Advanced Training
Understanding The Bhagavad Gita
with Sheila Ewers
April 1-2, 2023 — $325
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
The Bhagavad Gita appears in the 6th Book of the Hindu Epic, Mahabharata. Written somewhere between the 5th and 2nd centuries B.C., the Gita has long been considered one of the most influential texts in the World. In a conversation between Prince Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna, universal themes such as the purpose of life, humankind’s relationship to divinity, the value of action vs. renunciation, and the timeless journey of the soul are explored in depth along with the concepts of Karma, Dharma, Bhakti and Yoga.
The text has had international influence, informing the writing of American authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. Mahatma Ghandi turned to the Gita for consolation during his campaign for Indian Independence, and many other prominent politicians, philosophers, psychologists and leaders have lauded both its beauty and its message for centuries. For Yoga Practitioners world-wide, understanding the Gita has become an essential part of discovering the philosophical premise that underscores the practice.
- Session 1 – Saturday 9am-1pm: Introduction, Background and Context
- Session 2 – Saturday 2-6 pm: Understanding Dharma, Karma and How to realize the Nature of the True Self through Yoga
- Session 3 – Sunday 9am-1pm: Ishvara and Bhakti: What the Gita teaches about the Nature of God and the Worship of God
- Session 4 – Sunday 2-6pm Gunas and Atman: What the Bhagavad Gita teaches about the Nature of the Universe.
**This training counts for 1 required module in the RYS300 Program and for 16 Continuing Education Hours with Yoga Alliance
Exploring Sacred Texts: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
with Sheila Ewers
July 8-9, 2023 — $325
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
One of the most significant expositions of early yoga teaching is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, still
widely regarded as the foundational work on yoga philosophy and methodology. The set of 196
aphorisms elaborates the science, art, philosophy and psychology that is yoga. In this course,
we will examine each of the major sections of the text, discuss their theme and origin, and learn
how we can use them to live more meaningfully in our modern world.
Saturday:
- 9am- 1pm: Session 1, Sadhana Pada (Book 2) – Practices
- 2-6pm: Session 2, Samadhi Pada (Book 1) – Concentration
Sunday:
- 9am-1pm: Session 3, Vibhuti Pada (Book 3) – Marvelous Powers
- 2-6pm: Session 4, Kaivalya Pada (Book 4) – Liberation
Meditation and Pranayama Immersion
with Sheila Ewers
July 12-16, 2023
$1,200-$1,650 depending on room choice
Noon Wednesday to Noon Sunday
Location: Elohee
This five day, four night immersion at Elohee in the North Georgia Mountains is required for those students enrolled in the Johns Creek Yoga RYS300 training, but is open to all. Join us to dive deeply into consciousness as you explore your own meditation and pranayama practice and learn new techniques and skills to create a life-long relationship with Prana (the sacred life-force/energy that we often access and experience through the breath). Enrich your personal practice and develop skills to teach others. Our hope is that this experience will launch a lifetime commitment to the more subtle, and often more powerful practices of yoga.
Cost includes food, lodging, tuition and manual for 5 days/4 nights (space is limited to 10 Participants):
- Twin/ Shared Room: $1,200
- Queen/ Private Room/Shared Bath: $1,400
- Queen/Private Room/Private Bath: $1,650
About the Instructor:
Sheila Ewers is an ERYT 500 and YACEP teacher certified through Yoga Alliance. She trained at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and has been practicing and teaching for more than 20 years. In 2011, she created Blue Lotus Yoga, LLC which operated in two physical location in Johns Creek and Duluth, GA, Under Blue Lotus, she also launched a comprehensive online studio platform and developed Sweet Tea Yoga Festival in Alpharetta, GA. She is a published author and served as Yoga Editor for Natural Awakenings Atlanta Magazine from 2019 through 2021.
Today, Sheila owns and operates SEEK Yoga and Travel, a full service yoga platform designed to help students and seekers of all sorts develop tools for deepening consciousness, developing connection and living lives of joyful embodiment. Sheila holds additional certifications in Meditation, Yin Yoga, Thai Yoga, Bodywork, and Yoga Nidra and has trained with dozens of internationally known yoga and meditation teachers. She leads Yoga Teacher Training at both the 200 and 300-hour levels, hosts retreats and workshops both domestically and internationally and provides spiritual and professional coaching. As a former Professor of American literature, Sheila loves to explore the intersection between philosophy, poetry, religion, nature, and yoga and often brings that synthesis into her work. She continues to take advantage of every opportunity to train and learn and will forever consider herself a student of this ancient and beautiful practice.
