Yoga for the Spine Teacher Training
“Your training has had a profound effect on how I approach my own practice and teaching.
It’s one of the best trainings I’ve attended.”
-Stephanie Turple, Yoga Teacher
This teacher training will provide students with an overview of how to genuinely benefit and protect the spine in yoga – a subject generally misunderstood in contemporary yoga education.
Through an overview of anatomy, biomechanics, and sampling of yoga asana and exercises in the five categories of biomechanics, traction, strengthening, stretching, and relaxation combined with our knowledge of anatomy we will experience first hand how to make our bodies feel fantastic in asana and keep it free of injury.
We will also discuss related concepts of non-violence and the modern context of yoga as it is generally taught in the west.
Come prepared to have fun and learn how yoga can help the spine, theory and practice, as well as postural analysis for each student. This training is not only for yoga teachers but for anyone interested in helping themselves take good care of their spine, hips and pelvis. This training will be fun, easy to learn and wonderful for experienced anatomy students but not intimidating for students new to anatomy. Mostly we will just be having great experiences applying what we learn to our bodies.

Course Overview
- Students will receive an overview of the physiology of how properly applied yoga helps the spine, how the spine is impacted by daily life, and a special yoga routine for the spine.
- From this foundation, students will move into experiencing elongation and natural curves of the spine. Students will learn how to create length in the spine and to protect the vertebral column and organs.
- We will be experiencing applied anatomy and looking at the spine as well as practicing yoga to understand the effect of gravity and mechanics.
- Students will find a new sense of space, alignment, and length in their spine and pelvis.
Themes (as time allows) include:
- Feeling Anatomy from the Inside Out: Understanding Standing, Walking, into Standing
- Poses, Forward Bends, and Backbends
- Yoga for the Lower Lumbar Spine, Sacrum and Pelvis
- Protecting your Spine in the World
- Upper Back, and Spinal Curves
- Yoga for Thoracic, and Cervical Spine: Back bends that feel fabulous and heal the spine.
- Upper back to neck: Healing impacts of modern posture on the neck, returning to upright.
4 key outcomes for students participating in the course:
1. Students will gain a working knowledge of the basics of applied anatomy as it pertains to the spine and understand how this is physically experienced so that they can pass this on to other students.
2. Students will stop thinking of yoga asana as merely stretching the body but come to understand it in terms of the five key elements for balance: biomechanics, traction, strengthening, stretching and relaxation.
3. Students will gain a personal understanding of creating an effect of balance in the body asana that lasts and is the result of asana and will be able to distinguish this from more confusing and less clear experiences after asana.
4. Students will learn how to share core practices learned in this training.
Dates
This training will be held once again in 2022 in person as well as with a virtual option. Be the first to learn about upcoming dates for this training by joining the waitlist here.