The Body Aligned
Yoga, Functional Anatomy & Injury
Practical functional anatomy, teach to avoid injury, dealing with students’ injuries.
60-hour, Teacher-Only YAP approved Further Training
January - April 2023 (3 weekends) plus optional 4th weekend May 2023
In-studio Chester or Online
Course Overview
- Forget the fancy stuff, this is the functional anatomy you really, really need as a yoga teacher.
- Understand what we mean by good movement - what is appropriate flexibility, normal stability - and how you can assess them!
- Learn what is OK in how we move, and what is not OK.
- Understand the common yoga-injury list and how to teach to avoid injuring others.
- Learn about the common injuries people have and how you can help.
- Plus the actually helpful fancy stuff! How fascia changes our approach to flexibility; breath and stability; tensegrity not rigidity.
- Practical, lots of hands-on, lots of Q&A, and lots of fun.
- You will be a better teacher!
Aimed at
- Yoga teachers (ideally teaching for more than 1 year).
- Personal trainers, pilates teachers and other movement teachers. If you are not a yoga teacher you will need to have attended at least 40 hours of yoga classes.
Location / Delivery
- In-person and online (via Zoom)
Dates & Syllabus
January 14 & 15 2023 - WHAT IS GOOD FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT?
How do we know what is going wrong? And what can we do about it?
The spine, anatomy of breathing, stabilising response, mediating soft tissue.
What is appropriate flexibility and how do we know if a muscle is too short / too long?
March 4 & 5 2023 - THE DETAIL – ANATOMY JOURNEY & PRACTICAL TEACHING.
Functional anatomy of the feet, ankles, lower leg, knees, upper leg, pelvis, lumbar spine
How does it work? What goes wrong? What does good movement look like?
How is yoga helpful? How do we make yoga even more helpful? How as yoga teachers do we make things worse?
Standard injuries and how can yoga help.
Leg & lower torso as a functional unit.
April 22 & 23 2023 - THE DETAIL - ANATOMY JOURNEY & PRACTICAL TEACHING.
Functional anatomy of the torso & thoracic spine, shoulder, arms, wrists, neck.
How does it work? What goes wrong? What does good movement look like?
How is yoga helpful? How do we make yoga even more helpful? How as yoga teachers do we make things worse?
Standard injuries and how yoga can help.
Arm, shoulder, upper torso as a functional unit.
May 20 & 21 2023 - OPTIONAL WEEKEND IN-PERSON ONLY!! ADJUSTING & PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Functional & helpful movement patterns in standing, inversions, back-bending, rotating, forward bending.
Adjusting - adjusting principles to help our students, discussion & lots of practice.
Q&A, group discussions, blending functional teaching with traditional teaching.
Case studies & scenarios!
Course Themes
- Practical, realistic, teaching-centered, hands-on and lots of Q&A.
- Fantastic course manual as long-term reference.
- Teaching to not injure others and helping with our students’ injuries.
- Understanding interplay of appropriate flexibility and normal torso stability.
- The actually helpful fancy stuff! Fascia and flexibility; breath and stability; tensegrity not rigidity.
- Superbly researched reading list to help you with all aspects of the course.
Dates & Timing
Weekends 1 - 3 (In-person or online)
- January 14 & 15 2023
- March 4 & 5 2023
- April 22 & 23 2023
Optional Weekend 4 (in-person only)
- May 20 & 21 2023
Timing
- Saturdays 11:30 – 18:30; Sundays 9:30 – 17:00
Location
- Chester or online via Zoom
- In-studio Chester, UK – with easy road and rail access (2.5 hr train from London)
- Beautiful location with excellent practice and learning / teaching space
- Click here for Location, Travel & Accommodation details
- Training may move online or a mix if government rules change
Pricing
Weekends 1 - 3
Early Bird (In-person or online) £799 (deposit £249 + £550) SAVE £100!!! Available till 30th November 2022
Full Price (In-person or online) £899 (deposit £249 + £650)
Payment Plan (In-person or online) 3 payments to April 2023! £249 deposit; £337 Feb 2023; £337 April 2023
Optional Weekend 4 (In-person only) +£200 (pay at check-out or later)
Accreditation
Yoga Alliance Professionals Accredited Further Training
Course Policy Documents
Course Policy Documents including Terms & Conditions here
By booking onto the course you are agreeing to the Course Policy Documents
Why Learn with Sarah?
- Sarah is a Senior Yoga Teacher and a Trainer Pro with over 15,000 accredited teaching hours.
- She is reviewed as a 5-star rated trainer on Yoga Alliance Professional’s website.
- She has trained movement patterns in professional sport for over 13 years, including 11 years at Manchester City & Manchester United football clubs, working long-term with Ryan Giggs & other top players.
- She is an outstanding & passionate teacher with a deep knowledge of traditional yoga, functional anatomy, fascial connection, pilates, and movement sciences.
- The course is an excellent balance of learning and practical, hands-on teaching.
- Sarah provides an open, questioning, non-dogmatic, friendly space to question and improve our teaching.
Testimonials
Sarah’s training is exceptional! The way I approach teaching yoga has changed radically as a
result of the knowledge I have gained. The training puts the teaching of asana into a realistic perspective of real people, real bodies and functional movement.
I love the friendly, welcoming vibe of Sarah’s courses. She encourages you to challenge previous knowledge and guides you to make informed decisions about your teaching. I feel a more competent, safer teacher and able to explain my teaching rationale better.
This is a wonderful course and the material is highly relevant to the problems that present in class frequently. It was so good to go through the yoga repertoire and look at what is useful, safe and relevant – and what can cause serious injury and we should really not be teaching!
