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Yoga Student Training - An Online Immersion


 

An online immersion to inspire your practice.

Gain a new perspective and appreciation of yoga both on and off the mat as you take a closer look at yoga philosophy, asana and the fascinating mindbody connection.

The current yoga student training is fully booked. Please feel free to join the waiting list to be kept up-to-date with future YST dates.

12 x group sessions

2 x private sessions

19th September to 19th December 2023

Max 16 people for a more personal experience.

>> Fully booked. <<

what is a yoga student training?

You’ve heard of a yoga teacher training, but what’s a yoga student training?

Yoga teacher trainings are an amazing way to learn a lot about yoga. Even if you don’t want to teach, it’s still a fantastic experience with enormous benefits.

However, I know that a YTT is a big financial investment and time commitment, especially if you’re mainly signing up to deepen your practice.

This is where my new yoga student training comes in!

It’s an immersive and interactive online programme designed to bridge the gap between a YTT and studio classes.

My yoga teacher training teaches you to be a damn good yoga teacher.

This yoga student training teaches you to be a damn good yoga student.

This YST will teach you:

  • How to be a compassionate and inquisitive yoga student both on and off your mat.

  • To fall in love with yoga in a more meaningful way.

  • Much more than just asanas. Create a completely holistic practice from the outside in and inside out.

  • The philosophy, psychology and physiology behind yoga.

  • The confidence and knowledge you need to get the most out of your personal practice, as well as guided classes.

  • Super cool stuff about your mindbody that’s easy to understand, but more importantly easy to use.

ALL THE AWESOME THINGS YOU’LL LEARN:

I’ve chosen specific topics from my 200 hour training that will have the biggest impact on your personal practice.


Session 1: What is yoga and where did it come from?

Have you ever wondered where yoga came from and how it’s evolved to what we practice today? I’ll take you on a short but exciting journey through the main stages of yoga’s history and together we’ll unpack what the practice is really all about.

    • What is yoga? We’ll look at various definitions, plus your personal approach and what yoga means to you.

    • What is spirituality? At it’s core, yoga is a spiritual practice, but what does this really mean in our modern day world?

    • The origins of yoga and how it’s evolved over time - it wasn’t all “love and light”.

Session 2: The 8 limbs of yoga.

The yoga postures themselves are part of a much bigger practice. Together we’ll explore some other paths and approaches to compliment your asana classes.

    • The 8 limbs of yoga - the path to inner peace.

    • The yamas and niyamas - how to tell if yoga is “working”.

    • Applying these aspects of yoga both on and off the mat.

Session 3: Yoga and the mind.

What’s the point in memorising philosophical facts if you can’t use them to enhance your practice? Information is only useful if you can use it!


I don’t teach an esoteric approach to philosophy - I’m much more focused on making philosophy accessible and relatable, so you can apply this ancient wisdom to your modern day lifestyle.

    • Yoga and the mind - the theory behind your thoughts and feelings.

    • Chita vritti - your constant mind-chatter and how to turn the volume down.

    • The kleshas - understanding the causes of suffering.

    • Samskaras and habits - bringing awareness to patterns and cycles and knowing when it’s time to make changes.

Session 4: The discomfort of decision making.

Here we can overlap yogic philosophy with modern psychology to get an insight into our behaviour and beliefs.


I’ll share snippets of yoga philosophy that are relevant to real life, such as making decisions, managing your emotions, and understanding the inner workings of your mind.

    • Suffering and contentment - long story short, our mind causes the majority of our suffering and contentment comes from within. Any self-help book will back me up on this, but isn’t it awesome that the yogis had this figured out thousands of years ago!?

    • Attachment, expectations and desire - the art of letting go.

    • Yogic decision making - how to make the “right” choice.

Session 5: The evolution of yoga asana.

The ins and outs (and upside-downs) of yoga postures. Where did asana come from and why is it such an important part of yoga?

    • An introduction to yoga asana - why do we make these strange shapes on our mat?

    • Is yoga a perfect physical practice? There’s a lot that an asana practice doesn’t provide - which isn’t a problem, but it’s important to know.

