“A good adjustment is like having a pair of angel
hands guiding you deeper into your yoga practice.”
- Lisa Black
"The highlight for me from taking TAP was that I was surprised that assisting in yoga gave me a tremendous feeling of caring, love, and empowerment. My personal breakthrough was that I can twist more, stretch more, and correct my own alignment now. I experienced how to trust and develop trust in someone else." --2013 TAP graduate
"The highlights from TAP was the community, the possibilities, the self-awareness and that I am capable of taking myself further. I have awareness and acceptance that it is OK to touch and assist someone. I gained the awareness that I can be of service to others, and I have more confidence in myself." --2013 TAP graduate
"Taking TAP, I learned the practical mechanics of assisting students, how to touch appropriately, and how to originate touch with clear intention. I have a new understanding around the impact of touch in assisting." --2013 TAP
"I would recommend TAP to all yoga practitioners, even if they never want to teach. You learn several assists for each pose and how to deepen postures, which is valuable to ones own practice. After TAP, I found myself able to “self-assist” in my own practice and deepen my poses without the hands on assistance of a teacher. TAP really helped me take my practice to a whole new level."--Amy TAP graduate
"I just returned from Level 1 with Baron and wanted
you to know I had a fantastic experience! When assisting during
practice I ALWAYS got a MAJOR thumbs up! Of course this was entirely
due to the SHAKTI TAP program last year and I wanted you to know
by far that is one of the best workshops I have ever taken! Learning
to assist not only helped my personal practice, but the firm guidance
I then gave others had immediate and beneficial results! Thank
you for that!"
- Jess TAP graduate
WORKSHOPS
TEACHER ASSISTING PROGRAM (TAP) with
founder, Lisa
Black
The Teacher Assisting Program (TAP) is a weekend
training developed in 2002 by SHAKTI Founder/Director, Lisa Black,
as a means for training yoga teachers to provide skillful and
effective adjustments to students in vinyasa yoga classes. TAP
is a powerful, practical, foundational program that will benefit
any student or teacher at any level. TAP is about learning skills
and experience that empower you to assist students with clarity,
confidence, and compassion.
Learning to assist students in a vinyasa yoga practice takes
clear intention, complete focus, and agility of mind and body.
Join Lisa Black and senior SHAKTI Instructors as they teach you
the stabilizing, corrective, and deepening full-body adjustments
of the 53 traditional asanas within the 90 minute Baptiste Power
Vinyasa Yoga sequence. This intensive training course is essential
and complete training for new or experienced teachers, aspiring
teacher assistants, or for those who would like to deepen their
understanding and experience in asana. The curriculum will include
healthy alignment, the Art of Assisting Vinyasa Yoga, Types of
Touch, Assisting from True North Alignment, real-life experience
assisting, giving and receiving feedback, and assisting philosophy
and ethics.
TAP serves as the pre-requisite training for entering our Teacher
Mentorship Program (TMP) and becoming an active SHAKTI
Vinyasa Yoga Instructor. Completion of this comprehensive course
will give you a solid understanding of healthy alignment and form
as well as specific hands-on adjustments for foundational postures.
You will leave this program with a new practical toolbox and confidence
of how you can empower students in their yoga practice. You can
apply everything you learn to teach any style of yoga and this
course is a launching pad for your path to becoming a power teacher.
Pre-requisites: Participants need at least three
months vinyasa-style yoga experience or have completed the SHAKTI
8-class INTRO Series. Participants need to read Journey into Power
by Baron Baptiste and become familiar with the postures in the
book before the beginning TAP. (You can purchase this book in
our retail boutiques).
