Teacher Training

2023 Yoga
Teacher Training

February 3 - 24

Residential Program
at the Beautiful

Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing

Arrive Friday, February 3, 3-6pm. Dinner at 6pm. Introductions at 7pm in Milarepa Hall.
Course begins Saturday, February, 4 and ends Friday, February 24 after lunch.

PRICING

Course is $2800 if registered before January 1, $3000 after that.
Private Room with Shared Bath: $2436 ~ Private Room with Private Bath: $3360
Couple Pricing also available (for shared room).

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

This is a unique opportunity to take a three week immersion teacher training in an absolutley gorgeous residential Retreat Center in Cragsmoor, NY. Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing offers a private, personalized atmosphere. What is also unique about the training is that the trainer learns about various forms of yoga for a better overall understanding and ability to teach a variety of forms or move on to specialization after the training.

Each participant will have a private bedroom for rest and study.

Each day, the sessions will be 10 hours. There will be a total of 3 weeks of sessions to meet all of the 200-hour Yoga Alliance requirements of the training, plus homework.

Yamas and Niyamas
Different types/ styles of yoga defined
Anatomy and Physiology
Philosophy, Ethics, Lifestyle
Teaching Methodology and Techniques
Mantra, Meditation, Asana, Pranayam, Sequencing, forward and backbends, inversions and twists
Meditation, breathing, relaxation techniques, including Yoga Nidra
Kundalini Yoga sets and meditations, as well as the Chakra Energy systems. You will have the opportunity to study and enjoy the benefits of yogic eating as well as lifestyle information about various approaches to food and diet (raw, fasting, cleanses etc).

Upon completion of the training and exam, the teacher trainer will be able to teach Alignment Based Hatha Yoga as well as Kundalini.

FACULTY

Anna (Amba) Winkler, Director of Shakti Yoga & living arts, E-RYT500, YACEP, NJ LMT

Anna has been practicing and teaching yoga since 1989. She was originally certified through the Sivananda Yoga Organization, where she served as a volunteer staff member for over 6 years. Among many other things, she assisted in the Yoga Teacher Training courses and modeled for 2 yoga books during her time there: Yoga, Mind and Body and 101 Essential Tips: Yoga.

Anna has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga since 1997 with Eddie Stern and numerous other authorized teachers, including Pattabhi, Saraswati, Manju and Sharath Jois, Nancy Gilgoff, Tim Miller, and others. She as been teaching Ashtanga since 2002. Anna has been sudying and practicing Iyengar Yoga at Studio Yoga in Madison (and with other Senior Iyengar teaches) since 2007. She received her second 500 hour teaching certificate from Theresa Rowland of Studio Yoga in 2014.

Anna teaches an Alignment Based Hatha Yoga class. Her Ashtanga classes are also alignment influenced. Anna has been teaching in the Maplewood area since 2001, She is the founder and director of Shakti Yoga & living arts since June 2005 (formerly the Yoga Room in Millburn).

Anna is a Licensed Massage Therapist, practicing since 2014. She has been practicing Thai Massage since 2001, Thai Abdominal Massage since 2015 and Myofacial Release Massage since 2016. She is a certified Ayurveda Lifestyle Consultant from the Kripalu School of Ayurveda's first graduating class of 2006. She has been working with Young Living Essential Oils since 2007 and practicing Raindrop Technique since 2008. She is also an Independend Distributor of BEMER (for increased microcirculation).

Anna graduated from Nalanda Institute's Contemplative Psychotherapy Program (Compassion Module) in May, 2021. In March, 2022, she became a certified Compassion Based Resilience Training (CBRT) teacher, also with the Nalanda Institute. She looks foward to sharing these teachings in the communtiy.

Anna is honored to serve on the Board of Directors and as a teacher at the Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing, a retreat center in Cragsmoor, NY (near Ellenville/Pinebush), founded by her teacher, Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche.

Anna's teaching style is both challenging and nurturing.
With a dash of humor, a focus on alignment and sometimes
just going with the flow, her classes will leave you
feeling worked, yet tranquil and energized.

