Make a difference in your community.
When you become a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher you help birth-givers and mothers:
- Gain confidence and comfort in their changing body.
- Nurture a bond or dialogue with baby.
- Decrease anxiety about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
- Receive evidence-based research and resources to make informed decisions.
- Apply ancient practices to modern life in accessible ways.
- Minimize feelings of loneliness as they secure friendships with others in the same phase of life.
- Increase trust in themselves and their abilities to become a mother to this baby or babies.
Choosing the right Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training (PYTT) is an important decision. To help make an informed choice - below are answers to the top six questions I receive regularly since 2017.
1. What is the difference between prenatal and postnatal yoga?
Prenatal refers to the time of pregnancy; from conception until the baby is born.
Postnatal refers to the timeframe after childbirth. Postnatal or postpartum is forever. Once someone has birthed a baby, they are postpartum.
Since pregnancy and postpartum are completely different phases of life, they are best offered in two different class formats.
Sometimes you will hear the term: perinatal. Typically, this refers to the entire pregnancy plus the first year postpartum. As a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher, you can be referred to as a 'perinatal yoga teacher.'
2. What prerequisites do I need to attend a Registered Prenatal Yoga School?
Most Registered Prenatal Yoga Schools (RPYS) require a minimum of a 200-hour teacher training certificate.
Birth Humanity waives the common 200-hour certificate. We require a minimum of one-year’s personal yoga practice (experience.) This may be through online videos and/or in person classes at your local studio.
Participants must have a basic understanding of common yoga postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and personal experience of applying yoga concepts into their lives. (For example: know what Virabhadrasana II / Warrior II pose is and feels like - you do not need to know Sanskrit.)
We have welcomed moms, not moms, birth and postpartum doulas, psychologists, OB/GYNs, nutritionists, social workers, yoga teachers, lactation consultants, occupational therapists, somatic specialists, and so many more layers of each person into this course. Our class time is filled with a richness of perspectives and offers the seasoned yoga teachers to be even more sensitive and refined in their approach.
3. What should I expect in Birth Humanity's RPYS?
This course is accredited through Yoga Alliance for anyone who desires to achieve a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT) designation.
Yoga Alliance requires 13 hours of live or in-person instruction. Birth Humanity exceeds their requirement by offering 33 hours of synchronous learning.
Once you reserve your spot you will gain access to the online platform where digital content, materials, schedules, etc. can be found. You will be able to start the course immediately:
- begin reading assignments,
- begin watching videos,
- mark your calendar for live virtual classes (they will be recorded in case you cannot attend),
- mark your calendar and make arrangements for our required in-person 3-day class experience, and
- connect with me anytime with questions.
At any point in the program or after, participants may begin to observe my classes (in person or online) for observation hours, and start to guide, as lead teacher, privately or publicly for feedback.
4. I want to prioritize my attention and energy for this course - where should I stay?
In person classes are at my home in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Less than an hour from Metro Detroit airport - freeways the whole way. We live in the suburbs; not a rural area.
The area we live in is full of beautiful lakes - including one we live on! You'll have an enjoyable view as you work.
- Courtyard by Marriott Detroit Pontiac/Auburn Hills (15-min drive)
- Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac (15-min drive)
- The Kingsley Bloomfield Hills - a Doubletree by Hilton (12-min drive)
- Airbnb's are everywhere because of all the lakes. One of my dear friends has an Airbnb on Elizabeth Lake (13-min drive) I'm sure you'll enjoy, too. Either way, I'm positive you will find the right fit for your needs.
5. What are the licensure, registration, and certification processes?
At this time yoga is not a licensed practice in any state, including Michigan.
Professional and general teacher liability insurance is recommended before one starts to teach. (Most yoga studios / facilities require teachers to be insured.) I will provide resources for insurance inside the course.
Rather than receiving a Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Attendance, Birth Humanity's Registered Prenatal Yoga School acts as a certifying body. There is a multiple choice online assessment accessible to teacher trainees once they turn in all paperwork for the program, and complete in-person hours with Elise. Upon receiving an 85% or higher, you will then receive a certificate and badge: Birth Humanity Certified Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher.
BONUS
Be listed in Graduates on Birth Humanity's website. Your image, location, and link to connect will be highlighted for others to know you are out there ready to teach.
6. How much income potential do I have once certified?
Income potential is limitless!
Within the last 20 years Elise has established a reliable reputation for Birth Humanity yoga teachers and built connections to help newer graduates get the opportunity to meet with studio owners, recreational communities, and other business settings to get their classes going.
Main personal considerations for income potential are also based on these factors:
- work ethic,
- customer service skills,
- what success mean to you,
- availability to show up to do the work,
- ability to deliver what was promised, and/or
- any necessary healing around money / currency / status.
Registration is open! You are invited to join and learn more about the next Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training here.