Teaching aerial yoga requires both a foundation rooted in traditional yoga philosophy and unique knowledge of the safety and technical considerations of an aerial practice. Peace, love, Namaste. Vik had the warm energy I didnt realize I needed one morning I was so jetlagged and exhausted I arrived to class late and flustered. Our final morning we gathered one last time for one of the most moving guided mediations of my life (I told you I had a breakthrough!) Still, I couldnt pass up the weekly outing to The Dome Sauna. Our lead instructor was Cody, from South Africa, co-teaching with Vik from Austria and Naomi from England. Naomi was our resident silks expert, and while she was very new at leading trainings, which sometimes showed in her confidence, she had a lot of experience teaching aerials in the real world at festivals and studios that I appreciated learning from. Finally, with exams done, our fifth afternoon was dedicated to an aerial choreography and blacklight workshop. Does anyone graduate from their introductory training feeling ready to take on the yoga world?! So there you have it, my week at ULU Yogas 50 Hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training in one blog post! This is another post made me feel good and happy. Im happy to answer any questions you might have, below! Sometimes they were more analytics sessions, sometimes it was anatomy class, sometimes it was a speciality workshop (which means yes, like any training your body is really pushed to the limit you might have three full hours of being a student in an aerial class, plus the physical exertion of analytics all in one day. Of course, Im super familiar working with a silk but I enjoyed experiencing it through the lens of a teacher training and learning from Naomi. Love the neon face paint. While even some of the busiest aerial yoga studios in the world might run a training once or twice a year or perhaps even once a quarter at most, ULU was running a monthly aerial vinyasa training with students from all over the world, before it was interrupted by the pandemic. I vowed to do one a year to keep my mind fresh. We were a group of thirteen from all over the US, the UK, China, Singapore, The Netherlands, Austria, and Germany.
I was, as always, incredibly stressed about my teaching exam but relieved and proud when it was over. (I even started leading them for the first time ever in my virtual retreat not long after!). But what did surprise me was most of the group had never even tried aerial yoga before! On the fourth day, we started to shake things up. After the afternoon workshops and sessions, we were free for the night to have dinner, get a cheap Thai massage perfect for unwinding after a long journey to Koh Phangan or to ease tired bodies from training, or go on an outing which, considering how exhausted we all were, just happened once. (3) You will be exposed to a lot of fresh ideas and voices starting to enjoy meditation for the first time was huge for me. but Id love to see it as a more structured activity. While I couldnt make the timing work to attend one of their classes or open gyms and I think my body would have given out if Id tried! The training is a week, with an orientation on arrival day, five days of intensive training and on departure day, a final meditation, aerial class and closing circle. Luckily, Ive been several times before and while theres always more to explore, I didnt feel like Id massively missed out. I love practicing in unique places, and its something Im very eager to recreate for future retreat guests, someday. The meditations were very enlightening for me I went in planning to skip them entirely and arrive in time for the aerial class. Basically, it could not be more Koh Phangan. She is a lead trainer for one of the few nationally recognized aerial teacher training programs in the country. After completing my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in New York in 2018, my head was spinning with asanas and anatomy and uncertainty. If there was one thing I could have done differently, it would have been to arrive earlier to reduce jetlag. While the ULU Swing is an interesting creation, it has very limited application Ive never before seen it in the many, many aerial yoga studios Ive been to around the world and doesnt allow for savasana in the swing, which I think is a big drawback. I practice taught with Linda, a fitness instructor from the US, who I enjoyed working with.
Since I rented a motorbike for the week, I generally scooted off to one of Srithanus lovely cafes to have some alone time (a roundup of my faves coming soon! For me, the drawbacks to this training were (1) that the majority of the program is taught with an apparatus unlike what youd find in the real world. So glad to hear that Jo Makes me happy too! For the first three days of the training, we kept essentially the same schedule. and so I struggled to follow (I dont think I was alone in this, though several other students mentioned they were having trouble understanding, too.). As I was sketching out the foundations of my future Wander Women Thailand: Aerial Arts + Yoga retreat at this time, I was also trying to sneak in a bit of retreat research in my spare moments.
Howdy from @hoteltupelo, my home in #mytupelo! But I did manage a few brief adventures. will be back in the air soon. We broke off into two groups and learned to synchronize various aerial sequences to create a performance that combined aerial, acro and dance. So famous on the Thai islands that Id been hearing about it over on Koh Tao for years, this mystical mountain sanctuary boasts two herbal steam saunas, meditative sound healing performances, a bonfire, and a cafe of raw and organic eats.
