12 Day 100-Hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training: Functional Anatomy and Chinese Medicine in Málaga, Spain

Certifications

The course/hours count as Continuing Education hours for Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®) only.

Program

This course will give you the fundamentals and foundations needed to teach Yin yoga safely. You will gain an intelligent understanding of how you can adapt the practice for different body types, exploring the bio-individuality of your body and its uniqueness upon everyone.

Incorporating Taoism into your practice will give you a deepened meaning and intention to what is beyond the asana. You will be prepared to teach from a both a functional and an energetic point of view.

The art of teaching is where you develop your teaching technique including responsibilities, communication, cueing, sequencing, art of propping, adapting the practice for who is in your class, creating a safe space, all through applied and experiential daily teaching practice.

You will leave this course with:

• Confidence in yourself, your teaching, and your offering
• Solid knowledge in fascia and functional anatomy
• Strong foundation in the Chinese five elements in relation to Yin yoga
• Be able to teach with advanced foundations of teaching methodology
• Confident ability to sequence from multiple approaches
• Powerful understanding of how to adapt your teaching based on who is in your class
• Cohesive and confident ability to construct holistic Yin yoga sessions
• Ability to empower people through Yin yoga
• Be a more conscious teacher
• An invaluable experience

Course structure

The course is split into two informative modules.

• Yin yoga and anatomy: fascial studies and theory on the functional approach to yoga
• Yin yoga and Chinese medicine: five elements and theory on energetic approach to yoga

In between modules one and two, there is one day off. On the day off you are free to head to the city of Málaga to explore the city or relax by the beach.

1. Functional anatomy

This course will give you the fundamentals and foundations needed to teach Yin yoga safely. You will gain an intelligent understanding of how you can adapt the practice for different body types, exploring the bio-individuality of your body and its uniqueness upon everyone. You will be able to transfer all of what you learn to other styles of yoga to enable optimal functioning of body movement through physical asana practice.

2. Chinese medicine

Discovering the roots of Yin. Breaking down the five Chinese elements you will be opened up to another world pertaining to Yin yoga. Incorporating Taoism into your practice will give you a deepened meaning and intention to what is beyond the asana. You will be prepared to teach from both a functional and an energetic point of view.

Syllabus

• Week one: functional anatomy, fascia, and art of teaching
• Week two: Chinese medicine, five elements, and art of teaching

1. Morning nurturing practice

This is the main practice of the day and is Yin yoga with mindfulness and meditation. The first week will have a strong focus on the functional approach to yoga, functional anatomy, and the unique bio-individuality of the body. Targeting the physical body, you will incorporate physical target areas and visit multiple propping techniques for myofascial release through Yin yoga. The second week will have a strong focus on the energetic approach to yoga, targeting the energetic dimension of the body, incorporating Chinese five elements.

2. Theory

This is the juicy bit of the course where you will have the opportunity to intricately break down the components of Yin yoga and reveal what it all means. In the first week, you break down skeletal variation and dive deep into fascial studies. The second week is an introduction to Chinese medicine, five elements, and Qi (energy, prana, Ki, vital life force). Some of the theory classes will have supporting educational videos and workshops to accompany the lecture. This session is to give you the scientific and theoretical foundation needed for a deeper understanding of experiential Yin yoga.

3. Art of teaching and asana breakdown

These classes are where you will break down what it means to teach Yin yoga. This is the ‘how to’ and the ‘why’. You could call this the ‘behind the scenes’ of Yin yoga teaching. The art of teaching is a discussion-based class and participation from students is welcome and encouraged. Asana breakdown is a practical class where you break down the Yin yoga asana (target area, cueing, and propping). This requires small group work from students for experiential learning. This session is ultimately about you and building your teaching expertise.

4. Evening empowering practice

Evening practice incorporates a multitude of inner practices that range from Yang styles of yoga and movement to a meditation circle. This course will take you through a journey like no other. You will get the chance to get to know yourself, to come home to yourself, and most importantly to nurture, nourish, and love yourself whole hardheartedly. This is where the heart meets the human and the human meets the soul.

