Tag: lauren rudick

Immersive Chakra Yoga Teacher Training

Chakra Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training. A 60hr immersive training for teachers. Beach front. Stay & meal included.

Go on a soulful journey into the chakra system...

Our chakra-Vinyasa yoga teacher training is an immersive, retreat style experience for yoga teachers. this 1-week training includes your stay and meals. Enjoy our oceanfront retreat centre, jungle and ocean view yoga spaces, meditation platforms, virtually private beaches and miles and miles of unspoiled paradise.

This is a full and complete course on its own. It is also a module of our Yoga Alliance registered 300hr YTT. 

Inquire now!

Chakra-Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training

Sample daily schedule:

 

  • 7:00 – 8:30am morning chakra-themed yoga flow
  • 8:30 – 9am beach meditation and mindfulness exercises
  • 9 – 10:30am Breakfast break
  • 10:30am – 1pm Chakra Vinyasa Yoga Theory
  • 1pm – 3:30pm Lunch Break
  • 3:30pm – 6:00pm Workshops, discussion, practice teaching, mindful communication skills
  • 6pm – 7:00pm Sunset & Dinner break
  • 7pm – 8:30pm evening satsang (Q&A, philosophy chats, dance parties)

Curriculum

This Chakra-Vinyasa yoga teacher training will touch on:

  • History and origins of the chakra system
  • How to understand chakras from a Western perspective
  • Where Chakras meet science
  • How the chakras can help us better understand ourselves- mind, body and spirit
  • Mantras to awaken each chakra
  • Hindu deities and their stories as they relate to the theme of each of the seven chakras
  • Yoga Asana that calm, balance and stimulate each chakra
  • How to sequence yoga asana classes for the chakras
  • Rituals and practices to get in touch with your system, chakra by chakra
Reserve my spot!

Location

This teacher training includes your stay + 3 meals per day at our retreat center at Maderas Beach, Nicaragua. Located just outside of the lively beach town of San Juan Del Sur, Maderas beach is a safe and quiet haven.  Our oceanfront private villa is the perfect setting for a month spent in paradise! You’ll get sunset views every evening from our dipping pool and our yoga shala boasts a 180 degree view of the ocean and the surf break! We also have a jungle yoga deck and 82 acres of hiking trails on this private property to explore.

Every morning you can meditate on the cliffs of this dramatic coastline that gives way to perfect beaches for walking and some world-class waves for surfing. This place is serene and stunning.

GETTING HERE: Maderas beach is located just 2-houra from Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR) airport and 2-hours from Managua Airport (MGA). Flying in to either airport. We can have our partners at the retreat center organize your transfers to us at Maderas Beach.

Inquire now!

Accreditation & Tuition

Yoga Academy International is a recognized and registered yoga school with Yoga Alliance. When you graduate our course you will be a certified chakra-vinyasa yoga teacher. This course also counts as 60hrs toward Yoga Academy International’s 500hr YTT. On completion of 3 elective modules + our core module, you can register as RYT-500. 

Tuition for this program is $1765USD. Your chakra-vinyasa yoga teacher training includes:

  • 9 nights at our private, oceanfront retreat center
  • 3 locally sourced healthy meals daily
  • Daily Asana and Meditation practice
  • An opportunity to live your yoga, lifestyle and ethics
  • Campfires, singing, dancing, stargazing
  • A safe, sacred space for you to grow in to the most authentic and happy version of yourself
  • Mentorship and personalized guidance

* please note, there is 1 day off mid-way through this training. Meals will not be included on the day off. This is your opportunity to support local restaurants and visit the area!

There are no extras or hidden fees associated with our program. We invite you to come as you are and we will provide you with everything you need. Payment plans are available.

Get in touch with us about this training
NOT JUST AN AVERAGE YOGA TRAINING; IT WAS AN ENRICHING LIFE EXPERIENCE. I LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT THE MANY ASPECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION. AS WELL AS MORE ABOUT MYSELF. I RECEIVED THE TOOLS TO LEAD A MORE EMPOWERED AND CONSCIOUS LIFE. THE GENUINE LOVE, GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT FROM THE SKILLED INSTRUCTORS AND MY FELLOW STUDENTS WAS APPARENT ON A DAILY BASIS AND SO APPRECIATED. I ENJOYED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS COMPREHENSIVE AND WELL-PLANNED PROGRAM. GREAT VARIETY OF KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND LASTING FRIENDSHIPS. I’M FOREVER GRATEFUL.
MS
Sweden
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE! THE QUALITY OF THE TEACHING AND EDUCATION WAS TRULY FANTASTIC. THE STAFF ALONG WITH ALL OF THE EXPERT GUEST SPEAKERS WERE SUPER SUPPORTIVE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. I FEEL WELL EQUIPPED AND EXCITED TO GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND SHARE WHAT I HAVE LEARNED. I ESPECIALLY LOVED THAT WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO EMBRACE OUR OWN STYLE OF TEACHING. THE STUNNING AND MAGICAL LOCATION WAS THE CHERRY ON TOP!
Sonya H
Australia
I feel very lucky to have stumbled on to the gift of this practice, and I love that now I get to introduce it to others. I get to encourage the uncovering and discovering that inevitably comes along with it, not only during the asanas, but during those unexpected quiet moments of stillness…those golden moments where you find yourself going inward, and you find yourself. I’m SO excited to continue being a student of yoga…to continue being a teacher of yoga…to keep moving on this path
JulieAnn Delude
USA
PLEASE NOTE: A NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE IN THE PROGRAM. A 50% BALANCE OF PAYMENT IS DUE 30-DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THE TRAINING. THE REMAINING BALANCE IS DUE 10-DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THE YOGA TEACHER TRAINING. A FULL REFUND, MINUS THE DEPOSIT FEE WILL BE OFFERED FOR CANCELLATIONS MADE MORE THAN 60-DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THE TRAINING. CANCELLATIONS OF LESS THAN 60-DAYS ADVANCED NOTICE WILL BE REFUNDED 50% OF THE TEACHER TRAINING PRICE. REFUNDS WILL NOT BE OFFERED ON CANCELLATIONS MADE LESS THAN 30-DAYS IN ADVANCE. REFUNDS WILL NOT BE OFFERED ON DISCOUNTED RATES.

