We live in extraordinary times. We don’t have to look far to see how out of balance we’ve gone as a result of our quest for ‘productivity’ and ‘perfection’.
So how do we move from a profound sense of disempowerment with the world’s current state to soulful and meaningful connection to Self, each other and our planet? How do we, as change makers, yoga leaders and truth seekers, transmit the spirit of conscious activism to our students so they can move in the world in a powerful and creative way?
This advanced teacher training aims to revolutionise the way we relate to our deepest consciousness so we can set ourselves, and others, on a trajectory of heart and care for the Earth.
We believe now is the time to integrate, into all aspects of our lives, a remembering of the cycles. The focus of this training will be on re-learning how to move with natural rhythms, from the movements of breath to the pulse in our bodies… from the phases of the moon to the transitions of the seasons.
By understanding the cycles and rhythms of energy fundamental to the universe, we are able to develop compassion and restore balance for positive change, individually and globally.
Truly understanding that we are of nature, we learn to consciously move in nature’s dynamic and restorative flow. In this way, life is not lived in opposition, but in a cyclical sacred balance bringing peace on many levels.
This is much more than an advanced yoga teacher training, it is a much needed rite of passage that restores soulful and meaningful connection to yoga and modern day living.
The aim of this immersion is to provide space for you to reset, renew, value rest, shift perspectives and settle into the cycles and rhythms which already flow through and around you.
Through breath and movement practices, we welcome back an honouring of our cycles so we can understand our own body – and the earth’s body. We start to recognise our imbalances and move towards different ways of being.
Simone and Bex’s years of experience in the yoga world has led them to understand that ‘spiritual practice’ is one that supports a deeply human experience. Their vision is for others to experience yoga as a highly personal and radical social tool drawn from the inherent intelligence of body and Earth.
Through this training, they humbly explore timeless practices drawn from yoga, medicine wheel teachings and other wisdom principles, together with modern mindfulness practices and advancements in neuroscience.
These practices serve to illuminate the truth that we are nothing but a microcosm of the macrocosm. Thus, we revere Nature as the true teacher.
- Svadyaya: self study via embodied practices, journaling for self-inquiry, reflection and sharing circles. Explore natural cycles via dynamic Vinyasa and meditative Yin, Restorative and Yoga Nidra
- Weathering change: learn to work with energised focus, full involvement and enjoyment at the peak of any given cycle, while cultivating the ability to surrender with ease and rest in alignment with nature’s flow
- Awareness of cycles: develop lasting self care practices through the honouring of personal, monthly and seasonal cycles
- Life cycles: this part of the training program is framed around the rich guidance of a medicine wheel, so we can experience the full cycle of life. We’ll also look at birth, death, dying and rebirth through a unique excursion to Bumi Sehat Birthing Clinic, and the lens of Yogic wisdom
- Menstrual & Life cycle awareness: radical re-education and reclamation of personal and social power. Listen to and work with the wisdom within, our energetic cycles and body intelligence as keys of understanding for both men and women
- Breath cycles: explore the seasons of the breath, with the inhalation (puraka), exhalation (rechaka) and the pauses (kumbhaka) in between
- Krama: draw inspiration from the seasons through creative lesson planning and nature based yoga practices
- Solar & lunar rhythms: create & work with dynamic/energising practices and gentle/cooling flows
- Yoga Nidra: rest as the revolution that powers your life. Absorb the power of stillness as a radical notion for fuelling the vital energy, seeding creativity and altering states of consciousness
- Sankalpa: how to set and work with effective intentions
- Koshas: investigate the 5 layers of our Being: physical, energetic, mental/emotional, intuitive and soul
- Yoga activism: putting compassion into action with authentic relating and leadership tools
This immersion training is for those who wish to make a real difference in the world, using yoga as a method of activism. It is a way to tap into your deeper purpose as a teacher, and to find the balance between effort and ease, action and rest for lasting flow.
You will learn to:
- Understand fully how the natural cycles and rhythms of our bodies leads to deep healing of personal and collective wounds. By being a caretaker for your body, you naturally care for others and the earth.
- Work with personal, monthly and seasonal cycles within your yoga practice, and develop inspiring nature themed flows and classes.
- Synchronise your body, mind and soul with the natural rhythms of life to minimise stress, and cultivate more authenticity and vitality.
- Listen and respond to the extraordinary intelligence of your body rather than react.
- Live and inspire others through intuitive, nature embodied Yoga.
- Translate your inner knowing into compassionate action to positively impact your world.
