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Continuing Ed for Yoga Teachers & Dedicated Students

Time to Level Up

Refresh your yoga teaching and level up your knowledge with our Continuing Ed YTT Packages. Access cutting edge content in a digestible format. Discover new ways to approach alignment, anatomy, history and sequencing with yoga industry leaders. Our carefully curated modules feature a mix of pre-recorded videos and live sessions with our expert faculty. Designed for yoga teachers who think their initial YTT left them with gaps in their understanding, or dedicated students wanting to deepen their practice. 

Four areas of learning to choose from: 

  • Integrated Alignment

  • Honouring Yoga’s History and Wholeness

  • Sequencing with Purpose

  • Reforming Yoga Culture

When you join The Branches Continuing Ed you will:

  • Be part of a private interactive co-learning space online for the cohort. Participate in optional homework and reading assignments to support your learning.

  • Get our pithiest content in pre-recorded form, followed up by live sessions to integrate the learning. All live sessions will be recorded, and you’ll have access to all the material for a year. 

  • Earn Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits.

Cutting edge learning for modern yoga practioners


INTEGRATED ALIGNMENT

Get access to the subtle and intricate map that guides our teaching. We’ve spent years creating a synthesis of yoga alignment that includes the modern modalities of FRC (Functional Range Conditioning) and strength training. This module takes you through Anusara Yoga’s principles of alignment as well as targeted conditioning that can transform the experience of any yoga pose. Featuring ten live Masterclasses that will enable you to embody the theory. You will emerge with tools and knowledge you can integrate into your teaching and practice immediately. 

30+ hours of content and learning

PWYW Sliding Scale: Regular Rate $975, Minimum $650

REGISTER HERE TO SAVE YOUR SPOT!

INCLUDED CONTENT

Each package features our pithiest content in pre-recorded form, followed up by live sessions to integrate the learning. Live sessions took place between October 2021 and February 2022; recordings of these sessions are now available on our online platform. You will have access to all of this content for one year from date of purchase.

Pre-Recorded Video Lessons:

  • Intro to Muscular and Organic Energy

  • Intro to Yoga Anatomy: Key Concepts and Terms 

  • Intro to Paradigms of Stretching

  • Intro to the Loops Part 1 & 2

  • Intro to Activations

  • Library of Activations for Spine/Core, Upper & Lower Body

  • Intro to Spirals 

  • Key Actions for Categories of Poses

Asana Masterclass Livestream Recordings with Leena, Emma and Leslie:

  • Muscular + Organic Energy Asana Masterclass

  • Focal Points Asana Masterclass

  • Lower Body Loops Asana Masterclass

  • Upper Body Loops Asana Masterclass

  • Spine + Core Activations Asana Masterclass

  • Upper Body Activations Asana Masterclass

  • Lower Body Activations Asana Masterclass

  • Spirals of the Legs Asana Masterclass

  • Spirals of the Arms Asana Masterclass

Plus:

  • Be part of a private interactive co-learning space online for the cohort.

  • Participate in optional homework and reading assignments to support your learning. 

  • Qualifies for Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits.

HONOURING YOGA'S HISTORY & WHOLENESS

Yoga is often reduced to poses and breath, but what is getting left out in many North American yoga classes? Broaden your understanding of the historical context of Yoga and its modern day iterations. Learn how the practice of yoga has been influenced by colonialism, capitalism, politics, and cultural appropriation. Get introduced to the richness and subtlety of Sanskrit, Ayurveda and Mantra and connect with a reverence for yoga practices beyond poses. 

16+ hours of content and learning

PWYW Sliding Scale: Regular Rate $475, Minimum $325

REGISTER HERE TO SAVE YOUR SPOT!

INCLUDED CONTENT

Each package features our pithiest content in prerecorded form, followed up by live sessions to integrate the learning. Live sessions take place between October 2021 and May 2022 if you wish to join us, and recordings of these sessions will be uploaded to our online platform soon afterward. You will have access to all of this content for one year from date of purchase.

