Prenatal Teacher Training

An Online Course for a Certificate in Teaching Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Meditation

Save your space NOW in this unique online course that starts in June, 2013

Q&A Conference Call: Monday, May 20th 7:30 pm

Have questions?  Wondering if this program is right for you?  I’m holding pre-enrollment office hours on Monday, May 20 from 7:30 pm to 8:45 pm EST and would be delighted to hear from you and answer any questions that you might have about the curriculum, how to apply the program to your professional goals and just to get to know you a little bit.

Call in anytime during office hours on Monday, May 20th between 7:30 pm and 8:45 pm EST to #1-646-307-1300.  Enter participant code #: 2379427.

Program Details

Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise is a dynamic approach to movement, breath and meditation for women in all stages of pregnancy.  In this online course, you will learn how to teach unique skills including yoga asana, meditations, breathing exercises and visualizations that help women enjoy their pregnancies and prepare for childbirth.  This approach requires self-study and an investigation of the cultural, social and economic values that we hold around fertility, women’s health and specifically reproduction so that we can teach from our hearts.  This approach, informed by contemporary theory and medical anthropology, also allows Matrika Prenatal instructors to support students in a way that no other method provides support for.  This method, philosophy and approach has been refined over almost 15-years by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, MA, E-RYT, R-PYT and DONA Trained Birth Doula and enjoyed by thousands of women.

Not only is this a very rewarding specialty, but considering the fact that over 80% of American yoga practitioners are women, it is imperative that yoga instructors explore ways to support pregnant women who choose to attend their classes.  These skills will help inform all of your teaching and the program itself is rigorous and demands personal and professional transformation.

I would be honored to be your guide in working with this incredibly special student population.

Who is this online course for? 

This course is designed especially for yoga instructors who have completed a minimum of 200-hour yoga teacher training program registered with Yoga Alliance who wish to confidently teach pregnant women who attend their regular adult yoga classes and also teach Matrika Prenatal Yoga.

Upon completion of this course you will receive a certificate for 30 CEU that can be used to advance your standing with Yoga Alliance and a certificate of graduation that gives you rights to use the C-MPT(Certified Matrika Prenatal Teacher) after your name and to teach classes titled Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise.

Other professionals who work with women during pregnancy or childbirth may find that this course is inspiring, enlightening and offers very specific tools that you can implement immediately with your clients to improve your services.  This may include, but certainly not be limited to, massage therapists, childbirth educators, birth doulas, midwives, labor and delivery nurses, hospital nurses, lactation consultants and more!  No, you won’t be able to be a prenatal yoga instructor after taking just this online course, but you will obtain valuable skills and information that will reflect well on your service value.

Curriculum

You will spend approximately one-month in each curriculum unit.  Your tuition allows you six-months of access to the online course and you have up to three-months to submit your final training portfolio for review.  Course completion and certification is not guaranteed to ANY participant.  You must complete all of the work, meet all of the requirements and do so with excellence.  Sharon retains the right to deny graduation or certification to any participant that does not adequately meet requirements.  If you need more time, you can purchase an additional 6-months of course access and time for portfolio completion for $300.  If you have not completed the course within one year of registration, you will need to sign-up for the next cohort at full price.

The Online Course is organized by the following five topics:

Topic I: Orientation
A.  Welcome
B. Course Outline and Organization
C. Certification Requirements and CEU Credits
D. Self-Reflective Quiz (no wrong answers!)

Topic II: The Culture of Fertility
A. Topic Syllabus with Required Readings and Assignments
B. Anatomy of Fertility
C. Culture and Fertility
D. Yoga to Support Fertility
E. Responsibilities and Ethics
F. Quiz

Topic III: Yoga During Pregnancy
A. Topic Syllabus with Required Readings and Assignments
B. Culture and Pregnancy
C. Anatomy of Pregnancy: physical and energetic
D. Yoga for the First Trimester
E. Yoga for Preparing for Birth
F. Benefits of Prenatal Yoga
G. Modifications for Yoga During Pregnancy
H. Pregnancy Loss, Stillbirth, NICU and Working Through Trauma and Grief
I. Responsibilities and Ethics
J. Quiz

Topic IV: Teaching Matrika Prenatal Yoga

A. Energetic Anatomy of Pregnancy
B. Emotional Stages of Pregnancy
C. What is “the Matrika”?
D.  How to Plan a Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise Class
E. Teaching skills specific to prenatal yoga
F. Birth Preparation with Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Meditation
G. Birth Visualizations and Meditations
H. Sounding for Birth through the Matrika
I. Sequencing of a Matrika Prenatal Yoga Flow Segment
J. Quiz

Topic V: Practicum and Professionalization
A. The Business of Pregnancy and Motherhood
C. Practice Teaching
D. Observations
E. Building Relationships: Marketing
F. Building Relationships: Resources for Students
G. Creating Your Training Portfolio
H. Quiz

Topic VI: Your Training Portfolio
A. Checklist
B. Submission Directions

What are the Course Requirements?

Through significant reading, writing and observation assignments you will engage in a deep way with the material.  Each section has an essay-based quiz and all quizzes and writing assignments must be submitted and reviewed before you receive a certificate of completion for the course.

