Yoga Therapy Training & Certification

Application and Certification

Participants are encouraged to take the entire program for certification. However those who cannot take the program in its entirety may register for specific sessions. This training is designed for registered or certified Yoga teachers, health care professionals with yoga experience, those in Ayurveda programs and those desiring 500 hour Yoga Teacher Certification. Our instructors for this intensive represent a variety of traditions. Participants from all yoga traditions are welcome.

Ananda Seva will award a 300 hour Yoga Therapy Certificate to participants who complete all requirements of the two summer trainings and the home study program between sessions. In addition, a 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certificate (with Emphasis in Yoga Therapy) will be awarded to students who have previously completed a Yoga Alliance approved 200 hour training and complete all requirements in this training.

Fees and Registration

A $700 deposit is required to hold your place in the Yoga Therapy Training. This deposit may be paid by check, credit card, money order, or cash. Deposits are refundable up to 60 days prior to the start of training, minus a $100 administrative fee. The remaining balance is due at the start of training. Once the training begins payments are non-refundable. Registration for individual seminars of the training are offered on a space available basis. Please see below for details.

For local California students with financial difficulties, we do offer a work-study position. This student would come a day early for both sessions of the training and help us with grocery shopping, cleaning, set-up, etc. In exchange the student will receive a tuition discount of $12 per hour for the time worked. Please contact us for more details or to apply for a work-trade position.

To register for the Yoga Therapy Training, write or e-mail the Yoga Trainings Manager and request a registration form. Fill it out and then mail it, along with a check or money order for $700, to: Ananda Seva Mission, PO Box 2862, Santa Rosa, CA 95405. Alternatively, you may register over the phone and pay your deposit with a credit card by calling us at 707-239-3650.

Full Program Tuition is $3690 and includes:

• Both two week sessions leading to 300 hours Yoga Therapy certification.
• Emails of recommended articles.
• Those with 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training approved by Yoga Alliance may also receive 500 hours advanced Yoga Teacher Training certification with specialty in Yoga Therapy.
• A 30 day home study/internship program between sessions.
• Enrollment in the Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Yahoo Group for contact and support from classmates, other graduates and administration.
• Free listing on the Ananda Seva website database of Yoga Therapists.

Meals and Accommodations Costs are in addition to program tuition and are as follows:
Commuter (from nearby location) = $1500
Tenting (in your own tent) = $1810
Shared room (3-4 people) = $2306
Private room = $3236

For more information contact Tara Devi, the Yoga Trainings Manager at 707-694-4662 or

*Please note: Accomodation Fees include vegetarian meals and shared bathroom facilities.

**Prices for Individual Seminars are $150/day, with an additional $50 charged for meals. Cost of overnight stay will vary depending on room choice. Please contact us for more details.

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Summer Yoga Therapy Training
May 25-June 9 and July 6-20, 2012
29 Day Program plus Home Study

This is the new schedule:
contact Tara Devi, the Yoga Therapy Admissions Manager at:

or 1-707-694-4662

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SESSION I

May 25-June 9th

May 25, Friday, Evening 7 -9: Orientation and Introduction to Yoga Therapy Course
Ananda Deviika' Ma', M.Sc, E-RYT 500 and Maetreyii Nolan, PhD, E-RYT 500, Gayatri Dawson, MFA, E-RYT 500
An orientation to the Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Training. This will be an opportunity for participants to get acquainted with one another and the training schedule. A brief introduction to Yoga Therapy will also be included.

May 26, Saturday: Introduction to Yoga Therapy
Maetreyii Nolan, PhD, E-RYT
A review of the history of the use of yogic practices for healing from Vedic times to the present, with special emphasis placed on the development of yoga therapy as it is practiced today.

May 27, Sunday: Yoga Psychology Wisdom Teachings as a Context for Yoga Therapy
Maetreyii Nolan, PhD, E-RYT
This one-day course is an in-depth review of Sankya and alternative philosophies and their role in the field of Yoga Therapy as well as a concentrated overview of psychology and the human condition from the ancient Yogic perspective. It will review Yogic concepts related to understanding the mind, including kosas, lokas, kleshas, samskaras, gunas, Brahmachakra, samadhi, and enlightenment.