Donna Amrita Davidge, Director of Sewall House Yoga Retreat, E-RYT500, YACEP

Donna took her first yoga class in college in the 1970’s but it was not until the mid 1980’s that she immersed herself in learning yoga, first teaching Kundalini Yoga and then branching out to teach other forms of yoga based on studies with Dharma Mittra, Eddie Stern (Ashtanga) and Genny Kapuler (Iyengar). She has taught full time for over 35 years in New York City, and since 1997 at her yoga retreat in northern Maine www.sewallhouse.com. She has taught at Golden Bridge, Kundalini Yoga East, Pure Yoga and the Open Center, among other places in Manhattan. She has a popular Chakra Series online with Daily Om and has created other products over the years as well. Her teaching ranges from restorative to active vinyasa, including nidra and yin. Her love for chanting, pranayama and meditation came our of her studies with Kundalini Yoga.

Donna has been offering 200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Trainings twice a year since 2009 in Maine at her retreat. In 2019 her memoir was published, part the story of how yoga helped heal her and part the journey of purchasing her ancestral home to create a haven for healing.

Donna is grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Amba, who she has known as a fellow yogini and friend for years. www.donnadavidgeyoga.com

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

To receive your teaching certificate you must attend the entire program of 181 contact hours. You can miss up to 12 hours of this, but anything more than that must be made up in a private session (1 hour private tutoring per 3 hours missed) at a rate of $95/hour. If you miss more than 19 contact hours, you cannot make it up in private sessions and you will not receive a teaching certificate, even though you have paid in full for the training.

You must complete all homework assignments (including teaching, giving and receiving feedback) and the final exam.

YOGA ALLIANCE CERTIFICATION

You will need your Yoga Teacher Training Certificate of Completion (received at the end of the training. Go to www.yogaalliance.org and follow the directions there.

TESTIMONIALS

"This has been one of the best learning experiences in my life so far. In only three weeks, I’ve grown into a joyous and confident yoga teacher! The teaching was very intimate, which allowed us to learn from our teachers and each other. We spent lots of time studying Sanskrit, Yogic lifestyles, and Patanjali’s Sutras. It wasn’t just learning asanas, although we spent a good amount of time on that too. We were introduced to different schools of yoga, such as Iyengar, Kundalini, Sivananda, and Ashtanga. It broadened our vision in our personal practice and was also helpful for our future career goals. Our two fabulous teachers, Amba and Donna/Amrita, have motivated me greatly with their lifelong devotion to the learning and practicing of yoga. Both of them are strong, powerful women with so much love and wisdom. I will cherish everything they shared with us forever. I am now determined to practice yoga my whole life, and to share my understanding of yoga with everyone else." ~ Tedi Zeng, DCW YTT 2022

"I loved every second of this Teacher Training. Every day was full of essential information to mold me into an efficient and knowledgeable teacher. There were lots of opportunities to teach and ask questions. Both teachers provided experience and knowlege about yoga, while at the same time creating a safe space to learn and grow." ~ Anna Virgo, DCW YTT 2022

"This program was a great program with experienced and knowledgeable instructors. The way that course was structured from the beginning to the end was very helpful in learning/ grasping the material. Both instructors' had amazing energy, and they were always willing to help. This course offered a lot of time for physical practice and student teaching, which really helped. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in advancing their studies, or is just interested in the subject overall." ~ Pnina Zmora, DCW YTT 2022

DATES FOR 2023 AT SHAKTI

38 Tuesdays, 6-9pm, March 7 - November 28 (no class July 4)
Depending on schedules, we could start earlier in the afternoon.
This could also happen on Thursday evenings, if that's better for everyone.

9 Weekends (TBD): Saturday & Sunday, 1-5pm

TUITION: $3,200 if paid in full at least 1 month before the start date. $3,400 if paid in full after that, but before the start date. Monthly payment plan is available, due on the first class of each month at $400 per month, with an initial payment of $800 due before the start date (so no payment in the last month) for a total of $3,600. Make a payment!

Anna Winkler will be the primary teacher, with assistance from other Shakti Teachers and perhaps some outside teachers as well for Anatomy & Philosophy. The style you will learn to teach is Alignment Based Classical Hatha Yoga.

