Day 4: Week One, Yoga with Rodney Yee

April 18, 2012
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“It is crucial to learn how to open your upper chest and your arms with increasing relaxation in your neck and sense organs (Yee, 54).”

“The repetition of Tree Pose and Warrior I in the following sequence lets your body make its own
subtle adjustments to bring understanding and ease in the poses (Yee, 54).”

Ever since I went back to working a job where I spent the majority of my time sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen, I have felt my chin migrate forward and I can just FEEL my whole head in front of my spine.  It’s awful and it feels wrong.  I try to remember to draw my chin in towards my heart and release my shoulder blades down my back during the day, but it is really challenging.  When I finally get a chance to stand up, I feel desperate for a stretch.  I just want to get into downward facing dog and feel the weight of my head releasing down from my spine instead of creating compression and tension as my atlas bone shouts for relief.  So, yes, I agree—–it is crucial to keep the upper chest open with a relaxed neck and sense organs.  Of course, easier said than done!  I find it easier to address this task on the mat than in my “real life.”

As a teacher, I feel my students who are frustrated about the way their bodies perform and find shape in the asanas.  The idea that we can allow the interior intelligence of the body to find full expression through the practice of asana is one that we all want to believe, yet we find it hard to imagine.  We want to believe that we could yank or pull ourselves into a certain shape.  Or, better yet, if our instructor could just help us “make it happen” with a magical adjustment.  Even after many years of practice, I was rather skeptical that the repetition of Tree Pose and Warrior I was going to do much else but strain my body.  Amazingly, it did not strain my body and, by the third set of tree poses, I felt significantly taller through my entire body.  My arm pits seemed to rise with greater ease up and away from my hips and I felt elevated.  Really.  Almost without trying!

Please feel free to join me in my 8-week program with Rodney Yee. You can share your own experience by leaving comments on this blog. It’s OK if you start on a different day or we get out of sync. This is going to be fun!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the fearless leader of Team Matrika. Are you in Pittsburgh, PA? Join us for a great class at Yoga Matrika in Squirrel Hill.

Day 3: Week One of 8-Weeks with Rodney Yee

April 17, 2012
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In today’s practice I have discovered what two pregnancies have done to me.  Well, at least I think that is what is to blame.  Apparently, I no longer have any inner leg strength.  If you’ve never practiced tree pose, then you don’t know what I’m talking about.  But, if you’ve ever put the sole of your foot onto the inner thigh, you will recall (unless the last time you did tree pose was a LONG, LONG, long time ago…..) that you not only press with your foot into your thigh, but the inner thigh presses back into your foot.  This not only helps with balance, but it helps to maintain the strength and integrity of the standing leg.  Well, aparently, I no longer have any inner thigh strength at all.

In other words, my gracilis is nillis and my sartorius is nowhere to be found—burried under some, uhmm, “fatty deposits”………..

Makes me kind of wish that Rodney Yee were here to help me figure out how to find my inner thigh again.  OK, let’s be honest, I don’t kind of wish that Rodney Yee was here, I definitely wish that he was here.  But, in his absence, I hear the voices of my own wonderful teachers in my head and I am:

1) activating “root lock” aka. secret chakra action center or mula bandha

2) pressing my big toe into the earth

3) dropping my sitting bones and lifting my thigh bone to engage the thigh into the pelvis

and, of course…….

4) hanging on for dear life (I have this wonderful dresser at a perfect height in my living room.)

I just found this Real Simple article outlining some “easy” exercises I can do to strengthen my inner thighs—maybe when I’m done with 8-weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee I’ll start these exercises and let you know what happens. Or, maybe I should just make sure I get to Aleta’s Yoga Booty Ballet classes on Saturdays at Yoga Matrika!

Please feel free to join me in my 8-week program with Rodney Yee. You can share your own experience by leaving comments on this blog. It’s OK if you start on a different day or we get out of sync. This is going to be fun!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the fearless leader of Team Matrika. Are you in Pittsburgh, PA? Join us for a great class at Yoga Matrika in Squirrel Hill.