Haha. ), Personally, I was grateful that I had previous anatomy knowledge as Im somewhat embarrassed to admit I had a hard time understanding the teacher who led the anatomy section of the course. This was where I got a lot from ULU, trying out creative new ideas that I can make my own and bring into a studio someday. We didnt each teach to the entire class, which Im grateful for on one level, as it would have taken a million years, but also doesnt really give you much experience teaching a large group of varying skill levels, which I later learned is incredibly important in subsequent aerial trainings. one day I went to LABracadabra Koh Phangan to see their space for silks and lyra. But eventually I just went with the flow, lost myself in the silliness and the creative flow and and treated it as a final celebration (which it was!) I would have mistaken you for your ++++times being a guide in Koh Phangan, a guide to your friends and family. I got an extra workout each day climbing the stairs, but the incredible views and sense of peace in my simple but stylish bungalow were worth it! COPYRIGHT 2021, CIRQUE DE VOL PRODUCTIONS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 300 W. HARGETT ST, #40, RALEIGH, NC | 919-615-2484. All together, they wrote, this summarizes perfectly ULU Yogas love for traditional yoga and crazy styles like aerial, which can serve to uplift and unite humanity. How cute and it really resonates with me and my aerial journey, too. (I miss Thailand!). However, to end on the positives, (1) it was FUN! When i saw this post, I was like Oh, no they didnt make Alex go to the Full Moon Party again, did they? While it definitely added a little layer of hassle, and definitely an increased expense, I was actually happy in the end that I stayed elsewhere during the course. Where were at: Im recapping my travels in 2020, including this trip to Koh Phangan in February 2020.
Honestly, thats a typical group dinner passport scan for an island like Koh Phangan. The entrance was 300 baht, and we all shared a taxi for 60 baht round trip, a well-worth-it splurge.
After, we broke out the black lights, went wild painting ourselves and each other, pulled out a bin of old paint-splattered swings, and did a final performance for the camera and for each other! Some were not even yoga teachers at all. I know many students come from around the world with limited time off, but if you can even fit in even just a weekend beforehand to adjust and get settled, I think it will make a world of difference. and something Id love to do with my own retreat guests someday. Learn to teach aerial yoga in our 32 hour teacher training program! And gosh, I had a blast. ), though I also admittedly did some serious napping. Next time, Ill be sure to check out their on-location yoga classes (and maybe ask for a lower level room ha!). After, wed have a two hour break for breakfast, free time, and self-study. I was a bit disappointed by this at first, since I love to learn not just from my teachers but my fellow students but, I kept an open mind. Im still so glad we had this experience hanging over the water was incredible, as were the resulting images! ULU Yoga is a registered Continuing Education Provider with Yoga Alliance, and their 50 hour certification counts towards additional teacher training hours required to maintain long-term standing (stick with me here you must take thirty hours of continuing education, with at least ten of those being contact hours, within three years of your initial enrollment in Yoga Alliance.). The facilities are incredible and Im hoping to partner to use them for an aerial Wander Women Retreat in Thailand in 2022. I loved the restaurant here, which had a unique menu, and the hip pool area. I, My my, Mobile made me Ive taken aerial dance classes before in my hometown and Ive taken blacklight Buti Yoga classes before but Ive never put the two together! Instead, you practice teach to one other student and switch off while one of the instructors is observing you. Partner aerial was my favorite and totally inspired me for workshops I want to teach someday perhaps in a post-pandemic world! It was a mix of aerial and acro that spoke to my soul. So, what did we do with all our free time? Our early morning session was swapped for a beach photoshoot, featured heavily in ULUs promotional materials. Loved her for that. I kind of giggled when I read the description of how the name ULU was chosen at first, the founders just thought it sounded nice and had no meaning in English, like many of the sounds made in yogic chanting.
The course also includes fifteen hours of anatomy, methodology and philosophy videos. (2) Most fellow students, at least on my week, are unexperienced and so a lot of time is spent on simply introducing aerial yoga to them. From 1pm-3pm, we had another break for lunch and self study. Another day, we used our lunch hours to head to Haad Yao Beach for smoothies and beach massages. Manual with asanas with photos, sample lesson plans, sample script, and more, Classroom, experiential and practicum hours, *Aerial Yoga Certification available based on completing program requirements and passing a final evaluation. In conclusion, I appreciated having a team for a lengthy training like this. I know I didnt! So, how did the week go? Technically, you can choose to do the entire course with a silk swing and modify the classes and clinics for yourself, but the course is geared towards the ULU Swing, which is a smaller, modified version of the standard nylon swing youll find in most studios around the world. From 11am-1pm wed gather again in the shala for what Ulu calls Analytics, similar to what we called Asana Clinic in my 200 hour program wed go through our manual and break down one pose at a time going through detailed instruction of ideal alignment, technique, how to cue, and safety concerns. As you may have noticed, the schedule was demanding which I appreciated, because I was there to learn, after all.