Contact Anna if you're interested or have any questions. Hope you'll join us...

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

Enjoy FREE Yoga Classes at Shakti during your training!

FACULTY

Anna (Amba) Winkler, Director of Shakti Yoga & living arts, E-RYT500, YACEP, NJ LMT

Anna teaches an Alignment Based Hatha Yoga class. Her Ashtanga classes are also alignment influenced. Anna has been teaching in the Maplewood area since 2001, Sheis the founder and director of Shakti Yoga & living arts since June 2005 (formerly the Yoga Room in Millburn).

ADDITIONAL FACULTY

Andre Witek will introduce concepts, techniques and practices for understanding therapeutic yoga.

Ellen Kaplan will introduce you to the Iyengar Yoga method, using language, demonstration and props to encourage an awareness of alignment in your poses.

Emily Ramos will go over teaching methodologies including use of voice, identifying and understanding your particular learning and teaching style and how to teach to all types of students.

Ires Wilbanks will introduce you to teaching Prenatal Yoga.

Milena Rubinstein will introduce you to the classical Hatha Yoga system, Integral Yoga.

Trish O'Gorman will introduce you to the practice of Kundalini Yoga.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

You must complete all homework assignments (including teaching, giving and receiving feedback) and the final exam.

YOGA ALLIANCE CERTIFICATION

You will need your Yoga Teacher Training Certificate of Completion (received at the end of the training. Go to www.yogaalliance.org and follow the directions there.

TESTIMONIALS

"I met Ambaji at the Sivananda TTC at Uttarkashi. I had already been practicing and teaching for a sometime and was looking for a teacher who could advance my personal and teaching practices. Ambaji's clear, detailed and anatomically precise instructions fulfilled me. I thought I had a well developed breath capacity but was introduced to an entirely new diaphragmatic awareness. Her warmth, compassion and ability to spot the mental flaw that holds you back from performing an asana properly is what I seek to give to my students as well. I highly recommend her yoga training course to both the newbie and advanced." ~ Surabhi Rathod

"Amba,or Anna Winkler,was my asana teacher when I took the Sivananda Yoga Vidya Peeth Teacher Trainning Course in Uttarkashi, north India.I was inspired by Ambaji a lot. She was always full of energy and longing for teaching us everything she knows. She was so experienced, dedicated and kind. It seems every class was not enough time coz Ambaji always wanted to share more knowledge and skills about yoga. Apart from class, she also is our good friend, always took photos of us, to help us keep the best memories of India. I feel so grateful living and learning with Ambaji for one month. I will always remember “chest up” and keep practicing in my entire life. OM!" ~ Jubing Zheng (Chinmayi)

"My yoga teacher training at Shakti was one of the most transforming experiences of my life. It was so worth the effort and focus it required of me and has served me well as the foundation of my yoga practice in the years since. The training was varied, covering so many areas beyond the in-depth asanas I expected to learn to become a teacher. Some examples: anatomy, lovingly offered support for practice teaching (a scary thought for this introverted soul), study of the yoga sutras, chair yoga, use of props, chanting, meditation, pranayama. There was even one class conducted entirely in the dark and another given over the phone on a snowed-in evening! Anna is a wonderful, talented, genius of a teacher with a strong intuition for what her students need. Take this training and you will learn not only yoga, but will also gain insights into yourself and into all that yoga has to offer us all in this wacky world we live in." ~ Susan Pendleton

'I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2012 with Anna Winkler. I found it to be one of the most enriching experiences of my life. Learning yogic philosophy and gaining a deeper understanding was life changing for me. I am forever in Anna’s debt. She has boundless knowledge in so many different areas of yoga, and teaches with humility and patience. I highly recommend this training." ~ Jane Guzzi

"I completed Anna's Yoga Teacher Training in 2011 and have been grateful ever since. She is extremely kind and patient as well as very knowledgeable in classical yoga texts and teaching asanas. But, what sets her apart from other teachers and their teacher training programs is her ability to know what each student needs, and to focus her teaching to meet that need. Once you understand, you can pass that knowledge on to your students. If you are taking this training to teach classes yourself or just to deepen your own practice, you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend Anna's YTT." ~ Kim Reynolds