Program FAQ and Student Testimonials
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We are a Therapeutic Yoga Studio, as well as a Teacher Training College. This means that we understand how to apply the principles of therapeutic yoga with real clients. When you study with us, you can mentor with our teachers and see how yoga can be adapted to benefit different needs. We are a registered college with PTIB (part of the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training), which means our college meets the highest standards to ensure you are protected as a student.
What is the difference between Therapeutic Yoga and Yoga Therapy?
Yoga Therapy is a newly regulated field by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Yoga Therapy training is accredited by IAYT and requires 800 hours of training additional to the RYT-200 training, with learning objectives designed to specifically address how to apply yoga therapy for individual and group clients. In contrast, Therapeutic Yoga gives you the basics of how to adapt yoga for therapeutic benefits for your clients. Therapeutic Yoga is about overall wellness. The training is much shorter and does not give you the tools to assess, apply and deliver yoga therapy for clients.
What is my designation with the 300 Hour Advanced Teacher of Yoga Therapy?
You can apply to the Yoga Alliance, for a designation of RYT-500. The RYT-500 designation refers to the cumulative hours from your original 200 hour Certification plus the 300 Hour Advanced Teacher of Yoga Certification. The Yoga Alliance is the International overseeing body of yoga. Registering as a Yoga Alliance certified teacher means that you can work anywhere in the world teaching yoga. When you successfully complete the course, you will receive a certificate from Ajna Yoga Center. To register with the Yoga Alliance, you email the Yoga Alliance and we confirm that you have graduated from Ajna.
What does my $790 deposit go towards?
Your $790 deposit is directly applied to one weekend module, the 6-week Practice Teaching Module and the 10 Mentorship classes module.
Can I take any of the weekend modules?
Yes, you can choose fourteen modules from any of the 20 weekend modules. There are five mandatory modules – ‘Backcare’, ‘Sequencing for Therapeutic Applications’, ‘Wrists and Shoulders’, ‘Hips and Knees’, and ‘Trauma, Yoga and Mental Health’. Note that some workshops have additional distance learning hours. You cannot count the Distance Learning hours toward your 500 hour certification. However, if you choose to continue on with the 800 (1,000) Hour Accredited Yoga Therapy Program, the Distance Learning hours will be applied.
How long do I have to complete the course?
You have 1-3 years to complete the course. Modules are offered annually.
Does Ajna accept transfer credits?
Yes, we have a course transfer policy. Please email us for details.
Do you have any accommodations to recommend when if I come from out of town for workshops?
Yes, look at our student housing page.
We are a Therapeutic Yoga Studio, as well as a Yoga Therapy College. This means that we understand how to apply the principles of yoga therapy with real clients. When you study with us, you can mentor with our teachers and see how yoga therapy works in action. We are a registered college with PTIB (part of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training), which means our private college meets the highest standards to ensure you are protected as a student.
What is Yoga Therapy at Ajna Yoga?
Our students learn the essential tools for practicing yoga therapy, with guidance from a highly qualified and supportive faculty. We teach students how to apply the tools of Yoga Therapy including pranayama, applied anatomy, therapeutic asana modifications, and meditation. Ajna focuses on teaching students how certain techniques can heal their clients, so that they can in turn educate their clients about the empowering field of yoga therapy.
What is my designation with the 800 Hour Accredited Yoga Therapist?
You will be eligible for the designation C-IAYT, which refers to the rigorous standards of accreditation set out by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Ajna was one of the first colleges to be accredited internationally with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
What does my $800 deposit go towards?
Your $800 deposit is directly applied to the Yoga Therapy Immersion.
Does Ajna accept transfer credits?
Yes, we have a transfer credit policy. Please email us for details.
Do you have any accommodations to recommend when if I come from out of town for training?
Yes, have a few places to recommend. Looks at our Student Housing page.
How long do I have to complete the course?
You have 2-4 years to complete the course. Modules are offered annually.
“I just wanted to thank you all for your wisdom, guidance and for holding space so beautifully for me during this training, as well as the group teaching. I feel like so much stronger of a teacher now and have so much more confidence. This is the most supportive yoga community I have ever been part of. Michelle and Jules and the other faculty members were always available for support and chats. This made a huge impact on my confidence and my learning. I made close friends during the training that I know will stay in my life.” Thank you all so much ❤️ ” – Isabelle Chatelain
“I am so full of gratitude to you both for all the meticulous work as well as heart & soul you put into the Ajna program. It has been a bright light in a year with such palpable sorrow, loss, and uncertainty all around. Being in the Ajna Yoga Therapy Program has sparked so much personal growth in me and re-kindled my mind, body & spirit in ways I had just about given up on. I could not think of a greater gift than this true revitalization and the way I feel welcomed to come to class just as I am.” – Anna-Claire
“Everything in the (Healthy Aging and Chair Yoga) course manual was covered beautifully. Instructors clearly outlined basic etiology of common conditions and we considered them from both the allopathic and yogic perspectives. I have some excellent tools and a grasp of helpful and contraindicated poses for each. I am confident that if I have a client who discloses such conditions I can refer to the manual, digital references and recordings, and to my instructors for clear pointers.”- Jing
“I just wanted to follow up on what I said to Michelle today with regards to the work that you have both put out to make these online trainings continue.
I, and so many of us appreciate all that you’ve done with the zoom classes, organization, videos, and coordinating the teacher training with everything behind the scenes that we don’t see.
It’s not my first rodeo and I’ve had to deal with many challenges as a teacher myself. So I know some of the effort that has been involved in this transitional period.