Pre-recorded Video Lesson:

  • Intro to Worldviews

Livestream Recordings of Interactive Lectures and Asana Practices:

  • Intro to Historical Timelines of Yoga with Emma Dines

  • Yoga History with Matthew Remski

  • Honouring Om & Namaste with Emma Dines

  • Ayurveda & Yoga History with Matthew Remski

  • Intro to Sanskrit with Manu & Shwetha Subramanya

  • Sanskrit (cont'd) and Asana with Manu & Shwetha Subramanya

  • Mantra and Asana with Jyoti Solanki-Davie

Upcoming Live, Online Interactive Lectures and Practices:

  • Thursday May 19, 7pm-9pm - Ayurveda and the 5 Elements with Matthew Remski

Bonus! Workshop Access

  • Access to previous workshop content and recording: Honouring the Roots & Branches of Yoga

Plus:

  • Be part of a private interactive co-learning space online for the cohort.

  • Participate in optional homework and reading assignments to support your learning. 

  • Qualifies for Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits.


SEQUENCING WITH PURPOSE

Learn to create thoughtful, intelligent sequences to serve a range of needs. Take the guesswork out of pinnacle pose sequencing and learn how to seamlessly integrate non-yoga movements like mobility drills and strength training into your classes. Discover ways to work smarter rather than harder and make sequences that can be adapted and repurposed so you aren’t constantly reinventing the wheel. 

15+ hours of content and learning!

PWYW Sliding Scale: Regular Rate $475, Minimum $325

REGISTER HERE TO SAVE YOUR SPOT!

INCLUDED CONTENT

Each package features our pithiest content in prerecorded form, followed up by live sessions to integrate the learning. Live sessions took place between November 2021 and April 2022; all recordings are now available on our online platform. You will have access to all of this content for one year from date of purchase.

Pre-recorded Video Lessons:

  • Sequencing Part 1 - Krama

  • Sequencing Part 2 - Pinnacle Practices

  • Sequencing Part 3 - Repeatable and Unbeatable Sequencing Skills

Interactive Lecture and Asana Practices Livestream Recordings:

  • Family Tree of Postures Shape Components with Leena and Emma

  • Sequencing for the Ayurvedic Doshas with Leena

  • Pinnacle Sequencing Lecture + Asana Masterclass with Leslie

  • Creative Sequencing with Carin Lowerison

Plus:

  • PDF handouts including sequencing templates and a wide range of sample sequences

  • Be part of a live, private interactive co-learning space online with the YTT cohort.

  • Participate in optional homework and reading assignments to support your learning. 

  • Qualifies for Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits.

REFORMING YOGA CULTURE

This package features some of the yoga community’s deepest thinkers. Carly Stong will change how you think about accessibility in a yoga class, and empower you with teaching strategies for inclusion. Matthew Remski will reinforce the need for accountability and pro-active leadership as he shines a light on the history of abuse in the yoga world. Interact with a panel of yoga community members as they discuss how to embody Anti-Oppression as a yoga teacher, and learn about Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Business Leadership and Yoga for Mental Health with a few other special guests. 

20+ hours of content and learning!

PWYW Sliding Scale: Regular Rate $675, Minimum $475

REGISTER HERE TO SAVE YOUR SPOT!

INCLUDED CONTENT

Each package features our pithiest content in prerecorded form, and were followed up by live sessions to integrate the learning. Live sessions took place between March and May 2022, and recordings of these sessions are now available on our online platform soon afterward. You will have access to all of this content for one year from date of purchase.

Livestream Lecture Recordings:

  • Accessible Yoga Part 1 with Carly Stong

  • Accessible Yoga Part 2 with Carly Stong

  • Yoga for Bigger Bodies with Carly Stong

  • Teaching Principles for Accessible Yoga + Bigger Bodies with Carly Stong

  • Anti-Oppression Panel with Special Guests

  • Shifting and Healing Cultures of Abuse with Matthew Remski

  • Trauma Sensitive Yoga with Nicole Brown Faulknor

  • Best Practices for Reforming Yoga Culture with Matthew Remski

  • Brave Leadership in the Movement Business with Robin Lacambra

  • Bio-Psycho-Social Lens for Movement & Healing with Christopher Bourke

Plus:

  • Be part of a private interactive co-learning space online for the cohort.