I honestly think Sarah has forgotten more than I know! She delivers clear, concise and exceptionally high-quality training which is based on her considerable experience and knowledge. Her no-nonsense, functional approach to yoga is so motivating in terms of making me want to be a better teacher.
Read more testimonials for 'The Body Aligned' here
Fantastic and inspirational course which took my teaching AND learning to a new level of understanding. The detail is incredible, providing vital knowledge about anatomy and how the body works; and also offering practical information about teaching Yoga to Athletes (and much much more too). If you're interested in becoming a better Yoga teacher this course is fantastic, regardless of whether you want to teach athletes or not!
Wil Hesketh
Sarah’s enthusiasm for what she does is infectious. I come away from every session feeling inspired, wanting to learn more & keen to pass on my knowledge for the benefit of others. For anyone with an interest in Yoga for Sport, this course is a must.
Sheila McVitty
Sarah’s training is exceptional! The way I approach teaching yoga has changed radically as a result of the knowledge I have gained. The training puts the teaching of asana into a realistic perspective of real people, real bodies and functional movement.
Rebecca Wood
I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and learned so much more than I was expecting! I have worked with athletes for a while and I can’t believe how much information we have covered in a year – Sarah is a great teacher. For me the main thing has been my increased knowledge in assessing individual athletes and planning appropriate sessions relevant not only to their bodies but to their sport. Thank you, Sarah!
Vicky Rees
Working with Sarah has been invaluable….. I have integrated Sarah’s work into existing strength, movement prep, and recovery programmes, improving almost immediately the impact of these sessions. And most importantly the players are really buying into it. I would have no hesitation in recommending Sarah’s course to any Strength & Conditioning coach responsible for the physical preparation of professional footballers.
Donough Holohan
I had waited for a couple of years to do this course and it was absolutely worth the wait – so much knowledge and relevant application, Over the months it has shifted the way I approach teaching – not just to those involved in sport, but in open classes too. I can’t recommend it enough!
Esther Abrey
The gold standard of Yoga teaching has been set! I knew this course was exactly what I was looking for and it certainly surpassed my expectations. Once you have attended one of Sarah's courses you will be forever addicted to her emphatic style that is brimming with knowledge and the discipline of practice. Sarah is the most organised and professional Yoga Teacher I have ever ad the pleasure to meet with refreshing honesty about what yoga can and cannot do. THIS IS THE COURSE FOR YOU!
Dale Walker
Amazing course! Sarah’s knowledge of the subject is immense, and her course resources are top-class. Couple all this with real world personal experience, explanations and insights made for a truly exceptional course. One of a kind – if you have any interest in anatomy, movement or working with anyone involved in physical activity – do this course!
Gary Williams
I spent five years looking for a course like this & it exceeded all my expectations: it was fantastic! I have always had both amateur & professional athletes in my classes & I wanted to learn how to tailor yoga- based programmes to their specific sports. I came away with a whole new way of assessing athletes & a whole new body of stability & flexibility exercises. Sarah delivers her wealth of knowledge & experience in a direct & accessible way. I gained so much.
Karen Russell
As a personal trainer I felt there was a gap in my knowledge when it came to helping people with muscle imbalances, injuries and chronic inflexibility issues. This course has enhanced my knowledge of anatomy and given me a whole new repertoire of movements beneficial to my clients. It has been so incredibly useful and full of information on how to help ourselves and those around us to move better. It’s also fun, you get to meet great like-minded people, and come out with a recognised qualification. Thank you, Sarah and team!
Annabel Heap
10 out of 10!! This course was packed with high quality information. I am amazed how much knowledge I’ve gained since the very start. The assessments were a valuable part of my learning too and gave me great confidence to implement what I had learned.
Tamar Barclay
As a physio I was looking for a course that kept me challenged and showed a different perspective of how to work with yoga and athletes...this was the course! Not only did it cover anatomy but a whole host of different topics - breathing, functional movement, how to work with athletes, how to pitch it, networking, how to assess and put together a program specifically for a certain sport or athlete. Can't recommend enough.
Sheena Kirk
Sarah’s Sports Yoga course was a fantastic investment, from the quality and content of the course materials, the standard of knowledge and teaching, the further perspectives and experiences of assistant tutors, and the required assessments. Her approach and style is warm, welcoming, encouraging, positive and her knowledge of this material is outstanding.
Without a doubt worth every penny! Thank you and thank you again!
Helena Shirley
The accreditation has assisted my practice greatly, & has developed my understanding of movement control. The course has given me the foundation from which to devise & deliver my own routines to specifically meet the needs of the players I work with.
Dave Clark
I love the friendly, welcoming vibe of Sarah’s courses. She encourages you to challenge previous knowledge and guides you to make informed decisions about your teaching. I feel a more competent, safer teacher and able to explain my teaching rationale better.
Karen Nobes
This is a wonderful course and the material is highly relevant to the problems that present in class frequently. It was so good to go through the yoga repertoire and look at what is useful, safe and relevant – and what can cause serious injury and we should really not be teaching!
Karen Russell
I honestly think Sarah has forgotten more than I know! She delivers clear, concise and exceptionally high-quality training which is based on her considerable experience and knowledge. Her no-nonsense, functional approach to yoga is so motivating in terms of making me want to be a better teacher.
Claudia Brown
I looked extensively for a yoga-specific anatomy training course and this has hugely improved my style of teaching and knowledge of injuries and body alignment. I wish the course would keep on going for a weekend every month!