300 W. HARGETT ST, #40, RALEIGH, NC 919-615-2484. Learn about teaching, cueing, anatomy and alignment, asana benefits and contraindications, spotting and rescue, rigging and equipment, sequencing and progressions, the history and business of aerial yoga, yoga philosophy, integrating breath and energetic focus, and meditation. In the afternoon, wed be back in the shala from 3-6:30 for three back-to-back class sessions or workshops. And good thing, because of course, I had a lot to learn from them regardless.
Its a super recharging mix of meditation, physical therapy, yin yoga, essential oils, and the supportive beauty of the swing! As I booked quite last minute, I had to split my time between two resorts. I was returning to Thailand to run the 2020 edition of my Wander Women Koh Tao retreat, and was delighted when I realized that the dates finally aligned for me to take one of ULUs famous programs. Subscribe to receive regular new blog posts, our monthly Alex in Wanderland newsletter, or our Wander Women Retreats announcements or all three! I mostly spent my non-shala hours cafe-hopping around Srithanu and trying to keep a loose handle on work that, and sleeping! In our excitement we didnt even warm up before going straight into some pretty deep back bends first thing in the morning, which we really suffered for later. But I did know one thing for sure: I was thrilled to begin my yoga teaching journey, and hooked on trainings to deepen my knowledge and experience. After, Vik just came up and didnt chastise me, she just asked if I was okay and I burst into tears, which she responded to with a huge hug. I arrived in Koh Phangan exhausted but happy, having taken three long flights to get there from Tel Aviv to Amman to Abu Dhabi to Bangkok to Koh Samui and then, finally, a ferry to Koh Phangan. Aerial yoga had long been a passion of mine for its ability to decompress the spine, support and deepen traditional yoga asanas, and bring some fun and whimsy into a studio setting. I had some teaching breakthroughs with Cody, who was a very confident presence.
Every morning began with a 6:30-9am session that included both a meditation and an aerial vinyasa class. Haha, I think Ive definitely quite thoroughly crossed that off the list Who knows what the future may bring, though! Our course is taught by Amber Monson of Sky Gym Atlanta. But, in true ULU style, each day we tried a different form of meditation, and were invited to do so however we wished laying in a silk, seated gently swaying in a swing, sat on our mat, whatever. I cant wait to bring this trip to life someday! As a result, less time is spent on practice teaching and I didnt leave feeling excessively confident about being able to lead a standard aerial yoga class. It was advertised that wed learn to make a bamboo tripod, do aerials outside, and learn about organizing groups, giving event demos, conducting short performances, and boosting social media. She is a 200 RYT and is recognized by the Yoga Alliance. Instead, it was a bit of a free-for-all, with each of us taking turns hopping into poses while the others snapped photos for us. Orientation was brief the trainers introduced themselves, handed out the manuals, gave us an overview and explanation of the schedule, and facilitated a nice get-to-know-you where we did all the normal introductions of where we were from and what brought us to this training. Generally, the class would include principles or asanas wed circle back to later in the day. Recommended minimum 10 aerial yoga classes and 10 ground-based yoga classes. The whole thing took up a lot of time on the schedule, and at first I was slightly perturbed by spending 4.5 precious hours of the training on it. And hey, this is Thailand its affordable.
