The Yoga of Healing Yoga Teacher Training

Alignment principles help you take healing into your own hands

Alignment is the answer to many questions:

What are we doing in the pose?
Why can the same pose heal us, and another time hurt us?
How can we get people out of pain, and move our students and clients toward healing and thriving, on and off the mat?

As a yoga teacher, alignment principles are tools we can always use to help people out of the common pains that arise in traditional poses. Applying alignment principles will help you answer questions like:

Why does my back hurt in Cobra?
Why does my wrist hurt in Downward Facing Dog?
Why does my hip feel squished in Ardha Chandrasana?

Moving toward optimal alignment always moves us toward healing, whether we’re on the mat or off, in a pose or driving.

When we move muscles and bones in the direction they want to move, we feel better AND we kick start healing.

Understanding alignment principles is especially important when we teach women in their childbearing years, because the body changes so much. The usual aches and pains become even more common. Plus, small misalignments can become magnified and can become common pregnancy and postpartum-related conditions, including:

low belly and cramping (round ligament problems)
abdominal wall splitting (diastisis recti)
pelvic instability and low back pain
joint weakness and injury

In The Yoga of Healing Yoga Teacher Training, you’ll get confident using alignment principles to help students, clients, loved ones and yourself relieve aches and pains, on and off the mat.

In this Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training, you will:

Get comfortable with physical and verbal alignment adjustments so you can help students get out of pain on the mat
Delve deep into the physical and emotional conditions common in the18 months around birth
Learn how to incorporate therapeutic alignment instructions to make sure all students stay out of pain on the mat
Explore powerful Ma Yoga principles that heal us on every level
Use breathing, meditation, and poses to help address anxiety, infertility, and much more
Discover your own power to get yourself out of discomfort and feel great in your body again

What Yoga of Healing participants are saying…

I had an incredible private session yesterday with a Mom and Dad expecting their first child.

It’s been eye opening using the fresh knowledge you’ve given me to steer the course of their session.

From his feet and lumbar issues to her ever-expanding body, I’ve been able to give them 60min of expanding into their true potential.

forever grateful,

Deborah A.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-10-24T16:50:35-07:00

Deborah A.

I had an incredible private session yesterday with a Mom and Dad expecting their first child. It’s been eye opening using the fresh knowledge you’ve given me to steer the course of their session. From his feet and lumbar issues to her ever-expanding body, I’ve been able to give them 60min of expanding into their true potential. forever grateful,

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/eye-opening/

I had a wonderful experience - it was definitely more than I imagined it to be. The weekend really helped me to look at yoga in a different way. I walked away with new tools and principles that I can use on myself and others.

I'm excited to review all of the material and to start putting what I learned to use immediately. I really appreciate being able to download the handouts, it's nice to be able to revisit the handouts in the member area.

Jasmine W.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:47:57-07:00

Jasmine W.

I had a wonderful experience - it was definitely more than I imagined it to be. The weekend really helped me to look at yoga in a different way. I walked away with new tools and principles that I can use on myself and others. I'm excited to review all of the material and to start putting what I learned to use immediately. I really appreciate being able to download the handouts, it's nice to be able to revisit the handouts in the member area.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/jasmine-w/

Jessica, the alignment principles I learned in your therapeutics workshop last weekend was completely evolutionary for my practice in mind, body, and spirit. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for this priceless gift. I hope some day to embody a fraction of the goddess energy that radiates from you.

Ashley F.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:49:05-07:00

Ashley F.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/ashley-f/

I left teaching each class feeling ridiculously happy; so proud to be doing my best for these ladies at such a special time and so privileged that I was in a position to be able to be on this journey.

How lucky to be doing something so magical it uplifts your heart and soul every day.

Andy

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:51:00-07:00

Andy

I left teaching each class feeling ridiculously happy; so proud to be doing my best for these ladies at such a special time and so privileged that I was in a position to be able to be on this journey. How lucky to be doing something so magical it uplifts your heart and soul every day.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/andy/

I LOVED the training and feel so much more confident helping people out of pain! It’s definitely changed how I approach cueing my classes now, and though I’m sure they will evolve so much over time, I don’t think I’ll ever stop using the 5 principles!

