Discover how to create opportunities to promote well-being through the practice of yoga for those living with dementia. In this workshop, you will learn how to:

· Increase your understanding of Dementia
· Discover yoga that supports people living with Dementia
· Consider the skills required to teach people with Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairments

This workshop will help you gain a deeper awareness of and appreciation for your voice as a yoga teacher. When cueing, do you unconsciously clear your throat? Do you say “um” frequently? Does your sound come from your heart, diaphragm, core, or somewhere else? As you increase your awareness you will come closer to hearing your pure voice and how it changes on and off the mat. Learn to love your voice and how to care for it by:

· Exploring your unique vocal intonation and rhythm · Practicing physical warm ups and sounding in asana to find your prosody · Tapping and humming to open and heal our throat chakra

A yoga class is a fine balance of the objective and the subjective: the yoga teacher offers a sequence and suggestions, and each student learns, experiences and integrates the class content differently. We know our students are unique individuals; so how can we offer classes that leave space for those differences while leading a group? In this workshop, Erin Ehlers will offer a short asana sequence to demonstrate how to balance objective instructions and posing questions to develop your students’ understanding of themselves. In our discussion, you will learn:

· How asking your students the right questions can inspire self-reflection
· Examples of how to cue these moments of inquiry and instigate awareness
· How inquiry can enhance your teaching and infuse your classes with a sense of curiosity

Grief is a natural emotion that needs to run its course, and as a teacher you can use yoga to provide support to your students who are grieving. In this session, you’ll learn five different ways to help these students, both in group classes and in one-on-one sessions. We'll discuss topics like:

· How to hold space for grief · Ways to help reduce stress associated with grief · Addressing the fatigue grief can cause · Providing a “yoga break” for times when grief is overwhelming · Helping students “move though” grief through gentle movements that can release held emotions

This session will include discussion, practice, and time for Q&A.

In 2019, the National Institute of Health (NIH) wrote an article, “Can you get PTSD/Trauma by watching TV?” They concluded that “TV viewing following trauma exposure may be a marker of vulnerability for developing PTSD and also a consequence of having PTSD. High TV viewing levels may be linked with ineffective coping strategies or social isolation, which increase risk of developing PTSD” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6428392/).

With information at our fingertips, we can watch what’s going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our exposure to war is constant, but how does the body handle it? Seeing horrific things on the news can cause significant anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress—which impact us in many different ways. Yoga is one tool available that can help mitigate these symptoms.

In this workshop you’ll learn the signs of over-exposure and tools to help protect your mental wellness during these challenging times, plus:

· Understand the history & impact of media on your mental health · Identify symptoms through a simple checklist approach · Learn solutions to combat stress using proven tools such as: yoga, meditation, EFT/Tapping, breathwork, and affirmations

Increase your knowledge and skills on teaching chair yoga for older adults. During this session, Maria Jones will cover age awareness, take a look at some of the benefits of yoga in the lives of older adults, and share best practices for facilitating yoga classes for this demographic. You will leave with practical tips for teaching safe and effective yoga classes to older adults, like:

· The challenges of an aging population and how yoga can support
· What makes chair yoga a positive intervention in the lives of older adults
· How to facilitate effective and accessible chair-based yoga classes for older adults

In the rush to return to pre-pregnancy levels of fitness, many postnatal yoga students jump back too quickly to exercises and movements that can prolong postpartum healing and recovery. This workshop will offer ways to develop confidence and learn practical skills to best support yoga students who recently gave birth. Learn potent deep core work that lays the foundation to stabilize and support yoga practice after pregnancy and childbirth.

As a yoga teacher, you will leave feeling empowered to support students who have recently given birth. As a yoga practitioner, you will leave with a toolkit of exercises to access your deep core.

In this workshop you will learn:

· A timeline of different phases of postpartum healing and recovery
· Common postpartum injuries and discomforts your students may experience
· Yoga postures that are contraindicated for your postpartum students
· Deep core exercises that are supportive for your postpartum students as well as for your advanced yoga practice
· When it's appropriate to refer a student to a medical professional

Disclaimer: The intention of this workshop is to support the postnatal student in their yoga practice only. For more information on Yoga Alliance’s Scope of Practice, visit here.

Yoga is an incredible tool for helping practitioners improve their lives; however, as teachers we may find it challenging to consistently create focused, asana-based sequences that provide students with the particular benefits they seek. Join Hayley Winter for a 75-minute workshop on sequencing that is based in theory and includes practical practice. You will learn:

· How to identify the benefit of a yoga pose that speaks to what your students seek
· How to utilize this knowledge to inform your yoga sequence designs
· How to deconstruct asana to create sequences that help your students receive the benefit