Day 2, Week One: Home Practice

April 16, 2012
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I was surprised, but I really loved the opening sequence of one-minute downward dog poses followed by one minute standing forward bend poses.  This opening sequence was both grounding and inspiring.

Otherwise, I’ve got three words about today’s practice: Too Much Triangle.  And, really, I’m a big fan of triangle pose.  It is both challenging and comforting.  But, I just stopped doing the prescribed number of triangle poses in this practice because they didn’t feel right to me.  I also added a child’s pose into the mix and closed my practice with a chanting session. 

Perhaps, after years of having a regular home practice, it is just impossible to go back to following instructions when the instruction doesn’t make sense for how I feel?  I know that, before I had a home practice I might not have even known how I felt and would probably have blindly followed the pictures and the practice as published.

Please feel free to join me in my 8-week program with Rodney Yee. You can share your own experience by leaving comments on this blog. It’s OK if you start on a different day or we get out of sync. This is going to be fun!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the fearless leader of Team Matrika. Are you in Pittsburgh, PA? Join us for a great class at Yoga Matrika in Squirrel Hill.

Day One, Week One: Attachment & Weakness

April 15, 2012
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A few weeks ago I threatened to start Rodney Yee’s 8-week Home Yoga Practice program from his book, Moving Towards Balance: 8-Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee and blog about my experience.  Today, I’m making good on my threat.  It’s Day One of Week One.

Today’s practice involved practicing multiple versions of some standing poses.  Already, I’m kind of frustrated.  After twenty-years of practice, I like doing these poses the way I like doing these poses.  So, today, I met the beast of attachment head on and I did the poses the way Rodney wanted me to.  I’m still going to keep doing the poses my way, but once I got over my attachment issues, I did find that doing the poses in the variety of ways that the practice suggested, I was able to find different sensation in the poses.  It was really an invitation to feel the poses in a variety of different ways and this brought me into deeper awareness of sensation in my body and the alignment and use of my skeletal system.

I also discovered that I am weak.  Seriously W-E-A-K.  For each of the asana variations, we were instructed to hold the pose for 30-seconds.  I confidently came into Warrior II only to find that my whole body wanted to give in at around five seconds.  I have been holding poses for a mindful period of time, but only some poses that are a part of my regular Vajra Yoga practice.  Being forced to hold other poses took me out of my strength-zone and I was surprised to find out how weak I felt when holding poses.  In all fairness, I have been either pregnant or nursing a baby for the past 19-months and that is bound to exhaust a person and change strength and endurance in some ways and enhance it in others.

Finally, I should divulge that I did this practice in the center of my home’s family room with a sick five-year old sitting on the couch watching Pokemon videos and playing fruit ninja on my iPhone and my 9-month old dumping blocks out of a canvas bag near my head.  While in downward facing dog, my 9-month old crawled under me and pinched my boob.  Yes, you read this correctly—-she pinched my boob!  But, I have to say that I felt a whole lot more open, centered and, if not really relaxed, more prepared to continue with the day than I did before practice.  I mention this because so many adults feel that they can’t mke time for yoga because they keep waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect place or the time when they can have some peace and quiet.  Yes, ideally you can make your practice about taking some time for yourself, but if you can’t, then just push aside the crumbs and the toys—–roll out the mat over the chaos and make it happen.

Please feel free to join me in my 8-week program with Rodney Yee.  You can share your own experience by leaving comments on this blog.  It’s OK if you start on a different day or we get out of sync.  This is going to be fun!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the fearless leader of Team Matrika.  Are you in Pittsburgh, PA?  Join us for a great class at Yoga Matrika in Squirrel Hill.