Of course, sadly, at the moment, with Thailands borders effectively closed and international travel heavily restricted by COVID-19, ULUs aerial teacher trainings have been temporarily suspended though it appears they are tentatively scheduling bi-monthly courses starting in mid-2021. I went back and forth between the two saunas many time (I wore a sarong, but keep in mind many will be nude! Pricing ranged from $700USD for tuition only to packages ranging from $800-1,200USD that included a room at Bounty and various meals. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Privacy Policy | Copyright 2009 2022 Alex in Wanderland. Confidence in my voice and my sequence is the number one area I need to grow as a yoga teacher! I started atSea Garden Resort, under a ten minute walk to ULU. I think we were good foils she was a confident teacher from years of working with clients in personal training, and I had the aerial and yoga background. Aerial yoga teacher certification program, Location: Celestine Studio at Cirque de Vol. Ha, free time! While they have adapted to online trainings for their 200 and 300 hour trainings, its just not feasible for a practice as hands-on as aerial (its not a program I would ever recommend doing online, regardless). The next morning, both sessions were set aside for our teaching exams. I came mostly out of a huge curiosity but actually had an incredible experience here. and is a 500 hour Yoga Alliance School. Some were not even yoga teachers at all. followed by receiving our diplomas and a closing circle. Amber Monson of Sky Gym has over ten years and two thousand hours of aerial yoga teaching experience. Another was silk methodology and silk aerial, which we did twice. Reconvening, the rest of the day was dedicated to preparing for our teaching exams our late morning session was a sequencing and class design session, and the entire afternoon was dedicated to creating our seventy-five minute classes and various practice teaching activities. Obviously in aerial yoga there is a greater opportunity for immediate injury than in a mat yoga class, where long-term, repetitive injury prevention is the focus so safety in the swing is a huge topic. My fellow trainees were equally as diverse. ULU runs for about ten months of the year out of their Koh Phangan, Thailand location before moving to their Ubud, Bali base for the rest of the year, and had recently introduced brand new aerial restorative trainings when I was a student (I came this close to arriving a week early to take that training as well.). Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Raleigh, NC 27601. Im just a little obsessed with photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit. I really loved this spot. Considering an aerial yoga teacher training? ), laid and watched the projections on the jungle and the constellations in the sky, and snacked on yummy healthy treats. For me, it was the perfect pre-cursor to the more intense weekend training I did at Good Karma Studio in my hometown eight months later. While its not a volume issue, if someone isnt annunciating or speaking in an accent Im familiar with, I can get lost easily I even watch English language Netflix with subtitles on, a lot of the time! , physical therapy, yin yoga, essential oils, and the supportive beauty of the swing!
At night, I pretty much retreated to my room and passed out early (I was getting up at around 5am to make it to the shala not long after 6am, after all!). The class that followed was a standard aerial yoga class mixing hatha and vinyasa styles, with a blend of strength training, acrobatic tricks, and traditional yoga flow. Im forever grateful to ULU for getting me started on my aerial teaching journey and I cant wait to work with them again in the future! Where to stay during an ULU training? In 2019, I did a Buti Yoga 30 Hour Bands + Sculpt Training in New York, and then, in 2020, enrolled in ULU Yogas 50 Hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training in Koh Phangan, Thailand. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
If you dont have a serious aerial center or training program around you and you want to kind of check it out and see if its for you, you couldnt ask for a better program.
(2) Srithanu is one of the great yoga training centers of the world the kind of place where youll see posters for laughter yoga, and where people hand out business cards that list profession as energy manager and its a beautiful place to learn. While technically you can watch them in the evenings during the course, Id definitely recommend doing so ahead of time to prepare and get in the mindset plus give yourself some time to absorb and relax during the course itself.
I loved the speciality workshops. Location: Celestine Studio at Cirque de Vol This works as a great education retreat, so to speak, but if you are looking for a more bootcamp style training where you leave feeling confident and fully qualified to teach to a room of aerial students, you will likely need to be an extremely confident and experienced mat teacher to begin with, or to supplement this training with much self study and practice teaching. I completed the Koh Phangan version, which took place at Ulus headquarters based at Bounty Resort outside Srithanu in Haad Yao. And I can say truly, by the end of the week, my begrudging relationship with meditation had changed. I really fell in love, however, with Haven Resort, which is literally opposite the road from ULU. Finally, we did restorative aerial, which was a much needed treat for our tired bodies and a preview of further training we might take someday. I also had two beach adventures with two of the girls in the training: one day, we headed to Secret Beach and walked over to one of the resort restaurants for lunch. 300 West Hargett St To what song, you ask?
Amber is a nationally recognized aerial teacher trainer who is also a 200 RYT certified through the Yoga Alliance, so you get the best of both worlds! Later, they learned it means whirlwind or crazy in Arabic languages, and also functions for some as an acronym for Universal Love and Understanding. Wed practice adjustments, discuss modifications, and feel the postures in our own bodies.
