Yoga Behind Bars Teacher Training
Portland, Maine
Join us for our first-ever east coast teacher training!
This training is for yoga teachers and anybody interested in learning yoga-based tools to work with people in prison. The training includes:
- 19 hours of training (count for CE credits at Yoga Alliance)
- trauma-sensitive yoga for men, women, and youth
- real-time feedback and guidance from masters in the field
- the 80+ page Yoga Behind Bars manual, one of the best resources available for teaching in prisons
Faculty:
(Left to right) Natalie Cielle & Rosa Vissers
Natalie Cielle is a leader in the Yoga service community. As co-founder and Director of Training for Yoga Behind Bars, she has taught thousands of teens, men, and women behind bars. She has also trained over 250 yoga teachers to do the same. Natalie began her yoga practice while getting her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Washington. After experiencing the power of yoga to facilitate true mind-body-spirit healing, she devoted her life to sharing this practice with others. She completed her 500-hour Yoga Certification in 2011 with Aadil Palkhivala and Savitri. Natalie is also the Board President of the Alive and Shine Foundation, a nonprofit that brings meditation to homeless teens and adults. Her soul's dream is for all beings to have access to powerful tools of liberation. Meeting others who share this dream is her greatest joy!
Rosa Vissers joined Yoga Behind Bars as a volunteer in 2010 and has never looked back. After wearing many different hats, she became the Executive Director in 2013. Originally from the Netherlands, Rosa combines her commitment to service with an international dance performance and teaching career. Seeking a practice to cope with the stresses of dancing, Rosa fell in love with yoga in 2005 and completed her 500-hour Yoga Certification in 2007 at Centered City Yoga with D’ana Baptiste. She earned an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah, a BFA from ArtEZ in the Netherlands, holds a certificate in Non-Profit Fundraising Management from the University of Washington, and is a certified Permaculture Designer. She believes together we can create a compassion revolution.
Special Guest
Philip Payson has brought Yoga Behind Bars to Portland, Maine. He is a regular and beloved teacher at Portland Power Yoga. After flying to Seattle and completing the Yoga Behind Bars teacher training in 2012, Phil started a yoga program at Maine Correctional Center in Windham. He currently teaches two weekly classes there. He has also built connections with a youth facility, a half-way home, and the Maine State Prison. Phil will share his expertise on local opportunities and challenges.