professional development & mentoring program

Teaching yoga is a wonderful, transformative, and sometimes unexpected profession.

Availability: 3 spaces October 2024. Email harriet@nourishyogatraining.com to register your interest.

Often we decide to teach yoga because we’ve felt the benefit of practice in our own lives and wish to share it. 

The role of a teacher is one which requires us to continue to educate ourselves, as well as others, and for all its benefits this can sometimes be an isolating and confronting experience. We can feel alone and confused about where to go for advice, support and guidance once our formal training is over. 

Nourish’s Mentoring Program offers an opportunity for yoga teachers to support each other and grow together in a community of care, attention and learning. You’ll be able to seek advice, ask questions and share concerns that arise in your teaching practice. 

Through a mixture of small-group mentoring (3 people + Harriet per group) and one-to-one support, you’ll be guided through a 6 month program intended to look at every aspect of your teaching practice. Whilst the program may look quite detailed, we will enjoy and encourage the natural adaptability and flexibility we can enjoy in small groups to tailor to your needs and questions. 

A new group starts every three months or so, depending on demand, for a maximum of 12 students per year. Spaces are limited and you’re encouraged to honour your commitment to your group and the program.

Read more about Why Mentoring is Important for Yoga Teachers on the Blog.

Session Overview

Each month we’ll meet for 90 minutes (sometimes we might finish early, but it’s best to budget plenty of time for conversations and questions). Our sessions will look a little like this:

0-10 Grounding meditation to arrive
10-20 Check-in/welcome/overview of session
20-50 Presentation of main topic
50-70 Discussion/short task
70-80 Preparation for month ahead/overview of tasks
80-90 Breath/relaxation practice

Your Google Classroom will be an invaluable resource during our time together. It’s here that I’ll curate all the materials, notes, readings, journaling tasks etc for each month. You will have indefinite access to everything posted.

The structure and content of Nourish’s mentoring program is geared towards developing, planning and delivering a 90 minute online workshop on a theme of your choice. It’s important to me that we have a practical, tangible outcome to focus on, and one that deepens your skills as a yoga teacher.

Month-by-month breakdown

Month 1: Welcome

Our first month together focusses on welcoming you to the program, thinking about where you are in your journey and where you’d like to go next. We’ll set boundaries, intentions and expectations for the program, and do a comprehensive overview of what’s to come. You’ll consider your personal intention for the program, and what you’d like to cultivate for yourself over the coming months.

Contact hours: 1.5 hour zoom call
Non-contact hours: 1 hour reading, 1 hour journaling task

Month 2: Your Interests

This month, we’ll consider what we’re interested in as yoga teachers. The yoga world is big, broad and diverse: it can be difficult and confusing to navigate where to put our attention and skills as a teacher. This isn’t about whittling it all down in one session, but rather beginning to enquire as to how we might develop an understanding of what we’re drawn to, and what makes us unique as yoga teachers. We’ll also consider the importance of a critical approach to resources and education: how do we decide who/what information to trust, and why is this important?

Contact hours: 1.5 hour zoom call
Non-contact hours: 1 hour reading, 1 hour journaling task

Month 3: Research

Building on our exploration of our interests, we’ll turn our attention to workshopping a theme we’d like to explore in our teaching. From a teaching skills perspective, we’ll begin to break down how a workshop differs from a standard class, and what is expected of us as yoga teachers when delivering longer-form, more detailed content. We’ll discuss research and development strategies for self-guided learning, and how we can channel this into planning meaningful workshops.

Contact hours: 1.5 hour zoom call
Non-contact hours: 2-3 hours work on your bibliography & reading

Month 4: Develop

Building on your research, we’ll consider how to develop a plan for your 90 minute workshop. You’ll consider how to blend asana, pranayama, philosophy and meditation appropriate to your topic. We’ll discuss time management, creating a welcoming container for your students, and ensuring a balanced approach to delivering your workshop.

You’ll receive an example workshop plan and a pre-reading to help support you developing your workshop.

Contact hours: 1.5 hour zoom call
Non-contact hours: 2-3 hours work on your lesson plan

Month 5: Lead

We’ll begin this month by coming together to reconnect and share your workshop plans for group feedback and support. You’ll have the opportunity to incorporate this feedback into your plans before teaching. We’ll discuss any final questions before you deliver your workshop.

Your workshop can be scheduled anytime in Months 5 or 6. It is delivered live online via zoom. I will attend and observe the session, we also invite the broader Nourish community to attend for free, and you are welcome to advertise to your friends/family/students for them to attend as well. The more people, the better feedback you’ll receive.

Your workshop will last for 90 minutes, followed by an opportunity to receive feedback from attendees. A few days following your workshop, you’ll have a one-on-one debrief with me to discuss your workshop together (usually no longer than 30 minutes).

You’ll receive some questions to help prompt self-reflection on your workshop.

Contact hours: 1 hour zoom call (lesson plan feedback); 2 hour teaching of your workshop; 30 minute debrief call with Harriet
Non-contact hours: 1 hour journaling reflection

Month 6: Reflect

We’ll come together for a final mentoring session with me and your group to reflect on your journey and celebrate your success. We’ll think about where to from here, next steps and actions to take. You’ll reflect on your intentions, cultivate gratitude and recognise your strengths.

You’ll receive some questions to help guide your reflection, and some pre-reading.

Contact hours: 1.5 hour zoom call
Non-contact hours: 1 hour journaling reflection, 1 hour reading

Practise Journal

Throughout the program, please participate in 6 hours of either personal or teaching practice — you’ll be asked to write a short written reflection for each practice, for which I’ll provide you with some questions to prompt you.

How to join us

  1. Get in touch with Harriet by emailing harriet@nourishyogatraining.com to register your interest.
  2. Harriet will get in touch with you to arrange a commitment-free 20 minute phone call to discuss your needs and the program.
  3. If it feels like a good fit for both of us, we can begin the registration process by paying for the program.

Further information

Schedule and timings

This program is tailored and flexible to your lifestyle and schedule. Mentoring sessions are conducted via Zoom, and will be at times agreed upon by the group.  

Resources

You are provided with access to a Google Classroom, specifically for your group, which collects all your resources and work to be submitted in one place. You will also be given access to Nourish’s Community Library for 6 months, included in the cost of the program.

Who is this course for? What are the requirements?

This course is for any yoga teacher of any lineage/style. New and experienced teachers are all welcome to join our mentoring program. The more diverse your experience, the more diverse each group will become, meaning more experiences to share and learn from. 

This program is not suitable for teacher trainees. If you are currently completing your training and feel that mentoring is something that would be supportive for you, please contact Harriet to discuss one-to-one options.

Certification & Continuing Education

This mentoring program counts at 30 hours of continuing education, a certificate will be supplied upon completion. 

300 hour Advanced Teacher Training

This program is designed to contribute towards Nourish’s 300 hour advanced teacher training program, and must be completed by 300 hour trainees. 

Cancellation & Refunds

All fees are non-refundable. If you need to withdraw from your program due to illness or other reasonable excuse, we will hold a space in the next intake for you.

Beyond the program

Beyond the program, should your group wish, you are welcome to negotiate ongoing quarterly sessions with Harriet at a rate of £60 per hour, with email support as necessary.

Cost

We believe in the importance of this program, and have chosen to work with a tiered pricing system in order to make it as accessible as possible. You are able to select any of the pricing options below depending on your circumstances. Payment plans are available.

Community Price: £269
Standard Price: £299
Supporter Price:£329

Harriet's passion for yoga as a holistic practice is so very evident. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and her approach to teaching is both light-hearted and dynamic.
Sarah
2017