, attach, and connect. It means union or communion. The union of our will of the Supreme. We must discipline the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the body, and everything to enable us ot live life evently in all aspects. The history of yoga goes back to the Vedic Period, which begins about 1500 BC. But the term yoga, as a vast body of spiritual beliefs, techniques, and philosophy was first developed 5000 years ago in India. We won't go in depth on history here, but a quick Google search can tell you much more. HOW CAN YOGA BE SO SIMPLE YET SO LIFE-CHANGING? Life is what you perceive, since your energy and actions follow your thoughts. By practicing yoga, you can act how you want to feel and control the direction of your life. Every time you do a yoga class, you will learn poses and movement that use gravity to challenge your body. This will help you burn fat, build muscle and increase flexibility. You ll also realize that stress can be controlled and sometimes can even be beneficial. Yoga is personal journey and you have to find what resonate with you. When you do, your body and mind will follow. 32 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA 6 7 8SAMADHI Union of the Self with Object of Meditation Tranquility, Fulfillment, Spiritual Illumination, the Seeker becomes the seer DHYANA Meditation Reflection, Observation DHARANA Concentration Focusing, Attention 1YAMAS The Five moral Restraints Ahimsa nonviolence, kindness Satya truthfulness Asteya non-stealing Brahmacharya moderation Aparigraha non-hoarding, self reliance, generosity 2NIYAMAS The Five Observances Saucha cleanliness of body & mind Santosha contentment Tapas self-discipline Svadhyaya self-study, study of texts Isvara Pranidhana devotion to a higher power, self-surrender 5 PRATYAHARA Turning Inward Withdrawal of the senses to the mind 4 3 PRANAYAMA Mindful Breathing Expansion of vital energy or life force through control of the breath ASANA Postures Positions of the body, with involvement of the mind and spirit to create strength, flexibility, balance and focus. Key elements in daily life: The path of evolution requires: Aspiring to grow Observing self awareness Discernment letting go of ignorance Integrity synthesis of thought, word and deed Restraint (Yamas) Observation (Niyamas) Action and Practice of all Eight Limbs...leading to freedom and a joyful, creative life. ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 35

MEDITATION TECHNIQUES Meditation can often be intimidating and a little confusing. Just sit? Then what? In today s fast-paced life, sitting and doing nothing doesn t sound appealing when our todo lists are miles long. However, the most productive and successful people will rave about some form of personal meditation practice. Meditation is a state of deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. Use the following meditation techniques as a guide to start your own meditation practice. Sit in a comfortable position and set a timer for 5-20 minutes. Start with 5 minutes once a day and work your way up in time. The recommended meditation frequency is 20 minutes twice per day. Take your time and be proud of yourself for whatever duration you complete. I use Insight Timer app on iphone. Close your eyes and breathe naturally in and out through your nose with good posture. 1. WATCH YOUR BREATH Focus on the quality of your breath. Deep belly breaths into your diaphragm. Notice how the inhale happens. How it cools the tip of your nose. Notice the pause at the end of each inhale and exhale. 2. SINGLE MINDED FOCUS Choose one word. A simple one or two syllable word that has no emotional attachment. A word like tree or purple. Not words like love or compassion. As your mind wanders in your meditation, bring your awareness back to your word. Don t repeat the word on a rhythm, instead, use it when you need it. 3. COUNTDOWN This is good for a short meditation and if you don t have a timer. Choose a number, and each full breath countdown from that number. Inhale 10, exhale 10, inhale 9, exhale 9, etc. You can repeat the countdown as much as you d like. 46 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