Colour, of course! Also, the training schedule is understandably demanding and leaves little time to explore Koh Phangan, so youll want to plan accordingly if its your first time to the island and you want to properly enjoy it! Since 2014, ULU Yoga has lead over a hundred yoga teacher training courses (dang!) When I realized the flow wouldnt allow for that, I was annoyed and resistant. Alabama was my 25th st, You know that old saying or country song l, Two week, three states, countless friends and a, Learning to Fly: My Review of Ulu Yogas Aerial Yoga Instructor Course, Buti Yoga 30 Hour Bands + Sculpt Training, ULU Yogas 50 Hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training, My Fifth Trip to Israel, Home of My Heart in The Middle East, Fueling Up To Flow: Where To Eat in Koh Phangan, Copyright 2009 2022 Alex in Wanderland. As a mat yoga instructor, an experienced aerial yoga and arts student, and someone who had already organized two different aerial retreats (with a third in the works!) I just liked having some mental and physical space to decompress plus was checking out slightly elevated options for Wander Women Retreats research! I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. The rooms were spacious but dark, with outdoor showers, and the resort had a refreshing pool, and expansive ocean views. Im hoping they and all of us!
I was, as always, incredibly stressed about my teaching exam but relieved and proud when it was over. (I even started leading them for the first time ever in my virtual retreat not long after!). But what did surprise me was most of the group had never even tried aerial yoga before! On the fourth day, we started to shake things up. After the afternoon workshops and sessions, we were free for the night to have dinner, get a cheap Thai massage perfect for unwinding after a long journey to Koh Phangan or to ease tired bodies from training, or go on an outing which, considering how exhausted we all were, just happened once. (3) You will be exposed to a lot of fresh ideas and voices starting to enjoy meditation for the first time was huge for me. but Id love to see it as a more structured activity. While I couldnt make the timing work to attend one of their classes or open gyms and I think my body would have given out if Id tried! The training is a week, with an orientation on arrival day, five days of intensive training and on departure day, a final meditation, aerial class and closing circle. Luckily, Ive been several times before and while theres always more to explore, I didnt feel like Id massively missed out. I love practicing in unique places, and its something Im very eager to recreate for future retreat guests, someday. The meditations were very enlightening for me I went in planning to skip them entirely and arrive in time for the aerial class. Basically, it could not be more Koh Phangan. She is a lead trainer for one of the few nationally recognized aerial teacher training programs in the country. After completing my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in New York in 2018, my head was spinning with asanas and anatomy and uncertainty. If there was one thing I could have done differently, it would have been to arrive earlier to reduce jetlag. While the ULU Swing is an interesting creation, it has very limited application Ive never before seen it in the many, many aerial yoga studios Ive been to around the world and doesnt allow for savasana in the swing, which I think is a big drawback. I practice taught with Linda, a fitness instructor from the US, who I enjoyed working with.
Since I rented a motorbike for the week, I generally scooted off to one of Srithanus lovely cafes to have some alone time (a roundup of my faves coming soon! For me, the drawbacks to this training were (1) that the majority of the program is taught with an apparatus unlike what youd find in the real world. So glad to hear that Jo Makes me happy too! For the first three days of the training, we kept essentially the same schedule. and so I struggled to follow (I dont think I was alone in this, though several other students mentioned they were having trouble understanding, too.). As I was sketching out the foundations of my future Wander Women Thailand: Aerial Arts + Yoga retreat at this time, I was also trying to sneak in a bit of retreat research in my spare moments.
Howdy from @hoteltupelo, my home in #mytupelo! But I did manage a few brief adventures. will be back in the air soon. We broke off into two groups and learned to synchronize various aerial sequences to create a performance that combined aerial, acro and dance. So famous on the Thai islands that Id been hearing about it over on Koh Tao for years, this mystical mountain sanctuary boasts two herbal steam saunas, meditative sound healing performances, a bonfire, and a cafe of raw and organic eats.
Haha. ), Personally, I was grateful that I had previous anatomy knowledge as Im somewhat embarrassed to admit I had a hard time understanding the teacher who led the anatomy section of the course. This was where I got a lot from ULU, trying out creative new ideas that I can make my own and bring into a studio someday. We didnt each teach to the entire class, which Im grateful for on one level, as it would have taken a million years, but also doesnt really give you much experience teaching a large group of varying skill levels, which I later learned is incredibly important in subsequent aerial trainings. one day I went to LABracadabra Koh Phangan to see their space for silks and lyra. But eventually I just went with the flow, lost myself in the silliness and the creative flow and and treated it as a final celebration (which it was!) I would have mistaken you for your ++++times being a guide in Koh Phangan, a guide to your friends and family. I got an extra workout each day climbing the stairs, but the incredible views and sense of peace in my simple but stylish bungalow were worth it! COPYRIGHT 2021, CIRQUE DE VOL PRODUCTIONS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 300 W. HARGETT ST, #40, RALEIGH, NC | 919-615-2484. All together, they wrote, this summarizes perfectly ULU Yogas love for traditional yoga and crazy styles like aerial, which can serve to uplift and unite humanity. How cute and it really resonates with me and my aerial journey, too. (I miss Thailand!). However, to end on the positives, (1) it was FUN! When i saw this post, I was like Oh, no they didnt make Alex go to the Full Moon Party again, did they? While it definitely added a little layer of hassle, and definitely an increased expense, I was actually happy in the end that I stayed elsewhere during the course. Where were at: Im recapping my travels in 2020, including this trip to Koh Phangan in February 2020.