  • Participate in optional homework and reading assignments to support your learning. 

  • Qualifies for Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits.

ALL-ACCESS BUNDLE

Join all 4 parts of our Continuing Ed program and save $500! Plus receive a one-on-one coaching session with Leena, Emma or Leslie.

100+ hours of content and learning!

PWYW Sliding Scale: Regular Rate $2825, Minimum $2500

REGISTER FOR YOUR ALL-ACCESS BUNDLE HERE!


Interactive live content and learning at your own pace.

Check out our online learning platform


Meet our exceptional faculty

Leena Miller Cressman

YTT Program Director (ERYT®500)
asana, pedagogy, business, prenatal yoga, restorative yoga

Leena has been teaching for over a decade, and specializes in a blend of functional and dynamic movement, strength building and mindful alignment. Leena is passionate about building rich learning communities and mentoring new teachers through Yoga Teacher Training and Restorative Yoga Teaching Programs.

Leena has completed over 1,000 hours of training in Anusara Yoga and other alignment-based and vinyasa styles, functional anatomy, Ayurveda, Mindful Strength and teaching pedagogy. Her teachers and mentors include Christi-an Slomka, Meaghan Johnson, Darren Rhodes, Matthew Remski, Kathryn Bruni-Young and her co-teachers at QSY.

“Leena’s teaching is nuanced and layered: she builds upon key lessons in subtle and interconnecting ways. As a teacher trainer, her depth of knowledge and her commitment to ethical practice create a safe and engaging learning environment.” - Kate Parizeau, QSY YTT 2018 Graduate

Emma Dines

YTT Program Director (ERYT®200)
asana, pedagogy, history, philosophy

Emma has been teaching since 2010, and specializes in teaching beginners and students in bigger bodies. Emma has completed over 700 hours of training with local and international teachers and continues to feed her own practice and zeal for teaching with ongoing study. In the past few years, she has been expanding her movement paradigm by studying the Axis Syllabus, Contact Improvisation, and Functional Movement. Emma is a certified Yoga for Round Bodies™ teacher and is passionate about creating body-positive contexts that celebrate a diversity of abilities and sizes.

“Emma's playful humour helps make big topics feel more accessible. Her sincere openness to new ideas and different approaches levels the playing field and fosters a learning space of compassion and curiosity. Her study of yoga history is personal, yet thorough, and this translates into creativity in her teaching.” - Rebecca Steiner, QSY YTT 2018 Graduate

Leslie Stokman

YTT Program Assistant & Lead Instructor
asana, mobility, pedagogy, nervous system and trauma-informed teaching

Leslie’s been teaching Yoga since 2016, and her classes are informed by all sorts of education and experience in areas like the Tensegrity Repair Series, strength and mobility work, rock climbing, and Vipassana meditation. She is a Certified TRE Provider (Tension & Trauma Release Exercise) and an FRCms (Functional Range Conditioning mobility specialist). She also brings her B.Ed and school teaching experience to our learning community. Leslie loves to dive deep with teacher-trainees into the nitty gritty of joint mechanics and tissue adaptation, nervous system branches, the ethics of the industry, and the deeper meaning of life!

"Dynamically engaging our group of bewildered teachers-to-be with love and levity: that’s Leslie in a nutshell! By asking open-ended questions early and often, our beloved tutor encouraged us to shape our learning process for ourselves. Her generosity and support through the program assignments was an incredible gift. She challenged us to spend time with the details and fully integrate learning into our bodies." - Alissa F-E, QSY YTT 2020 Graduate

Matthew Remski

YTT Guest Faculty
Yoga history, philosophy, and ethics

Matthew Remski is a yoga teacher and trainer, and investigative journalist covering conspirituality & cults.

