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Swallowtail Yoga Teacher Training is a registered 200-hour school with Yoga Alliance.

$2900 tuition includes a $200 non-refundable application fee.
Tuition discount of $100 if full payment is received by October 15, 2010.
Payment plan available.

The next training begins in January 2011. Now accepting applications.

Please download an application to print and fill out (PC users: right-click; Mac users: control-click).

Introduction and Philosophy

Swallowtail Yoga emphasizes mindfulness, playfulness, breath, humor, and exploration — both psychophysical and spiritual.

Profoundly influenced by the work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen & Body-Mind Centering^®, Swallowtail Yoga offers an approach to yoga that is shaped by the subtle and deep practice of embodiment — the fullness of our cellular and tissue involvement.

We are part of the natural world. At its core, yoga invites us to the deeply felt experience of union. We are always in relationship — with the earth, the sky, ourselves and each other; yoga invites us to bring awareness to our experience. The Sanskrit root of the word yoga means union; at root, we are not separate; we are a part of each other.

Swallowtail Yoga is informed by principles of classical yoga, developmental movement, and the physical contents & energetic pathways of the body-mind. We focus on our internal experience, rather than our ability to complete an external form.

The training is based on several premises:

• Acknowledging each student as unique and wonderful
• Respecting the limitations, needs and desires of each student
• Offering each student more choice, more ease, more freedom
• Working in partnership with our students & working in partnership with our bodies
• Modifying the practice for each student (not the student for the practice)

Yoga is a deeply felt experience. It does not matter what you can do. What matters is the attention that you bring to what you do. Every posture has a first step. As students, we deepen in our experience and practice of each asana. As teachers, we support others to do the same.

Prerequisites for teacher trainees:
Two years’ consistent practice of yoga, familiarity with commonly taught yoga asanas, stated desire to deepen her/his own practice

2011 Yoga Teacher Training

Fridays 6:00–9:00pm
Saturdays 1:00–4:00pm, 5:00–8:00pm
Sundays 12:00–5:00pm

• January 14, 15, 16
• January 28, 29, 30
• February 11, 12, 13
• March 4, 5, 6
• March 18, 19, 20
• April 8, 9, 10
• May 6, 7, 8
• June 3, 4, 5
• September 16, 17, 18
• October 8, 9, 10
• November 5, 6, 7
• December 10, 11, 12

In addition, two of the following summer sessions (July/August) are required:

• one evening session
• two classes

Schedule subject to change.

Structure Of The Program

Friday evenings are comprised of asana, pranayama, yoga philosophy, lifestyle and ethics. On Saturdays, the focus will be on your own personal practice — direct experience of integrated embodiment. We will learn the anatomy and breakdown the postures. On Sundays, we explore how the material can be shared with others. Practice teaching to peers & community gives you the opportunity to receive constructive feedback in a supportive setting and to gain confidence.

Primary Teacher

Elaine Wintman, E-500 RYT, is a long-time teacher and creative spirit. For many years a visual artist and writer, she has taught budget writing to artists for the City of Los Angeles as well as visual art to students from 3 to 93 (including five years with adolescents in the public schools). She has a way of making complex ideas understandable and fun.

A practitioner since 1973, Elaine has been teaching yoga full time since 1994. She loves practicing and teaching in equal measure. Both are creative processes. Read more about her.

Curriculum

The 250-hour training (184 contact hours) includes:

Asana

• Intensive Study and Practice of Asana
• Prana: Embodying the Asanas
• Savasana, Yoga Nidra and Restorative Yoga
• Forward Folds, Standing Postures, Twists, Hip Openers, Inversions, Arm Balances, Backbends
• Surya Namaskar, Vinyasa and Astanga Vinyasa Yoga
• The Breath in Asana Practice
• Finding our Foundation: Earth and Space
• The Fluidity of Movement: the Internal Vinyasana
• The Bandhas and the Krias

Pranayama

• Anuloma Viloma, Ujjayi, Breath Retention, Breath of Fire
• The Lungs, the Nasal Concha & Breathing Diaphragm

Experiential Anatomy & Movement Principles

• A Peaceful Spine Full of Integrity
• Distinguishing Core from Periphery
• Cellular Breathing and Navel Radiation
• A Calm, Resting Heart
• Pelvic Halves, Legs and Feet: Support, Mobility, Integration
• Shoulder Girdle, Ribs, Arms and Hands: Support, Mobility, Integration
• Core Support: the Iliopsoas
• Embodying Organs
• Container: Bones and Muscles
• Endocrine System: the Glands, the Chakras, the Nadis & Kundalini
• Nervous System & the Brain, Balancing Sympathetic & Parasympathetic Nervous Systems
• Fluidity, Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems
• Developmental Movement: Spinal Patterns

Teaching

• Art of Observation
• Art of Demonstration
• Teaching Principles
• Modifications and the Use of Props
• The Teacher-Student Relationship
• Communication and Language
• The Art of Sequencing
• Practice Teaching with Mentoring and Supportive Feedback
• The Power of Touch: Hands-on Assisting and Support
• Teaching as a Profession, Philosophy and Ethics of Teaching

Yoga Philosophy And Lifestyle

• Introduction to the Classical Texts & Sanskrit
• Sanskrit Names of Yoga Postures
• Ethics: the Yamas and the Niyamas
• Understanding Yoga Philosophy
• Yoga Off the Mat

Special Topics

• Stress Management
• Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
• Meditation and Mantra
• Yoga for the Special Child/Adult
• Lower Back Fundamentals: Sacroiliac and Lumbar Health
• Prenatal Yoga, Mommy & Me Yoga
• Beginning Yoga
• Physical Challenges, Injury, Syndromes
• Aging and Life Cycles
• Yoga for Mental Health

Special guest teachers will offer training in Pre-Natal Yoga, Mommy and Me Yoga, Yoga for Children, Yoga for Children and Adults with Special Needs.

Swallowtail Yoga Teacher Training is a comprehensive Yoga Alliance Registered Training School at the 200-hour level. This training offers you the opportunity to explore your personal yoga practice as well as to develop the skills to transmit what you know. Read what people have to say about it.

Questions? Email Elaine at or call her at 781.367.1181