Honestly, thats a typical group dinner passport scan for an island like Koh Phangan. The entrance was 300 baht, and we all shared a taxi for 60 baht round trip, a well-worth-it splurge.
After, we broke out the black lights, went wild painting ourselves and each other, pulled out a bin of old paint-splattered swings, and did a final performance for the camera and for each other! Some were not even yoga teachers at all. I know many students come from around the world with limited time off, but if you can even fit in even just a weekend beforehand to adjust and get settled, I think it will make a world of difference. and something Id love to do with my own retreat guests someday. Learn to teach aerial yoga in our 32 hour teacher training program! And gosh, I had a blast. ), though I also admittedly did some serious napping. Next time, Ill be sure to check out their on-location yoga classes (and maybe ask for a lower level room ha!). After, wed have a two hour break for breakfast, free time, and self-study. I was a bit disappointed by this at first, since I love to learn not just from my teachers but my fellow students but, I kept an open mind. Im still so glad we had this experience hanging over the water was incredible, as were the resulting images! ULU Yoga is a registered Continuing Education Provider with Yoga Alliance, and their 50 hour certification counts towards additional teacher training hours required to maintain long-term standing (stick with me here you must take thirty hours of continuing education, with at least ten of those being contact hours, within three years of your initial enrollment in Yoga Alliance.). The facilities are incredible and Im hoping to partner to use them for an aerial Wander Women Retreat in Thailand in 2022. I loved the restaurant here, which had a unique menu, and the hip pool area. I, My my, Mobile made me Ive taken aerial dance classes before in my hometown and Ive taken blacklight Buti Yoga classes before but Ive never put the two together! Instead, you practice teach to one other student and switch off while one of the instructors is observing you. Partner aerial was my favorite and totally inspired me for workshops I want to teach someday perhaps in a post-pandemic world! It was a mix of aerial and acro that spoke to my soul. So, what did we do with all our free time? Our early morning session was swapped for a beach photoshoot, featured heavily in ULUs promotional materials. Loved her for that. I kind of giggled when I read the description of how the name ULU was chosen at first, the founders just thought it sounded nice and had no meaning in English, like many of the sounds made in yogic chanting.
The course also includes fifteen hours of anatomy, methodology and philosophy videos. (2) Most fellow students, at least on my week, are unexperienced and so a lot of time is spent on simply introducing aerial yoga to them. From 1pm-3pm, we had another break for lunch and self study. Another day, we used our lunch hours to head to Haad Yao Beach for smoothies and beach massages. Manual with asanas with photos, sample lesson plans, sample script, and more, Classroom, experiential and practicum hours, *Aerial Yoga Certification available based on completing program requirements and passing a final evaluation. In conclusion, I appreciated having a team for a lengthy training like this. I know I didnt! So, how did the week go? Technically, you can choose to do the entire course with a silk swing and modify the classes and clinics for yourself, but the course is geared towards the ULU Swing, which is a smaller, modified version of the standard nylon swing youll find in most studios around the world. From 11am-1pm wed gather again in the shala for what Ulu calls Analytics, similar to what we called Asana Clinic in my 200 hour program wed go through our manual and break down one pose at a time going through detailed instruction of ideal alignment, technique, how to cue, and safety concerns. As you may have noticed, the schedule was demanding which I appreciated, because I was there to learn, after all.
300 W. HARGETT ST, #40, RALEIGH, NC 919-615-2484. Learn about teaching, cueing, anatomy and alignment, asana benefits and contraindications, spotting and rescue, rigging and equipment, sequencing and progressions, the history and business of aerial yoga, yoga philosophy, integrating breath and energetic focus, and meditation. In the afternoon, wed be back in the shala from 3-6:30 for three back-to-back class sessions or workshops. And good thing, because of course, I had a lot to learn from them regardless.
