Join Michael James Wong as we learn the tools and techniques for safe assisting in a yoga class. In this course Michael will lead you through our methodology for assisting and touch, this is an accessible course to provide support for all student levels who have completed their 200 hour training.
About the course
Often times after you complete your foundation training, you're just not ready - or at least you feel that way. At Sunday School Yoga our online Assisting School focuses on ensuring your have the necessary skills and understanding to support and assist your students in the real world. For many new teachers, putting your hands on a students body is a scary and unnatural thing, and that's okay - it means you care. Learning how to assist the room, while teaching and touching is a task that takes time, focus and experience. So we have a whole course dedicated to just this. This course focuses entirely on how to build your knowledge and know-how for hands-on support in class.
Who is this course for?
This course is for anyone who has already completed their 200 hour yoga teacher training, and is looking for guidance and training to help them understand how to assist safely and confidently while teaching.
How it works
Focussing on 8 key themes we’ll help to curate, clarify and cultivate the best teacher within you. On completion of the 8 part course you'll then gain access to video training on how to assist with over 100 commonly practiced yoga poses along with a printable PDF workbook.
What does this course include?
Technique and Methodology
8 exclusive course modules guided by International Yoga Teacher Michael James Wong. This training will offer you the skills, confidence and techniques to both deepen and enhance the experience of your students when you teach.
The Assisting Library
On completion of the training, a library of over 100 assists for commonly practiced yoga poses is at your fingertips. Allowing you to put the skills you've just learnt into practice in the real world, this is your chance to see the practice in action.
Printable PDF Workbook
Once you've watched all the videos we make sure you've got the tools you need to keep it up! That's why in this course we also include a printable PDF workbook, allowing you to make notes during the course, and to have a quick reference tool to hand of every pose.
Watch an example from our assisting library below
The Course Curriculum
Codes of Conduct
In this module, we will discuss the role and responsibility of hands on assisting before we start learning any tools and techniques. As teachers, we must ensure we are clear on our intentions and create a safe and supportive environment for our students.
Touch Methodology
Before we act, we must first understand. This module is dedicated to the methodology and principles for touch. Our role as teachers is to have a clear understanding of what we are doing and why we are doing it, when we place our hands on a student.
Ethics & Awareness
Awareness is everything. It’s crucial to expand our self-awareness when teaching. We must understand that our actions and interactions must be moral, ethical and comprehensive for all. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are offering a practice of selfless service.
Before You Touch
You should always have a clear point and purpose when placing your hands on a student. Before you touch there are number of things that you should have already considered. This module is about deciding what is right and relevant before you step into your student’s space.
Assisting The Asana
Embody the essentials for assisting. Now that you have learned the methods and approach, we breakdown the approach and actions. This module will share the foundation of understanding that will apply to any asana you assist.
Tools & Techniques
Without techniques assisting can be a terrifying thing, but with them we can be of service. This module is focused on building your assisting toolkit. These techniques are designed to support your students and allow you to easily understand our best practice approaches.
Class Prep & Managing the Space
Assisting is more than just the postures, it’s what you do before, during and after. In this module, we’ll learn and share the important elements of supporting the complete practice.
Teaching & Touching
Now that we’ve learned the methods and techniques for assisting, it’s time to put this into your classes. In this module, we’ll learn how to integrate our physical assists with our verbal teaching.
Support and Feedback
Along with these training modules you'll also have the opportunity to test yourself following each module, and the chance to ask us questions too.
Watch an example lesson below
Michael James Wong
Senior Yoga Teacher and SSY Co-Founder
This course is led by Michael, who has facilitated over 3,000 hours of yoga teacher training courses in his past 12 years of teaching. He is a Yoga Alliance CPD and YACEP Senior Teacher who is dedicated to supporting teachers develop the tools and techniques necessary for teaching in the real world.
As the Co-Founder of SSY, Michael is also the creator of the course curriculum that brings together a wealth of knowledge, technique and study that respects the traditions of the practice as well as modern learnings for the 21st century.