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Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga classes offer pregnant women and new mothers an opportunity to practice yoga tailored to this special time in a community of peers. Classes enhance their enjoyment of pregnancy and new motherhood and normalize the physical and emotional changes they are experiencing. Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga teachers have the wonderful job of holding this space with knowledge, compassion and respect for the spectrum of choices and situations that are faced during this time.

The 8 Limbs Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training is designed to ground Registered Yoga Teachers with the information and experience to teach these yoga classes with confidence and safety. The training is split into two sections to allow participants to immerse in the material, observe and practice teaching, then return to deepen their understanding and bring the practical back into their continued education. They may be taken in the order most convenient to the participant.

Teaching Methodology & Practicum:

This 5-day training, taught by Anne Phyfe Palmer, will instruct certified yoga instructors to teach prenatal and postnatal yoga classes through lecture, discussion, and practice. A 35-hour course, it will cover the following:

  • physical, physiological, and emotional changes in the perinatal body
  • how to teach asana, pranayama, and meditation to pregnant and postpartum women
  • how to work with different levels of practitioners and common pregnancy-related physical issue

This module is the core of our training and is focused on teaching methodology and practice teaching. Prior to new Yoga Alliance Certification Requirements, this was our complete training and has prepared over 85 past participants to teach prenatal and postnatal yoga classes in the Seattle area and beyond.

Anatomy & Physiology:

To complete the 85 hours of training required for certification through The Yoga Alliance as a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT), Anatomy &Physioloy dives deeper into the Anatomy and Physiology of the perinatal body, Medical Complications and Interventions, and interfacing with medical and birth professionals. This 20-hour training will occur over three days of training with Anne Phyfe Palmer, Janelle Durham, and Susan Grote, PT.

Observation and Practice Teaching:

Included in the cost of Part I are 10 prenatal and 5 postnatal yoga classes. Participants will begin by observing classes with experienced Prenatal Yoga Teachers, then practice teaching their classes under the teacher’s observation and receive feedback on their teaching. Other arrangements may be made for out-of-town participants. You may start your observation classes in advance of taking either training.

Certification as RPYT:

Participants who complete all requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion from 8 Limbs Yoga Centers. They can then submit this Certificate to Yoga Alliance to receive RPYT status. To participate in the training in order to receive certification we require a $25 administrative fee. Participants must also submit a signed enrollment form (to be sent to applicants by instructor) and proof of 200-hour RYT Certification.

Preparation and Registration:

Preparation for the training will include extensive reading from required reading list below. You are not required to attend observation classes before either training begins, but it will enhance your experience and is highly recommended.

Upcoming Training Dates:

  • Anatomy & Physiology: February 25-27, 2015, 9am – 4:15pm daily
  • Teaching Methodology & Practicum: June 1- 5, 2015, 9am – 4:15pm daily

Tuition:

  • Teaching Methodology & Practicum: $690 through April 1, 2015; $720 after. Deposit of $100 will get you started on observation classes; full amount is due May 1, 2015.
  • Anatomy & Physiology: $360 through January 27, 2015, $415 after

Please contact annephyfe@8limbsyoga.com to join the Prenatal Teacher Training email list.

To register for either training, please call 8 Limbs at 206.325.8221 and send the following to annephyfe@8limbsyoga.com: State your interest in the training, why you want to teach pre/postnatal yoga, and your related background (including experience as yoga instructor, and any study/experience related to pregnancy, birth, or postnatal care).

Anne Phyfe Palmer is the founder and director of 8 Limbs Yoga Centers. Her passion for pregnancy and birth started in college in a Sociology of Women’s Health Course with one of the contributors to “Our Bodies Ourselves.” After taking a doula training with the Seattle Midwifery School, Anne Phyfe decided that teaching yoga to pregnant woman would be the best way for her to use the tools she learned. She completed the first prenatal yoga teacher training with Colette Crawford in 1998 and began to teach prenatal yoga soon thereafter. She has been recognized by both Seattle Met and Seattle Magazine as “Best” Prenatal and Postnatal Instructor in Seattle. She has two daughters, born in 2000 and 2006.

Listen to Anne Phyfe Palmer talk about prenatal yoga with Megan Sukys on KUOW’s Sound Focus

Required Reading:

  • Birthing from Within by Pam England
  • Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
  • Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Penny Simpkin
  • Yoga for Pregnancy by Sandra Jordan

Recommended Reading:

  • Preparing for Birth with Yoga by Janet Balaskas
  • The Female Pevlis by Blandine Calais-Germain
  • Netter’s Anatomy by Frank Netter, MD

Required and recommended books offered at 10% discount to training participants when ordered through 8 Limbs.

[Photo by Kona Yoga – CC BY]

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