    • The pros and cons of yoga - according to personal experience, scientific studies and fake news.

Session 6: Anatomy and alignment of yoga asanas.

Did you know that no matter how hard you try, some yoga postures will be physically impossible for you?


Yoga is for everybody and every body, but asana is not a one-size-fits-all practice. Your unique shape, size and skeleton are going to have a big impact on how you move, and what your physical yoga practice looks and feels like.


Rather than aiming for the Instagram aesthetics of an asana or forcing yourself into certain shapes, you’ll learn how to adapt asanas to suit you so you can properly personalise your practice.

    • Introduction to individual anatomy - honoring your individual shape, size and skeleton.

    • Tension and compression - what’s stopping you from accessing a certain asana.

    • Body proportions and their impact on asanas - it’s a bit like finding the perfect pair of jeans. This is all about how asanas “fit” you.

    • Common alignment cues - what do they actually mean, and which ones should you ignore? I have a non-binary approach to alignment - there is no inherently “right” or “best” way to do something - it’s much more personal!

    • Engagement and energetics over aesthetics - focusing on how something feels rather than how it looks.

Session 7: Yoga and the brain.

We’ll get our geek on in this session and look at how amazing the brain is! In the philosophy sessions we learn about mental habits and patterns, but this also applies to our movement habits and patterns.

    • Things the brain loves - how its desire for energy saving, safety and predictability make it so hard to change a habit.

    • Neuroplasticity - how we can literally re-wire our brain. Super cool stuff!

    • Habitual movements - we’ll bring awareness to all the unconscious patterns you may have created.

    • Brain based movements - how to give your brain a beneficial workout.

    • Variety and repetition - finding the balance between “knew” and “new”.

Session 8: The mindbody connection.

We’ll explore the ripple effect that is present between our breath, thoughts and physical movements. It’s the key to having a truly holistic approach to yoga and is a fascinating way to see how science and spirituality are linked.

    • Intro to the mindbody connection.

    • The pancha kosha system - the yogic framework for understanding how everything is interlinked.

    • The parasympathetic and sympathetic parts of the nervous systems.

Session 9: Meditation.

Zoning out or zooming in? A deep-dive into meditation, the common misconceptions, and what’s really going on in your mind.

    • Meditation and mindfulness - same same, but different.

    • Science of meditation - some awesome studies that have been done to prove how great it is and what happens in your brain!

    • Types of meditation - if you don’t like sitting still and being silent that’s okay - there are options!

Session 10: Breathing and pranayama.

You’ve been breathing since birth, but it’s likely you’re still a beginner! Bear with me while I teach you the true power of taking a deep breath. There’s more to it than just staying alive.

    • Introduction to the respiratory system - a quick recap on high school physiology.

    • The lungs and diaphragm - why “belly breathing” is misleading and what you should do instead.

    • Breathing techniques and pranayama.

Session 11: Energy and emotions.

Energy can be a mystical and abstract concept to understand. In this session we’ll start to make sense of energy, and learn how we can manipulate it and make it more tangible.

    • Energy, emotions and embodiment - emotions are energy in motion. They exist in your body, not just your brain.

    • The prana vayus - my favourite thing to teach and the biggest “aha!” moment in my personal practice.

    • Applying the prana vayus in your asana practice - how to use these new energetic powers on your yoga mat.

Session 12: Building a home practice.

Feel confident, excited and inspired to step on your mat without the guidance of a teacher or YouTube class. By the end of this session you’ll have everything you need to create your perfect practice.

    • Building a home practice - enjoy some inner peace outside the studio.

    • Setting an intention - refining your focus and finding clarity.

    • Using a base sequence - I’ll share the same base sequence I teach in my 200h YTT so you always have a starting point to personalise your practice. From this you can create unlimited classes to match your mood.

THIS IMMERSION IS FOR YOU IF:

  • You love yoga and you’re ready to learn significantly more than in studio classes.

  • You’ve reached a plateau in your personal practice and need some new ideas to explore both on and off the mat.