Yin Yoga Teacher Training
with Kathy + Dennis Lang
August 4-6, 2023 — $385, $350 early bird rate if registered by July 21
Friday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
- A historical perspective of Yin Yoga and its roots in Taoism
- Yoga anatomy for a yin perspective
- The Dualism of body and mind
- Meridian Theory and the use of yin yoga for targeted results
- Yin for athletes
- Teaching guidelines and how to design a practice
- Over a dozen Yin yoga sequences are provided as well as class theme suggestions
- Upon completion, each student has the tools, practices and resources to lead yin yoga classes
Recommended pre-reading: The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark OR Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers
Course will be 50% lecture and 50% practice
About the Instructors:
Kathy + Dennis bring a different perspective to yoga instruction by co-teaching… a blend of Yin and Yang energies. Their abundance of knowledge, practice, and experience draws from their studies and attendance of many national workshops across the country including training with Rodney Yee, David Life and Sharon Gannon, Shiva Rea, Sean Corn, Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, and others. Their style is influenced by the traditions of Kripalu, Kundalini, Jivamukti, Ashtanga, Yin and Vinyasa Flow Yoga. Having traveled overseas extensively to over 40 countries, they have a broad view with much cultural exposure.
One cannot simply read and theorize; one must practice and take that practice inward to experience the multiple layers and terrain of ourself. As musicians, they have added the modalities of sound and vibration as a key experience and ingredient with meditative instrumentals of guitar, Sitar, crystal bowls, Native American flute, drums, and gong. They are teachers, but consider themselves more as guides or facilitators of an experience. They believe that yoga is about relationships; first, you with yourself, then you with the world and the divine. So with us, the practice is not a “work out”, but very much a “work-in”.
Creative Theming and Sequencing
with Sheila Ewers
September 22-24, 2023 — $350
Friday: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday-Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
Artfully weaving a theme into asana classes can take them from ordinary to extraordinary, facilitating introspection, contemplation and transformation by encouraging “Svadhyaya.” Learn how to use language and sequencing skillfully to create full body, mind, and soul experiences in your classes.
Topics covered will include:
- Advanced Sequencing
- Sequencing for Peak Pose
- Elements of Theme Based Classes
- Theme Weaving and the Power of Language
Course will include practice, lecture, student teaching and collaboration. This training is part of our 300YTT, but is open to all. Eligible for 18 CEUs through Yoga Alliance
Required text: Nourishing the Teacher, 2nd Edition by Danny Arguetty
Designing and Leading Transformative Workshops and Retreats
with Sheila Ewers
October 21-22, 2023 — $350
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
Join Sheila Ewers, E-RYT500, founder of Johns Creek Yoga, Yoga Teacher Trainer at both the 200 and 500 level, and leader of both local and international retreats for a weekend intensive exploring foundational principles of crafting transformative programming.
One of the most powerful ways to deepen a yoga practice is through more immersive experiences than one can gain from daily classes. Workshops and Retreats give you the ability to take your students into more subtle aspects of consciousness and self and are a fulfilling and powerful way for you to share what you love.
In this workshop, you will learn:
- Principles of effective multimodal teaching to appeal to kinesthetic, audio and visual learners
- Ways to connect students to a communal experience and build sangha
- Effective use of dyads and triads
- How to create and energetic “arc” for longer programming
- The business considerations for leading a retreat
This module is required for students participating in the RYS300 hour program, but is open to all. This module counts for 18 CEUs approved by Yoga Alliance. (16 contact, 2 non-contact)
Yoga & Trauma: Healing with Tantra Hatha Yoga
with Holle Black
February 16-18, 2024 — $350
Friday: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Lift Yoga Johns Creek
- Effects of trauma on the mind, body and nervous system
- Uses of Tantra Hatha Yoga to help heal the mind/body disconnect following trauma
- Practices of Tantra Hatha Yoga to help students and clients better understand and heal from trauma
- How trauma informed yoga is different than a “regular” studio class (language/cueing, postures, pacing, philosophies)
- How to create and teach trauma-based yoga classes to various populations and in different settings