Sheila is an ERYT 500 certified teacher who has been practicing and teaching for many years. She is the founder of both Johns Creek Yoga and Duluth Yoga and relishes the opportunity to share the practice that has so powerfully transformed her life with as many people as she can. She completed her 200 hour training at Peachtree Yoga in Sandy Springs, Georgia and her 500 hour at Kripalu Yoga Center in Massachusetts. She holds additional certifications in Yin Yoga and Thai Yoga Bodywork. In addition to daily classes at both studios, she facilitates Yoga Teacher Training and offers retreats and workshops both locally and internationally. As a former Professor of American literature, Sheila loves to explore the intersection between philosophy, poetry, religion, nature and yoga and often brings that synthesis into her classes. She continues to take advantage of every opportunity to train and learn and will forever consider herself a student of this ancient and beautiful practice.
200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training: Immersion
Johns Creek Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training Program: Immersion plus 5 weekends
Most students find their way to teacher training because they have experienced the transformative effects of yoga in their lives and want to understand more about the practice. This 2 part training offers you the opportunity to learn about the physical body, the energetic anatomy, the history of yoga, the philosophical and ethical precepts that underlie the practice, the psycho-social emotional benefits, and much more. Part one will focus on bringing you into a deep and transformational experience of your own practice while providing a deeper understanding of the multi-dimensional aspects of this ancient and powerful system. Part 2 will provide you with the techniques and practical tools to share the radiance of your own experience with your students.
Part One: Into the Heart of the Lotus: Immersion
October 11-18, 2019, The Art of Living Retreat Center, Boone, North Carolina
For thousands of years, the lotus flower has symbolized enlightenment…the ability of the spirit or soul to transcend the muddy waters of physical embodiment. Whether you realize it or not, your yoga practice has been inviting you to do just that, to awaken a deep and sustaining relationship to your true Self, that aspect of you that is infinite, eternal and always whole. This connection brings new found peace, equanimity and mindfulness to the foreground of your life. In this first part of our training, you will dive into a deeper experience of your yoga practice and awaken a profound connection to your own soul. We will travel to the beautiful Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, NC so that you can disconnect from the responsibilities of your daily life and focus your attention completely on the inner work of meeting yourself anew. For 6 days and 5 nights, we will practice yoga, meditation and pranayama and learn the history and philosophy of Yoga that informs our practice.
You will have full access to all of the benefits of a world class retreat center, including an incredible Ayurvedic Spa, Hiking Trails, nightly Kirtan, comfortable accommodations, 3 vegetarian meals a day and much more.
Part II: Sharing the Lessons of the Lotus: Teaching from the Radiance of Your Experience
In Part Two you will learn
- How to help your students develop a heightened body-awareness and self-awareness to deepen their practice on the mat, and teach them to carry those skills off the mat to enrich every aspect of their lives.
- How to create inspirational and safe yoga classes: Develop skills for teaching inspirational yoga classes. Discover creative ways to warm-up and cool down the body; learn the benefits of classical yoga postures and how to weave them into posture sequences that make an exciting class; find ways to motivate students and safely pace your class according to students’ skill levels and experience, including how to offer modifications, posture options, clarification of contraindications, and how to create lesson plans for varying levels of difficulty.
- Principles of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology: Focus on safety, joint movement, range of motion, and a functional understanding of skeletomuscular systems and structures.
- Pranayama teaching techniques: Enable your students to experience body-mind integration and purification through yogic breathing, and teach them to connect consciously with prana, or life force—the inherent wisdom of the body. Learn and practice creative ways of incorporating various methods of pranayama into your posture sequences.
- Relaxation and meditation methodology: Gain skills for centering yourself and your students, creating sacred space, and guiding the class in a deeply restorative Savasana.
What Certification You Will Achieve
Upon Completion of Parts One and Two, students will have completed all course work necessary to register as RYT200 with the National Yoga Alliance. This includes the following:
100 hours Yoga Techniques, Training and Practice
25 hours Teaching Methodology
20 hours Anatomy and Physiology
30 hours Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle and Ethics
10+ hours Teaching Practicum
15 hours Electives.
Next Course offered in October 2019
Dates and Times
To achieve certification, you must attend all sessions.
Part One can be completed independently or as part of the full 200 hour RYT Certification Course.
The 100 hour immersion will take place at the beautiful Art of Living Retreat Center in Boon, NC. Sessions will begin on Friday, October 11th at 4pm and will end on Saturday, October 18th at 11 a.m.. All meals and healthy snacks will be provided, and you will have full use of the beautiful grounds and center, access to a world-class ayurvedic spa, nightly kieran and meditation. This is the perfect way to dive deeply into your practice and inquiry as everything is taken care of for you.
Those students continuing into Part Two will meet 4.5 more weekends, Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
November 2 & 3
November 16 & 17
December 7 & 8
January 4 & 5
January 25 & 26
How to Enroll
Full Yoga Teacher Training, Parts One and Two: Total Cost: $3700 including all lodging and meals in shared accommodations (add $500 for private room).
To enroll, please complete the application on the right. Once we receive your application, you will be contacted for a personal interview. Once you are accepted, a deposit of $500.00 reserves your spot. Click Here to make your deposit of $500 and reserve your spot.
Early Bird Discount if paid in full by July 1 – $3,400 plus free books. Add $500 for private room.
The following textbooks are required and can be purchased at Johns Creek Yoga:
Teaching Yoga by Mark Stephens, Yoga Teachers’ Toolbox by Joseph LePage and Lillian LePage Yoga, and Key Muscles of Yoga by Ray Long.
Full Teacher Training Course Application
To support you in preparation for this experience and to help us get to know you better, please respond to the following questions. Keep your answers conversational, usually about a paragraph and no more than one page per answer.