Yoga for Stress, Anxiety and Worry

April 8, 2012
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A lovely yoga practice to relieve stress in Pittsburgh at Yoga Matrika in Squirrel Hill: 1406 S. Negley Avenue.
Saturdays 10:30 to 11:45
Drop-In Tuition Applies

A regular yoga practice is a wonderful way to manage stress which is
highly recommended by those with an online phd in healthcare, but sometimes we can feel truly overwhelmed by the circumstances of our lives. When this happens, yoga and meditation offer very specific techniques that can be done by anyone and anywhere that can help us find a center in the sea of the storm.  Sharon Rudyk is offering a series of three yoga classes called “Sayonara Stress!” on Saturdays from  10:30 to 11:45 am on:

Saturday, April 14
Saturday, April 21
Saturday, April 28

These classes include instruction in:

1. Gentle movement

2. Breathing techniques

3. Sounding/Chanting

4. Meditation and visualization

The chanting that we will practice is not in any particular language, but instead is the sounding of seed syllables.  These syllables are vibrations that help us connect with the vibrations of all living things around us and the action of making the sound can relieve stress and tension in the body.  Even if you do not feel comfortable chanting, you can participate fully by listening with awareness.

These are drop-in classes and regular class tuition applies.  You can attend one or all three classes.  This is a trial series and based on participation and interest the class may be added to the drop-in schedule on a regular basis.  Please wear comfortable clothing.  The exercises are very easily adapted to adults who are sitting in chairs and we are happy to provide a chair for any adult that needs this accomodation.  You do not need any special clothing or equipment.  We will practice in bare feet.  You do not need to be flexible or be in any particular physical shape.  These practices can be explored on many levels and advanced yoga students will find opportunities for deepening their practice even as beginner students will find that they can immediately pick-up the exercises.

Come and relax with me!  Pregnant students, while welcome, may find that the breathing exercises are not appropriate as we will retain the breath.  If you are pregnant and plan on attending, please send Sharon an e-mail before you come and she will send you information on how to modify the breathing exercises before you attend so that you can safely practice: sharon@yogamatrika.com.

Please note that this is not a “treatment” for anxiety, depression or other mental health condition.  These practices are excellent for everyone and, if you are in treatment for anxiety or depression, you will find that these practices will be a great complement to the treatment you are receiving.  Please consult with your physician if you have any questions or concerns about these classes or your treatment plan.

 Can’t make it on Saturdays?  Or, interested in more options for stress reduction? Interested in how meditation techniques may help you relieve and manage stress?  Try Meditation & Relaxation classes on Thursday evenings (the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month in April and May) with Kirsi Jansa.

 

Community Supported Yoga

March 27, 2012
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Yoga Matrika is a unique yoga community.  For the past five years, Yoga Matrika has changed location (here, there and back again…..) and some of our most beloved instructors have moved away, drifted away or gone and come back.  But, what has remained the same is that we are a community-based studio that serves the needs of this particular community for:

  • healing and wellness through yoga
  • friendship and support
  • gentle yoga and meditation
  • mindful movement and freedom of expression
  • classes and services for expectant and new moms and families with young children
  • resouces for the development of creativity, kindness, compassion and awareness in a world that does not always value these qualities

Yoga Matrika is now offering the unique ability to invest in the studio through the selling of CSY shares.  Community Supported Yoga gives students the ability to invest in an economical way in both their personal practice and the studio.

$30 CSY Investment Share/per month
Guaranteed Space in One Class per Week
Minimum One Year Contract Required

$50 CSY Investment Share/per month
Guaranteed Space in Two Classes per Week
Minimum One Year Contract Required

A LIMITED NUMBER of CSY Shares are being sold so that we can guarantee space in classes to share holders.  Buy your share today right here!

What are the benefits for Yoga Matrika?

  • Your investment in a CSY share allows us to spend less time on marketing and more time doing what we really love—teaching yoga!
  • Instructors can depend on a competitive and consistent wage for their work
  • The studio’s overhead costs are met each month regardless of weather or other cancellations or unexpected causes of low attendance.
  • The student body is more consistent and instructors get to know their “regulars” and students get to know one another.  This supportive environment is safer and more conducive to yoga practice for everyone.
  • We no longer have to keep offering special deals or working with outside marketing partners like Groupon or Living Social.  The best deal will always be available directly through the CSY (as long as shares remain available).
  • When instructors receive consistent and competitive wages for their work, there is likely to be less turn-over in instructors and therefore, less changes in the schedule of classes.

