When we reach our 40s and 50s, our bodies and minds begin to transition, and we can experience intense physical and psychological turbulence. And specialised yoga practices can be a tremendous support to help navigate this natural wave of change.

While this transformation is not easy, it is significant because we are undergoing an initiatory process. We are birthing a new self: our Wise Woman.

Before we gather watch the webinars or read chapters 1-3 in the handbook.

In this module, you’ll

• Learn about the different stages of menopause
  
• Connect yoga philosophy to menopause (Patanjali, Koshas, Chakras, Vayus).
• Receive an overview of Western (HRT), Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspectives of menopause.
• Explore HERstory of yoga and reclaim HIStory of menopause.
• Meet the Maha Vidyas – the 10 Wisdom Goddesses from the Tantra tradition – who can act as guides through menopause.

Many women reach menopause in a state of exhaustion and physical depletion because our culture doesn’t respect this sacred feminine transition.

On day one, you’ll learn the science behind the hormonal changes and how to support women experiencing anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, and overwhelm.

In this module, you’ll

• Learn what is happening at menopause.
• Explore a seasonal feminine narrative of menopause and lunar charting the Wise Woman way.
• Discover how stress impacts hormone balance, the vagus nerve and Polyvagal theory and how to thread this into a yoga class.
• Experience a self-nurturing yoga practice for anxiety, overwhelm and fatigue.
• Deconstruct the practice and learn how to create your own yoga  classes to soothe and pacify vata.

For many women, menopause is announced with hot flushes, strong emotions, and shifting moods as we begin to navigate the cauldron of change within.

On day two, you’ll learn the science behind hot flushes, night sweats, menopause rage, irritability and brain fog (focus area two) and which specialised yoga practices can support you and your students.

In this module, you’ll

• Learn about the physiology of hot flushes and strategies to support students physically and emotionally.
• Discover which specific yoga and pranayama practices can help release heat and hot emotions.
• Appreciate the changes in your brain and understand why you are experiencing brain fog, irritability and forgetfulness.
• Experience the benefits of Kriya for your brain and how to use it as a tool for hot flushes.
• Create yoga sequences to cool and reduce pitta and nourish the liver and gall bladder meridians.
• Understand the importance of including restorative yoga in your sequences.

Menopause is a profound transition, and some women may experience periods of low energy and mood, grief and sadness. Navigating this experience with kindness and compassion is essential for a healthy menopause and rising up to embrace our second spring.

On day four, you’ll learn which specialised yoga practices can support Focus Area Three: low energy and mood, lethargy, lack of motivation, grief, sadness and depression. We look at how to cue for pelvic floor health at menopause.

In this module, you’ll learn to

• Practice and learn how to create a warming, stimulating heart-opening Kapha for courage and resilience.
• Appreciate the changes in your cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
• Get an overview of how pranayama can help women as they age.
• Learn how to navigate and talk with ease about grief, sadness and depression within a yoga class context.
• Understand pelvic floor health at menopause and how to support women with prolapse.
• Enjoy a specialised prolapse sequence in the online portal

Revolution. Step up and collect your crown, queen. As we grow beyond the sphere of focused nurturing of family and career, we gain perspective of the broader connections to both community and the universe. Menopause is a distillation of all that is wonderful about you. It’s time to celebrate the possibility of spring and fully inhabit your version of your Wise Woman.

On day four, you’ll learn the science behind the changes in your muscles and bones and which specialised yoga practices can help build muscle and bone strength, relieve achy muscles and joints, and support pelvic floor health.

In this module, you’ll

• Understand changes in muscles and the best ways to build muscle through menopause and beyond.
• Learn about inflammation at menopause and why muscles and joints may ache or feel sore.
• Discover what’s happening to your bones.
• Learn how to work with students with osteopenia and osteoporosis in a class setting.
• Understand how to teach bone safe transitions and namaskars for students with osteoporosis
• Have fun with looking at how to creatively theme menopause classes, workshops and circles.
• Honour your journey by creating your own menopause celebration and ceremony.

Included in the handbook are

• Sample practices for the Four Focus Areas
• Menopause appropriate mantras and mudras.
• Nutrition for menopause and and supplements.
• Ayurvedic herbs and adaptogenic support.

Yes, you need to have completed your RYT-200 because Yoga for Menopause Wellbeing is advanced training,  We approach developing classes from a therapeutic or an energy-shifting perspective to address symptoms of menopause transformation and educate women about the changes in their bodies and minds, therefore I assume you know how to instruct poses and pranayama practices. It involves a fair amount of specialised knowledge and skill-based learning, and the common denominator is you have completed basic yoga teacher training. All real learning starts with embracing your ‘tabula rasa – beginner’s mind’, and I call on your discernment as you progress through the content, practices and teachings.

The training is open to any teacher who has completed a minimum of RYT-200 yoga teacher training and has taught for at least six months. You don’t need to be teaching now but you must be confident in planning classes.

Absolutely.  This training is for all teachers who want to support menopausal women in their classes. With this training, you’ll learn how comfortably share information about menopause, how it affects a woman’s body and yoga practice.  You’ll learn to seamlessly incorporate relevant menopause knowledge, how yoga can support women and offer modifications for common signs into your general class. You’ll also learn the skills to deliver a specific Yoga for Menopause Wellbeing class and how to create an inspiring menopause workshop.

You have access to the online materials for six months. This is a potent space for growth in the program when coupled with personal practice. Watching the presentations and creating classes using the class guidelines is a great way to really absorb the teachings.

Access to online resources can be extended and will stop when I no longer offer the training.

Time is allocated within the structure of the face-to-face training for you to complete your assessment tasks and seek clarity on the tasks. If not completed over the four days of the course, you will need to set aside around 2-hours to complete the assessment tasks.