500 Hour Teacher Training
Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Teacher Training Program 500-hour Program (500-hr RYT)
The Elemental Yoga 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training Program is designed to offer teachers at the 200-hour level or beyond an advanced training experience with a strong mind-body focus.
Our philosophy is that the most dramatic changes in professional development often occur in the context of direct teaching and practice experience. Accordingly, this 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training is designed with two goals in mind: disseminating new information to supplement beginning and intermediate-level teachers’ knowledge, and providing a supportive and stimulating environment in which teachers can continue to integrate and practice what they have learned in their 200-hour programs.
As with the 200-hour program, the Svadhyaya, or Self-Study, component of the training is emphasized for its importance in preparing teachers to address the wide range of therapeutic issues presented in both class and private settings.
The 500-hour program is designed as a 2- or 3-year, independent study that is designed to complement the experiences of teaching, assisting, and self-reflection of the 200-hour graduate. Each year will offer several weekend workshops and intensives.
Featured Teachers
Featured teachers in the 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training Program are:
- Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Lou Benson, L.M.T.
- Nicolai Bachman, M.A.
- Edwin Bryant, Ph.D.
- Paul Muller-Ortega, Ph.D.
- Gessner Geyer, Ph.D.
- Nischala Joy Devi
Prerequisites
Teachers entering the 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training Program are expected to have completed their 200-hour level training, either with Elemental Yoga or with another registered yoga school. However, occasionally students with no prior training experience may wish to enter the 200-hour and 500-hour training programs concurrently; this can be done with prior approval. Students who wish to enroll in both programs must indicate this on their application.
Teachers with a 200-hour certification from another program may enter the 500-hour program and take the prerequisites below, either prior to entering the 500-hour Program, or concurrently with 500-hour weekend trainings. Graduates of the Elemental Yoga Mind-Body Teacher Training Program Due to the comprehensive nature of the Elemental Yoga 200-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training Program, and its focused on advanced applications of integrative yoga therapeutics, graduates of this program who wish to enter the 500-hour Program will receive credit for an additional 125 hours of training.
Graduates of other Yoga Alliance-recognized yoga schools
Because the Elemental Yoga 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training is designed to build upon the mind-body foundation of the 200-hour course, teachers with a 200-hour certification from yoga schools other than Elemental Yoga will be required to take the following workshops:
- Current Prerequisite Dates (see Schedule section)
- Restorative Yoga (July 20-22, 2007)
- Yoga: an Energy Map to the Mind and Emotions (October 12-14, 2007)
- Art of Assisting, Levels I and II (and the assisting practicum) (November and December, 2007)
- Yoga Therapeutics I and II (January and February, 2008)
- Yoga for the Emotional Body (March, 2008)
However, for teachers taking the above workshops as prerequisites to the Elemental Yoga 500-hour Mind-Body Teacher Training Program, 105 contact hours will be applied toward their 500-hour registration.
Schedule
The 500-hour Teacher Training course will include a weeklong intensive (scheduled for August of 2008), plus several weekend workshops.
Weeklong Intensive:
| Weeklong Intensive | Lou Benson, R.M.T. and Bo Forbes, Psy.D., E-RYT500 | AUG 1-8, 2008 |
Additional training required as part of 500-hour certification-
Weekend Workshops:
| The Bhagavad Gita | Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | SEP 28-30, 2007 |
| Yoga Therapeutics IV: The Anatomy of an Integrative Yoga Therapeutics™ Private Session | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | NOV 16-18, 2007 |
| Yoga Therapeutics IV: Part II | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | JAN 18-20, 2008 |
| Yoga and Ayurveda | Nicolai Bachman, M.A. | MAR 14-16, 2008 |
| Yoga Therapeutics III: Balancing Asymmetries | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | APR 25-27, 2008 |
| TBA | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | MAY 23-25, 2008 |
| Restorative Yoga: A Force for Healing | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | JUL 18-20, 2008 |
| The Bhagavad Gita | Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | OCT 3-5, 2008 |
| Yoga Therapeutics IV: The Anatomy of an Integrative Yoga Therapeutics™ Private Session | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | OCT 17-19, 2008 |
| The Neurobiology of Yoga | Gessner Geyer, Ph.D. | NOV 21-23, 2008 |
| Yoga Therapeutics V: Injury Rehabilitation | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | TBA 2009 |
| Yoga Therapeutics VI: Working with Elders | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | TBA 2009 |
| Sequencing II: Advanced Architecture of a Yoga Class | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | TBA 2009 |
| Yoga for the Emotional Body II: Anxiety, Depression, Addictions, and Emotional Disorders | Bo Forbes, Psy.D. | TBA 2009 |
| Introduction to Hindu Philosophy | Edwin Bryant, Ph.D. | TBA 2009 |
| Tantric Philosophy I | Carlos Pomeda | TBA |
| Tantric Philosophy II | Carlos Pomeda | TBA 2009 |
Curriculum
The 500-hour Teacher Training course will include a weeklong intensive (scheduled for August of 2008), plus several weekend workshops.