What are the benefits for students?

  • Making a commitment to practice once or twice a week is an investment in your health, wellness and stress reduction.  A CSY share makes this an economical investment and a promise that you can really keep for yourself.
  • Never worry about how many classes you have left, expiration dates or anything else that distracts you from your practice.  There will never be a better deal offered than a CSY share, so you can feel confident that your investment is also the best economical decision for your practice.
  • Freedom to choose from a variety of classes, styles, instructors and levels with little to no financial risk.  Sure, you can be a “regular” in a class, but your membership may provide the incentive you need to check out a different class or switch up your schedule for a week.
  • When you get to know your teachers and they get to know you, it is more likely that your individual needs will be met in a group environment.  Yoga Matrika is unique in that class size is limited to 12 students or less.
  • Get to know other members and you will experience the proven benefit of being a member of a supportive community.
  • Expectant members are more likely to come back for mom and baby classes and for classes on their own when they make this commitment.  Yoga isn’t just for pregnancy!  This is a practice for life.

Please join us in this beautiful bliss project.  Let’s create love and light in our communities through the effort of our combined practice and commitment to generating healing energy for the good of all living beings.  Jai!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the captain of the ship at Yoga Matrika, an intimate, community-based space for the practices of yoga, meditation and mindful movement for all levels, ages and abilities. 

 

Prenatal Yoga Pittsburgh

March 20, 2012
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Yoga Matrika has been providing high quality yoga-based services for expectant women, their partners and families, new moms and families with infants in Pittsburgh for almost five-years now.  We were really lucky last week to have the amazing, generous and talented Sandy Yetter of Red Lotus Photography come to the studio last week to capture some of the wonderful energy at the studio in a Mom and Baby class and a Prenatal Yoga class.  Thank you to all the moms who agreed to be present and share their experience with Sandy.  I think that you, dear reader, will agree, there are very special things happening at The Mat!

I think a course in
photography from a graphic design college may be just the thing I have
been looking for!

Summer Yoga Deals

March 20, 2012
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SUMMER DEALS

Summer tends to be a season of relaxed schedules, road trips, camping and special time spent outside—-walks in the evening after supper, playing out on the lawn late into the night because it is still light out and it is easy to fall out of the routine of your yoga practice.

This summer, we want to help you keep your commitment to your practice by offering awesome deals on unlimited yoga. Our studio is kept to a comfortable temperature with air conditioning and you will enjoy taking an hour out of the sun to refresh mind, body and spirit. Our discounted unlimited yoga packages are valid for ALL classes on the drop-in schedule as space permits. As space is limited in classes, we suggest that you enroll in classes online. This will also help you make and keep your commitment to yoga.

Please note that the schedule is not, in any way, guaranteed. Individual instructors will take vacation time and may miss one or more weeks of a class. Some classes currently on the schedule will not be held over the summer. The studio will be closed for holidays. It is important that, if you wish to take full advantage of these packages, you think that you will take a minimum of 10-classes over the summer and that you are somewhat flexible about which classes you take. If not, then even though this is a great deal, it may not be the deal for you. Absolutely NO REFUNDS and NO EXTENSIONS and packages are not transferable. There are no exceptions to this. No other discounts, coupons or offers apply to these special packages.

Unlimited Yoga from June 1 through August 2012

Purchased before April 1, 2012 $80
Purchased before May 1, 2012 $100
Purchased before June 1, 2012 $125

Purchase your SUMMER UNLIMITED package today HERE.

In addition, we also know that you may drift from your regular practice even if you take advantage of one of the great deals on unlimited yoga listed above. So, we’d like to offer a special unlimited package for September that you invest in now so you can return in September without breaking the bank.