He “writes and presents on yoga and ayurveda in the shadow of capitalism and climate change”. Matthew facilitates programming for yoga trainings internationally, focusing on yoga philosophy, meditation, Ayurveda, and the social psychology of practice.

His most recent book “Practice and All is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, and Healing in Yoga and Beyond” is at the forefront of the #metoo movement for the yoga world, and offers a clear pathway forward into enhanced critical thinking, student empowerment, self-and-other care, and community resilience. He currently co-hosts a podcast called Conspirituality.

Carly Stong

YTT Guest Faculty
inclusion, accessibility & body diversity

Carly Stong is the Educational Director and Lead Instructor at Yoga Teacher Training Kingston. She began her movement exploration as a dancer in her youth and pursued a post-secondary degree in kinesiology and health studies while concurrently completing her Bachelor of Education. She opened a yoga studio in 2011 and, since then, she has offered a contemporary perspective to yoga that is informed by science as well as experience. Her teachings are built on the pillars of critical thinking, anti-oppression, and empowerment and rooted in social activism. As a a passionate advocate for body positivity, Carly sits as a member of the Leadership Team with the Yoga and Body Image Coalition. Her approach to accessibility is modern and informed by a fully embodied and integrated experience; reframing accessibility as the default and not the exception.

Jyoti Solanki

YTT Guest Faculty
honouring the roots of Yoga & mantra

Jyoti Solanki-Davie (she/her) has many roles: a mother, a teacher, a healer and forever a student. Her work consists of Massage Therapy and teaching Yoga, running her clinic from her home. A self proclaimed “anatomy nerd”, she loves to talk about fascia and the wonder of the human body. She is also an avid gardener with aspirations of building an edible perennial garden, she enjoys spending time in nature, learning from her cycles. Spending her days raising her child, knitting and working with yarn, she enjoys bringing yoga off the mat and into the mundane.

Christopher Bourke

YTT Guest Faculty
pain, trauma-informed teaching, and movement for mental health

Christopher Bourke is a movement instructor and mental health professional. He has worked in the field of mental health and addictions for over a decade and roots his teaching in that experience – placing a strong emphasis on practices that respect, support, and encourage an individual’s innate resilience.

Christopher teaches with the hope of helping people rebuild a connection to their bodies, expand their range of (e)motion, and enhance their capacity to handle tough life events. He’s passionate about building spaces that promote a sense of courage, safety, and self-compassion.

Nicole Brown Faulknor

YTT Guest Faculty
trauma sensitive Yoga

Nicole is a Registered Psychotherapist, a yoga teacher, and a Child and Youth Counsellor. She is a member of both the Colleges of Registered Psychotherapists in Ontario and the Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy.

Nicole has over 18 years of professional experience working with marginalized, vulnerable, and oppressed communities, individuals, families, and children. Nicole's yoga teaching draws on the methodology of Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY). Her approaches as a yoga teacher and a psychotherapist recognize the intimate relationship between the physical body and the psychological well-being of a person. This approach holds the view that the body is a resource for self-discovery and psychological healing. Learn more about Nicole at Wounds2Wings.

Robin Lacambra

YTT Guest Faculty
business & compassionate leadership for social change

As founder of GOODBODYFEEL Movement Studio, a for-profit small business prioritizing progressive values; host of the Empowered Embodiment Podcast; somatic coach; and social justice advocate, Robin believes that there is always an intersection worth exploring and sharing. She works to create and strengthen bridges between various industries and social causes, and in doing so, has developed the Sharing Privilege Online Course, as well as a 200 hour Teacher Training Program, focused on radical inclusivity and accessibility.

No matter the project, Robin’s work always comes back to the community: empowering people to believe in the importance of creating a culture filled with compassion so, in turn, it can fuel an environment of belonging for each and every body.

Carin Lowerison-White

YTT Guest Faculty
asana, teaching pedagogy and voice

Carin has been teaching since 2007, and draws upon her background with modern dance and martial arts in pursuit of a broader base of movement and mindfulness knowledge. To date, she has accumulated over 450 hours of yoga teacher training and considers herself a lifelong student.

