Dates: 15th - 17th January 9am - 5pm (21 hours) Live Online

Mentored self-paced learning (19 hours)

Course run and led by Morven Hamilton of Yoga by Nature.

Counts as 40 hours towards 300/500 hour certification with Shanticentre Training School

Cost £450 Deposit £70

If you are a yoga teacher who wants to help people coping with cancer to live better, a student of yoga or a professional in another field such as hospice work, nursing, physiotherapy, or psychotherapy, our Yoga for Cancer Teacher Training will give you a grounding in the diverse aspects of working with those on the cancer journey. This course is applicable to working with cancer and other life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.

This course aims to give you a grounding in the psychological, emotional and physical reality of cancer, so that you can share yoga in a way that is physically and emotionally safe for the attendees. You will also learn specialised yoga therapy for common physical limitations caused by the illness or by the treatment, and learn therapeutic applications of other facets of yoga practice in order to serve the whole person - body, mind, spirit and relationships.

The course is designed, written and led by Morven Hamilton, a YAP accredited Senior Yoga Teacher, YAP accredited TrainerPro and breast cancer survivor. Morven has been training teachers to teach Yoga for Cancer since 2016 and developed the Healing the Whole person holistic approach to yoga for cancer  while working as a yoga teacher and course facilitator at Penny Brohn Cancer Care UK. Morven had completed advanced teacher training in Mindfulness for Health with the Breathworks Foundation, and shares her knowledge in this course.

 COURSE OBJECTIVES 

You will learn to:

• create unique holistic Yoga programmes for the individual on the cancer journey
• integrate people with cancer into your regular classes
• design courses for groups and individuals on the cancer journey
• apply Mindfulness concepts and techniques to your yoga teaching
• compassionately hold space for those who are potentially in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual difficulty
• explore your own personal responses to life-threatening illness and end of life

Course Structure

21 hours live online. Recording available for 28 days after course end

3 contact days, 9AM - 5PM on Zoom with the lead instructor SYT Morven Hamilton

Optional additional 19 hour self-paced study to complete 40 hours of Yoga for Cancer Teacher Training (see syllabus/ modules for full information)

We’ll use  props to recreate some of the physical movement restrictions that patients often suffer. Through this and other course elements, you’ll be encouraged in your own personal transformation towards an embodied understanding of the person with cancer.

• Presentation (teacher to student and peer to peer)
• Led practice
• Discussion
• Enactment
• Peer to peer teaching practice

Syllabus / Modules

Module 1 - The cancer journey

Anatomy and physiology of cancer

The most common types of cancer

Types of treatment and their effects

Lymphodoema - what causes it and how it shows up in yoga class

How to work with PICC lines, chemo ports, colostomy and ileostomy bags

Osteoporosis and other bone conditions

Wider repercussions of cancer on the whole person – body, mind, spirit and relationships

How trauma can change us and how it can be transformed.

Module 2 - Yoga as Medicine

The benefits of yoga and meditation for people with cancer and their loved ones

The effect of yoga on the entire immune system

Application of therapeutic asana for common effects of cancer in the body

Asana modifications for common limitations experienced on the cancer journey

Planning therapeutic sequences for individuals

Restorative yoga - key poses, modifications

Vagus nerve stimulation techniques

Pain management techniques

Pranayama, relaxation, mantra, visualisation adapted for cancer

Yoga Nidra as a therapeutic practice adapted for cancer patients

Module 3 - Ethics, compassion and the whole person

Exploring personal responses to disease and death

Boundaries, safety and trauma sensitivity

Working holistically with people with life threatening illness

Dealing with loss as a teacher and as a yoga community

Creating a safe environment - practicalities

Module 4 - Designing your course

Putting together a progressive programme – things to consider and what to include

Using themes – how to choose a theme and develop it in your Yoga for Cancer class/ course

Including people with cancer in your mainstream class

Module 5 - Mindfulness and yoga

Introduction to Mindfulness for Health

How to incorporate mindfulness into your yoga class

Mindfulness techniques for overcoming pain and living well with illness

Mindful movement

Module 6 - Business

Choosing the right venue

Approaching organisations

Resources

Communicating with the press

Best practice for establishing trust and confidence in your business

Additional study to complete 40 hours of training

Read course texts

Lesson planning

2 x 15 minute teaching assessment (you will record yourself teaching 1 x general Yoga for Cancer Class and 1 x Specialised Sequence for a specific therapeutic purpose)

1500 word case study: You will work with someone on the cancer journey and prepare a case study report of your work with them