Our next Summer Intensive will be held in 2022.
Tentative Summer 2022 Dates: TBD

The 8 Limbs Summer Intensive Teacher Training was designed for students, schoolteachers, and others with a flexible schedule and/or an interest in full immersion into yoga. This training is limited to 15 participants, allowing for a more intimate and individual experience. It runs from late June to end of July every year. As of March 2021 we are planning to host this training partially on Zoom and partially in person.

“All aspects of my yoga knowledge were developed, creating a well-rounded picture of the practice and lifestyle. I also received great instruction on precise alignment of poses to facilitate variations in those who may need it as well as improvement in my own practice. Excellent cues were given for the teaching process, along with a great deal of encouragement.”
Summer 2018 Graduate

Important Information pertaining to all 8 Limbs Teacher Training Certification Programs.

This 5-week immersion 200-hour Program includes:

Yoga Sutra 2:46: sthira-sukham asanam
“Posture (asana) [should be] stable (sthira) and comfortable (sukha)”

Asana, Pranayama, and Restoratives (90 hours)
✓ Learn to practice and skillfully teach poses through greater understanding of anatomy, energetic actions and modifications
✓ Understand specific benefits of postures and pranayama for building a personal practice or for working with a wide range of students
✓ Practice modifications for injuries and/or special needs
✓ Adjustments and assisting to meet individual needs
✓ Learn contraindications for foundational poses

“If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred”.– Walt Whitman

Anatomy and Physiology (25 hours)
✓ Explore foundational concepts and terminology for the entire body
✓  Learn the names of common bones and muscles to support popular asanas
✓  Experiential classes weaving anatomical concepts and principles into poses
✓  Understand pathology and contraindications to keep your students safe
✓  Body systems – learn what the organs of the body do and how they are affected by asanas
✓  Energetic anatomy – nervous system to bandhas and chakras

“Teaching is not an imposition of the teacher’s will over that of the pupil, not at all. Teaching starts with freedom and ends with freedom.”– Vanda Scaravelli

Art of Teaching/Teaching Practice and Sequencing (25 hours)
✓ Dive into the 8 Limbs Teaching Template to design a diverse range of classes from Intro Series, Basics, Vinyasa Flow, to Anatomical Themed classes
✓ Art of Teaching classes emphasize teaching, observation and assisting principles
✓ Weekly practice sessions teaching in small groups or one-on-one
✓ Create asana sequences with Mentor feedback
✓ Learn inclusive language for teaching diverse groups

Philosophy, Ayurveda and Yogic Lifestyle (30 hours)
✓ Experience the Yoga sutras and learn how to bring them to life in your in practice, relations, and meditation practice
✓ Conversation on the Dharma (wisdom teachings) of the Sutras
✓ Introductory look at meditation and mindfulness.
✓ Familiarize yourself with the many traditional paths of yoga
✓ Learn basic Sanskrit for common poses
✓ How to use the chakras for personal growth and in designing asana classes
✓ Use the 5 Elements in Ayurveda to understand your unique constitution and create healthy routines

“True happiness is when the love that is within us finds expression in external activities.”– Ammachi

Tools to Thrive as a Teacher + Ethics and Diversity Training (10 hours)
✓ Business of yoga class to explore the many ways to make a living as a teacher and how to set up realistic goals after graduating
✓ How to prepare for yoga auditions and apply for teaching positions
✓ Participate in engaging conversations such as, Holding Inclusive Space class which explores concepts: unpacking unconscious bias, body positive and inclusive language for teachers, and making agreements for safe space
✓ Conversations in ethics for teachers to understand the value of boundaries, policy and personal practice

20 hours homework (workshop development and research paper)

8 Limbs Teacher Training Manual

Program Requirements
✓ Minimum two years yoga asana practice and 6 months personal practice at start of training; exceptions only with instructor approval
✓ Attendance of all training gatherings
✓ Completion of required reading list and homework
✓ Passing grade on take home final exam
✓ Workshop Development
✓ Research Paper

“8 Limbs Teacher Training definitely broadened my knowledge of yoga, but it also made me a better person. I came out of the training surprised at the amount I had learned about myself. Every day since I have felt the impact of this training on how I approach my world.”
 Summer 2019 Graduate

Details
The Summer Intensive will take place both on Zoom and when possible at our Capitol Hill or Phinney Ridge studio and involve both lecture and practice sessions. We encourage students to bring camping chairs and/or props for lectures, only limited yoga props are available at our studios for sitting. Class size is limited to 16 students for a more intimate experience. Format will be adjusted as needed to comply with local and national recommendations regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic.