  • You’ve been practicing for a while but you know there’s more to discover and you’re curious to explore yoga in more depth.

  • You’d enjoy having a yoga community for interesting discussions and yoga conversations.

  • You’ve been considering a yoga teacher training but you don’t want to teach so the investment feels too big.

  • You teach yoga but the time on your mat turns into class planning. You’d like reconnect to your own practice again.*

  • You’re a new Yoga Teacher and would enjoy a fun refresher on the key parts of your YTT.*

*This YST counts as 25 hours of continuing education with Yoga Alliance.

What’s included:

  • 12 x 2 hour online group sessions. These happen live but recordings are available for 12 months.

  • 2 x 30 minutes, or 1 x 60 minute private online session. Discuss any topics in more detail and get personal advice and feedback on any aspect of your practice.

  • A detailed manual with additional info on all of the topics we cover. Adapted from my 200h YTT textbook.

  • Completely optional self-study tasks (fun homework) that you can do in your own time.

  • A private WhatsApp group so we can continue the discussions, share additional resources and you can ask any questions.

  • An online folder with additional resources, articles and e-books to browse in your own time.

Schedule:

Sessions will take place live on Zoom and the recordings will be available for a minimum of 12 months after the course has ended.

Calls take place on a Tuesday evening between 7pm and 9pm Swiss time.

September: 19th / 26th

October: 10th / 17th / 24th / 31st

November: 14th / 21st / 28th

December: 5th / 12th / 19th

There are no sessions on the 3rd October or 7th November.

frequently asked questions

  • Everyone is welcome, although you’ll get the most out of this training if you have an existing practice. That doesn’t mean you have to be “advanced” but you should be comfortable following an asana class and have the desire to learn more about yoga in general.

  • Absolutely! This is a fantastic refresher to take after a 200 hour training and it’s even YACEP certified so you can get 25 hours of continuing education credits. Certificates can be provided on request.

  • Good question! Many people sign up for my YTT to deepen their personal practice, but then decide they actually want to teach.

    If teaching yoga is something you’re interested in then you’ll get a lot of value from a YTT, even if you end up teaching as a hobby to friends and family.

    In a YTT you get 200 hours of content compared to 25 hours in this yoga student training.

    By completing this course you’ll also become a member of my yoga retreat rewards programme, which will give you 5% off the tuition fees for my YTT.

    The YST is a great base for a future 200 hour training, so you may enjoy doing the YST first.

  • That’s no problem! You’ll have access to all the recordings for a minimum of 12 months after the course ends.

  • The course consists of 12 x 2 hour sessions, plus 60 minutes of private classes.

    The private classes are optional and you can use them at any point during 2023. They can be 1 x 60 minute call, or 2 x 30 minute calls.

    I’ll offer “fun homework” which is completely optional and is designed to compliment your current practice, rather than take extra time out of your day.

    In general, the more you put in, the more you’ll get out, but this doesn’t mean dedicating extra time, it simply means applying and practicing what you learn.

  • These are your sessions and it’s entirely up to you what you use them for.

    Perhaps you’d like help planning a class or sequencing something to do at home.

    Maybe you’d like personal feedback and advice on certain asanas or alignment.

    I can help with any asanas you’re working towards, such as arm balances or backbends etc.

    I could design you a personalised practice based on Ayurvedic principles and your individual dosha.

    If you have an injury I can help you accommodate this in your asana practice.

    If you’re already a yoga teacher we can recap any topics in more detail from your YTT, or I can provide mentorship and business advice.

    The possibilities are endless!

    The private classes are completely optional and you can use them at any time during 2024.

    You can do 1 x 60 minute call, or 2 x 30 minute calls.

  • This is an education based course.

    Some sessions (such as the history and philosophy lessons) won’t include any asanas and instead they’ll be a blend of theory, discussion and reflection.

    In the sessions such as anatomy, meditation and pranayama you’ll be encouraged to join in and try the breathing and movement, but it will be much more workshop style and not a guided class.

    The sessions on energy and building a home practice will be more physical, but again, more of a workshop style where interaction is encouraged.