May 28-30, Monday-Wednesday: Ayurveda for Yoga Therapists
Ananda Deviika Ma, M.SC, E-RYT
Basic Ayurvedic concepts of anatomy and physiology will be discussed, including tridosha theory, agni, am, dhatus, ojas, etc., and the relationship of these concepts to illness and health. Students will receive a beginning understanding of how to determine the Ayurvedic constitution and imbalances of a client, including tongue diagnosis and digestive assessment. We will discuss Ayurveda/Hatha Yoga’s common toolbox: 1) diet and lifestyle 2) Yogic shat karma (kriya) practices 3) Yoga practices seen from an Ayurvedic perspective. In the experiential portion of the day, we will investigate Hatha Yoga Pranayama and meditation practices specific to each dosha, and for the seats of the doshas.

May 31st, Thursday: Anatomy and Pathophysiology
Deborah Karish, Chiropractor
This course includes the review of human anatomy as it relates to Yoga Therapy. Students will already have an understanding of the anatomy of muscles, bones, and muscular-skeletal configurations and the role of the nervous system in movement from the anatomy taught for Yoga Teachers through Ananda Seva. This class covers pathophysiology (underlying problems) of ailments that are commonly seen in a yoga class. We will look at the cardiovascular system and frequently seen symptoms, such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and poor circulation of legs. We will delve into the stress response and useful yogic treatments. We will explore the normal physiology of breathing and commonly seen conditions of the lungs and respiratory tract , along with common endocrine problems. This class is very straightforward and designed to gently illumine the Yoga Therapist so that you will be able to lead your students in a safe and knowledgeable manner.

June 1, Friday: Day Off for Rest and
Exploration

June 2-3, Saturday-Sunday: Yoga for Optimal Mental Health
Amy Weintraub, MFA, E-RYT 500
We will explore ancient Yoga tools for mood management within the context of current findings in neurobiology. Many of these yoga skills are not generally taught in regular yoga classes, but are suitable for working with individuals in yoga classes, yoga therapy and other clinical health care settings. In addition to a discussion and practice of appropriate mood-balancing asanas suitable for all levels, you will learn and practice mudras, mantras, bhavanas (visualizations), pranayama, kriya, and meditations from the Tantric tradition that meet the mood and bring it into balance. We will cover current research in the field of yoga and mental health, as well as what is known about biochemical changes that affect mood.

June 4th, Monday: Yoga Therapy for Grief
Antonio Sausys, BA Psychology, MA Body-Oriented Psychotherapy
Grief is the body's response to loss. When facing a serious illness or life situation, we may not only lose the dream of a health but may also experience the loss of freedom created by new restrictions. In this course you will learn to identify the physical, psychological and neuro-immunological symptoms of grief and gain insight on how to address those symptoms with a set of yogic tools. Helping people work through grief aids them in the psychological transformation of personal growth.

June 5, Wednesday: Introduction to the Client Assessment Process
Maeytrii Nolan, PHD., Ananda Deviika Ma, M.SC, E-RYT
Students will learn to conduct a client interview and make an assessment of needs and opportunities for that client using the Ananda Seva process. Several recent case studies will be presented and explored in depth by a local yoga therapist. Then students will watch a mock client interview and before conducting their own mock interview. These experiences will help the student to learn to skillfully assess clients.

June 6-7, Wednesday-Thursday: Pain Management for the Yoga Therapist
Chase Bossart, Senior Yoga Therapist
Gain a clear framework for working with clients with chronic and acute pain that takes into account ayurvedic understandings and is grounded in the pañcamaya model from the taittirīya upaniṣad & the saṁkhyā tattva model of being. These methods have been clinically tested and shown to help clients in pain.

June 8h-9th, Friday-Saturday: Yoga Therapy for Cancer,
Jnani Chapman, RN
In this seminar participants will begin to assimilate the large amount of information needed to work with this special group of people. Topics will include an overview of cancer and conventional cancer treatments, their common side effects, and its psycho-social dimensions as well as Yoga therapies and asanas.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SESSION II

July 6-20

July 6, Friday, Evening 7 - 9: Review of Homework and Check-In
Ananda Deviika' Ma', M.Sc, E-RYT and Maetreyii Nolan, PhD, E-RYT
This will be short check-in and review of the homework completed in the home-study program. There will be time for students to share what they have been doing and re-orient themselves to the training atmosphere.

July 7-9, Sat-Monday: Structural Yoga for the Yoga Therapist
Shar Lee
During this time, we will study asanas and the body from a structural yoga point of view with an emphasis on body mechanics. Students will learn how to diagnose the body to understand individual limitations and needed adaptations to postures. Students will learn patterns of body compensation, movement and adjustments, which facilitate and restore wholeness.