200hr Yoga Teacher Training: Everything You Need to Know

Thinking about taking a 200hr yoga teacher training?

Here is a Q&A with Lauren Rudick, founder, director and Lead yoga teacher at Yoga Academy International. She addresses everything you need to know about taking a 200hr yoga teacher training!

Questions answered include what is a typical teacher training day? What if I strictly eat vegan? Is it necessary to bring my own mat? AND MORE!

Contrary to popular belief, a yoga teacher training is not only for people who aspire to teach in the future. There are many good reasons as to why one would choose to partake in this 200hr adventure. It can be to deepen your practice, learn more about yourself or just to take a break from your busy life to reconnect.

200hr yoga teacher training

 

Interested in taking a yoga teacher teacher training with us?

Click here for more information about our different trainings, curriculum, and how to apply.

 

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Master Your Chaturanga Dandasana

Lauren Rudick plank pose yoga academy internationalThis is a pose that I see so much misalignment in as an instructor. Chaturanga dandasana is a crucial element of practice for anyone who enjoys vinyasa yoga or wants to eventually achieve arm balances. Misaligned chaturanga can lead to shoulder strain and rotator cuff injuries as well as neck pain and low back pain. So it is important to do this asana properly. follow these 5 steps to master your chaturanga dandasana.

1) Starting in plank pose, make your body parallel to the mat. The shoulders should be stacked right on top of the wrists. The head is an extension of your long spine.

2) Engage the quadriceps by gluing the thigh muscles to their bones. Keep the body actively engaged by pressing the heels back toward an imaginary wall and the chest forward into space in front of you.

3) Push the ground away from you and slightly round the shoulders to turn on the shoulder girdle. The biceps will rotate in toward each other. The eyes of the elbows will face out.

4) Engage the bandhas! Mula bandha: lift your pelvic floor. Imagine there is a shelf between your legs. Lift that shelf toward the belly and the back. Uddiyana bandha: Scoop the belly button in and up in a J motion. Jalandara bandha: keep the back of the neck long. Tuck in the chin slightly. note: if your are having trouble keeping the hips lifted here and the back is starting to banana place the knees on the ground.

5) On an exhale bend the elbows. Keep everything engaged and active. The arms should come to a 90 degree angle. Hug the biceps in toward the body. Make sure the shoulder heads NEVER drop below the elbows this is crucial to ensuring safety and symmetry in the shoulder joint.

See if you can hold this pose for 1 breath, 3 breaths, 5 breaths… Keeping the bandhas working and the shoulders moving away from the ears. Once you can hold this asana for a few breaths comfortably, see if you can push back up to plank.
Can you do chaturanga pushups ??

Tag anyone who can benefit from improving their alignment in chaturanga dandasana! Happy shoulders and happy practice yogis!

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Lauren Rudick 

Lead teacher and founder of Yoga Academy International, Lauren is a globally celebrated yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga for nearly a decade and comes from a variety of lineages and traditions. Lauren’s appetite for yoga and travel are insatiable. She continues to study with world-class instructors whenever possible, all the while leading her own yoga retreats and workshops. Lauren has solid roots in Hatha yoga with continued studies in Vinyasa flow, Anusara, Ashtanga, Restorative and Yin Yoga. She is inspired by teachers who tell stories. She has studied under Seane Corn, Chris Chavez, MC Yogi, Susan Cohen, Nancy Goodfellow and many others. Lauren is passionate about sharing yoga from an authentic and soulful point of view. She believes that yoga practice can help uncover the veils that hide us from achieving our full potential.

 

 

The Ultimate Upward Facing Dog: 6 Easy Steps

lauren rudick upward facing dog tutorialUrdva mukha svanasana a pose often rushed through or misaligned even by more experienced practitioners. Here are some things to remember while working towards your ultimate upward facing dog:

1) Push ten toe nails into the ground.

2) Firm the thighs. Think knee caps lifted by the strength of the thigh muscles.

