Advanced Studies: Yoga Educator (EdY) Training Program

 

The Yoga Educator (EdY) Program is the most complete course of study offered through The Breathing Project's Advanced Studies curriculum. It reflects The Breathing Project's mission to create innovative learning opportunities and to teach principles of human structure and movement in relationship to the individual nature of every body.

In the EdY Program you will have an opportunity to develop your skills using embodiment practices blended with an in-depth understanding of anatomy, kinesiology, embryology and physiology. You will be challenged to develop your own ideas about what it means to be an educator and to put those ideas into practice as a movement professional.

The Yoga Educator (EdY) Program consists of three courses with Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews, allowing you to take up to six hours of in-class study a week and monthly weekend workshops. There is additional time spent outside the courses assisting, taking other classes and doing homework, for a total of more than 750 contact hours in the program.

These courses can be done in any order and at varying levels of intensity. If all of the courses are taken at the same time, the full program can be finished in two and a half years. Alternatively, the courses can be spread out over three to six years. Students who have completed all the required courses and homework will be issued a certificate of completion documenting their hours of study.

This program is open to movement professionals in all areas. While the context for the exploration of this material is yoga and asana, the principles can be applied in any somatic field, including martial arts, sports, dance, Pilates, fitness and bodywork.


CURRICULUM GOALS

Anatomy & Kinesiology

  • Understanding asana from the perspective of different body systems and tissues
  • Using principles of anatomy and kinesiology to explore and adapt asana
  • Integrating principles of anatomy and kinesiology in teaching asana and vinyasa
  • Empowering individuals to use their own embodied experiences as a foundation for exploration.

Asana Analysis

  • Developing observation skills in relationship to movement and stillness
  • Analyzing the effects of different choices in language, focus and orientation
  • Exploring how form is shaped by function in different approaches to asana

Transmission Skills

  • Finding precision and flexibility in your language
  • Becoming mindful of your own preferences and patterns
  • Valuing different approaches to transmission and learning
  • Distilling your own values and principles

COMPONENTS

Courses
Three courses are included in the Yoga Educator (EdY) Program. These are:
Yoga Anatomy with Leslie Kaminoff,
Embodied Anatomy & Kinesiology with Amy Matthews,
Somatic Synthesis Weekend Workshops with Amy Matthews.

These courses can be taken in any order, though if you do not have any previous experience with anatomy and kinesiology, it is recommended to take either Yoga Anatomy or Embodied A&K before taking the Somatic Synthesis Weekend workshops.

Assisting
Assisting Amy Matthews and/or Leslie Kaminoff in classes and workshops will be an opportunity to observe and discuss different teaching choices and to witness the effects of those choices in class. 40 hours of assisting is required to complete the program.

Spectrum classes
With the goal of understanding the value of a variety of approaches to teaching yoga, an additional 30 hours of asana class are required. These classes should be in at least 10 different approaches - i.e. Anusara, Astanga, Bikram, Kundalini, Sivananda, etc. (The cost of these classes is not included in the EdY tuition.)

Spectrum class reports
After attending the 'spectrum classes' program participants will be asked to write a review of each class, focusing on the strengths of each style or tradition and how each supports an embodied experience of asana.

Book discussions
The final part of each Somatic Synthesis Workshop will be a discussion of a book from the reading list. A small group of EdY students will be responsible to lead a discussion of the book and its relationship to yoga, practice, and teaching. Each EdY student (even if not leading the discussion that month) will be responsible for contributing to the discussion.

Research project
Each student will choose a commonly made teaching statement that somehow references anatomy, kinesiology, or physiology (such as "twists wring out the organs") to research and present their questions, explorations, and conclusions. In their presentations students will be expected to address the accuracy of the statement, its possible usefulness, and contexts in which it might be helpful or harmful.


ENROLLMENT

PRICES:
Full program tuition: $12,000

PRE-REQUISITES:
Completion of one year of either Yoga Anatomy or Embodied Anatomy & Kinesiology
One year's experience teaching

REGISTRATION:
For more information or to begin the application process, email register@breathingproject.org.

POLICIES:
For information on payment and policies, please go to our Policies page.


DOCUMENTATION/CERTIFICATION

This program is not a certification program and does not grant certification as a yoga teacher. Instead, you will receive a document of completion that outlines your hours of study and the materials covered.


2012 - 2014 READING LISTS

YOGA ANATOMY AND EMBODIED ANATOMY & KINESIOLOGY:

Required:

  • Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews, Yoga Anatomy, 2nd Edition

Highly Recommended:

  • Wynn Kapit & Lawrence Elson, The Anatomy Coloring Book
  • Frank Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy
  • Werner Platzer, Color Atlas of Human Anatomy, Vol 1: Locomotor System
  • Kay W. Seig & Sandra P. Adams, Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy

Additional References:

  • Abrahams, Hutchings & Marks, McMinn's Color Atlas of Human Anatomy
  • Andrew Biel, Trail Guide to the Body
  • Blandine Calais-Germain, Anatomy of Movement
  • Carmine D. Clemente, Anatomy: A Regional Atlas of the Human Body
  • David Gorman, The Body Moveable
  • Henry Gray, Gray's Anatomy
  • Florence Kendall, Muscles: Testing & Function
  • Pamela Levangie & Cynthia Norkin, Joint Structure and Function
  • Thieme Publishers, Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System

SOMATIC SYNTHESIS WEEKEND WORKSHOPS:

Book Discussion titles include:

  • Rudolph Ballantine, MD, Radical Healing
  • Robert O. Becker & Gary Selden, The Body Electric
  • Christine Caldwell, Getting in Touch
  • Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Sensing, Feeling and Action
  • Norman Doidge, MD, The Brain that Changes Itself
  • Irene Dowd, Taking Root to Fly
  • Mark Epstein, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart
  • Karl E. Geis, A Book of Twelve Winds/The Twelve Winds of Aikido and Judo
  • Michael D. Gershon, The Second Brain
  • Edward T. Hall, Beyond Culture
  • Don Hanlon Johnson, The Body in Psychotherapy
  • Don Hanlon Johnson, Bone, Breath, & Gesture
  • Deane Juhan, Job's Body
  • Candace B. Pert, Molecules of Emotion
  • Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food
  • John J. Ratey, A User's Guide to the Brain
  • Theodor Schwenk, Sensitive Chaos
  • Leonard Shlain, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
  • Leonard Shlain, Art & Physics
  • Neil Shubin, Your Inner Fish
  • Mabel Todd, The Thinking Body
  • Steven Vogel, Cat's Paws and Catapults