July 10, Tuesday: Yoga Therapy for Cardiac Conditions and Stroke
Ananda Deviika Ma, M.Sc, E-RYT
This course includes a brief review of Ayurvedic and Western dietary strategies for preventing and managing the two diseases responsible for the largest numbers of deaths annually in North America. We will also explore Yoga Therapy research, asanas and other Yogic tools potentially helpful for treatment of heart disease and stroke.

July 11, Wednesday: Applied Psychology: A Diagnostic Perspective
Maeytrii Nolan, PhD
We will look at common psychological conditions from a Western diagnostic perspective and treatment from a Yogic orientation. Conditions that may be reviewed will include depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, spiritual emergence, panic attacks, trauma, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

July 12, Thursday: Yoga Therapy for Recovery from Addiction
Maetreyii Nolan, Ph.D.
Learn to help people struggling with addiction with compassion and understanding. See the connection between drug and alcohol addiction and all forms of attachment. Develop tools to use with clients suffering from addiction of all types in a group class or individual basis.

July 13, Friday: Day off for Rest and Exploration

July 14-15, Saturday-Sunday: Yoga Therapy for Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes and Obesity
Sarasvati Buhrman, PhD
These two days will cover the ayurvedic perspective and treatment on these prevalent metabolic diseases. Metabolic syndrome is now recognized as the precursor to both heart disease, diabetes, premature aging, and a host of inflammatory diseases. It is often linked to diet, stress, insomnia, overweight, and sedentary lifestyle. We will investigate the social, biological, and lifestyle dimensions of the problem, and explore Yogic, Ayurvedic, and nutritional approaches to this widespread problem.

July 16, Monday: Healing Dynamics of Breath
Sarasvati Buhrman, PhD
Early yogis noted that regulation of the breath could be used to calm the mind and stop the thoughts. The Hatha yogis also used breath and bandhas ayurvedically, to balance the doshas, heal disease, and enhance prana and ojas. Modern therapeutic use of the breath has focused on the effects of regulated breathing on the nervous system and the stress response. All of these approaches are relevant to the practice of Yoga therapy. Specific practices relating to each approach will be taught as time permits.

July 17, Tuesday: Applied Psychology: An Ayurvedic Perspective
Dr. Sarasvati Buhrman, PhD
In Yogic and Ayurvedic thinking, different types of mental and emotional disorders are differentiated by which gunas and doshas are most at play. This class will focus on understanding and treating psychological conditions from an Ayurvedic and yogic perspective using pranayama and meditation therapy and Ayurvedic treatments for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and spiritual emergence difficulties.

July 18-19th, Wednesday-Thursday: Integrative Restoration Therapy
Richard Miller, PhD
Integrative Restoration (iRest) is a modern adaptation of the ancient meditative process of yoga nidra. During this workshop Richard will guide you through the process of iRest using didactic lecture, interactive dialogue and experiential practice. You will learn iRest as an effective tool that you can integrate into your professional and personal practice. iRest will provide both you and your students with a clear-cut process for transformation, a context for how transformation unfolds as well as a framework for accessing the healing presence of pure Awareness in the healing process. This presentation will challenge and inspire you to approach yourself, your students and yoga therapy as a portal for experiencing the healing and ever-present nature of unconditioned, nondual awareness.

July 20, Friday, Final Day: Review, Testing & Graduation
Maetreyii Nolan, Ph.D. & Ananda Deviika' Ma'
During this day, we will review the diagnostic and treatment methods learned during the training. Utilizing client intake forms, students will do full assessments and for testing purposes, present their case and treatment program for the individual assessed before the class. Students will be evaluated on the depth of their assessment and quality of their recommendations and feedback given. Afterwards, we will celebrate with a wonderful graduation ceremony and Yogic feast.

HOME-STUDY PROGRAM

June 10th-July 5th

The Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy program is held in two 14-day sessions, and includes a Home-Study module between the first and second sessions. Hours earned during this module will give students the necessary non-contact hours in order to obtain 500-hour Yoga Alliance certification. This internship module is a very important part of our program, as it allows students to integrate and utilize what they are learning. It is designed to give students hands-on experience with interviewing clients, completing assessments and prescribing yogic tools. Students will also turn in a research paper on a yoga therapy topic of choice, such as yoga for cancer, obesity, etc. Research papers will include description and assessment of the topic chosen, as well as therapeutic application of related yogic techniques. Any remaining hours can be logged in for yoga therapy related research, observing or teaching. This can consist of projects such as researching herbs, visiting a yoga class for special needs (cancer, obesity, etc.) and/or teaching a class for special needs. Any of these additional hours are to include write-ups of what you have done and what you have learned. It is highly recommended that during this interim period you continue regular daily meditation and a personal asana practice as well as any other practices you assess as beneficial. This includes a write-up of your personal assessment and your experience with following your own guidelines.

