Topics covered:

• Yoga related movements for all the trimesters to stretch and strengthen the physical body and help alleviate common conditions of pregnancy.
• Appropriate relaxation, pranayama, visualizations and meditation for the prenatal mother.
• How simple breath work and deep relaxation can help rejuvenate a women mentally, physically and emotionally.
• How pregnancy can negatively affect postural alignment, and how with the correct programming of yoga asana, we can in part counteract these changes.
• Effective use of yoga props to help the mother feel more supported.
• The difference between sequencing yoga asana for a mother in her second and in her third trimester.
• Moola Bandha – the importance of a healthy pelvic floor and how the alignment of the pelvis affects its’ engagement.
• Energetics – An overview of the Chakra System and how the pelvic floor relates to and affects the root chakra.
• A discussion on the effects that pregnancy has on the direction of prana, and how this relates to birth.

Birth and Birth Preparation Module

• Positions for optimal foetal positioning and how the position of the baby may affect labour.
• Working with an exercise ball and chair for the late stages of pregnancy, in preparation for birth.
• The importance of the Nervous System, and the role the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems play during birth.
• Birth and labour – description of a ‘normal’ or ‘physiological’ birth.
• The spiritual aspects of birth.
• Meditations and birth affirmations for the birthing mother, that can be used no matter how her birth unfolds.

Postnatal and Mother and Baby Yoga Module

• Yoga and Pilates related movements for the post-natal period to stretch and strengthen the physical body and help alleviate common conditions of a post-natal woman including postural changes such as upper and lower crossed syndrome.
• How simple breath work and deep relaxation can help heal a women mentally, physically and emotionally.
• Post-natal recovery yoga for mother who has experienced a medicalised birth.
• Mother and baby yoga – How to plan and facilitate a class safely and effectively so it is all inclusive and involves both the mother and baby.

Getting started: Starting up your career as a pre and postnatal yoga teacher

• We will discuss and share ideas of how to start your business as a pre and post-natal yoga teacher. We will cover how to register as a pregnancy yoga teacher, writing a health questionnaire, how to take payments for classes, legal data collection and protection procedures etc.

This course teaches you to deliver classes and one to one lessons that are:

• Safe, effective and functional
• An even blend of the yoga system
• Empowering
• Uplifting
• Informative
• Non-judgemental
• Supportive

You will finish the training course with the skills to:

• You will be able to teach a Pregnancy Yoga class, a Post-Natal Yoga class and a Mother and Baby Yoga Class.
• Teach a well-rounded yoga class that honours a woman’s mind and body at this special and sacred time.
• Adapt your general classes for any pregnant ladies who also attend.
• Integrate yoga props and small equipment into your classes and one to ones to make them more bespoke.
• Adapt the class for those with injuries and/or common ailments such as lower back pain, pelvic girdle pain, low/high blood pressure and fatigue.
• Have a clear understanding of why it is important to incorporate all elements of yoga into a class.
• Have the knowledge of what actually happens to the body during pregnancy and birth.

Homework, Assignments and Exam:

How do I achieve my certificate?

As part of the 85 hour course program, this course requires you to do some home study and teaching as well as complete the contact hours of the training with Sally.

Your home study will include:

Prior to the training:

• Class observations: You will be asked to take part in three pre and/or post-natal yoga classes and write a brief summary about the class. We understand that it is not always possible to attend a class however, so you are welcome to take part in some online classes.
• All students are to write an essay on the possible effects of yoga on pregnancy and birth.

During the training:

• Each evening you will be invited to read certain parts of the training manual which correlates to lessons the following day.
• Students will be asked to write a short pregnancy yoga sequence after the third day to teach towards the end of the course to the rest of the group. This will constitute the practical exam for the course.

After the training:

• Teaching practice: Following the training with Sally, you will be expected to teach a prenatal yoga sequence (which will have been devised by yourself under Sallys’ guidance) three times to one other person, as though you are giving a private yoga lesson on three separate occasions. You will then write how you felt it went and ask your client for feedback as well. This is then sent via email to Sally.
• All students are to write up a summary of the effects, both physical and emotional, that each trimester has on the mother. This is then sent via email to Sally.
• You will also be expected to thoroughly read the course training manual in your own time.

Your reading list is:

Sally’s 200 page Course Training manual, which will be received on the first day of your training (included in the course fee).

Yoga Alliance (US) & Yoga Alliance Professionals (UK) Certification:

About your teacher, Sally Parkes, BSc, SYT, EYT, RPYT

Sally Parkes (BSc) has over twenty years teaching experience in the Wellness Industry and an Honours Degree in Exercise Physiology. Sally trained as an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher in 2004 with Paul Dallaghan, before continuing her studies in Mysore, India.
Upon becoming a mother however, she heard her calling to teach Pregnancy Yoga and now specialises in delivering prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher trainings around the world.

Sally’s training is unique in that she shares her extensive knowledge in anatomy and physiology, whilst weaving together all elements of the yoga tradition in order to empower the mother to be to bring her baby safely and lovingly into the world.

Now a mother of two daughters, Sally also pens many articles for major publications and is the author of the bestselling book The Manual of Yoga Anatomy. Certified as an Experienced and Senior Yoga Teacher, Sally is known for her humour, warmth and inclusive presentations and delivered training in the UK, Asia and the Middle East.

The venue