I wanted to express my gratitude and recognition for the grace that you both hold. It takes a special connection of feminine energy to work so synergistically and with such poise as you both do. You are a remarkable team of business women.
I’m impressed but also honoured to be part of Ajna.
We all appreciate the time and effort that you have put into this and also behind the scenes. I can see the extra hours and commitment that has gone into these classes.
I hope that you give yourselves some time to reflect on this too. You deserve to honour yourselves for what you share with all of us.” – Dawn
“Agi and Sanjeet were amazing, welcoming, kind, and very knowledgable instructors for the Anti Oppression in Yoga Therapy module. Each week we were asked to contemplate difficult and challenging topics in a way that was contemplative rather than forced or pushed. They presented a vast amount of information over the five weeks but the information was presented in a way that was interactive and invitational with time for questions and conversation around each week’s theme. Overall, this created a fantastic learning, listening, and growing space over the duration of the module. I will be thinking critically about how Yoga is presented/marketed, how I can make my classes inclusive and accessible, how I can help in making Yoga in general more accessible to everyone and everybody, and how I can appropriately honour the roots of Yoga in an informative, non-harming way.- Maria
“The Business of Yoga Therapy module was successful as it covered a vast number of topics related to running a small Yoga business. The information was delivered in an easily understood format and gave us the opportunity to create a business plan that can be used to create our actually practical businesses in the near future.” – Tom
“Both Michelle and Gita have such an amazing knowledge of the chakras and complementary teaching styles that it was a pleasure to take this journey with them. Michelle and Gita are skilled facilitators and I appreciate both their authentic styles. They really handled challenging questions and emotional responses from the students well.” – Marilea
“The Trauma, Yoga and Mental Health module provided me with an understanding of what trauma is, how it affects individuals and how to approach trauma within a yoga setting. The training has given me an insight on how trauma affects mental health and impacts our neurology and physiology. It also enlightened me on the dysregulation created by trauma. I will most definitely use the tools I learned in the future. The learning modalities of the use of the right language, modulation of voice, breathwork in asana parctice are some of the tools that I will be incorporating in my teaching.” – Shamini
“The Hips and Knees module benefited my personal practice due to the nature of a past knee injury and new challenges I have to navigate along my healing journey. I thought the training was very successful and I enjoyed the hands-on kinesthetic practices we practiced together. The foot to pelvis connection is the most important connection I gained from the training. I am more aware of my personal connection with my body and what practices can support my actions to improve my inner and outer body health and cultivating more confidence within my life.” – Paige
“This (Restorative Yoga Therapy) training provided me another tool to support students or clients both physically and emotionally. I will use restorative yoga to make my yoga teaching more complete and adaptable. I am also planning to integrate this into future yoga sessions for depression. The restorative yoga can be offered to anyone, especially those who are in pain. Love both Jules and Gita. I think they have these restorative qualities in nature.” – Oliver
“The Yoga Therapy Immersion training was successful because successful because we have great teachers and useful materials and resources. The practice teaching and the final one on one yoga therapy sessions prepared me for my own sessions. Thank you, all the teachers, in the program. You are all amazing in your own way.” – Linda
“This (Yoga Therapy for Pain Care) training was successful because of the clear passion that Shelly had for the subject. It created a very positive learning experience for me and was super engaging. I absolutely will be using what I learned in this class with clients. Now my approach will be more holistic, focusing on all of the koshas. I will be more aware of my language when working with clients and will ensure that I create dialogue that allows for me to understand how pain is impacting more than just the physical yoga practice. “ – Maija
“This (Pranayama for Yoga Therapy) was one of the best modules I’ve taken so far. I found the flow of information between the classes and PPTs seamless and also loved receiving the information from different instructors. Everyone has their own style and approach and that made what could be a fairly ‘simple’ topic much richer and more engaging.”- Cheryl
“Before (the Meditation for Yoga Therapy module), I really had not considered meditation as a practice to offer my students. Now I consider it as an integral part of my offerings to clients. The class tied the tradition of meditation to the usefulness of dealing with modern environments and conditions. ” – Claire
“This (Sequencing for Yoga Therapy) was a very thorough module, exploring the complexities of sequencing in Yoga Therapy. Bringing all of the elements, not just the shape/pose, and needs of the client, but the layering of all of the different aspects of yoga into a beautiful class/series of healing. In the past I have always enjoyed putting together sequences, and I now look forward to taking all I have learned here into my future teachings.” – Trudy
“The expertise of the instructors (for Balance and Fall Prevention module) the and the diversity of the background experience made this successful. Each teacher came from a different perspective which created a well-rounded program. Also the pre-work was excellent. From a time-perspective, I always kind of dread the pre-work, especially when there is a lot of it, but as a learning specialist, I know it’s THE best way to prep for the in-class part. There was a lot of pre-work for this but it was so well collated and compiled, it supported the in-class portion perfectly. I really enjoyed the unique teaching styles and personalities of each faciliator. It was fun to participate in this class and it looked like the facilitators were enjoying teaching it as well. All in all, a great weekend!” – Gillian
“The Therapeutic Inversions and Backbends module has shifted my view of many of the postures we practice regularly in classes, such as little bridge as a therapeutic shoulder stand. This has broadened my awareness of these forms and cues to bring in, as well as which students may benefit most from practicing them. I also feel that I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of the deep front line, how and why to encourage activation, and how to maintain our full body connection in any form. I will definitely be bringing in the cues and awareness around therapeutic inversions and backbends, and activating the deep front line with my students and clients. I also plan on bringing in some of the more intermediate variations in my own practice to continue to explore those benefits for myself.” – Shannon
