Weekly Overview

You will receive the full schedule in pdf format, as well as a google calendar link one week before we begin.

The following is a loose idea of the schedule. As we are working with many guest teachers there may be some small changes.

(all classes AEST Melbourne time)

6am classes during weeks 1, 4 & 7 :

These classes are always with Uma, and will be practical in nature - learning pranayama techniques, practicing teaching and asking questions about the practices.

Sessions will be held at 6-7.30am every day (mon-sun). 6-7am will be a guided practice with Uma, and 7-7.30am will be group discussion, questions and practice in breakout rooms. You can jump off the call at 7am after practice if you need to of course.

10am weekly sessions*:

Each week (excepting weeks 1, 4, 7 & 10) we will have one (or sometimes 2) 10am sessions. These will run for 90 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays OR Fridays. Classes will be with a guest teacher and Uma.

7-9pm weekly session*:

Each week (excepting weeks 1, 4, 7 & 10) we will have one (and occasionally 2) evening sessions. These will run for 90 minutes on Monday, Tuesday OR Thursday evening each week, and be either with a guest teacher or Uma.
*the aim is to have one 10am session and one 7pm session each week, and occasionally an additional third session will be held also.

Week 10 final projects:

Week 10 is exclusively for the final teaching projects. Projects can be submitted via video on the group page, or can be delivered on a live zoom call. Zoom calls will be between 6-7.30am, with 3 students each allocated half an hour to deliver their session. All students are encouraged to join these sessions as participants.

Aside from the course manual, the only required reading for the course is Breath by James Nestor.

We will offer on demand videos to watch and articles to read throughout the course. For further optional reading we recommend Light on Life, BKS Iyengar, Tantra Illuminated Christopher Hareesh Wallace and Shiva Sutras - The supreme Awakening, translation by Swami Lakshmanjoo.

All the live-stream workshops & learning circles will be recorded for you to watch in your own time. Those taking the course for certification will be required to be at minimum 50% sessions live in person, and to watch the recordings if they don't make the live stream.
Being there "live" will give you the opportunity to be engaged and interactive in small group breakout rooms, and is encouraged as much as possible. In order to receive certification you must keep up with your weekly video projects/tasks, be present LIVE at a minimum 50% online sessions, and, most importantly present your final 20-minute teaching in week 10.

Yes! In each module there will be video projects to submit, as well as topics for discussion with your practice partner, journal prompts and personal action invitations.
In the final weeks, you will be asked to teach a 20-minute breath session with your group, applying what you have learned.

The projects will be slightly different depending on which level of certification you are attaining (Foundations level - includes all the practices explored in the Discover course or Advanced level - includes all the practices explored in Deeper & Dynamic courses).
You don’t need to be a Yoga Teacher to gain Advanced certification, however, we will ask for more projects to make sure you are feeling confident and supported with your learning.
The projects will be encouraged for all students. However only if you are taking the certification option are the projects required. There is certainly no pressure to submit anything you don't feel drawn to if you are joining for self-enquiry only. We will be encouraging non-teachers to submit short talk-to-camera videos relating to the weekly projects.

The focus of this course is pranayama & philosophy, not asana.

In order to teach physical/movement-focused Yoga in a studio or gym, you need what is called a 'Foundations Training' (200 hour minimum). After that you can add on all kinds of other training, some are 5 hours, some 50, 100 or even 300 hours. In this way you can specialise as you like, learning with different teachers.
So, this certificate is designed as an advanced learning module for Yoga Teachers who already have a foundational training certificate.
For non-yoga teachers who want to do this course, upon completion, you will be absolutely capable and certified to teach foundations pranayama to anyone, or to create your own classes at home/community centres/online etc,, some studios would absolutely consider having you teach pranayama (only). Those who wish to teach stronger/dynamic pranayama can do so with extra guidance from Uma and will be asked to submit extra video projects to ensure you are feeling supported and confident in your learning (please let us know if this is your intention).

If you wanted to do the 200 hour foundations training at some stage in the future, then this would certainly add beautifully to that, and you would be considered a Yoga teacher "specialising" in pranayama & breath.

We highly recommend Yoga for Human Kind's 200-hour training with Mei Lai Swan.

Not at all! Basically, we can break down 70 hours over 10 weeks as 1 hour a day - obviously, some days are more than this and some days you can just have a break. This breakdown of hours includes the daily pranayama/journaling practice (guided for 1 hour during weeks 1, 4 & 7, and 30 minutes self-practice during other weeks), which is certainly more powerful if you are being consistent, and another 1 -2 hours on the days where there is a live workshop with Uma or any of the guest teachers. Both the practices & the workshops will all be available to catch up with recordings in your own time. As well, it is expected that you will spend a couple of hours each week studying/practising teaching with your partner, which can be broken up as fits your schedules. For the non-teachers, this partner time will be used to practice teaching foundational pranayama and develop ideas for your projects.

For those wishing to certify to teach dynamic pranayama, the partner sessions are more involved as this is the best place to practice teaching stronger pranayama, as well as giving/receiving feedback. It is up to each partnership how much extra time they can give here, and there are certainly no limitations.

For non-yoga teachers, this partner time will be used to practice teaching foundational pranayama and develop ideas for your projects (which don't need to be shared for non-teachers), as well as share experiences from the practices, and gain support. We will have a session in the first week about how to best hold space for each other and be supportive during these transformational processes.  You & your partner are always welcome to have a check-in with Uma and the mentors to ask questions and make sure you are getting the most out of your time together.

At this stage, Uma is looking forward to offering BOTH 70 once per year. 

For those with unforeseeable circumstances, we are happy to offer extensions to complete the online component of the course as well as submitting the projects, however, the potency & the support of the teachers, mentors & community will not be the same outside of the 10-week container.