Amanda C., Postpartum Doula

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:55:02-07:00

Amanda C., Postpartum Doula

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/amanda-c-3/

I feel so much more confident about teaching, which is amazing because I didn’t feel that way after my 200 hour.

Annie

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:55:55-07:00

Annie

I feel so much more confident about teaching, which is amazing because I didn’t feel that way after my 200 hour.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/annie-3/

! I feel the full benefits of child's pose tends to be missed due to lack of or minimal instructions given. So often I hear "just get into child's pose". Thank you so much for bringing life and richness to child's pose with your instructions shared.

I am finding as I share yoga, that the use of the sacred steps are becoming easier, more natural. This evolution is so wonderful, Jess!

Thank you so much.
With gratitude for your lovely Spirit,

Nina

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-11-14T11:34:41-08:00

Nina

! I feel the full benefits of child's pose tends to be missed due to lack of or minimal instructions given. So often I hear "just get into child's pose". Thank you so much for bringing life and richness to child's pose with your instructions shared. I am finding as I share yoga, that the use of the sacred steps are becoming easier, more natural. This evolution is so wonderful, Jess! Thank you so much. With gratitude for your lovely Spirit,

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/life-and-richness/

Ma Yoga Living™

Register now for the full Ma Yoga Certification Program!

OR click the purple button to go to Events for deets and registration:

Receive info about the Ma Yoga Teacher Certification program

How The Yoga of Healing came to be

I started yoga in Seattle in the 90’s, because of chronic neck pain. Within two weeks, it disappeared, and I felt strong tall, and free in a way I hadn’t for years. I wanted to know why. Why does yoga work to relieve pain? And why does it sometimes cause pain? I moved to Los Angeles and studied cadavers with med students at UCLA; got my Health Fitness Instructor Certification; and then received my Masters in Kinesiology.

But it wasn’t until I discovered a form of alignment-based yoga called Anusara that I got my answers: it’s not which pose you’re doing, it’s what you’re doing inside the pose. After 10,000 hours of studying therapeutic alignment principles, I became a Certified Anusara teacher in 2006. Over the decades of working with pregnant women, I saw how important alignment is for pregnant women not just biomechanically but on all levels.

Aches and pains like neck, back, knee and wrist are common with the ever-changing pregnant body, and anxiety is becoming more and more prevalent.

Myths like “I can’t engage my core” make it difficult for women to heal after pregnancy, and can put women at risk for conditions like diastisis recti, abdominal wall splitting.

The pressure to keep pushing through our lives the same way we were is strong, and yet when we do the sometimes subtle actions of the Ma Yoga alignment principles, or what I call the “Five Sacred Steps”, we enjoy a whole new depth of power, wisdom, and nurturing energy.

Complete healing involves shifts on every level, and The Yoga of Healing is about understanding how to align with our highest Self – physically, mentally, energetically and spiritually. I hope you’ll join us for this transformative experience!

The Five Ma Yoga Alignment Principles, or Five Sacred Steps – We will dive into each step, and practice applying them , and how to apply them to our every day poses to get and keep students out of pain. The Yoga of Healing Cobra adjustment

Women’s bodies – We will address particular discomforts and injuries using women’s bodies as our model, as well as common challenges along the journey to Yoga of Healing for Women labor including infertility, dyastisis recti, and back labor.

See energetic flow – Once you have these tools, you will be able to see where misalignments occur and help shift people in to a healing direction. By looking closely at specific issues related to pregnancy and postpartum, you will come to know intimately what the body needs physically and energetically to maintain ease and strength even in the most unstable and depleted times.

Yoga of Healing for Women celebration

And finally, you will be part of an ever-growing, global community of yoga teachers, birth practitioners, and mamas who use birth as our guru to find our own open, strong, creative center – no matter what challenges arise!

Your Itinerary

In this transformative online therapeutics training, you will become confident helping people out of pain on and off the mat.

You will learn simple but powerful alignment principles you can practice, teach, and live by, called the Five Sacred Steps.