Carin also flavours her teaching with her work as the Co-Founder and Managing Director of a not-for-profit theatre company in Waterloo Region called Green Light Arts, a professional theatre producer, arts administrator, choreographer, performer, and occasional sessional instructor in Physical Theatre for the Theatre & Performance Program at the University of Waterloo.

Shwetha & Manu Subramanya

YTT Guest Faculty
Sanskrit and asana

Manu and Shwetha have been married for more than 10 years and have a son, Shiva (named after Lord Shiva who is the first Yogi). Both of them were immersed into a culture of shlokas and mantras from childhood. They formally studied Sanskrit from high school. Their specific interest in Sanskrit are in subhashitas (proverbs), hymns and the ancient texts of science.

Shwetha has been practising yoga for more than 25 years and teaching yoga for 5 years. Yoga has given her immense strength and helped her rediscover herself. Since Shwetha come from the birth place of Yoga, India, she has been fortunate to study the ancient texts of yoga to understand the roots of yoga. She practices and teaches vinyasa flow yoga that emphasizes the elements of nature. For her, Yoga is a bridge that connects my soul towards the purpose of life. It teaches her to enjoy the physical movement of the body while experiencing a stillness in the mind.

Manu has been a student of yoga for 10 years. Along with the mental connection with the physical body, his interest in yoga is in the scientific understanding of the eight limbs of yoga, and the influence it has on the individual and universal level.


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Dive into an authentic, supportive education.

"Emma, Leena, and Leslie are master educators — each in their own right. They embody the values of their teaching and present the course content with openness and curiosity. This open mindset is reflected through the program’s dynamic and circular approach to learning. As a graduate, I feel that I really know the content! The QSY YTT program is truly the most refined and well put together educational experience I’ve ever taken part in. I cannot imagine having a better foundation to start out as a new yoga teacher!"

Nathan, QSY YTT 2020 Graduate, hybrid format

"I really appreciated the authenticity, expertise, humour, and heart that Emma, Leena, and Leslie brought to the program. Despite the fact that we were a big group, there was a real sense that each individual’s needs were heard and met to the best of their abilities. In their own styles, with patience and kindness, all three instructors created a safe, supported, and enjoyable environment for learning.

The program content was comprehensive and well beyond the expectations of a standard 200hr YTT, designed with the intention to facilitate learning in a practical and progressive way. Beyond preparing me to design and deliver safe, appropriate and engaging sequences, the program also touched on important topics like career development and yoga in the larger context of spirituality and social change."

Andrea B., QSY YTT 2020 Graduate, hybrid format

"QSY YTT felt like the right fit for me. Having practiced there previously, and attending the information session, and also hearing from friends who took training elsewhere, I knew that the experience at QSY would be a unique one that encompasses everything I wanted in a training program. I went in not necessarily intending to teach, but since graduating, I have been teaching consistently, mostly on a volunteer basis, and that has been a lovely result. Even if I didn't end up teaching, I would do the QSY training all over again."

Nadine Q., QSY YTT 2018 Graduate

"This training is at the cutting edge of what’s offered, with its strong blend of biomechanics, social justice, science of teaching, philosophy, and interpersonal work. The kinds of work our training has been doing is exactly what many people have been asking for: more rigorous, more critical, more self-reflexive, with greater supports over longer periods of time.

The community of practice you created by having the talking partners, and the team teaching, and the feed-forward practices was very, very valuable to me. I can’t remember the last time I tried so hard and earned so many rewards with such a diverse group of equals. Amazing. This is something a shorter, intensive training can’t give.

I have, pretty much, nothing but good things to say about the training. I feel really lucky to have been in this group, at this time. I feel ready to take up my seat as teacher, and my own personal practice has really developed over the year as I approach my yoga study more intensely and with added goals. I feel energized and empowered."

