Yin Yoga Course Info
Welcome everyone to your Yin Yoga course information!
Hopefully everything you need to know is here.
Of course if you have any questions please contact us on info@yogatreat.co.uk
Homework
Homework must be submitted no later than the day the course ends in order for you to receive a certificate straight after the course – but if you can’t, it’s fine! You can submit it later, and then you will receive the certificate when this is complete.
1) Practice
The most important homework - Practice! Shoot for 3 times per week for around 20 min to 1 hour. If you like: have a look at the different meridians we can work with in Yin Yoga - what they mean in terms of physical, mental and emotional issues. There are short clips on Melanie’s YouTube channel giving the basics.
Here is a document with 8 sequences, a short and a longer one for each meridian. You can choose one meridian and then use the short or long version depending on how much time you have. This way you can go deep working with a specific issue and the meridian and see what happens. If you have injuries or would prefer to do another sequence just let us know.
Scroll down for YouTube videos you can use for your homework if you prefer
2) Book Report: Yin practice
Read ONE these books:
- Brightening our inner skies, Yin and Yoga by Norman Blair
- The complete guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark
- Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers
(It doesn’t have to be the latest edition.)
The only thing you have to do is to note what you liked and what didn’t resonate with you. (100 words approx.) Also write down any questions that might arise.
3) Ideas Behind Yin
Write a short outline (100 words approx..) about what yin yoga means to YOU. This will form the basis of making your practice your own and making your teaching more authentically you.
All you have to send to us is:
- Approx. 100 words about your thoughts about a yin book of your choice.
- Approx. 100 words about what yin yoga means to you.
Please send your homework to info@yogatreat.co.uk and write YIN YOGA HOMEWORK in the subject line.
To get your certificate straight away the deadline is the last day of your course.
Only Melanie and Jennie will read the homework.
Additional reading: optional
Anatomy
If you’re interested in the anatomy side of things, we recommend
- “Illustrated Yoga Anatomy” by our colleague Stu Girling
- “Your Body Your Yoga” by Bernie Clark
- “The Functional Anatomy of Yoga” by David Keil
Props
We suggest that you either buy (or improvise) the following props:
2 bricks
2 blocks
1 strap
1 eye bag
2 bolsters
We know that for a lot of you now isn’t the time you want to be spending a lot of money on new props so here are some suggestions for how to make or improvise props at home;
Bolster: You can improvise a bolster by rolling up a blanket and tying it in place with string. Or stuffing old clothes into a pillow case. (See pic for me with my two favourite homemade props)
Block: You can improvise a block by wrapping a couple of big books in paper and holding it in place with tape,
Strap: A belt can be a long scarf
Eye pillow: A folded up t-shirt
Here are some more ideas...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/saving-money-on-yoga
https://www.livestrong.com/article/403495-yoga-block-substitute/
Let us know if you’re struggling and maybe we can help...
Manual
As part of the course you get two full colour manuals: one on the theory and one giving details on the poses. We will send you the manuals as PDFs via Dropbox a few days before the course starts.
- Yin Yoga Manual
- Yin Yoga Poses
If you’d like to receive hard copies, allow at least a week for the printing and postage within the UK. More information here:
Meridian Info
Teaching Practice
During the course we will divide the class into smaller groups, so you can practice teaching Yin Yoga without having to do it in front of the whole class.
This will be at the end of day 2, 3 and 4.
In order to get your certificate the teaching practice is mandatory on day 3 and 4
There are different ways to do it:
1) Breakout rooms: small groups, which you "enter" with 2 - 4 participants. You will take turns teaching.
2) Another option is that you practice teaching in a breakout room with someone in real life: for example, a family member or friend instead of another student on the course.
3) If you don’t want to practice teaching in breakout rooms you can send us a recording and we will give feedback and support. (Only Jennie or Melanie will look at the recording). This option costs £25.
4) If you prefer another way: just let us know and we will find a solution together.
Attendance
In order to get a certificate, attendance is required for all sessions - but you can choose to be more or less "active" during the sessions: if you feel that you sometimes just want to sit and listen and not participate in discussions etc: talk to us and we can arrange this for you in our session planning.
If you miss session due to jobs / other commitments: contact us and we will find a solution for completing the hours.
What if I have to miss a session?
If you miss one day or less you can make it up for free with a future group or if you want to complete the course straight away you can buy access to the recordings for £50. Just email our assistant Christina on info@yogatreat.co.uk and she will send you the link. You will get access for 1 year.
If you miss more than one day then you can make it up with a future group for an admin fee of £100. You will have the option to attend for the whole course or just the sections you missed.
During the Sessions
We appreciate if you have your video switched on during the sessions, so that we can see you, for better communication and it builds a stronger community. But if you for any reason don’t feel comfortable with it you can switch it off of course but let us know beforehand.
We will NOT be recording the sessions, to follow GDPR rules but also to create a safe learning environment for the participants. The training is interactive, which means that you have the opportunity to ask questions and share your thoughts and experiences - and to record what is said means that some participants might not feel comfortable expressing themselves. Everything we go through is in the manual and any additions are posted in the Facebook group (or emailed to you if you’re not on Facebook)
Photo Policy
For the same reason, we ask you NOT to record anything, even for your own use. If you take photos: feel free to share it on social media but if there are other students in the photo, please ask them for permission before you post it.