Unlimited Yoga in September 2012

Purchased before April 1, 2012 $35
Purchased before May 1, 2012 $45
Purchased before June 1, 2012 $55
Purchased before July 1, 2012 $75

Spread the word to all your yogi and yogini friends! The more the merrier this summer at The Mat. If you are leaving Pittsburgh for the summer, then we’ll see you in September!

Purchase your BACK TO SCHOOL/UNLIMITED SEPTEMBER 2012 package HERE.

Matrika Prenatal Teacher Training

March 19, 2012
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Yoga Matrika is a Registered School with Yoga Alliance and graduates of our 100-hour Matrika Prenatal Teacher Training Program are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as an R-PYT (you must be at least a 200-hour RYT before you can obtain this specialty registration). 

Not able or interested in making the 100-hour commitment?  Yoga Matrika also offers an online course that carries 30 CEU credits.  Anyone, anywhere can take this course as long as you have internet access and a computer.  Study when you can and as you can.  With each tuition payment, you get one year of access to the online course—so take your time!

 100-Hour Matrika Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training

Features:

  • hybrid course combines a unique online course component with five weekend training intensives
  • program registered with Yoga Alliance so graduates who complete course and all requirements can register as R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher)
  • comprehensive course includes dynamic curriculum in yoga for fertility, yoga and exercise for pregnancy, postnatal yoga and mom and baby yoga
  • embodied anatomy (over 18-hrs.) for fertility, pregnancy and infant development facilitated by Mark Chandlee Taylor
  • curriculum includes social and cultural anthropological approach to theory, social criticism and the politics of reproduction
  • flexible course schedule
  • pay as you go for all course components

Curriculum:

  • Matrika Yoga for Optimum Fertility: poses and sequencing for yoga classes and private sessions to support fertility
  • Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise: poses and sequencing for yoga classes for women in all phases of pregnancy
  • Matrika Mom & Baby Yoga: poses and sequencing for yoga classes for moms to share with infants up to one year of age
  • Skills for teaching deep relaxation, meditation and visualization for pregnancy
  • Working with Students through Disappointment and Grief
  • Anatomy of Fertility, Pregnancy, Postpartum
  • Energetic Anatomy of Pregnancy: The Matrika
  • Embodied anatomy of Infant Development
  • Culture and Fertility, Pregnancy and Motherhood
  • Ethics and Responsibilities
  • Practicum

Who will benefit from this Course:

  • Yoga instructors who wish to make working with women from fertility through pregnancy and beyond a specialty
  • Yoga instructors who already work with women and infants who wish to professionalize their commitment to this specialty
  • Doulas, massage therapists, alternative health care providers, labor and delivery nurses and other birth professionals who want to know how to incorporate yoga into their care of women and infants
  • Experienced yoga practitioners who want to commit to learning more about yoga for fertility, pregnancy and postnatal moms while also learning about the cultural construction of health for women and children in the United States. (Please note that ONLY instructors who have their RYT status can register with Yoga Alliance with the R-PYT status. Without the 200-hour RYT registration, you can’t add this specialty.)

How to Sign Up:

Register for each component individually.

First, purchase the ONLINE COURSE ($500). You will purchase the online course from our online store and receive a password and registration instructions within one week. The online course is only available to a limited number of participants at any given time. Please register as soon as you are able to make a commitment. If the course is full, please send an e-mail to Sharon indicating your interest and you will be placed on the mailing list: sharon@yogamatrika.com. The online course is available for purchase now and can be accessed starting May 1, 2012. Your purchase gives you access to the online course for ONE YEAR from the date of purchase or May 1, 2012, whichever is the latter.

 

Second, register for weekend training intensives. Each weekend costs $325*. Each training intensive will be offered once a year. If you miss any weekend training intensive, you should plan on taking the training you are missing in the next year. While you have up to three-years to finish all the requirements, please be aware that Yoga Matrika is not able to guarantee that any individual training session will be offered in any year in the future.

