INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSES AND TO THE SCHOOL.

 At Shanti Yoga School we have designed three separate training course any of which may stand alone but which when undertaken will enable the participant to become a knowledgeable teacher and expert yoga therapist.The debate as to whether yoga is a therapy will be going on into the next century--we do not engage in this debate as each person may consider themselves how they wish--but we make no apology for using yoga as a restorative tool for some sufferers. For some sufferers there is a total exclusion of the philosophy and the spiritual dimensionbecause they express complete disinterest in this most valuable aspect.

 Each course year is designed to stand alone but when put together will constitute a three year yoga course incorporating  a level of knowledge of function of the human body no other course attempts to supply. This comes from our unique position as therapists practising fmm, founded by Andy Thomas over 20 years and patented ten years ago. The therapy knowledge is deeply entwined with yoga knowledge, since  fmm springs from the same source as yoga.

Each course could be undertaken quite separate from the others--for example if you have already good therapy knowledge and are interested in deepening your knowledge of how and why things go wrong then C3 would be appropriate and is taught as though you had not already undertaken the previous two years. 

Please remember that at July 2010 there are no accrediting agencies for yoga . The British Wheel of Yoga uses the words "courses approved by BWY " but this should not be seen as though they were recognised as an accrediting agency. As an Elder of the Independent Yoga Network,I   can be assure you that the IYN will be deeply entrenched in any negoti ations that take place around the subject of an accrediting agency. At present there is no such agency and no sign of one emerging. Approved does not mean accredited and if there is to be an accrediting agency this task will not be given to an existing yoga school--for obvious reasons.!! The latest news is that the Sports Council who it seems have been the instigators of the BWY being so dogmatic , have now rescinded their support realising that they simply TOOK OVER the supposed accredit ation process with no thought for the fact that there are many other schools and individuals who were never consulted!!!      As is often said, truth will out eventually and justice will be done!

Our C1 , the Foundation course, provides just that. A foundation for all your future yoga. There is no attempt to teach you everything --this is attempted by some yoga schools--but we know that real learning is a process of steeping yourself in the subject , not acquiring piles of books nopr writing lots of  essays  just to pass examinations--this is not how real knowledge is acquire--real knowledge is to KNOW FROM WITHIN.The Course 1 contains all the necessary opportunities for personal growth that you will need for becoming a valuable teacher. What we have decided to do, from September 2010, is incorporate the second year course--C2--into the foundation course but it should be stressed that this is only of value for those concerned to maximise the chances of accreditation in the future. The amalgamation of the two year courses will be offered to anyone who seeks accreditation but it is not a requirement we make--in other words you  can assume that undertaking C1 will continue to be acceptable for all normal teaching purposes and continuing onto the second year is optional for anyone not interested in accreditation. We have taken this step in order to assure prospective teachers that they will be prepared for accreditaion if and when it becomes necessary. You may rest assured, however, that no matter what accreditation agency is established if you choose to undertake only C1 you will be well able to create private yoga classes in the place of your choice and no one is going to be able to stop you, certainly not any accrediting agency.

 The C2 will not change in basic content neither will the C1--simply what will happen is that if you wish to assure yourself of having the required qualifications in the future then the two years may be essential--but at present  no one knows. The  courses have been organised around a 12month cycle--starting in January and finishing in December, taking into account all school holiday so that family people can know that they will not be required to do anything during school holidays. 

Simply select your course from the "TEACHING  list on the right.

Full details, course outlines, dates, prices and application forms are provided in one easy to view page which is part of the course content of each course.

 IN  July 2008, we decided to consider more deeply the relationship between the therapy which we call full movement method and  yoga, especially our unique mechanism enshrined in Course 2. The title FULL MOVEMENT YOGA emerged from the mouth of one former student and the stunned group simply said " Well, yes of course , that is what it should be"  And so FMY has been adopted as a sort of umbrella name for all the processes that we have encapsulated in our courses. We don't actually have a course with this title but for those practitioners of fmm now successfully in practice the title is simply an expression of what they actually do. Treat the patient and teach yoga to her.

 It is this extraordinary process which achieves the nearly 100 percent success --there is no other therapy which can demonstrate such a high success rate--we dont go around blowing our trumpets about this because most people choose not to believe it--it is only when the patient comes who has " been everywhere , tried everything"- we have even termed this group BETE!!-- and is deeply cynical that she suddenly wakes up the enormous power of the method. And we can explain how and why you get well!! So --there are no coincidences. It is pure logic!!

 We add  current course student comments  at the end of Sept so you can see how the courses are seen by those currently participating--these are included in the course content section for each course. We will be adding some 2010 student comments , we hope before the end of Sept. You are free to make enquiries amongst the current students and attend one of the sessions during the period Sept to Dec if you wish to see if our way suits you.

 We are occasionally faced with the question " will my course work fit me for working in a leisure centre or gymnasium" and of course the answer is yes BUT many of these establishments are now demanding that any new yoga teacher have a membership of REPS or other accepted teaching certificate. The Government has seen this and has now established a set of training courses for teachers of adults . The course which you may wish to participate in --but only if you wish to work in the more "public sector"--is known as the PTLLS --preparation for teaching in the life-long learning sector.These courses are offered by FE colleges around the country.

With the change in Government the whole training issue is most likely to be thrown up into the air--this is at 23rd june 2010 --as they say watch this space.

 The next piece of information is taken directly from the PTLLS sections of the local college;

West Bridgford Centre
Greythorn Drive
Nottingham. NG2 7GA.             TEL;0115-9146400

The participation in this course is NOT NECESSARY for any other purpose --in the yoga teachers training course you receive adequate instruction on how to teach but ticking this particular box would be much quicker than engaging in an attempt to join REPS which has mind-boggling demands and is itself just a hoop jumping exercise. Indeed, so silly and confusing is the whole thing that we have just discovered that if you join the IYN --Independent Yoga Network--- Andy Thomas is an Elder---you get entry to REPS automatically.!! But dont get over excited by any of this because via the IYN there is much more change on the way. But the PTLLS is a Government iniative so this will hold for many years.

Andy Thomas was accepted as an Elder into the IYN on the strength of his own independence and on the basis of a strong belief in the need for yoga practitioners to maintain vigorous independence from all forms of outside regulation . For  many yoga practitioners the fundamental objection is that they are to be regulated or judged by those who have no knowledge of yoga and have no empathy with the spiritual nature of the process. There are currently attempts to classify yoga as though it were a branch of aerobics or some other form of exercise. As at July 2010 this has not happened!