Aimée Morrison, 2014 YTT Graduate

"Emma and Leena are a compassionate, knowledgeable, and entirely complementary teacher-training partnership. Together, they've created a unique yoga teacher training program that goes far beyond teaching physical poses, anatomy, and history, opening the door for personal development in what is undoubtedly the most supportive learning environment I've ever experienced."

Nicole DeNoble, QSY YTT 2016 Graduate

FAQ & Important Info

Our Continuing Ed packages are hosted on an awesome online learning platform called Hey Marvlous. When you sign up you'll get immedate access to the portal for your package. New lessons will be released each month and you can join livestream sessions right through the portal. If you can't make it live, don't stress. You can access the portal and all of the lessons, recordings, and course materials for a full year after the final live session.

You do not have to be an elite pretzel or yoga expert benefit from our Continuing Ed program - all bodies and abilities are welcome! Read Leslie's blog post, Is YTT Physically Demanding? to get a better idea of the intensity of the physical side of practice.

Pay What You Wish pricing means you can choose what price point work for your financial situation while also honouring the integrity of our work. Each Package has a suggested price (what we think the market value of the training is) and a minimum price. If you have the means to pay more than the suggested price, you'll be directly supporting us in offering accessible pricing to others who are experiencing financial barriers. No questions asked about the price you choose. Learn more about our approach to sliding scale in this blog post.

We offer sliding scale/PWYW pricing. If you still have financial barriers to participation, please contact us and we can dicuss a payment plan to help you.

Our Continuing Education Modules are non-refundable.

Each package will include a recommended reading list. Texts are an additional cost, outside of tuition costs.

Our yoga school is registered with the federal government as a Certified Educational Institution. We will provide you with a tax receipt (T2202A), which means you can use your tuition amounts as tax deductibles.

Access cutting edge content in a digestible format

Join us!

Curious about online training? Hear from our 2020 grads about the switch to virtual:

"The QSY YTT Program turned out to be one of the most enriching things I have ever done! The teacher trainers were incredible.

As an older adult applying for this program, I felt so well mentored, accepted, and supported by these three trainers, who were delivering an extremely well-designed program. When COVID-19 forced a switch to online learning, they helped me to learn the necessary skills and continued to help me feel connected and supported by the many outreach efforts they made. I acquired knowledge and grew my skills so well that I was quickly able to feel confident in launching into business teaching yoga online."

Linda Collins, QSY YTT 2020 Graduate, hybrid format

"While our training was interrupted by the onset of the COVID pandemic, I didn’t feel that I missed anything in my YTT education, as the way the program was adapted on the fly to keep everyone safe while maintaining the same high quality of teaching over a new modality was incredible.

The Queen Street Yoga YTT isn’t just a teacher training, it’s building a community and an evolution of personal growth, both on and off the mat. It’s the most supportive group and learning environment I’ve ever participated in. I’d encourage anyone who wants to cultivate a deeper and broader practice along with their teaching to enrol in the program."

Catherine Mittelholtz, QSY YTT 2020 Graduate, hybrid format

"When the unthinkable happened in March 2020, QSY trainers modelled unwavering resilience. Their co-creative approaches inspired me again and again as she deftly guided a total reorientation of our YTT to be largely completed online under COVID restrictions. They guided embodied learning into a virtual experience without compromising quality or humanity.

Rather than a harsh transition between YTT and real-world teaching, there was a natural flow from one stage of learning into the next because we started teaching the very first weekend we gathered. I count myself very fortunate because our cohort graduated with the hybrid experience of in-person teaching for 5 months and online teaching for 4 months.

The piston of a powerful engine, Leena’s cadence sustained a supportive container for our learning through the chaos of adaptation. The authentic care work Emma brought to QSY’s YTT enhanced every aspect of my learning and is a foundation I will build upon for the rest of my life. Leslie made space for us to turn left into our nerdiness and let go of our self-imposed corrections. These ways of practicing fuel my home routine and ground me as a new teacher."

Alissa F-E, QSY YTT 2020 Graduate, hybrid format