…and then there’s also the aspect of PR for your business! Yoga & Business is a strange subject – but important. Every time our students have posted in social media that they are doing a course in Yin Yoga – with a photo of a Yin Yoga practice - they have got comments such as “Wow this looks amazing! I want to come to your class!” – and they get bookings. So do tell your students that you are doing the course by posting photos of a yoga mat with cosy blankets, pillows etc: people LOVE that – and you don’t even have to mention OUR names! The intention is to let people know that you’ll be offering Yin Yoga classes – so that you’ll get more bookings – and let us know if we can help by writing a recommendation or commenting on how amazing you are as teachers or something like that too boost your posts in social media. J We’re here to support you.
We’ll take a group photo on the last day of the course (but you can switch your camera off if you like.)
After the course
If you’ve done the course and want to repeat it – you’ve very welcome to join the online course almost free of charge! This is a little gift from us to you!
Four days of self care, to recharge, boost creativity and connect with other wonderful teachers.
We’ve had many students repeat the course over the years and what we’ve found is that many of us learn in “layers”, so repeating the course will deepen your knowledge and make you even more confident in guiding Yin Yoga. If you’re feeling a bit stuck or exhausted or stressed, or lack motivation to teach or practice, repeating the course will give you inspiration and support.
As a repeating student, you’re a VIP, meaning:
– No homework!
– No teaching practices (unless you want to)
– You can skip sessions and only attend your favourite ones!
After the course you’ll get a certificate in “Further studies in Yin Yoga”, based on how many hours you chose to attend. (RYS-300 and YACEP).
We look forward to seeing you again.
You also have the option of getting out Video Manual. See below.
Video Manual
We have all of our talks recorded in a video manual which is only available to people once they’ve done our course. You can buy access to this for one year for £50. Email our assistant Christina info@yogatreat.co.uk and she will send you the link.
FAQ
How will these sessions work?
We use Zoom.
The first thing we always do is to welcome everyone in a group, as we do on our trainings in a welcome ‘circle’. As in real life you can get to know each other a bit and get a sense of the group energy.
Then we have a series of talks on different aspects of Yin Yoga via powerpoint presentation screen share, working in line with your manual, which you will receive via email.
For your teaching practice you will be split into smaller groups with one teacher and two or three students. Melanie and Jennie will be able to “pop in” to your group to listen in and give feedback (if you request this). If you prefer to do the teaching practice in person, you can do it as a homework and record it and send it to us.
We understand it can be very hard work to listen and watch the screen for long periods so we will include plenty of breaks and a chance to get up and stretch and move (we need this too!)
I want to learn more about Yin Yoga – but I am not interested in becoming a teacher…
You can attend the course and learn about the nurturing and healing benefits of Yin Yoga just for yourself! You’ll not have to do any homework and you can skip the teaching practices.
You won’t get a certificate, but if you change your mind and DO want a certificate – you can complete these segments later.
Can I ask questions?
We always welcome questions! These can be posed via the chat function in Zoom, where you can also chat to each other and share ideas. There is also a facility to “raise you hand” and ask a question verbally.
After each session we will collate the questions and circulate within the group.
What if I’m a total technophobe?
Nothing in the technical online stuff is hard to do. We have done test runs with people we know who have very little/no experience and they all managed it fine! We will send full instruction before the course and we can work it out together.
I’m not a huge fan of working online…
We understand some people are very used to working in this way and some people are very resistant to video meetings. So, in a similar way to our in person trainings, there is no pressure on you to talk if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do the practice teaching if you don’t want to – we are here to support you and help you have a nurturing time – not to put you on the spot or make you feel uncomfortable. If you have any concerns about any of this, talk to us in advance and we can sort it out.
Recording sessions
We pride ourselves in delivering a live, interactive course where students can ask questions, get involved and provide feedback, thoughts and input to the course as it happens. so we don’t record our sessions. We do have a video manual available for purchase after the course - see above.
We also want to respect the privacy of our students and friends, this is a safe learning space where growth and personal development can take place and we want to keep that safe space open for everyone.
Then there’s also GDPR: it’s against data protection regulations to record and share events without the permission of ALL participants.
What happens if I miss a session?
We have courses happening throughout the year so you can either join another group for just an admin fee or buy access to a recording. More details see above.
It’s all in the manual!
Our course manual is a work of many years – it has been moulded and shaped into quite the in depth and detailed guide so if you do miss anything – it’s all in there and we would be happy to discuss anything you might have missed later on.
My house is super noisy!
Some people have expressed concerns about noise/disturbance in the background. Most of the time when you’re listening you will be on mute – so no one can hear what’s happening in the background, and if a pet or child runs around a bit that’s very welcome! If you can’t get quiet to do your teaching practice it’s possible for us to re-schedule it at a time that suits you. So that shouldn’t be a problem.
Can we meet up in person?
We very much believe that in person work it very important so we sometimes offers in person meet ups in Stockholm and London.
We’ll also arrange workshops in yin yoga adjustments, open to the public, which you can attend to a reduced price.
We sincerely hope you will meet us online soon and hopefully in real life too at some point.
Any questions let us know – as always we are here for you
Admin
We’d also like you to “meet” our lovely team member Christina. She’s in charge of Yoga Alliance registrations,certificates, she sends out manuals etc. She’s available through email: info@yogatreat.co.uk
…and last but not least
Dress code! Pyjamas! Lounge around in soft pants and messy hair if you like! The main thread throughout the training is NO PERFORMANCE: if an exercise doesn’t feel good for example, you don't have to do it.
The most important thing is that you take care of yourself - and we are here to support you and inspire you and give constructive feedback - not to judge you as good/bad etc.
We very much look forward to meeting you, and if you have any questions in the meantime, we are here for you
With love
Melanie & Jennie