Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training Online
Sep. 6–Nov. 12

with Hamsa Spagnola, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M.
and assistants Tania Taravati Turcinovic, Diana Meltsner, and Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz

Tuition: $1200.00

Training Schedule
Sep. 6–Nov. 12, 2023
Wednesdays: 6:30–9:30 pm ET
Sundays: 12–6 pm ET

Classes run Sep. 6–Oct. 29
Practicum to be scheduled Nov. 1–11
Graduation: Sunday, Nov. 12, 12–6 pm ET

The Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga Teacher Training provides a solid foundation for Yoga teachers so that they will know how to adapt the traditional Yoga asana for those students who may be limited in movement owing to age, illness, disability, or injury. Through the use of gentle assists, various props and mindful observations, the teacher will receive an overview of how to adapt and teach those students who have all types of limitations and age-related conditions; and how not to feel insecure when working with them.

This course prepares you, the teacher, to adapt, adjust, and accommodate the traditional Yoga class so that students of any age, shape, ability, or disability may enjoy the Hatha Yoga experience safely and comfortably.


In this training you will…

  • Receive an in-depth training manual, specifically designed to support you as you continue to grow as an Adaptive teacher
  • Gain access to a student portal that provides a centralized location for all your training materials, recordings of the daily practices, and other resources to facilitate a deep immersion
  • Collaborate with your fellow teachers-in-training during break-out sessions, designed to help to get to know one another
  • Practice teaching and receive constructive feedback from your trainers and peers
  • Work one-on-one with people living with specific conditions
  • Observe and participate in several classes including Gentle Mat, Chair, and Restorative Yoga; Yoga for Arthritis; Yoga for the Heart; Yoga for people living with multiple sclerosis; and Yoga for Osteoporosis
  • Complete a research paper exploring a physical or mental condition of your choosing and develop a practice to support the student with that condition
  • Create and design your own Chair/Gentle Mat Yoga class to share as your final practicum

Curriculum

Daily sessions will include theory and practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation. The curriculum will consist of...

  • Focus on asana (postures) and how to adapt for various conditions/limitations

  • Deepen experience with pranayama (breath work), meditation, and Yoga nidra (Yogic rest)

  • Study Raja Yoga (philosophy) and learn to incorporate it into practice

  • Review anatomy and physiology as it relates to various conditions such as osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, spinal conditions, osteoporosis, various cancers, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, etc…learn what to do and not do for specific conditions

  • Learn how to work with props including wheelchairs and walkers

  • Understand how to create a safe space/environment for your students

Once you have met all requirements, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Integral Yoga as an Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga teacher.

Upon graduation, you can expect to be able to guide people living with limitations confidently and compassionately through a Hatha Yoga experience that is both safe and satisfying. You will be able to teach in many settings, including Yoga studios, gyms, assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, veterans’ organizations, schools, prisons, and hospitals.

Prerequisite

This program is open to certified Yoga teachers of all traditions with a minimum 200 hours of training.

Please note: health care and movement therapy professionals without a 200-hour Yoga certification, but with comparable experience (such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, Feldenkreis trainers, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Technological Requirements

Please be aware that you must have regular access to the Internet to participate in this online training. You must be able to run Zoom on your computer, and also have an active e-mail account for delivery of course materials.

Certification and Continuing Education Credits


Testimonials

“I really appreciated the way the asanas were covered—the demos, the instructions, the modifications. It has helped deepen my own teaching in my regular classes. It felt like we learned every aspect of gentle yoga—the warm-ups, the chair yoga, the floor work, asanas against the wall.”
— Joseph

“The sequencing of the curriculum was helpful to me, progressing from explicitly taught lessons, to nonjudgmental group practice, to our own creative application of the skills learned.”
—Debbie

“It was a great introduction to the art of modifying postures for various populations.”
—Susan

IY Therapy Module Cost

Continuing Education (CE) Opportunities

Yoga Alliance (YA): Approximately 100 total hours. You can input your contact hours using your YA login information. Integral Yoga 300-hour: Approximately 100 hours towards RYT 500 designation Yoga Therapy: This is one of the required modules to become certified as an Integral Yoga Therapist.