Its a super recharging mix of meditation, physical therapy, yin yoga, essential oils, and the supportive beauty of the swing! As I booked quite last minute, I had to split my time between two resorts. I was returning to Thailand to run the 2020 edition of my Wander Women Koh Tao retreat, and was delighted when I realized that the dates finally aligned for me to take one of ULUs famous programs. Subscribe to receive regular new blog posts, our monthly Alex in Wanderland newsletter, or our Wander Women Retreats announcements or all three! I mostly spent my non-shala hours cafe-hopping around Srithanu and trying to keep a loose handle on work that, and sleeping! In our excitement we didnt even warm up before going straight into some pretty deep back bends first thing in the morning, which we really suffered for later. But I did know one thing for sure: I was thrilled to begin my yoga teaching journey, and hooked on trainings to deepen my knowledge and experience. After, Vik just came up and didnt chastise me, she just asked if I was okay and I burst into tears, which she responded to with a huge hug. I arrived in Koh Phangan exhausted but happy, having taken three long flights to get there from Tel Aviv to Amman to Abu Dhabi to Bangkok to Koh Samui and then, finally, a ferry to Koh Phangan. Aerial yoga had long been a passion of mine for its ability to decompress the spine, support and deepen traditional yoga asanas, and bring some fun and whimsy into a studio setting. I had some teaching breakthroughs with Cody, who was a very confident presence.
Every morning began with a 6:30-9am session that included both a meditation and an aerial vinyasa class. Haha, I think Ive definitely quite thoroughly crossed that off the list Who knows what the future may bring, though! Our course is taught by Amber Monson of Sky Gym Atlanta. But, in true ULU style, each day we tried a different form of meditation, and were invited to do so however we wished laying in a silk, seated gently swaying in a swing, sat on our mat, whatever. I cant wait to bring this trip to life someday! As a result, less time is spent on practice teaching and I didnt leave feeling excessively confident about being able to lead a standard aerial yoga class. It was advertised that wed learn to make a bamboo tripod, do aerials outside, and learn about organizing groups, giving event demos, conducting short performances, and boosting social media. She is a 200 RYT and is recognized by the Yoga Alliance. Instead, it was a bit of a free-for-all, with each of us taking turns hopping into poses while the others snapped photos for us. Orientation was brief the trainers introduced themselves, handed out the manuals, gave us an overview and explanation of the schedule, and facilitated a nice get-to-know-you where we did all the normal introductions of where we were from and what brought us to this training. Generally, the class would include principles or asanas wed circle back to later in the day. Recommended minimum 10 aerial yoga classes and 10 ground-based yoga classes. The whole thing took up a lot of time on the schedule, and at first I was slightly perturbed by spending 4.5 precious hours of the training on it. And hey, this is Thailand its affordable.
Of course, sadly, at the moment, with Thailands borders effectively closed and international travel heavily restricted by COVID-19, ULUs aerial teacher trainings have been temporarily suspended though it appears they are tentatively scheduling bi-monthly courses starting in mid-2021. I went back and forth between the two saunas many time (I wore a sarong, but keep in mind many will be nude! Pricing ranged from $700USD for tuition only to packages ranging from $800-1,200USD that included a room at Bounty and various meals. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Privacy Policy | Copyright 2009 2022 Alex in Wanderland. Confidence in my voice and my sequence is the number one area I need to grow as a yoga teacher! I started atSea Garden Resort, under a ten minute walk to ULU. I think we were good foils she was a confident teacher from years of working with clients in personal training, and I had the aerial and yoga background. Aerial yoga teacher certification program, Location: Celestine Studio at Cirque de Vol. Ha, free time! While they have adapted to online trainings for their 200 and 300 hour trainings, its just not feasible for a practice as hands-on as aerial (its not a program I would ever recommend doing online, regardless). The next morning, both sessions were set aside for our teaching exams. I came mostly out of a huge curiosity but actually had an incredible experience here. and is a 500 hour Yoga Alliance School. Some were not even yoga teachers at all. followed by receiving our diplomas and a closing circle. Amber Monson of Sky Gym has over ten years and two thousand hours of aerial yoga teaching experience. Another was silk methodology and silk aerial, which we did twice. Reconvening, the rest of the day was dedicated to preparing for our teaching exams our late morning session was a sequencing and class design session, and the entire afternoon was dedicated to creating our seventy-five minute classes and various practice teaching activities. Obviously in aerial yoga there is a greater opportunity for immediate injury than in a mat yoga class, where long-term, repetitive injury prevention is the focus so safety in the swing is a huge topic. My fellow trainees were equally as diverse. ULU runs for about ten months of the year out of their Koh Phangan, Thailand location before moving to their Ubud, Bali base for the rest of the year, and had recently introduced brand new aerial restorative trainings when I was a student (I came this close to arriving a week early to take that training as well.). Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Raleigh, NC 27601. Im just a little obsessed with photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit. I really loved this spot. Considering an aerial yoga teacher training? ), laid and watched the projections on the jungle and the constellations in the sky, and snacked on yummy healthy treats. For me, it was the perfect pre-cursor to the more intense weekend training I did at Good Karma Studio in my hometown eight months later. While its not a volume issue, if someone isnt annunciating or speaking in an accent Im familiar with, I can get lost easily I even watch English language Netflix with subtitles on, a lot of the time! , physical therapy, yin yoga, essential oils, and the supportive beauty of the swing!
