Referred to as "The Quiet Practice" by its innovator Paul Grilley, Yin Yoga offers a framework for attending to the often overlooked inner realms of our body, mind, and spirit. The simple, floor-based postures, held for several minutes, provide a unique opportunity to release deeply held tension, free stagnant or blocked energy, and cultivate a peaceful quality of mind.
Taoist philosophy and the Chinese Meridian System are the keystones to the Yin Yoga approach, and each provides insight and guidance for crafting highly personalized yoga practices. The stillness of the long-held postures creates an ideal environment for practicing mindfulness methods, which train up the capacity to meet the challenges of life as they unfold. Practitioners can use the wisdom of these methods to develop an enriching home practice, finely tuned to your individual needs.
Yoga teachers will find the philosophical and energetic underpinnings of Yin Yoga to be deep wells of inspiration that can enliven your studies and teaching. In the Foundations of Yin Yoga & Mindfulness, you will learn the essential elements of practicing and teaching this contemplative method.
The extensive 50-hour course unfolds over three weekends with each one focused on a different vantage point: physical body, energy body, and mindfulness methods. In addition to lectures and posture studies, each weekend will include two Yin Yoga classes for an embodied experience of the theories behind the practice.
In this training, you will learn:
Yin Yoga’s history and complementary relationships to other forms of yoga
How to safely practice and teach the essential Yin Yoga poses and their variations
When and how to use props
The fundamentals of functional anatomy and how skeletal variation, biomechanics, and the Theory of Exercise help us understand what is safe and appropriate in a practice
Fascia physiology and how Yin Yoga affects this ubiquitous tissue
The basics of pain science and how to appropriately play the edge in Yin Yoga postures
Theory and application of Taoist philosophy including Yin-Yang Theory, Five Elements, and Qi
How to reference the Chinese Meridian System to craft highly personalized practices
How to use pranayama and visualizations to enhance the energetic experience in Yin postures
The Fundamentals of Buddhist mindfulness practice and how to incorporate them into Yin Yoga practice
How to use all facets of Yin Yoga to create and sustain a regular home practice
The principles of teaching Yin Yoga including sequencing, cueing, and holding the space for your students’ personal experiences
Your Investment
Your investment includes 42 contact hours (plus 8 non-contact hours for a total of 50 CEUs), a training manual, six sequences for use in Yin Yoga classes and home practices, and free access to Fascia 101 online anatomy course (https://school.sati.yoga/p/fascia101).
You will also have access to a private Facebook group to share experiences arising in your home practice, post reflections on reading and homework assignments, and ask questions that come up between sessions.
Current yoga teachers who wish to receive a certificate and Yoga Alliance CEUs are required to complete homework assignments, including a practice journal and a final project to be turned in after the course.
The price for the training is $850, or $800 early-bird until Jan 15.
The Schedule
The trainings will occur on three separate weekends in the lower level of our Arlington studio.
Each weekend will run Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00a to 6:00p with an hour-long lunch break each day.
Feb 23/24, March 16/17, and April 6/7
Your Teacher
Jennifer O’Sullivan has been teaching in the Washington, DC area for nearly 15 years after completing her first training in 2004. She has studied with exemplary yoga teachers from a number of disciplines but is most influenced by Don and Amba Stapleton of Nosara Yoga Institute and her primary teacher Sarah Powers, one of the founding teachers of Yin Yoga. Jennifer is one of only 20 endorsed Insight Yoga teachers and is a mentor in Sarah Powers’ Insight Yoga Institute. She has also studied directly with Yin Yoga founder Paul Grilley.
As a dedicated Buddhadharma student, Jennifer regularly attends practice retreats at Bhante Gunaratana’s Bhavana Society, and she received the Five Mindfulness Trainings and her Dharma name, Peaceful Family of the Heart, from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
For her complete bio, visit: https://www.sati.yoga/about/
Required Reading:
“Insight Yoga” by Sarah Powers
“Mindfulness in Plain English” by Bhante Gunaratana
Suggestions for your library:
“The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga” by Bernie Clark
“Your Body Your Yoga” by Bernie Clark
“The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English” by Bhante Gunaratana