Level 2 In-Person Weekend Training (for 50-hour Training Graduates)

I am so very excited to finally be able to offer a level-2 training to the amazing community of 200+ yoga teachers and mental health professionals who have trained with me in the 50-hour  ‘Teaching Yoga for Trauma, Anxiety, Depression and Body Image’ program. This level-2 weekend promises to be such a juicy adventure into refining our skills, but perhaps more importantly, connecting as a community of practitioners dedicated to bringing the fruits of trauma informed ways of being to our communities.  

Limited to 24 places, so please book soon to ensure your place in the group! 

Training Times: 9am-5pm Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th August 2023

Please see below for our curriculum overview and additonal information about the training: 

Day One: Introduction to Holistic Counselling Skills for Yoga Teachers

• Re-introduction to the ethos of this work and framework of shared power within a collective training space.
• Introduction to holistic counselling skills for yoga teachers, session #1: 

o Working with boundaries

o The ethics of giving advice

o Cultivating active listening

•  Introduction to holistic counselling skills for yoga teachers, session #2:

o The art of asking safe therapeutic questions

o Sharing power in one-on-one sessions

o The ‘how’ of ethical note-taking

o Working with time - safely containing and closing the therapy hour

o Understanding scope of practice

o Referral pathways

• Brief practice sessions in triads
• Closing and grounding.

Day Two: Specialised Program Development & Rest-as-Radical-Practice 

• Collective Check-in
• Specialised Program Development: Creating, developing, pricing and launching (including building your confidence to facilitate) specialised workshops, courses or retreats in your community, or in collaboration with organisations.
• The Art of Gathering: Working creatively to draw community together
• Understanding and working with a 4-part framework for program development and launch:

1. Seed

2. Experimentation

3. Craft

4. Completion

• Rest-As-Radical-Practice

o Deep Rest through a Trauma-Lens – yoga, relaxation, and mental-health

o Mental health considerations for creating silence and pause

o Restorative and Yin Yoga – how they can harm and heal trauma

o Nervous system restoration and the window of tolerance

o Radicalising Rest. The politics of pausing.

• Embodied Rest: Experiential exploration and practice teaching of trauma-informed approaches to nervous system restoration and deep rest
• Closing circle

Curriculum Note: While we will certainly cover the main subject areas outlined here, the details of this curriculum are a scaffolding on which we will build together, and evolve as per the needs of the group. This is part of the nature of sharing-power within a trauma-informed learning environment.

Not a graduate of the 50-hours? This training is specifically designed for Graduates of the 50-hour training. For those who are keen to join this training but have not completed the 50-hour training (or equivalent graduate-level training in yoga and mental health), please see here for links to information on upcoming 50-hour onine and in-person programs.

Location: Egg of the Universe Yoga Studio, South Eveleigh in Sydney. There’s plenty of parking nearby and a wholefood café onsite that’s open Saturdays (plenty of other delicious cafes etc nearby on the Sunday). Yoga mats, blocks and bolsters are available for your use. The studio is centrally located a short walk from Redfern station.

Please note this is a non-residential training. Trainees will need to organise accommodation separately. A Facebook group will be created with a thread to discuss sharing accommodation for those who wish to share with others.

Investment: $680AUD

- Included is a certificate of completion for 20-hours CPD (this includes the required reading - see below - and time spent reviewing your manual). Please let me know if you need another copy of the 50-hour manual) for all trainees who attend the full weekend.

- Yoga mats, blocks and bolsters are available for your use.

- Reminder that all training fees, travel costs, accommodation and food etc for a training like this may be a tax deduction for you as a yoga teacher or mental health professional.

- Cancellation policy can be found here within the terms and conditions.

Scholarships: Two partial scholarships are available at 50% off the training fee (total fee of $340 per scholarship place). Please apply only if you have sincere financial need. We are committed to cultivating a diversity of voices and life experiences in this training, and making it accessible to people of all income levels.

These two scholarship places are offered to those who apply first who meet the guidelines listed below. Please feel free to apply for a scholarship place if:

1. You are a graduate of the 50-hour training program with Sarah or equivalent training in yoga, mental health and social justice.
2. You are a yoga professional (or mental health professional with a personal yoga practice) who has limited access to financial resources at this time.
3. You belong to - or identify with - a marginalised or under-represented community (this includes examples such as: Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander; culturally or linguistically diverse; mental health diagnosis; refugee background; veterans; LGBTQTI+; sole parent; carer; person with diverse ability). Please feel free to apply if you feel you are not represented in this list of examples but experience marginalisation in your life in some way.
4. You are committed to learning about the principles of this training and intend to bring them to your own community through your own work or community programs in future.

Scholarship Note: Please consider that additional costs involved include travel, food and accommodation. These will be a separate cost that all participants must cover on their own. Please have a plan for travel and accommodation.

Please email Sarah directly at info@sarahball.com.au to apply for a partial scholarship. Sarah will notify you via email if you are receiving a scholarship place, in which case you will need to enrol and make payment (or establish a payment plan) via direct deposit within one week of the offer, or risk missing out on the scholarship.

Required Reading:

- Please order and read/listen to ‘Rest Is Resistance’ by Tricia Hersey. You may like to take notes to contribute to our discussion on rest-as-radical-practice.

- Please also bring your copy of the 50-hour training manual with you, and your copy of David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper’s book ‘Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga’, which was the required reading of the 50-hour training. NOTE: If you need a copy of the pdf of the manual to print, please let me know at info@sarahball.com.au and we can arrange this.

Suggested Reading

- The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

- Pause, Rest, Be by Octavia Raheem

- Designing and Leading Life Changing Workshops by Ken Helson 

- Teaching Yoga by Donna Farhi 

- Trauma Sensitive Yoga in Therapy by David Emerson 

Please Bring:

- A blanket

- 2 small cushions

- Your 50-hour manual

- Your required reading text by Tricia Hersey (or notes from listening if you used audible or similar)

- Note book and pen

- Whatever you need to feel most comfortable - warm layers etc

- Two small cushions (needed for day 2 only - square couch-size is fine) if possible. If you are traveling on public transport and unable to bring cushions please let Sarah know via email so additional props can be organised for those who need them. Thank you!

- yoga mats, bolsters and blocks will be suplied but feel free to bring your own if desired.