When I took the Yoga Tune Up Level 1 Teacher Training in August of 2012, I had no idea what to expect. Up to that point, the only Yoga Tune Up class I had taken was a morning practice with Jill Miller, the creator, at the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research earlier that year.
Like many others, I felt I already knew enough and was skeptical to spend $1000 on “another training”. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that the YTU Level 1 is not another training by any means.
One of my very first workshops for teachers.
What we teach in the Level 1 is not a cookie-cutter approach, but how to teach creatively and with anatomical fluency. Up until that point, I had wanted my teachers to tell me what to teach, in what order to do it, with just enough reasoning behind the “why” to be able to answer questioning students. I never fully understood what was actually happening in the poses or the movements beyond “twists always come after backbends”.
By 2012, I not only had my BS in Exercise Biology from UC Davis, but had worked as a Student Athletic Trainer and completed over 500-hours of yoga teacher training. But I still hadn’t figured out how to bridge the gap between science and yoga. I had spent hours in the cadaver and biomechanics labs trying to figure out what every structure was, what it did and how it worked, but none of that was relevant in yoga. Or so I thought.
As yoga teachers and movement professionals of any modality, we move bodies for a living. It is up to us to understand how bodies function and move so that we can do so with more intelligence and thought. You would never even consider for a second going to a mechanic who has never looked under the hood of your car, so why do we do trust people who don’t understand human anatomy with our bodies? To be honest, you’ve probably spent more time with your coach/trainer/yoga teacher/Pilates teacher than your doctor – do you know how much training they’ve actually completed on anatomy and physiology?
The Level 1 Training bridges the gap between science and movement not by giving you the answers, but by showing you how to utilize your resources and find them for yourself. While I did have anatomical training beforehand, there were many others who didn’t – and they too learned how to use their resources to build creative sequences, answer questions and think critically about WHY they were doing something rather than just doing it.
With all that being said, you may still be curious what happens each day in the classroom, so here you go:
Each day, with the exception of the final day, includes time in the morning to connect, go-over what was covered the day before, ask questions and decompress. We will review any hands-on adjustments or techniques that were taught the day before.
The morning also includes a 2-2.5 hr master class, with focuses such as Total Body Tune Up, Triangle and Twisted Triangle (aka Hips in many directions!), Shoulder Focus towards Downdog and all overhead motions, Core, Spinal Extension/Backbends and the ever popular RESTorative Hips day (which comes very appropriately at day 4).
Afternoons include anatomy discussions, hands on adjustments, partner work, and other exercises to help you develop your unique voice, anatomical fluency and teaching competency.
Each day concludes with some relaxation/down regulation and then you’re on your merry way! There is homework each night which helps to solidify the day’s lessons so that you can squeeze the most out of the 7-days.
The final day includes an in-class presentation of what you learned the previous 7-days. It’s only in front of the your fellow students and trainers, who love you to pieces and want nothing but the best for you – no pressure 😉
While there is a short therapy ball sequence at the start of each master class, this is not a training about YTU Therapy Balls, but every concept you learn will complement your movement practice. Many students also uncover their personal body blind spots during the training – the areas of our bodies that are overused, underused, misused, abused and confused that we have become blind to and/or ignore. Body blind spots can become catalysts for injury, so it only benefits you to uncover them before they put you on the sidelines for months with a significant injury.
If you’re thinking about taking this course, I can’t recommend it higher. Not only because you could possibly take it with me, but because the 7-days changed the trajectory of my teaching path. After 7-days I learned how to be authentic in my teaching, rather than parroting what I had been told. I learned how to easily craft 2-hour workshops, that I was then able to teach nationwide! It truly helped me to unwrap the creative potential that I know we each have within us and allowed me to stand out in the crowded sea of movement professionals.
Your next chance to take the Yoga Tune Up Level 1 Teacher Training with me and Nicole Quibodeaux is October 27th in Tarzana! This is the last Level 1 in California for 2016 and early bird pricing ends on 9/30 (which is THIS Friday!), so be sure to jump on it right away.
Learn more and register for the upcoming Level 1 Training here.
- October 2: Banish Back Pain (Brea, CA)
- October 15: FREE Yoga Tune Up® Class at Athleta (Pasadena, CA)
- October 22: Mobility for Performance (Santa Monica, CA) just added!
- October 27 – Nov 3 YTU Level 1 Teacher Training with Nicole Quibodeaux (Tarzana, CA)
