All About the Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
Restorative Training
Four years ago my friend and colleague, Senior ISHTA teacher Gina Menza and I got together to create our own restorative training combining years of restorative experience. We started with a Restorative Level 1 Training and have recently added Module 2 with plans to increase the training to 85 hours, taught in separate modules.
We each bring a different focus to the training. Gina’s is the science behind restorative with a focus on the physical body. Mine has been on the energetic body, with a focus on the koshas, chakras and Ayurveda. I’ve also integrated yoga nidra into our restorative training, and Gina has integrated essential oils.
What differentiates our training is the emphasis we place on individualizing the practice for physical, emotional and energetic imbalances, which is a cornerstone of ISHTA Yoga. Not only do we teach students how to sequence and adapt restorative postures for various conditions but we also integrate visualization, kriya, pranayama, mantra, yoga nidra and essential oils into the practice. We teach students to recognize their own imbalances and give them the tools to find balance – to become their own teachers.
A Subtle Body Approach to Restorative Yoga
As an ISHTA Yogiraj, and Senior ISHTA Trainer, my years of study with Yogiraj Alan Finger have shaped my perspective, and teaching approach. This has brought me to integrate the subtle body into teaching Restorative Yoga.
Restorative poses, because of the length of time we stay in each posture, are a powerful way to directly tap into the energetic body. Just like we have the nervous system, the subtle body consists of energetic pathways that run through the body and animate it.
Restorative and the Chakras
There are 72,000 energetic pathways that run through the body that are governed by seven major energetic centers (chakras) that run along the spine and govern different segments of the body. Imbalances in any chakra over an extended period of time can create imbalance in the others and is often responsible for imbalances in our bodies and our lives.
By combining specific subtle body balancing techniques with specific restorative poses we can target chakra imbalances. I’ve developing a method of balancing each of these energetic centers by selecting specific restorative poses along with specific pranayama, visualizations, mantras and kriyas to create balance.
Restorative and Ayurveda
Restorative is an excellent way to correct doshic imbalances. When restorative postures are sequenced and adapted for specific imbalances along with specific yoga nidra practices, visualizations and mantras they are even more powerful. I currently teach a three part Restorative / Yoga Nidra Ayurveda Series.
Restorative and Yoga Nidra
I was first introduced to yoga nidra as a teenager in Mumbai, India and the stillness it led me into had a profound impact on my practice and my teaching. When I started teaching restorative classes I found that adding a yoga nidra at the end of the practice was very powerful because the restorative postures led students into a place of deep stillness which when followed by yoga nidra induced an even deeper state of surrender enabling the release of past experiences locked in the sub conscious and unconscious.
I started combining these two disciplines to create my signature Restorative/Yoga Nidra Workshops.
I teach two different Restorative / Yoga Nidra Workshop Series, one is a chakra balancing series consisting of seven workshops each focusing on a different chakra and the other is a three part ayurveda series each focusing on a different dosha.