2012-2013 Weekend Training Intensives Dates:
  1. Optimum Fertility Weekend: September 28-September 30 (Friday evening, Sat. & Sun.)
  2. Prenatal Yoga Weekend: November 3-November 4 (Saturday & Sunday)
  3. Mom & Baby Yoga Weekend: January 18-January 20 (Friday evening, Sat. & Sun.)
  4. The Matrika: Energetic Anatomy of Fertility, Pregnancy and Motherhood: April 13-April 14 (Sat. & Sun.)
  5. Teaching Practicum: June 1-June 2 (Sat. & Sun.)

*Tuition for weekend intensives includes the following meals (vegetarian) and snacks will be available at all sessions: 9/28 & 1/18 dinner and breakfast and lunch on all Saturday and Sunday training dates. If you have special dietary requirements, please let Sharon know at least 2-weeks before each training.

How to Obtain Continuing Education Credits and Proof of Graduation:

There are TWO different and separate processes for obtaining your Continuing Education Credits and for your Proof of Graduation that you will require if you wish to register with Yoga Alliance as an R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher). You can apply for and obtain your CEU credits as soon as you finish the entire online course with the exception of the practicum requirements. In order to obtain proof of graduation, you must finish all of the training weekends, teach 30-classes (fertility, prenatal & postnatal all OK as long as you have a minimum of 5 prenatal and 5 mom & baby) and complete the practicum section of the online course. Sharon encourages all participants to obtain their CEU credits as soon as they finish the online course component so that, even if you do not complete the entire course, you get the full value from your investment in the online course.

30 CEU credits: How to Obtain Your CEU credit Certificate

You can earn 30 CEU credits by taking this online course (the Practicum section is not required for CEU credits) and by scheduling a minimum of one individual Skype sessions with Sharon Rudyk. After you have finished the entire online course, please e-mail Sharon to arrange for your SKYPE session(s): sharon@yogamatrika.com. After the session, you should send a letter with the following information:

1. Your name, as you wish for it to appear on your certificate

2. The address you wish the certificate to be mailed to

3. The e-mail address you wish for your certificate PDF to be sent to 4. A brief statement regarding your professional use of the course material

Please include a $20 certificate fee. Checks should be made out to: YOGA MATRIKA. Your certificate will be mailed to you within 14-days of the receipt of your letter and payment. Send your letter and payment to:

Sharon Rudyk Principal, Yoga Matrika 1406 S. Negley Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Please note that ONLY certified instructors can claim that they are teaching Matrika Prenatal or Matrika Mom & Baby classes. If you have taken this course for professional development and CEU credits, it is certainly appropriate for you to indicate that you have completed this course and invested in further training in this specialty area. You will not be able to say that you are certified to teach these specialty classes and you will not be able to register with Yoga Alliance as an R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher). If you wish to be able to do these things, then please complete the requirements for certification as outlined below.

Requirements for Certification

Step I: Complete Online Course, including Quizzes and the Practicum Section (the completion of the Practicum includes teaching at least 30-classes of some combination of fertility, prenatal/min. 5 and postnatal/mom & baby yoga/min. 5).

Step II: Attend All Five Training Sessions (Yoga for Fertility, Yoga for Pregnancy, Matrika Mom & Baby, The Matrika: Energetic Anatomy, Practicum)

Step III: Complete requirements for CEU Credits as listed above

Step IV: Send a letter with the following information to Sharon

1-Your name as you wish for it to be typed on your Graduation Certificate

2-The mailing address you wish to have your signed certificate mailed to you and the e-mail address that you wish to have the PDF of your certificate mailed to (you will need this PDF to register with Yoga Alliance as a R-PYT)

3-A brief statement regarding your professional use of the course material

4-How you wish to be listed in the Matrika Prenatal Instructor Guide, including your personal website, links to where you teach, e-mail address and/or telephone number. If you are also a doula, midwife, nurse or have other professional identities that you wish to have indicated in your listing, please also state these in your letter.