Internship
We also offer an optional internship with Dr. Sarasvati Buhrman who will coach students extensively one-on-one through their first three actual clients. This includes follow-up sessions, as needed, to check in with clients and adjust practices as per individual needs and progress. The internship carries an additional certificate of 50 hours of training which you can add to your credentials as a Yoga Therapist and will increase your confidence and proficiency as a practicing Yoga Therapist. The cost of the internship is $500. Space is limited. The internship will take place in the two months following your final session of training. You can insure your space in the internship by signing up when you register. A limited number of places may also be available once the training begins.

Yoga Therapy Training Location

The Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Training is held at our own beautiful center in Santa Rosa California, just 60 miles north of San Francisco. Our center, Ananda Kamalalaya is located on three and a quarter acres on the side of a small mountain in a retreat like setting. Our center is an active ashram in which people live and work. It has a beautiful retreat atmosphere with large decks and a hot tub, meadows, large oaks, beautiful organic gardens and views of the valley and near by mountains. We are easily reachable by flights into the Oakland or San Francisco airports and an Airporter bus which will take you to Santa Rosa where we will pick you up and bring you to the center.

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Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Training Faculty

The Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Training offers a unique opportunity to study with a variety of leading professionals in the field of Yoga Therapy Training. We have hand-selected our faculty for expertise in their respective specialities and their ability to impart this knowledge through their teaching.

Maetreyii Nolan, PhD, E-RYT 500
Maetreyii has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 30 years and is the Co-founder and President of Ananda Seva Mission as well as the Co-director of this program. She has a doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice. She is also a former director of the Spiritual Emergence Network and a founding board member of the Kundalini Research Network. She has done extensive teaching on Yogic philosophy and practices, drawing on a strong intuitive connection to her Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, through which she receives teaching and shares them with others.

Avadhutiika Ananda Deviika Ma Acharya, MSc, E-RYT 500
Ananda Deviika’ Ma graduated from the University in Belgrade, in Yugoslavia, with a degree in Theoretical Physics, which inspired her to further her research in the domain of spirituality. She received her spiritual initiation in 1977 and decided to dedicate her life to serving others as an Acharya, a spiritual teacher. She became a Sannyasini, or yogic nun, in the Northern Indian Tantric tradition under the guidance of her Guru Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. She spent three years training in India and then came to the United States and Canada where she has taught many people the practices of Sahaj yoga. She is a Co-founder and Training Coordinator of Ananda Seva Mission, a trainer of family Acharyas, and a Co-director of this program.

Richard Miller, PhDM
Richard Miller, author of Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga, is president of the Center of Timeless Being, co-president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology and co-founder of The International Association of Yoga Therapy. Richard teaches in the lineage of his spiritual mentor, Jean Klein, and has devoted his life to passing on the nondual wisdom teachings he has received from his mentors in the fields of yoga, tantra, advaita, Taoism and Buddhism.

Amy Weintraub, MFA, E-RYT 500
Amy is the author of Yoga for Depression, and Yoga Skills for Therapists (W.W. Norton). She is the founder of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute and is a leader in the field of yoga and mental health. She offers professional trainings and workshops for mental health and yoga professionals and speaks at medical and psychological conferences internationally. She is involved in on-going research on the effects of Yoga on mood, and her evidence-based yoga protocol is featured on award-winning CDs and the DVD series LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues. She edits a newsletter that includes current research, news and media reviews on Yoga and mental health, archived on www.yogafordepression.com. Amy’s recovery from depression began more than twenty years ago on her Yoga mat. Joy continues to unfold through the compassionate self-awareness that is the foundation of her Yoga practice and her teaching style. In addition to her Hatha Yoga studies, Amy studied Advaita Vedanta with Nitya Chaitanya Yati, iRest with Richard Miller, and is an Internal Family Systems practitioner. Richard Miller is her mentor.