General Schedule (Subject to Change):
Friday, April 19
11:15-12pm Welcome, introductions & why we assist
12-1pm Take class live class and experience assist from instructor
1:15-4:15 TAP content
4:15-5:45pm Dinner break
5:45-7pm Practice Assisting partner in live class
7:15-8:30pm TAP Content The Art of Assisting Vinyasa Yoga
Saturday, April 20
8:00-9:30am Practices assisting partner through live class
9:30-10:30am Break to shower, eat breakfast, complete assisting feedback form
10:30-11:15am Review assisting feedback form with partner in lobby
11:30am-2:00pm TAP content
2:00-2:30pm Lunch Break
2:30-4:15pm TAP Content
4:15-6pm Dinner Break
6:00-8pm TAP Content
(8:30-10:30pm Optional Chihuly Glass Garden LuluLemon sponsored Free Yoga Class led by Lisa Black)
Sunday, April 21
8:00-9:30am Practices assisting partner through live class
9:30-10:30am Break to shower, eat breakfast, complete assisting feedback form
10:30-11:15am Review assisting feedback form with partner in lobby
11:30am-2:00pm TAP Content
2-2:15pm Lunch Break
2:15-4:15pm Review and Closing Circle
Date: April 19-21, 2013 Pre-registration Cost: $475 before April 7, $495 after
Receive 24 credit hours of continuing education through Yoga Alliance Location: 2238 NW Market Street Seattle, WA
*Workshop Refund/Cancellation Policy
If you cancel prior to 14 days of workshop start date, you will
be issued a refund less a (TBD per workshop) administration fee.
No refunds, no transfers, and no credits for cancellations within
14 days of workshop start date. No refunds or credits for failure
to attend or failure to complete the workshop.
TAP Testimonials:
I’m passionate about encouraging others to discover and awaken the full extent of their mental and physical powers, and to use them to lead happier lives. I've been propelled towards teaching yoga by the sheer force of my gratitude and appreciation for where my own practice of this ancient wisdom has brought me. Every day I am astounded at the dramatic impact yoga has had on every facet of my life: my body, my job, my relationships with other people, and most importantly, my relationship with myself. I'm healthier, stronger, and happier now (at the age of 53) than I’ve ever been before. Moreover, I’m confident that I’ll say the same thing when I’m 54, 60, 100.
I quickly discovered that there is far more to teaching yoga than having a compelling motivation to do so and becoming a Yoga Alliance-certified yoga instructor. Or having prior experience in teaching in other fields (science and law).
It is impossible to overstate how much Shakti’s Teacher Mentorship Program (TMP) has helped me in my quest to become an effective yoga teacher; I’m thoroughly impressed with this thoughtfully designed and well-organized program! TMP provides a safe and nurturing atmosphere in which to practice teaching, assisting, and connecting to students of all different shapes and ages, and learning how to control the environment to optimize their yoga experience. Immediately following each class fellow mentees and the teacher offer feedback on each other’s performance in a way that is invariably kind, supportive, and encouraging. Being a mentee in TMP felt like being in the lap of a loving family dedicated to helping me spread my wings. I cherished the abundant opportunities to interact with other mentees and the inspiring cast of Shakti teachers, and to soak up the generous flow of guidance and advice I received from them.
Not only has participating in the TMP benefitted me enormously in developing and honing my teaching skills, it has also contributed hugely to my evolution on a personal level. Importantly, my experience was far from unique: I've witnessed similarly profound effects on the growth of other mentees in this program. Karen TMP graduate
"Shaki is where I found my voice...
A friend recommended Shakti’s Teacher Assisting Program (TAP). From the moment I entered the doors of Shakti, the butterflies and trepidation dissipated while the excitement in my heart continues to grow and shine. Lisa and team welcomed me and provided me with the foundation and support from which I could grow and flourish. I did not know where it would lead. My journey began with TAP which gave me a deeper understanding of each posture in the Baptiste sequence and gave me the framework from which to build my teaching. I learned the mechanics of each pose and I gained the skill and confidence to assist another person and enhance their experience in their yoga practice.
Later, when I was accepted into the Teacher Mentorship Program (TMP), my journey continued. Those Tuesday and Thursday nights mentoring with Lisa Black and fellow TMPers (many who are part of the Shakti teaching team today) will forever be etched on my heart with incredible fondness. I was like the toddler learning how to walk. Every time I stumbled, Lisa helped me up; encouraging me to continue. Lisa helped me discover that it was not a fear of failing that holds me back; it is a fear to shine.
I manage Human Resources for a global advertising technology company and my Shakti training has been more invaluable to me than any performance or management training I’ve received in my corporate job. Through my experience at Shakti I’ve learned to how to give and receive feedback; I’ve discovered how to stand in my own power; I’ve learned how to let go of the things that don’t serve me and I’ve found the confidence to shine as brightly as the sun."--Deb Nielson, SHAKTI Select Teacher
