Seattle Yoga Arts’ year-long 200-hour year-long Teacher Training Certification is a 12-month course of study consisting of one weekend per month, January – December 2020.
We are currently in session with our 2019 200-hour Teacher Training program. Please read on for full details on this program, and our 2020 program application below.
Upcoming Info Sessions for our 2020 program:
✓ Tuesday, October 15, 7:15-8:15p
✓ Sunday, November 10, 12:30-2:00p
✓ Monday, December 2, 7:15-8:15p
Why Study with Seattle Yoga Arts?
Seattle Yoga Arts is renowned as a studio of depth and excellence in teaching and our core faculty are among the most respected teachers in the Northwest. Since we began our Teacher Training program in 1998, we have trained some of the most beloved teachers in Seattle and beyond. We have had the time and experience to refine our program and we continually refresh our training with current and vital concepts that enhance your potency as a yogi and as a teacher.
Our core faculty members were trained in Anusara yoga and understand that method deeply. We also honor and source the best from the fields of physical therapy, kinesiology, therapeutics, etc. We have a commitment to including the stream of Tantric teaching in our philosophy, while also continually revisiting the root texts of the yoga tradition.
We believe that being a yoga teacher is an honor, a privilege and a never-ending path of growth and service. We have seen over and over that yoga changes lives and know that being part of that evolution is sacred.
200-hour Teacher Training Curriculum
Establish the Daily Habits of a Yogi
✓ Creating a steady home asana practice
✓ Learning pranayama
✓ Establishing a daily meditation practice: sourcing the great well
✓ Refining your poses: personal guidance on your practice
✓ Contemplation: sourcing great teachings and your own insight for life wisdom
Foundations of the Yogic Path
✓ Two great texts of yoga: The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
✓ The root text of Saiva Tantra: The Siva Sutras
✓ History of yoga, where the poses come from, the evolution of yoga in the West
Dwelling in the Body Vessel
✓ Fundamental anatomy with Michael Jacobus
✓ Softening as student and teacher
✓ Embodying and teaching the elements of earth, water, fire, air, spirit
✓ Contacting your own creative fire
✓ What to practice when? Teaching for different times, seasons, life transitions
Subtle Body Knowledge
✓ Introduction to the chakras as a model of energy flow
✓ Layers of being: the koshas
✓ Rivers of life: nadis and kundalini
Taking the Seat of Teaching
✓ Learning a refined, logical system of body alignment for asana and teaching
✓ How to teach all categories of poses safely and effectively; standing poses, backbends, forward bends, twists, inversions, restoratives
✓ The art of verbal and manual adjustments
✓ Peer teaching with feedback
✓ Building a wave: the craft of sequencing
✓ Observation and seeing beauty in the student
✓ Teaching with a theme: how to teach a meaningful, contextualized yoga class
And more…
✓ Finding your inspiration
✓ Clarifying your unique contribution
✓ Study and practice groups
✓ Keeping a sadhana (practice) and insight download journal
Prerequisites
✓ At least one year taking weekly (or so) public yoga classes
✓ At least five (5) classes at Seattle Yoga Arts
✓ A burning desire to learn more about yoga
✓ Support network of family and friends for the duration of your training
✓ Clarity about your schedule, capacities, and other commitments so that you are sure you can make space for this training in your life
Dates: Jan. 3rd – Dec. 6th, 2020
Cost: $3,645.
About the Lead instructors: Denise Benitez, Beth Award, Ellen Boyle, and Nathaniel Amos
Founder, Seattle Yoga Arts
I am in love with multiple streams of yoga, philosophy, psychology and movement. I practiced Iyengar yoga beginning at age 16 with many wonderful teachers of that method, and this practice transformed an anxiety-ridden teenager into a functioning adult! From 1992 to 2012 I studied Anusara yoga and Tantric philosophy.
I love books, dogs, water, movement, dancing, poetry, and the tropics. You’ll find my classes informed by anything from my latest movement fascination to Jungian psychology, all of it anchored by my passion for kinesthetic discovery and wise movement that is sound and effective. I think moving slowly makes one strong both physically and mentally, and that yoga is a practice of reflective consciousness that is mysteriously and profoundly healing. I’ve practiced yoga for five decades and it has cellularly rearranged my heart and provided a soul purpose to my life. I look to nature, animals, my students, and my own observations of the life of the body and soul as resources for my teaching.
In 1991, I took two summer classes: DOS Programming and Yoga. The computer information didn’t stick, but yoga captured my attention from the very first class: I felt taller and quieter.
I was a student of Denise Benitez at Seattle Yoga Arts for many years and I began to teach yoga in 2003. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher (Certified Yoga Teacher, E-RYT® 200, RYT® 500, YACEP®) through Yoga Alliance.
I’ve been inspired by those who explore and teach in related fields: biomechanics, deep tissue release, and strength education. The flavor and content of my instruction reflects this inspiration, and I feel that this supports people in their bodies in a more holistic way.
Ellen Boyle, MFA, E-RYT 500 has been delving into the practices and teachings of yoga for over 30 years. A professional teaching-artist she is currently an Associate Professor at Cornish College of the Arts where she teaches Physical Technique in the theater department and yoga to all departments. She is also a founding member of Operating Theater Company which opens its rehearsals and process to the student actors at Cornish integrating professional practices into the academic setting. She has been blessed on her yogic journey to study with many wonderful teachers including Gary Kraftsow, Robin Rothenberg, Kathleen Hunt, Denise Benetiz, Sonya Nelson and Martin Kirk. In 2015, to deepen her understanding of the sister sciences of yoga, she completed a 500 hour Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor Certification with Kerala Ayurveda Academy and is available for yoga therapy and private wellness counseling using the tools of Ayurveda. Ellen integrates the practice of mindfulness into her classes to calm the mind and allow a deep and direct experience of the present moment. With a deep bow of gratitude for the many gifts yoga continues to bring to her experience of life, Ellen offers her teaching from a place of compassion and playfulness desiring that all beings everywhere be happy and free. Website: ayurbody.com.
Yoga found Nathaniel during a tumultuous, teen-aged summer; they flirted, but parted ways. The story wasn’t finished (fortunately for him). They reunited in a cooler season and their relationship blossomed. After years together, Nathaniel is (still) surprised how yoga delights the mind, challenges the body, and inspires the heart. He completed his 200-hour teacher training at DIG Yoga-Philadelphia in Fall 2013, and, in his work since, Nathaniel has focused his study around yoga as a healing modality. He began exploring physical therapeutics under the teachings of Sue Elkind, Naime Jezzeny, and Gina Weddle. He continues to grow his knowledge alongside the guidance of Doug Keller, Jillian Pransky, and Zhenja La Rosa. Nathaniel teaches Prenatal Yoga, trained by international expert Sue Elkind. He loves supporting pregnant students (and their partners!) bring new life to the world.
In his public classes, Nathaniel builds a light-hearted atmosphere in which students unearth the alignment-focused actions embedded in each asana. He hopes his students find yoga accessible, clear, and as joyful as he does. In his off-the-mat life, Nathaniel works as psychotherapist. He continues to build touchpoints between the physical yoga practice and its potential for psychological healing as well as nurturing a socially just society. He has recently relocated from Philadelphia to Seattle and is consistently excited by the mountains, green, and the wisdom of Seattle’s yoga students.