Starting with the Winter quarter in January 2018, Antioch College students can now receive college credits for Yoga Teacher Training through an innovative 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program at the College’s Wellness Center. Comprised of community members, Antioch students, and a few Antioch alums, the inaugural program cohort is completing the training in partnership with Yoga Springs Studio, a Registered Yoga School with the National Yoga Alliance.
“I am very excited to bring the program to Antioch. It is an additional tool for students to have when they graduate. The skills that one learns teaching yoga can be applied in various community and work environments. It also teaches valuable life skills for maintaining balance and well-being,” said Monica Hasek, director of the Yoga Teacher Training program and the Wellness Center. Antioch students interested in obtaining certification had previously approached Hasek about offering courses, and during the College’s community-wide visioning process, the opportunity presented itself to integrate the Wellness Center more fully into the College’s curriculum. This resulted in the Yoga Teacher Training program as well as other certifications, like American Red Cross Lifeguard Training.
Students in the program are doing much more than refining their yoga skills. Through classes mixed with alums and community members, students have the opportunity to build new connections. Amelia la Plante Horne ‘18 described it as “a community of people openly working on themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally.” The support from the community and the practice and knowledge gained through yoga training also positively affected her other academic pursuits. “It’s easier to do my schoolwork,” la Plante Horne explained. A weekend of intensive practice has provided new perspective for her other courses and work during the week.
Another current student, Hollyn Bermod, said the intensive weekend structure “helps balance out the rigorous academic curriculum” at Antioch. She expected the program to be a deepening of her own personal practice of yoga and challenging to as a full-time student, but she discovered the program also taught her to focus in new ways. “I’ve been able to integrate full body awareness into everything I do. It’s about honoring yourself and where you’re at.”
As an approved part of the curriculum at the College, students can find new ways to integrate the lessons learned from Yoga Teacher Training with their current degree programs, whether they plan to teach yoga or study ecologic systems. Starting with the Fall 2018 quarter, students at Antioch College will truly own their education through self-designed majors that will include a curricular focus on the College’s Area of Practice: wellbeing, sustainability, deliberative democracy and justice, creativity and story, and work and resilient community. Innovative pieces of the curriculum, such as Yoga Teacher Training, give students the opportunity to put values into practice and integrate a variety of learning opportunities into a degree program.
For more information about this program and other Antioch College courses focusing on Areas of Practice, including wellbeing, please contact Christine Reedy, communications specialist.
