There are no experience or knowledge prerequisites for this course - only a deep commitment to oneself. Students of all levels are encouraged to use this course to either begin or continue a journey of personal exploration and acceptance, and to develop or enhance yoga teaching competencies.
ASHTANGA / VINYASA YOGA PRACTICE
- Cultivate ujjayi (ocean) breath, bandhas (energy locks), and inward focus
- Increase strength, stamina, flexibility, and balance
- Establish and deepen a daily asana practice
- Receive and perform hands-on adjustments
Slowburn YOGA
- Utilize the breath to its greatest effect
- Deepen your understanding of poses and their effects
- Begin to read the body and adapt poses appropriately
- Sequence poses to create a balanced flow
- Understand the root cause of back pain
- Move the spine in six directions to maintain optimal health
ANATOMY
- Learn to articulate the muscular-skeletal components of selected postures
- Deepen your knowledge of the therapeutic value of the asanas in the primary series
- Discover an anatomical language suitable for teaching
- Learn safe, effective adjustments and modifications
MEDITATION
- Develop the faculty of concentration
- Cultivate deeper levels of awareness and balance in mind and body
- Establish a daily personal practice
- Learn to lead group meditation
TEACHING SKILLS --
- Assist students in experiencing transformation
- Individualize instruction for students with special needs
- Give safe and effective adjustments
- Sequence postures and structure a class
- Share meditation techniques
- Communicate effectively without sacrificing the integrity of a strong class
- Work with a partner
- Cultivate deep relaxation in students
- Tailor sessions for both individual and group instruction
- Give and receive goal-directed feedback
- Listen Empathically
GATHERING AND SHARING
- Study yoga history and philosophy
- Discover yourself and others through journal entries
- Deepen your understanding of yoga through reading selections
- Make a commitment to sangha
Reading List
- World Peace Diet | Will Tuttle
- Ashtanga Yoga Manual | David Swenson
- Power Yoga | Beryl Bender Birch
- Light on Yoga | B.K.S Iyengar
- Art of Living | William Hart
- Science of Breath | Yogi Ramacharaka
- Anatomy for Yoga [DVD] | Paul Grilley
- Man's Search for Meaning | Victor E. Frankl
- Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease | Dean Ornish
- Back Care Basics | Mary Pullig Schatz
- The Heart of Yoga | T.K.V. Desikachar
The Center for Yoga Teacher Training with Jonny Kest is an exceptional opportunity for yoga teachers and students alike. What Jonny Kest brings to the training program is his passion and love of yoga. He has the gift to connect with students and help them find their own potential and gifts they have to offer. For me, it was about transformation. It doesn't necessarily come from a book, but it does come from within and Jonny’s training brings that out in each individual who participates in his program.
- Julie Gilbert, RYT, CFY Student
I decided to go to a conference that would expose me to many types of yoga. As soon as I took Jonny's Healthy Backs Slowburn© workshop, I knew he was the teacher to learn from. He resonated with me right away, inspiring me to soak up everything he said. Since taking his Teacher Training, I am now teaching full-time, juggling a schedule as a mother of four. This training set me free. I had practiced yoga for years, but this gave me the insight to live fearlessly! It even gave me the courage to try out for a Piston's Cheerleading stunt team. I would have never have come close to this challenge at the ripe age of 34 (14 years after I did it at MSU), and because of my new found fearlessness, I was able to tumble and stunt better than before! Thank you Jonny for helping me open the doors to my life!
- Pam Goff, RYT, CFY Teacher
The Center for Yoga Teacher Training with Jonny Kest is truly "Life Training" for anyone wishing to develop greater mindfulness. The curriculum contains a seamless collection of timeless, universal truths that enhance one's ability to maneuver in the present moment through any personal or professional setting. Jonny guides you on a personal journey of self-exploration, through his compassionate, thoughtful and disciplined approach to teaching the classical tenets of yoga.
- Helen Melia Hammond, J.D., CFY Student
To be a truly excellent teacher, one must live yoga-incorporate its power of connection into every arena of life. Jonny's Teacher Training gives concrete tools to do that. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to grow through this program.
-Jason Hulshof, Teacher CFY
Jonny's focus on self-awareness and equanimity transforms a yoga posture into a subtle personal journey. I had 15 years previous hatha yoga experience and this teacher training both deepened my personal practice and provided truths and principles that enhance my experience of universal harmony.
-Ro Coury, CFY Student
Yoga and the Center for Yoga Teacher Training has helped bring peace and light to a life that was filled with depression and darkness. It has brought equanimity and confidence to a mind that was filled with agitation and fear.
-Jill Bicknell, CFY Student
I have spent years sampling different Yoga styles and attending various workshops, conventions and Teacher Training's, searching for the right one. I don't have to look any further, this is it. It was here I learned the true essence of Yoga. It is not the perfect pose but to be able to take Yoga off my mat and into my daily life. As I now begin to see myself remaining steady amidst the turbulence of life, equanimity is no longer just a word I didn't understand. It is hear I learned to "Live my Yoga." "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."
- Kim Hubbarth CFY Student