This immersion training honours the energetic cycles of nature, following the solar and lunar rhythms of the day with our physical and meditative practices.
Our schedule may vary depending on the needs of the group and occasional evening ceremonies.
06:30 – 09:30am Morning pranayama, mantra, meditation and asana practice
09:30 – 11:00am Breakfast
11:00 – 1:30pm Workshop / Outing
1:30 – 2:30pm Lunch
2:30 – 6:30pm Afternoon session / Lunar unwind with Yin, Restorative, embodied flow and Yoga Nidra
Opening circle: 3pm on October 17.
Closing ceremony: ending ca. 8pm on October 27.
Somah Journeys, in collaboration with Tina Nance Yoga Therapy (TNYT), allows you to design your own advanced 300hr yoga teacher training program (Yoga Alliance approved) by completing a combination of 3 of our 100hr modules.
To find out more about how to fulfil Yoga Alliance curriculum requirements, please contact us.
There is a pulse that runs through all of life. It is found in the expansion of each inhale, and the contraction of each exhale. It is present in each birth and each death. It is what gives impetus to heal, and also the power behind all that is returned. Perhaps the greatest gift we can give as teachers is to share a practice that can help others to embrace this flow.
Somah Team
SIMONE MACKAY
SOUL GUIDE
A nomadic Canadian raised and educated in Switzerland, Simone Mackay is the founder of Somah Journeys / School of Sacred Arts. Having been practicing and teaching yoga for well over 20 years Simone is a Yoga Alliance Professional and E-RYT 500 and so much more.
Simone embodies the Wise Woman archetype and spends intensive periods working in ceremony with plant medicines, as well as having completed several Vision Quests inspired by Native American traditions and Western psychology.
Simone also spends time sitting with an elder of the SikSika/Sauk (Blackfeet) tradition who’s Medicine Wheel / Sacred Compass teachings she shares with blessing and permission.
Supported by a Bachelor in Social Work, she has served as a crisis counsellor working with women affected by violence. It was here that she began cultivating her skill for ‘holding space’ – embracing the deepest wells of emotion with full presence to allow others to transform and heal. Simone is also a certified aromatherapist, holistic practitioner, mentor and entrepreneur.
BEX TYRER
YOGINI ACTIVIST
Scotland born and raised, and Oxford educated with a graduate degree, MPhil in Development studies, Bex is the founder of Freedom Through Movement which has run yoga activism projects in Kolkata, Kathmandu and Palestine as well as many immersions at her current home at the Yoga Barn Bali.
Bex teaches a range of contemporary styles including hatha, vinyasa flow, yin, restorative, power and acroyoga. Yet at the core, her gift is to simply share her intimate relationship with yoga, whilst helping to remind people that Yoga cannot be simplified into a set of postural cues or alignment.
Bex’s study of women in yoga’s history, as well as her years of observations in the studio has also led her to raise important questions as to the ability of contemporary yoga to support women’s health and self-esteem. Bex speaks to issues such as; social justice and activism, body image, trauma informed care, the inner yoga of menstrual cycle awareness an introduction to the history of yoga and yoga philosophy for the modern world.
Bex uses her platform to explore some of the critical issues of contemporary yoga (including issues of inclusivity, gender and the dangers of commodification) whilst working to ensure that postural yoga is supportive of women’s health as well as social and environmental justice.
EMMA LOVE
CELTIC YOGINI
Founder of Essential Nature Yoga, Irish nomad and Celtic Yogini Emma Lowe facilitates Yoga and Yoga Nidra practices which merge yoga and nature based wisdom. She has been Communications and Creative Director and assistant facilitator with Somah Journeys since 2018.
With a background in creative and performing arts, Emma engages music, song, folklore and story telling for the purpose of personal and cultural healing in her offerings. She is also a poetic writer, photographer and painter. Since childhood Emma has been engaged in using these mediums for the purpose of peace and reconciliation through various cross community projects in Ireland.
Similarly, Emma sees yoga as a vehicle for personal and social change and is passionate about practices that support women’s health including her popular Yoni Nidras.
Emma spends time working with the native plant medicines of the Amazon basin, including the ‘vine of death’ and has received medicine songs and red road teachings during her time in South America, which inspired her to study and share her own ancestral roots through Celtic spirituality and Celtic Medicine wheel teachings.
A close relationship with death, personal loss and a strong connection with the underworld led Emma to study varying end of life teachings and come to the realisation that death is a companion that walks the path with us from birth and when not feared can be the greatest teacher in reminding us how to truly live
