Teaching Restful Yoga: Gentle, Yin, Restorative, and Nidra for Teachers

This yoga teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is a six-day immersion for yoga teachers who want to teach restful classes with skill and confidence. Led by Sage Rountree, Teaching Restful Yoga covers gentle yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga, and yoga nidra, both as standalone classes and in combination.

The premise is simple. Much of the contemporary yoga scene is geared toward achievement, and yet yoga is a tool for inner awareness. The softer styles can bring students there without the sweat. This program helps you become a centered, capable teacher of those calming classes, and to develop comfort with comfort.

What to Expect

Learning happens through practice, lecture, discussion, and peer teaching. You will survey the science of nervous system regulation and the physical, psychological, and spiritual necessity of rest. You will explore best practices for each of the four formats and learn simple formulas for building balanced, relaxing, inclusive classes in each.

From there, the work becomes practical. You will design hybrid classes that leave students nourished and eager for more, workshop prop usage and placement to invite greater ease, and brainstorm cues that land with the right language at the right time. You will also look at how to balance sound and silence to guide students inward.

The days follow a steady rhythm. The opening day begins with check-in at 2:00 pm, a Kripalu Yoga class, dinner, and an evening program session from 7:30 to 9:00. On full training days, Kripalu Yoga starts at 6:30 am, followed by a silent breakfast, a program session from 9:00 to 11:30, lunch, and a second session from 1:30 to 4:00. A late-afternoon yoga class and dinner close the day. On the final morning there is yoga, silent breakfast, and a session from 9:00 to 11:00, then lunch and departure.

You leave with lesson plans for gentle, yin, and restorative classes, a customizable template for writing yoga nidra scripts, a swipe file of clear, inspiring language, and the confidence to teach restful classes, series, and workshops. The training carries 23.5 Yoga Alliance continuing education hours.

About Sage Rountree

Sage Rountree leads this teachers' immersion and training. She is the presenter of Teaching Restful Yoga at Kripalu.

The Setting

The training takes place on the Kripalu campus in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple and meant to help you unplug. Options include private rooms, shared double rooms, and community-style dormitories. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier. On departure day, room check-out is at 10:00 am, and you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Three meals are served daily, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options and other dietary accommodations available on request. Breakfast is silent.

Before You Go

This is an intermediate-level training for yoga teachers with prior training or teaching experience. Foundational yoga knowledge is assumed. The program is taught in English.

Your stay includes more than ten daily yoga classes, three meals a day, and access to the Kripalu grounds and facilities. Healing Arts sessions and purchases from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are extra, as is travel to and from Stockbridge. Schedules may vary slightly, so check the guest boards or the schedule you receive at check-in for times and room locations.