Functional approach to Yin yoga (50 hours)

This part of the training explores the understanding of the unique bio-individuality of the human body. This can be translated not only into Yin yoga but your day-to-day practices. You will be introduced to functional anatomy, the fascial system, tension and compression, skeletal variation, muscle groups and target areas, asana breakdown, the art of teaching, and the art of propping. Propping is taught in a unique way but can be adapted to all other styles of yoga asana.

• Functional approach to Yin yoga
• Yin and Yang asana practice
• Meditation practice
• Mindfulness practice
• ​Muscle mandalas with physical target areas
• Skeletal and muscular system
• Fascial studies
• Myo-fascial release workshop
• The approach of bio-individuality
• Tension and compression theory and workshops
• Art of teaching (teaching methodology)
• Responsibilities of a Yin yoga teacher
• Cueing and sequencing workshops
• The art of propping and asana breakdown
• Mind-body connection
• Observation of a Yin yoga class

Energetic approach to Yin yoga (50 hours)

In this part of the training, you will break down the essence of the energetic body and how you can teach Yin yoga from this approach. Breaking down Chinese medicine theory, Yin Yang theory, and the five Chinese elements, you will gain new insight as to how you can benefit from yoga, how Qi (energy) flows around the body. You will layer onto the depth of philosophy by looking at the history of Yin yoga from its original roots; the Daoist point of view.

• ​Energetic approach to Yin yoga
• Yin and Yang asana practice
• Mindfulness and meditation practice
• ​Anapanasati meditation
• Energetic target areas
• Chinese medicine and five elements theory
• Yin yang primary organ Meridian channels
• Theory of Yin, Yang, and Qi
• History of Yin yoga
• Art of teaching
• Techniques to boost confidence and overcome obstacles
• Teaching practicum with feedback
• Yin and pregnancy
• Group work and study time
• The art of propping and asana breakdown
• Observation of a Yin yoga class
• Marketing your yoga offering

Experiencing is fundamental to learning.

Practicing

This course offers you the time to slow down and work on bringing yourself back into the parasympathetic nervous response. This is where rejuvenation, relaxation, and restoration reside. On a practicing level, you will dive deeper into the connection of yoga asana, meditation, and mindfulness, both on and off the mat.

Teaching

On a teaching level, you will significantly enhance your teaching style and technique with your personality. You will refresh your knowledge of functional anatomy, fascial studies, and the bio-individuality of the body through experiential workshops and theory sessions. You will be introduced to Chinese medicine, the five elements and will develop an art of teaching to teach Yin yoga in a creative and efficient way. This course has a strong thread of the art of teaching.

The art of teaching will prepare you to understand the responsibilities of being a Yin yoga teacher, looking at key aspects within a teaching methodology. Being an experiential, positive, and inspirational learning environment, you will embody the physical, energetic, mental, and emotional realms within the Yin yoga practice from two points of view: the practitioner and the teacher.

What you will gain

• Follow a true path in Yin yoga
• Confidence in yourself and your ability
• Sound introduction to Yin yoga
• Strong understanding of mind-body-breath connection
• Insight into the largest communication system of the body: fascial web
• Be able to incorporate techniques into and advance teaching and self-practice
• Broaden your teaching expertise with knowledge from a Yin perspective
• Have a strong foundation of the art of teaching Yin yoga
• An invaluable gateway to self-development
• Opportunities to practice your teaching skills
• Offer your students a new style of yoga which complements and balances other practices
• Offer your students a new style of yoga that works with the physical, energetic, mental, and emotional dimensions of the body
• Have tools to facilitate a practice that leans towards holistic health and wellness
• Understand the target areas of the body for myofascial release using Yin yoga as a primary technique

This course will take you through the fascia, function, and energy of yoga so that you can expand your expertise and experience in practice and teaching.

Daily schedule

• 07:30 - 08:45 Meditation and asana morning practice
• 09:00 - 10:00 Breakfast
• 10:00 - 13:00 Theory
• 13:00 - 14:30 Lunch
• 14:30 - 17:15 Theory: the art of teaching and art of asana
• 17:30 - 18:30 Evening practice
• 19:00 Dinner

This schedule is subject to small changes.