Weeklong Intensive:
- Anatomy, Alignment, and Self-Study Lou Benson, R.M.T. and Bo Forbes, Psy.D., E-RYT500
Weekend Modules:
- Yoga for the Emotional Body II with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Sequencing II: Advanced Architecture of a Yoga Class with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Advanced Yoga Assisting Module / Assistant Teaching with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Yoga Therapeutics III: Balancing Asymmetries with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Yoga Therapeutics IV: Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- Yoga Therapeutics V: Yoga for Elders with Bo Forbes, Psy.D.
- The Neurobiology of Yoga with Gessner Geyer, Ph.D.
- Yoga for the Heart with Nischala Joy Devi
- The Bhagavad Gita with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D.
- Introduction to Hindu Philosophy with Edwin Bryant, Ph.D.
- Tantric Philosophy I with Paul Muller-Ortega, Ph.D.
- Tantric Philosophy II with Paul Muller-Ortega, Ph.D.
- Yoga and Ayurveda Nicolai Bachman, M.A.
Affiliated Teachers
Nicolai Bachman, MA, RYT
Nicolai Bachman, MA, RYT has been teaching Sanskrit and related topics since 1994. His primary teachers are Vyaas Houston, Vasant Lad, David Frawley and Sonia Nelson. Nicolai currently teaches Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, and Ayurveda at teacher training programs, studios, and schools throughout the country. He has produced several highly acclaimed Sanskrit audio/visual learning tools including 108 Sanskrit Flash Cards and Asana Names and the Language of Yoga. Nicolai received his M.A. in Eastern Philosophy from St. John's College. He is also a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is pursuing a graduate degree in Nutrition. He is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level.
Edwin Bryant, Ph.D.
Edwin Bryant received his Ph.D in Indic languages and Cultures from Columbia University, taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently the professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University where he teaches courses on Hindu Philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, Sanskrit, Yoga, and other related subjects. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, and is the author of six books and dozens of articles. Edwin's Penguin World Classics translation of the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, which is the traditional source for the story of Krishna's incarnation, is aimed at the general public interested in Hinduism, as well as the yoga community. His forthcoming translation of the Yoga Sutras is specifically dedicated to the Yoga community and contributes to the growing body of literature on Yoga by providing extracts form the traditional commentaries on Patanjali's text. Edwin has been personally involved with yoga as an initiated practitioner in a traditional Vaishnava sect who has practiced bhakti yoga for 25 years, a number of them in India.
Lou Benson, RMT
Lou Benson is a bodyworker in Cambridge, MA, with advanced certifications in Structural Integration and Aston Patterning. Lou is currently on the faculty at the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge. She has been teaching anatomy and bodywork to massage therapists for over 12 years, and has been a yoga student for 4 years. Being multi-segmented 3-dimensional moving puzzles in a gravitational field isn't always easy; a primary focus in Lou's work as a therapist and teacher, therefore, is to increase one's kinesthetic awareness of neutrality and balance. Lou's goal in preparing this class is to provide a key piece of the foundation for seeing balance in asana practice through a practical and easily accessible view of anatomical structure and function.
Fees & Registration
Registration:
Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot hold your space in the training without your application and deposit.
To register, please download and fill out the Teacher Training application and send to: bo@elementalyoga.com. The purpose of this application is to better know you and your needs.
You can send your deposit or full fee to:
- Bo Forbes
- Elemental Yoga Teacher Training
- c/o The Arlington Center
- 369 Mass. Avenue
- Arlington, MA 02474
Cancellations:
Less than 30 days prior to the training, deposits are not refundable.
If notice is given more than 30 days prior to the start of the course, full course fees can be refunded, less a $200 administrative fee.