These alignment actions work on all levels: physical, emotional, spiritual, and energetic, we will use them as our guide as you learn to:

relieve discomforts in regular yoga poses like Chatturanga and Downdog
address aches and pains desk, driving and sleeping
support healing for chronic pain and disease
address emotional/mental issues including anxiety and depression
find a balance of stability and freedom in your body, mind, and heart.

Welcome Circle

Understand the difference between teaching poses and teaching alignment
Discover the Shiva/Shakti, feminine/masculine qualities that we will be using
Learn the elements and where in the body they live

Teach Regular Yoga with Alignment

Adjustments in Childs Pose, Down Dog Bridge, and many others
Teaching each pose as an opportunity to step into optimal alignment
Verbal and physical adjustments

Address Specific Physical and Emotional Conditions with Alignment

Neck, low back, knee, and wrist issues
Anxiety, depression, high blood pressure,
Conditions related to the 18 months around birth, including fertility, diastisis recti, pelvic floor issues
Postpartum Healing with the Chakras
Core strength for women’s bodies
Meditation, pranayama, and self-actualization

More raves for The Yoga of Healing Yoga Teacher Training

My experience with The Yoga of Healing was fantastic. I thought I would have wrist pain forever, but just by learning to support my weight in my shoulders, I have started to alleviate this issue.

It was wonderful to learn that we are more powerful than we know and be given the tools to use this power and gentleness.

Vanessa K.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:44:39-07:00

Vanessa K.

My experience with The Yoga of Healing was fantastic. I thought I would have wrist pain forever, but just by learning to support my weight in my shoulders, I have started to alleviate this issue. It was wonderful to learn that we are more powerful than we know and be given the tools to use this power and gentleness.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/vanessa-k/

With no background in teaching yoga, the Therapeutics training really helped me be more confident in my ability to teach. The training was very interactive and hands on which also made me more confident in being able to teach others. Thank you Ma Yoga!

Jordan S.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:45:31-07:00

Jordan S.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/jordan-s/

Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge about bio mechanics of the body, energy flow and mindful movement. I really appreciate you taking us in such an awesome journey through the body's anatomy and it was really amazing to be able to feel the different alignments ourselves. And at the very end of the training I feel confident enough to be able to recognize misalignments and have the tools to guide a student into a better and more optimal position.

Feeling the changes and benefits in our own body was key to be able to understanding all the principles of Ma Yoga!

Andrea M.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:46:56-07:00

Andrea M.

Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge about bio mechanics of the body, energy flow and mindful movement. I really appreciate you taking us in such an awesome journey through the body's anatomy and it was really amazing to be able to feel the different alignments ourselves. And at the very end of the training I feel confident enough to be able to recognize misalignments and have the tools to guide a student into a better and more optimal position. Feeling the changes and benefits in our own body was key to be able to understanding all the principles of Ma Yoga!

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/awesome-journey-through-the-bodys-anatomy/

Including therapeutics into the (200-hr) training is essential for any new yoga teacher—giving them tools for students who come into their classes with common ailments. Our trainees... were able to experience alignment from a different perspective - and most had transformations in their own practice as well. Jessica and her team are dynamic educators; she is prepared, knowledgeable, and passionate about healing through alignment. We look forward to working with Jessica and Ma Yoga again!

Nicole S. and Tracy B.

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:50:01-07:00

Nicole S. and Tracy B.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/essential-for-any-new-yoga-teacher/

I just love how everything is based on the Five Sacred Steps. It was hard to get at first, but eventually I got it and it’s so helpful not just for yoga but for life.

Like I fully stepped into my power today and told some people I didn’t want to do this thing that I felt pressured to do.

Before this whole training with you I would have just sucked it up, I feel bad, but now I’m like “this doesn’t feel good to me” and I know how to find my power and stand in it.

Annie

Ma Yoga Living™

2020-05-16T16:52:06-07:00

Annie

I just love how everything is based on the Five Sacred Steps. It was hard to get at first, but eventually I got it and it’s so helpful not just for yoga but for life. Like I fully stepped into my power today and told some people I didn’t want to do this thing that I felt pressured to do. Before this whole training with you I would have just sucked it up, I feel bad, but now I’m like “this doesn’t feel good to me” and I know how to find my power and stand in it.

https://mayogaliving.com/testimonials/annie-2/

Ma Yoga Living™