3) Bandhas engaged. What does this mean? Imagine you’re wearing a pair of muscular underwear. Lift the front it. Pull it way up!! Engaging the lower abs and imagining there is a shelf between your legs and lifting that shelf up helps too.

4) Wrists under the shoulders then roll the shoulders back… Roll em back. Roll them back back back.

5) You can look up but don’t let the head flop back. Keep jalandhara bandha engaged by slightly tucking the chin, even if your head is up. For yoga newbies I wouldn’t suggest looking up at all, only forward. If the shoulder are up near your ears and you throw the head back there can be some serious damage to the neck. Wait until the rest of your updog alignment is spot on before looking up or back.

6) Open the heart! Have you ever seen a dog do this? It is like they are stretching new life into themselves. They press the chest open with their whole soul and you can practically feel the exuberance they emit in this stretch. Do that! Spread your collar bones and think about joy. With each upward facing dog, go to a place that makes you feel joyful! Breathe in and open your heart to the world.

if you have any questions or poses that you would like me to breakdown and write a post about, please mention it in the comment box below 🙂

 

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Lauren Rudick 

Lead teacher and founder of Yoga Academy International, Lauren is a globally celebrated yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga for nearly a decade and comes from a variety of lineages and traditions. Lauren’s appetite for yoga and travel are insatiable. She continues to study with world-class instructors whenever possible, all the while leading her own yoga retreats and workshops. Lauren has solid roots in Hatha yoga with continued studies in Vinyasa flow, Anusara, Ashtanga, Restorative and Yin Yoga. She is inspired by teachers who tell stories. She has studied under Seane Corn, Chris Chavez, MC Yogi, Susan Cohen, Nancy Goodfellow and many others. Lauren is passionate about sharing yoga from an authentic and soulful point of view. She believes that yoga practice can help uncover the veils that hide us from achieving our full potential.

 

 

I Am Not Flexible: Confessions of a Yoga Teacher

I am not flexible and I teach yoga. I used to feel like a complete sham, being a yoga teacher and not able to express full hanumanasana (the splits) …

Over time and with a lot of forgiveness, I have allowed this to become a strength rather than a hindrance. Due to an inability to demonstrate some poses in their fullest, I had been forced to improve my understanding of anatomy, my communication skills,
i am not flexible
and my explanations of postures. Comprehensible and down-to-earth analogies were needed in order to safely guide students in an out of complicated asana.
…
I had to let go of a tremendous amount of ego watching my students advance and surpass me in their bendtacular physical abilities. Rather than envy or jealousy, I was filled with enormous amounts of gratitude. It’s a truly humbling experience to watch your students surpass you. I felt privileged to be their teacher.
…
When my stiff body does manage a touch of suppleness, it becomes a fantastic victory. Years ago, while teaching gomukasana (cow face yoga pose), I was demonstrating how to position the arms when suddenly my fingertips grazed each other for the first time ever.
…
I almost stopped the class to shout, “Hey everybody! My fingernails just momentarily brushed each other!! Wooo hoo!! Did anyone see that!?!? I am usually not a flexible yoga teacher”
…
Which would have been both inappropriate and ridiculous in a room full of clasped hands behind backs.
But there’s something more here: When tickling fingertips together draws such awareness and excitement, suddenly little things in life offer us so much encouragement.
…
This small victory made me feel like I could accomplish anything! The intense sensation of joy and triumph in that moment gave me so much empowerment.
…
Once I had let go of the goal-oriented nature of my practice and the negativity I had let myself experience for being Inflexible, my personal asana practice flourished.
… 
i am not flexible
Today my yoga practice is about joy. It is about love. It is so much less about the asana. When I step on my mat, I close my eyes and I move my soul with breath and posture. I let my heart pour out on the rubber floor. Whatever I am feeling I just let it be.
…
I have become so much more compassionate and forgiving of myself on the mat that it has permeated other areas of my life too-less judgment, more being okay with others as they are. By allowing expression and removing rigidity from my personal yoga practice, my body has opened up as well.
 …
Today, not only can I do the splits, but lotus, arm balances, fallen angel, full dancer, have all become part of my regular practice. Oh, and gomukasana too! I can totally grab my hands and even reverse prayer these days! I never in my life thought I would be able to express these asana!
 …
For anyone who is not a flexible yoga teacher or student, step on your mat. Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths. Ask yourself, “what is possible?” You might be surprised with the results, I know I was!

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Lauren Rudick

Lauren Rudick
 
Lead teacher and founder of Yoga Academy International, Lauren is a globally celebrated yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga for nearly a decade and comes from a variety of lineages and traditions. Lauren’s appetite for yoga and travel are insatiable. She continues to study with world-class instructors whenever possible, all the while leading her own yoga retreats and workshops. Lauren has solid roots in Hatha yoga with continued studies in Vinyasa flow, Anusara, Ashtanga, Restorative and Yin Yoga. She is inspired by teachers who tell stories. She has studied under Seane Corn, Chris Chavez, MC Yogi, Susan Cohen, Nancy Goodfellow and many others. Lauren is passionate about sharing yoga from an authentic and soulful point of view. She believes that yoga practice can help uncover the veils that hide us from achieving our full potential.