MOUNTAIN PURPOSE: Posture check, identifies neutral, and used as a rest/ break. TECHNIQUE: Stand tall with your feet grounded and your core engaged. Arms along the side of your body with your palms facing forward. For extended mountain pose, reach hands overhead with biceps by the ears and relax the shoulders down the back. Lengthen from the crown of the head. WATCH FOR: Slouching, body not engaged. MODIFICATIONS: Feet hip distance apart, slight bend in the knees. SWAN DIVE TRANSITION PURPOSE: Transition from standing to forward fold. TECHNIQUE: From extended mountain pose, open the arms, gaze forward and dive towards the floor, leading with your heart. Keep the spine long and bend the knees as much as you need. WATCH FOR: Rounded back, body not engaged. STANDING FORWARD FOLD PURPOSE: Lengthens and stretches the hamstrings and lower back. TECHNIQUE: Fold forward with your fingers towards your feet. Let your upper body grow heavy toward the ground, keeping a small bend in the knees and weight in the heels. WATCH FOR: Weight in the toes, cranked neck, discomfort in the low back. MODIFICATIONS: Bend the knees. 56 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

10-STEPS TO CLASS CREATION Start with picking a peak pose, theme or muscle group to work on in class. From there, build the rest of your class around that main class pose or theme (or both). Sprinkle cues and information to your students about what you are doing and WHY you are doing it. 1. INTRODUCTION 2. PICK INITIAL POSE 3. BREATH SET-UP 4. SIMPLE WARM UPS 5. SUN SALUTATIONS 6. STANDING POSES & BALANCE 7. PEAK POSE & COUNTER POSE 8. SEATED POSES 9. SUPINE POSES 10. SAVASANA INTRODUCTION PICK INITIAL POSE BREATH SET-UP SIMPLE WARM UPS SUN SALUTATIONS STANDING POSES STANDING BALANCE PEAK POSE COUNTER POSE SEATED POSES SUPINE POSES SAVASANA CLOSING ENERGY LEVEL 10 minutes in 1/2 to 2/3 way through 10% of class time 84 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

FOUNDATIONAL POSE CUES These cues NEED to be in your class. If all you did while teaching was safely guide students through a simple sequence, you d be totally fine. Start here! 1. alignment Cue from the ground up. Use commanding words. Warrior II example: PRESS into the souls of the feet. ALIGN the knee over ankle. DRAW the belly in. SOFTEN the shoulders. REACH the fingers to opposite walls. LIFT through the crown of the head. 2. gaze Let students know where to look to maintain focus and stability. Direct their gaze to a single point keeping the neck in neutral alignment with the spine. Plank pose examples: Look at the top of the mat. Warrior II example: Gaze at ythe tip of your front middle finger. 3. distal point Direct the body to lengthen in specific directions using distal point references. Distal points are the farthest points away from the origin of our body, or the part of the body we are reaching. These may include finger tips, feet, the crown of the head, or even the tail bone in poses like downward facing dog. 4. modification/intensification This is your option to customize. Plank example: If you re still building strength in this pose or cannot maintain your peaceful breath, take the knees to the floor. 5. inhale and exhale Breath with a couple actions attached. Best suited for transitional movements and faster flows like sun salutations. 6. contraindication What tends to go wrong and how to fix it. Fill in the blanks: There s a tendency to, so today let s, and you should feel. 102 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

WHAT QUALITIES MAKE A GOOD YOGA TEACHER? 116 ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

DEVELOP YOUR BIO/ABOUT ME YOUR NAME has been teaching WHAT KIND OF YOGA for HOW MANY YEARS and practicing for NUMBER OF YEARS. (We include the practice years because we learn as much from our practice as we do from our teaching, and students know this.) YOUR NAME was inspired by YOUR INSPIRATION and also studied withyour TEACHERS. (Always list the teachers whose style inspired you, and who you wish to emulate). YOUR NAME graduated from 200/500 HR YTT in YEAR. List any other certifications if relevant, such as therapeutics, or level two trainings. YOUR NAME teaches a class with BRIEF DESCRIPTION. This part is important as students want to know do you teach with music, high, low or no heat, alignment, slow temp, gentle, physical, humor or compassion. Keep it brief, but give them an idea of what to expect. (Template from: Theme Weaver, Connect to the Power of Inspiration to Teaching Yoga by Michelle Marchildon.) ALLEY CAT YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 129