Please include a $50 Graduation Certificate fee. Checks should be made out to: YOGA MATRIKA. You will receive your documents within 14-days of receipt of your letter and fee. If you wish to register with Yoga Alliance, that is a separate fee and you will need to do so directly with Yoga Alliance.

Mail your letter and fee to:
Sharon Rudyk Principal, Yoga Matrika 1406 S. Negley Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Once you have graduated, you have the right to indicate that you are certified to teach yoga for fertility, prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga. You are encouraged to indicate that you are teaching the following courses and to distinguish what you are offering from other styles, but it is not required that you use the Matrika name if it presents an obstacle for you or your employer or if it is not appropriate for any reason:

Matrika Fertility™
Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise™
Matrika Mom & Baby Yoga™

When you receive your graduation certificate, you will also receive full class descriptions for the above classes that you will be certified to teach. These can be used to promote your classes.

Registering with Yoga Alliance as an R-PYT

Your graduation from this course and fulfilling all of the listed requirements also makes you eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as a R-PYT. Your registration with Yoga Alliance is not managed by Yoga Matrika and it is not required. It is a personal and professional decision that you must make if you wish to align yourself with this professional organization or not. Please be aware that Yoga Alliance requires that all R-PYT are already registered RYT at the 200 level or greater. If you are not an RYT or eligible to register as an RYT, you will not be able to register as an R-PYT even if you finish this course. These are the regulations of Yoga Alliance and Yoga Matrika has no control over these requirements. If registering as an R-PYT is important to you and you are not currently eligible to register as an RYT, please consider Yoga Matrika’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program. We have scheduled this program so that you can do both at the same time.

This course is registered with Yoga Alliance and graduates who meet all of the requirements (including already having graduated from a 200-hour program with RYT status and meeting all of the graduation requirements of this program) can register with Yoga Alliance as R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teachers). This course includes fertility yoga, culture and reproduction, over 18-hours of embodied anatomy training with Mark Taylor, prenatal yoga, postnatal yoga and Mom and Baby yoga. You will be fully qualified to teach Matrika Yoga for Optimum Fertility, Matrika Prenatal Yoga and Exercise and Matrika Mom and Baby classes upon graduation. This course has a significant online course component and five required training weekends. This program exceeds Yoga Alliance requirements and is intended to offer the highest quality of professional training available.

Training Weekend Details

We welcome pregnant women and women with children in our program and hope that you will discuss your needs with us before registering. We are happy to provide more frequent breaks, allow you to keep a nursling with you at all times and coordinate on-site or off-site childcare for children. You have up to one year to complete the online course (from whenever you start) and up to three-years to finish the training sessions.

Are you coming from out of town? Yoga Matrika highly recommends the Marriott Spring Hill Suites in Bakery Square. This hotel is convenient to Trader Joe’s supermarket, a Coffee Tree Roasters coffee shop and is approximately 2.5 miles from the yoga studio. There are also myriad restaurants within walking distance and an awesome natural fibers yarn and knitting shop (if you are into that kind of thing…..). If you are coming with family members, Pittsburgh is an awesome place for all ages for a weekend with world class museums, performances, restaurants and more. Sharon can provide referrals for childcare. If you are coming to the Burgh solo and wish to find a roommate or maybe even a home stay, please let Sharon know and she can connect you with others who are traveling alone.

 

Matrika Prenatal Teacher Training program is registered with Yoga Alliance™ and all graduates are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teachers).