At night, I pretty much retreated to my room and passed out early (I was getting up at around 5am to make it to the shala not long after 6am, after all!). The class that followed was a standard aerial yoga class mixing hatha and vinyasa styles, with a blend of strength training, acrobatic tricks, and traditional yoga flow. Im forever grateful to ULU for getting me started on my aerial teaching journey and I cant wait to work with them again in the future! Where to stay during an ULU training? In 2019, I did a Buti Yoga 30 Hour Bands + Sculpt Training in New York, and then, in 2020, enrolled in ULU Yogas 50 Hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training in Koh Phangan, Thailand. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
If you dont have a serious aerial center or training program around you and you want to kind of check it out and see if its for you, you couldnt ask for a better program.
(2) Srithanu is one of the great yoga training centers of the world the kind of place where youll see posters for laughter yoga, and where people hand out business cards that list profession as energy manager and its a beautiful place to learn. While technically you can watch them in the evenings during the course, Id definitely recommend doing so ahead of time to prepare and get in the mindset plus give yourself some time to absorb and relax during the course itself.
I loved the speciality workshops. Location: Celestine Studio at Cirque de Vol This works as a great education retreat, so to speak, but if you are looking for a more bootcamp style training where you leave feeling confident and fully qualified to teach to a room of aerial students, you will likely need to be an extremely confident and experienced mat teacher to begin with, or to supplement this training with much self study and practice teaching. I completed the Koh Phangan version, which took place at Ulus headquarters based at Bounty Resort outside Srithanu in Haad Yao. And I can say truly, by the end of the week, my begrudging relationship with meditation had changed. I really fell in love, however, with Haven Resort, which is literally opposite the road from ULU. Finally, we did restorative aerial, which was a much needed treat for our tired bodies and a preview of further training we might take someday. I also had two beach adventures with two of the girls in the training: one day, we headed to Secret Beach and walked over to one of the resort restaurants for lunch. 300 West Hargett St To what song, you ask?
Amber is a nationally recognized aerial teacher trainer who is also a 200 RYT certified through the Yoga Alliance, so you get the best of both worlds! Later, they learned it means whirlwind or crazy in Arabic languages, and also functions for some as an acronym for Universal Love and Understanding. Wed practice adjustments, discuss modifications, and feel the postures in our own bodies.
Colour, of course! Also, the training schedule is understandably demanding and leaves little time to explore Koh Phangan, so youll want to plan accordingly if its your first time to the island and you want to properly enjoy it! Since 2014, ULU Yoga has lead over a hundred yoga teacher training courses (dang!) When I realized the flow wouldnt allow for that, I was annoyed and resistant. Alabama was my 25th st, You know that old saying or country song l, Two week, three states, countless friends and a, Learning to Fly: My Review of Ulu Yogas Aerial Yoga Instructor Course, Buti Yoga 30 Hour Bands + Sculpt Training, ULU Yogas 50 Hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training, My Fifth Trip to Israel, Home of My Heart in The Middle East, Fueling Up To Flow: Where To Eat in Koh Phangan, Copyright 2009 2022 Alex in Wanderland. As a mat yoga instructor, an experienced aerial yoga and arts student, and someone who had already organized two different aerial retreats (with a third in the works!) I just liked having some mental and physical space to decompress plus was checking out slightly elevated options for Wander Women Retreats research! I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. The rooms were spacious but dark, with outdoor showers, and the resort had a refreshing pool, and expansive ocean views. Im hoping they and all of us!