Requirements include: reading assignments, essay based quizzes, observation assignments, class preparation and/or professional implementation plans.  Each unit is designed to be completed in one month with approximately 10-hours a week of readings or work (40-hours a month).  If you need more time to access the course, you are welcome to take up to one year to complete the course for an additional $300.

Support resources include: discussion boards, monthly webinars (recorded) for you to call into live or listen to recorded and additional personalized individual mentoring and professional development sessions (in person or SKYPE) at a reduced rate

COURSE APPLICATION

Participation in this course is by application and invitation only.  Space is limited and cohorts are small so that Sharon can provide individual attention and care to each and every participant.  If you are interested, please send an e-mail to Sharon Rudyk with your CV attached as a PDF and include information in the body of the e-mail as to your profession, experience, professional goals and what you would most like to get out of the course and any questions that you have about the course.  Please indicate what your professional credentials are and whether or not you have graduated from a 200-hour teacher training course recognized by Yoga Alliance, have commiserate experience,  or if you are a birth work professional looking to use this course for professional development in some other way.

Once accepted, you will receive a welcome e-mail with payment and enrollment information.

Cohorts begin:
June 1
September 1
December 1
March 1

The cost of the program is $950

If you enroll by May 22, 2013 for the June 1st cohort, Sharon is offering a one time introductory rate of $450 for this course. Do not delay in making your application!  Space is limited and with this incredible introductory rate, spaces are likely to go fast.

Send application materials to Sharon: sharon@yogamatrika.com
Call to inquire: (412) 855-5692

Yoga Alliance, Special Circumstances and Credentials Details

Can I teach Matrika Prenatal Yoga classes after taking this online course?

As long as you already have your 200 or 500-hour yoga teacher training credentials–Absolutely!  You will have all the skills you need to facilitate private sessions, group classes and workshops in fertility yoga, prenatal yoga and postpartum yoga.  You will also have a certificate of completion of the Matrika Prenatal Yoga teacher training course with CEU credits listed.  If you are not a minimum 200-hour yoga teacher, then you can use the skills and knowledge learned in your professional activities, but you can’t teach a Matrika Prenatal Yoga Class.  If you have questions about this distinction, please send an e-mail to Sharon BEFORE registering.

I’m a birth doula, massage therapist, midwife or other birth work professional.  Can I take this online training?  What’s in it for me?

This course is very unique in that it is a self-study course and includes a great deal of intellectual  development and readings in cultural and medical anthropology around issues related to the culture of reproduction, birth in America and other areas of interest to anyone who is working with pregnant women in North America.  It is likely that many of these issues are shared with women all over the world who are struggling with fertility and obtaining medical care during pregnancy and preparing for labor, birth and life with a new baby.  Not only will this be an intellectual journey, but you will learn very specific and easy to implement techniques for helping your clients be calm and negotiate the common minor complaints of pregnancy.  Even though you won’t be able to be a prenatal yoga teacher after taking this course, you will find that you obtain significant professional skills that will be immediately useful to you and your clients.  If you have any questions about whether or not this course might be valuable to you, please send an e-mail to Sharon BEFORE registering.  You can also look at the curriculum and decide whether or not it meets your interests and professional goals.

Can I be an R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance after taking this online course?

No. This online course provides instruction in this specialty but does not meet all of the requirements of Yoga Alliance  to register as an R-PYT.  If you are interested in this certification in this specialty, please send an e-mail to Sharon: sharon@yogamatrika.com. You will be a C-MPT (Certified Matrika Prenatal Teacher).  Completion of this 6-month course is a significant accomplishment and unless you need the Yoga Alliance specialty registration credentials, it is likely that completion of this course is more than what you need to be a safe, excellent and highly qualified prenatal yoga instructor.

If you DO choose to pursue registration in this specialty with Yoga Alliance, the additional requirements include:

• 10-SKYPE or Private Sessions with Sharon ($125 each)
• Evidence of having taught at least 30-hours of fertility, prenatal or postpartum specialty classes, workshops or private sessions
• Submission of a video of a one-hour Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise class that you taught for the public (you must obtain written permission by students to be video taped) and you can charge or teach this as a karma yoga class.

 Do I need R-PYT credentials to teach prenatal yoga?  I’m not sure what I need or how to choose.

All participants will receive information on additional work and investment required to obtain the correct credentials to register with Yoga Alliance as a R-PYT.  You can make the choice to pursue these additional credentials at any time in the program or within one-year after completion. It is likely that during the course you will be able to determine whether or not you feel that the online course is “enough” or if you want more support and training.   Most yoga instructors who are experienced teachers or who are already teaching prenatal yoga and are looking to refine their skills or are interested in adding the unique perspective and techniques of Matrika Prenatal to their teaching repertoire will find that this program is adequate and completion will be recognized as appropriate training to be hired as a prenatal yoga instructor at most studios, hospitals and other locations.  If you feel, for any reason, that it is important for you to obtain the R-PYT and register with Yoga Alliance in this specialty there are added requirements and $1,000 additional tuition required.  It is an option, but in recognition of the fact that this is not an option that all yoga teachers desire or find necessary, I have designed my own certification program and feel confident that it will meet the needs of the majority of yoga instructors.