Jnani Chapman, RN
Jnani received her Bachelors of Science degree in nursing at the University of San Francisco and has for fourteen years served as senior staff member of Commonweal Cancer Help Program (which was featured in Bill Moyers' PBS special on health and healing.) Jnani also teaches yoga to women with breast cancer through the Breast Cancer Personal and Lifestyle Support Program of the University of California, San Francisco, and the California Pacific Medical Center. She is the former executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Sarasvati Buhrman, PhD, RYT 500
Sarasvati has maintained a private practice of Ayurvedic medicine and Yoga Therapy since 1987, and is senior teacher and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga and Ayurveda. She did graduate work in genetics and received her doctorate in medical and psychological anthropology from the University of Colorado. She is also a certified biofeedback therapist and Cardiac Yoga instructor. A Yogic renunciate in the Vairagi order of north India, Sarasvati has practiced and taught asanas, pranayama, and meditation, and Ayurveda under the direction of her guru, Baba Hari Das, since 1976. She was trained in Ayurvedic medicine and asked to practice and teach by prominent Ayurvedic Physician, Dr. R.P. Trivedi. She has published several papers in the fields of Yoga, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Yoga Therapy.

Shar Lee, RYT 500
Shar Lee has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 30 years, in the USA and internationally in India, Scotland, Nepal, and Brazil. She was one of the first students to train and become certified in Structural Yoga Therapy, under the direction of Mukunda Stiles, and later became a Structural Yoga Teacher Trainer. She specializes in Anatomical, Therapeutic, and Ayurvedic Aspects of Yoga Asana and Yoga for Women, and is co-author of Doubles Yoga. A devotee of Ammachi, Shar has studied for many years in Nepal and is a certified Tibetan Cranial-Sacral Practitioner, a massage therapist, and a practitioner of Ayurvedic Marma Point Therapy.

Antonio Sausys, MA, RYT
Antonio Sausys is a somatic health practitioner and yoga instructor specializing in one-on-one yoga therapy for people with chronic and acute medical conditions as well as emotional imbalance. He studied with Yoga masters and teachers such as Indra Devi, Swami Shankaradevananda, Swami Ekananda, Babashi Singh, Ram Dass, Swami Mairtreyananda and Larry Payne. He has continued his professional development with training in Foot Reflexology, Swedish Therapeutic Massage, the Degriefing Process and Reiki. Antonio teaches and lectures at U.C. Berkeley, California Institute of Integral Studies, Alive and Well, Institute of Conscious Body Work, College of Marin, has been a faculty member at the International Yoga College and the former Honorary Secretary of the International Yoga Federation for USA. Antonio resides in Marin County with a thriving yoga practice throughout the Bay Area.

Gloria Tucker, MD, RYT
Gloria Tucker is an MD who has practiced Internal Medicine for 10 years and Sports Medicine for the last 10 years, being Board Certified in both. In addition, she is a Certified Yoga Instructor and has been using yoga postures as therapy for some of her patients with difficult muskuloskeletal problems. She began meditating under the guidance of Sri Eknath Easwaran 21 years ago, and every day that passes she feels more deeply grateful to Sri Easwaran.

Chase Bossart, Senior Yoga Therapist, RYT 500 Chase Bossart is a Senior Yoga Therapist and the Therapy and Education Director for the San Francisco Healing Yoga Foundation. He is a long time, private student of Mr. TKV Desikachar and a KHYF certified Yoga Teacher Trainer. Chase has an M.A. in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara, where he wrote his thesis on Patanjali's Yogasutra, and he is also a faculty on the Loyola Marymount University's Yoga Therapy Rx Program. Since 1991 he has made frequent trips to Chennai to study at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram with Mr. Desikachar and his son Kausthub. He teaches frequent workshops in the US and abroad on a wide range of yoga subjects, both practical and theoretical.

Deborah Karish, ERYT, DC, MS
Deborah has been practicing chiropractic since 1975 and teaching yoga since 1985. During these years, the two practices have evolved together and informed and enriched each other. Her teaching is motivated by a strong desire to share experiences with other students and teachers and to continue to learn about the human body and mind. She finds the principles of yoga extremely therapeutic and healing to people of all ages. She continues to practice chiropractic in Healdsburg and to direct the Healdsburg Yoga Studio. She has taught anatomy to chiropractic students, naturopathic students and yoga teachers. Her purpose in teaching is to create classes that are intelligent, enjoyable and accessible to everyone.

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