 

 

Professional Development: 30 CEU credits
An Online Course for RYT Yoga Instructors in Yoga for Women for Optimum Fertility, Pregnancy and Beyond

Online Course Tuition: $500
45-Minute Skype Session with Sharon Rudyk: $40
CEU Credit Certificate Fee (one time fee): $20

Total cost: $560

This online course discusses anatomy, culture and yoga techniques, modifications and sequencing ideas for fertility, pregnancy and mom and baby classes. This is a wonderful way for 200-hr. RYT instructors to explore an interest in working with women through all phases of reproduction and earn credits towards maintaining registration with Yoga Alliance. Experienced teachers may find that this online course provides all that they need to be better able to serve their existing clients who are pregnant or become new parents. If you decide during or after the online course that you wish to pursue certification, you have up to three-years to complete all of the weekend intensive trainings after starting the online course. Upon completion of the online course and all graduation requirements, you will receive a certificate of completion and 30 Continuing Education credits valid for your professional registration with Yoga Alliance. The costs of this course is $500 and there are additional costs for SKYPE sessions ($40 per 45-minutes) and/or private sessions ($60 an hour) and professional mentoring and a one time certificate fee ($20) to cover administrative processing.

Pay Online Course Tuition HERE:
Please note that you can pay for the course at any time, but you will get an access code for registration on May 1st, 2012 or if you pay after May 1st, you will receive an access code within one week of payment. It is recommended that you send Sharon an e-mail: sharon@yogamatrika.com and/or call (412) 855-5692 after you make payment to confirm it has been received.

 

 

30 CEU credits: How to Obtain Your CEU credit Certificate

You can earn 30 CEU credits by taking this online course (the Practicum section is not required for CEU credits) and by scheduling a minimum of one individual Skype sessions with Sharon Rudyk. After you have finished the entire online course, please e-mail Sharon to arrange for your SKYPE session(s): sharon@yogamatrika.com. After the session, you should send a letter with the following information:

1. Your name, as you wish for it to appear on your certificate

2. The address you wish the certificate to be mailed to

3. The e-mail address you wish for your certificate PDF to be sent to 4. A brief statement regarding your professional use of the course material

Please include a $20 certificate fee. Checks should be made out to: YOGA MATRIKA. Your certificate will be mailed to you within 14-days of the receipt of your letter and payment. Send your letter and payment to:

Sharon Rudyk Principal, Yoga Matrika 1406 S. Negley Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Please note that ONLY certified instructors can claim that they are teaching Matrika Prenatal or Matrika Mom & Baby classes. If you have taken this course for professional development and CEU credits, it is certainly appropriate for you to indicate that you have completed this course and invested in further training in this specialty area. You will not be able to say that you are certified to teach these specialty classes and you will not be able to register with Yoga Alliance as an R-PYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher).

 

Practice What You Preach

March 18, 2012
Posted by Sharon
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For a couple of years now, the book I have used as a reference when planning Matrika Flow classes and that I consistently refer to my students that wish to develop their home practice is Rodney Yee’s text, Moving Toward Balance: 8-Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee.  I am very familiar with this book and feel that it has wonderful pictures, very clearly written instructions and well-conceived sequences.  I’ve always felt confident when I refer students and other teachers to this book.

But, if I’m going to be completely honest, I’ve never actually done the eight-week program.  So, it’s time for me to step up to the mat and practice what I preach.  My excuse has always been that I have a wonderful daily practice of yoga and meditation that I enjoy and I have never wanted to disrupt it.  Why would I change a good thing?  Well, there are LOTS of reasons why shaking things up a bit might be a good thing and I am going to make a commitment to this 8-week program.  My intention is to blog my experience and hope that you might join me on this two-month journey either by reading along or trying the program yourself and commenting on my blog entries with your own experience.Who knows, maybe I will read the Guide to Career Education
and get a start on writing my own book!

 

I am going to start my eight-week practice journey on Sunday, April 15th and end on Sunday, June 10th.  If you want to join me, please obtain a copy of the book before April 15th.  Want to let me know you are joining me?  Just comment on this post so I know I am not alone.  I’ll blog about my experiences and hope you will keep me company by posting about your experience with these practices or this 8-week program in general.

Meet you on the Mat!

Posted by Sharon Rudyk, the fearless juggler mamma at Yoga Matrika, an intimate space for the exploration of yoga, meditation and generosity of spirit in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.