Refund Policy

After Aug. 23 the deposit and program tuition is non-refundable and non-transferable. If canceling before Aug. 23, the balance will be refunded minus $125 administration fee. 

For more information or payment plan request--IYTh students contact Satya at yogatherapy@interalyoga.org

Lead Trainer

Interview with Hamsa Spagnola and longtime collaborator, Achala Godino. At a time when so many of our elders are becoming interested in the benefits of Yoga, Namaste spoke with Hamsa and Achala about how the Adaptive Gentle and Chair Yoga TT can help teachers learn to give a safe and beneficial class to older Yoga students. Read more >>

C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M. Hamsa Spagnola

Hamsa Spagnola, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M., is Integral Yoga certified and has been teaching various styles of Yoga for more than 35 years with compassion and an open heart. She pioneered, created, and developed the Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training certification program and the Adaptive Yoga Teachers Manual for the Integral Yoga Institute. She teaches for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New York and in New Jersey. Hamsa also teaches stress management and meditation classes and offers Reiki classes and private Reiki sessions throughout New York and New Jersey. She is a traditional Reiki master and an Interfaith Minister of Spiritual Healing. Hamsa is an active member of IYTA, Yoga Alliance, and IAYT.

Assistants

IYM, E-RYT 200, RCYT, YACEP Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz

Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz is an ordained interfaith minister and certified in Integral Yoga as a Hatha Yoga, Meditation, and Raja Yoga Teacher. He received his Bachelor of Music in Brass Performance, Tuba Concentration from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts Music School in 1996. In 2004, Rabbi Joseph Gelberman from the All-Faiths Seminary in New York City ordained him as an interfaith minister. He holds additional certifications from the Integral Yoga Institutes in Hatha Yoga in 2011, having participated in Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco’s program called Accessible Yoga Teacher Training, Meditation Teacher Training from Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville Virginia, and Raja Yoga Teacher Training from IYISF in 2012.

MS, BSN, RN, C-IAYT Taravati Turcinovic

Taravati Turcinovic, MS, BSN, RN, C-IAYT, has been a part of the Integral Yoga community for over 20 years. She has been an active teacher since her initial certification in 1998 and has served as teacher trainer and a manager of the Institute. Taravati has continued her studies at IYI by training in Hatha II, Prenatal Yoga, and Adaptive. She has also studied Thai Yoga, Therapeutic Yoga, and Accessible Yoga with various other teachers. Taravati recently completed her Master of Science in Yoga Therapy at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. In her full-time position as a registered nurse, she incorporates Yoga Therapy into her regular clinical practice. Taravati follows the principle that the practice of Yoga is accessible to all people regardless of physical condition or cultural background.

C-IAYT, e-RYT 500 Diana Meltsner

Diana has been teaching yoga in the Bay Area since 2001. Diana has been a lead teacher trainer for 200-hour Integral Yoga Teacher Trainings since 2012. The classes she teaches include chair/gentle, various levels of Hatha yoga, prenatal, guided mindfulness meditations, and various yoga, pranayama and meditation workshops. She's been working as a health educator and yoga instructor for Kaiser Permanente since 2014.

She is C-IAYT certified yoga therapist and San Francisco center manager for the Integral Yoga Therapy 800-hour certification program. Diana offers individual therapeutic sessions with focus on physical and mental wellness. Her offerings help people to find a deeper sense of well-being and ability to move through life with increased ease, intuition, and stress resilience.

www.dianameltsner.com

Enroll Now

The Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga Teacher Training provides a solid foundation for Yoga teachers so that they will know how to adapt the traditional Yoga asana for those students who may be limited in movement owing to age, illness, disability, or injury.

Enroll $1200.00

Not currently part of the IY Therapy Program?

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