About the instructors: Jonna Bracken, Douglas Ridings, Tracy Hodgeman, Chiara Guerrieri, Claudette Evans, Anne Phyfe Palmer, and RW Alves

 

Jonna Bracken was introduced to the practice of Yoga in 1995, when she took her first class in India.  After returning to the United States she continued to study and began teaching at 8Limbs in 2000.  In 2004 she opened and directed her own studio, Yoga on Beacon. The strength of Jonna’s teaching lies in her attention to detail and her compassionate approach to individual needs.  She has an intuitive ability to see how structure and form work together in the body, which leads her to many insights for those who take her classes. Each class is unique, based on the season, time of day, group dynamic or themes she is interested in sharing. Jonna enjoys inspiring and educating her students through a strong and sustainable practice.  She is dedicated to a smart and skillful way of working with the body that is both challenging yet supportive. Jonna hopes that each student will walk away with a deeper understanding of themselves and the yogic path.

 

 

 

What to expect in Douglas’ classes: Douglas’s classes offer clear instruction and unusual challenging sequencing that cultivate mental focus and integrated strength without strain. Douglas emphasizes customizing a practice to suit individual needs and bodies. Some of Douglas’s classes include live music with Stephen Fandrich.
Main Influences/Styles/Traditions: Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Odissi, Butoh.

 

 

 

 

What to expect in Tracy’s classes: Tracy’s weekly Phinney Ridge, West Seattle, and Capitol Hill classes are laced with humor, anatomy references, therapeutic movement, self massage, and traditional yoga poses. She emphasizes breath, stability/sustainability, and down regulating the nervous system. All of Tracy’s classes start with a call for requests, from which she co-creates a class on the spot based on what she hears and sees in the room. The last Friday of every month in Phinney, the 9-10:15am class ends with a 30 minute Nidra. The last Thursday of every month in West Seattle, the 5:45-7pm class is restorative.
Main Influences/Styles/Traditions: Iyengar, Ashtanga, Yoga Tune Up®, Viniyoga/therapeutic yoga

 

 

 

What to expect in ­­­Chiara’s Classes: Chiara teaches us how to connect with the body through the breath, how to track physical sensation moment to moment and how to find an internal sense that guides movement and choices for wellbeing. In both her SoulMat & Hatha yoga classes, expect to go slowly, to pay attention to your body and breath, and to explore alignment. An important aspect of Chiara’s teaching is to help students learn when – and from where – to stabilize or mobilize. Expect the wisdom of a 30-year teaching career, plus a good dose of humor, to infuse each class.
Main Influences/Styles/Traditions: SoulMat with Patrizia Gavoni, Hatha Yoga with Bob Smith, Forrest Yoga with Ana Forrest, Shari Fredrickson, ParaYoga with Rod Stryker, and dance from around the world.

 

 

 

What to expect in Claudette’s classes: Claudette has a genuine passion for meeting students where they are, helping guide them toward an experience of greater strength and freedom, while allowing them to discover the wisdom that lies within their own bodies. You’ll find Claudette’s classes infused with her warm, integrative, and creative spirit, along with explorations in mantra and vibration. Her enthusiasm and curiosity are catching, and it’s clear that her teaching draws on her own love of physicality and mental engagement. Through a deft weaving of precise alignment, thoughtful insight, and a great sense of humor, Claudette’s classes create space for self-expression, clarity of focus, and the sheer joy of movement.
Main Influences/Styles/Traditions: Anusara, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Sanskrit. She also has been strongly influenced by Douglas Brooks, Christopher Hareesh Wallis, Christina Sell, Sianna Sherman, Amy Ippoliti, Ross Rayburn, Jason Crandell, and Meghan Currie.

 

 

 

What to expect in Anne Phyfe’s classes: Anne Phyfe’s focus in teaching is to find both energy and calm through these ancient practices. Her classes are both strong and reflective, and usually involve a theme or intention in practice. View her teaching schedule at www.annephyfe.com/yoga.
Main Influences/Styles/Traditions: Anne Phyfe currently studies in the Tantric tradition of The Himalayan Institute. Her teachers are Rod Stryker and Shari Friedrichsen. She has also been heavily influenced by the following teachers: Gary Kraftsow, Sarah Powers, Tias Little, Ana Forrest, and her very first yoga teacher, Kathleen Hunt.

 

 

 

RW, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, SEP, is a yoga therapist, yoga teacher trainer, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner whose teachings promote accessibility, inclusivity, social justice, body positivity, trauma healing, resilience, unconditional self-acceptance, community building, and personal and community transformation through yoga and somatics.
RW works at the intersections of social justice, spiritual practice, and healing justice by developing curriculum, training and mentoring yoga teachers and yoga therapists, creating spaces for self-care and community-care for activists, and teaching about inclusive languaging and teaching, trauma-informed yoga, nervous system resilience, accessible asana, social justice, diversity, privilege, yoga, and spiritual practice. She is Faculty with Off the Mat, Into the World, and a founding member of Bending Towards Justice, which provides social justice and diversity trainings for yoga teachers around the country. She loves training teachers to make the healing and transformative power of yoga, somatics, embodiment, and spiritual practice more accessible and welcoming for a broader range of people and bodies.