A nervous system-led, therapeutic-touch approach to hot yoga teacher training

RYS 200® Registered Yoga School with the Yoga Alliance
Established 08/2019

Step into a yoga teacher training that actually meets you where you are

This is not your average yoga teacher training. At KUUMA Yoga, we’re redefining what it means to teach - and to lead - through the lens of nervous system science, therapeutic touch, and real human connection.

Our program blends hot yoga with neuro-psychology, consent-driven touch, and a full-spectrum sensory experience designed to support not just bodies, but hearts and minds. You’ll leave with the skills to guide others safely, confidently, and with the kind of presence that can’t be faked.

This training is for those who aren’t just here to teach yoga - but to shift culture, hold space, and lead with integrity.

Meet Andie

CEO, Founder & Lead Educator

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (‘11)
Bachelor of Education (‘13)

YOGA & MOVEMENT EDUCATION
Therapeutic Approach Yoga Studio (TAYS) E-RYT-200 (‘15) & E-RYT-500 (‘21)
5000+ Hours Teaching
Pranassage® Practitioner (‘24)
Neurosculpting® Practitioner (‘25)
Level 1 Zouk Improvement Course: BRICK Dance Academy (‘24)
Level 2 Zouk Improvement Course: BRICK Dance Academy (‘25)
Body Balance Studio, Mat Pilates 100 (‘25)

Andie is a creative educator, yoga artist, and somatic practitioner with a deep passion for movement, mindfulness, and community.

She combines her expertise in trauma-informed care and neuroscience to guide others on transformative journeys. Known for her authentic connection and innovative approach, Andie creates immersive, multisensory experiences that inspire growth, healing, and a deeper understanding of the body-mind connection.

YOGA ALLIANCE CURRICULUM CATEGORIES

Technique, Train & Practice (75 hrs)

Asana, pranayama, meditation, and related practices

Yoga Humanities (30 hrs)

The study of yoga history, philosophy, and ethics

Anatomy and Physiology (30 hrs)

The skeletal system, physiology, and biomechanics

Professional Essentials (50 hrs)

Teaching methodology, professional development, and practicum

COURSE OFFERINGS 2025-2026

200 RYS® Yoga Alliance

SPARK: Foundations of a Yoga Practice

YOG101: TOUCH, CONSENT & COMMUNICATION
Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 5, AP: 5, PE: 7.5)
Description: Build relational trust from day one through somatic touch, Nonviolent Communication, and KUUMA's trauma-informed consent model. Learn to assist in restorative poses and offer our signature savasana experience.

YOG102: HOT YOGA LAB
Hours:
17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Description: Explore KUUMA’s signature approach to hot yoga sequencing, cueing without demonstration, managing room energy, and building classes that rise and fall with intelligent intensity.

YOG103: VINYASA FLOW LAB
Hours:
17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Description: Discover the fundamentals of teaching Vinyasa yoga - from beginner-friendly sequencing to breath-to-movement transitions and teaching while demonstrating.

YOG104: HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY
Hours:
17.5 (YHE: 17.5)
Description: Connect to the heart of yoga’s lineage through key texts and concepts like the 8 Limbs, Dharma, and Liberation. Reflect on your values and what kind of teacher you’re becoming.

FLAME: Deepening Yoga Knowledge

YOG105: ASSISTS LAB: MECHANICS & MAPS
Hours:
17.5 (TTP: 10, AP: 7.5)
Description: Develop your assist library through functional anatomy, real-time observation, and trauma-informed techniques. Learn when, where, and how to support students with skill and sensitivity.

YOG106: EMBODIED INTEGRITY: ETHICS OF HOLDING SPACE
Hours: 17.5 (YHE: 17.5)
Description: Examine power, consent, and leadership in the yoga space. Learn to teach with integrity, accountability, and presence - on and off the mat.

YOG107: BLUEPRINT OF MOVEMENT: SEQUENCING & ANATOMY
Hours:
17.5 (TTP: 10, AP: 7.5)
Description: Merge sequencing with functional anatomy to design balanced classes that honour how bodies truly move. Includes guest instruction on applied anatomy.

YOG108: THE BUSINESS & ENERGY OF TEACHING YOGA
Hours:
17.5 (PE: 17.5)
Description: Build a sustainable teaching practice with tools for invoicing, pricing, branding, boundaries, and avoiding burnout in a service-based industry.

BURN: Advanced Techniques & Professional Development

YOG109: ADVANCED FLOW & TEACHING TOOLS
Hours
: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Description: Level up your flow. Learn to sequence for peak poses, teach without demo, work with music, and adapt your presence in real-time with confidence.

YOG110: THE ART OF HOLDING SPACE: TEACHING BEYOND THE POSE
Hours
: 17.5 (PE: 10, YHE: 7.5)
Description: Learn the unseen skills of space holding - co-regulation, trauma-informed leadership, and relational presence. This is the soft power of teaching.

YOG111: SOMATIC BREATHWORK
Hours:
17.5 (TTP: 7.5, AP: 10)
Description: Explore the breath as a tool for regulation, embodiment, and awareness. Integrate pranayama with modern nervous system science and functional anatomy.

YOG112: MEDITATION & EMBODIMENT
Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 7.5, AP: 5, YHE: 5)
Description: Delve into traditional and somatic meditation techniques, the subtle body, and brain-body connection. Learn to guide stillness and hold space for what arises.

YOG113: PRACTICUM & INTEGRATION
Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Description: Step fully into your role as teacher. Teach your final class, receive feedback, and integrate everything you’ve learned. Celebrate your growth and completion.

200 Hour Summary:
Techniques, Training and Practice (TTP):
75 hours
Yoga Humanities (YHE): 30 hours
Anatomy & Physiology (AP): 30 hours
Professional Essentials (PE): 50 hours
Practicum & Electives: 15 hours

This curriculum provides a comprehensive education for aspiring yoga teachers, ensuring they are well-equipped with practical skills, ethical understanding, anatomical knowledge, and professional acumen.

UPON COMPLETION OF ALL 13 COURSES + WRITTEN EXAM + PRACTICUM, YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR YOGA ALLIANCE CERTIFICATION. THIS CERTIFICATION IS RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONALLY AND FOLLOWS THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR TEACHING PROFESSIONAL YOGA.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE & DATES

Dates are tentative and subject to change due to scheduling conflicts

2025 DATES

September 26-28

YOG101: TOUCH, CONSENT & COMMUNICATION
(17.5 hrs)
698 Main St, Moncton, NB
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

October 4-6

HOT YOGA LAB (BASIC TECHNIQUES)
(17.5 hrs)
698 Main St, Moncton, NB
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

November 8-10

FLOW LAB (INTERMEDIATE TECHNIQUES)
(17.5 hrs)
698 Main St, Moncton, NB
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

November 22-24

YOGA PHILOSOPHY & HISTORY
(17.5 hrs)
698 Main St, Moncton, NB
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

December 13-15

ASSIST LAB: MECHANICS & MAPS
(17.5 hrs)
698 Main St, Moncton, NB
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

2026 DATES

January 10-12

EMBODIED INTEGRITY: THE ETHICS OF HOLDING SPACE
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

February 7-9

BLUEPRINT OF MOVEMENT
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

Feb 28 - March 2

THE BUSINESS & ENERGY OF TEACHING YOGA
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

March 21 - 23

ADVANCED TEACHING TOOLS
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

April 11-13

THE ART OF HOLDING SPACE
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

May 2-4

BREATHWORK & ANATOMY LAB
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

May 30-June 1

MEDITATION & EMBODIMENT
(17.5 hrs)

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

June 27-29

PRACTICUM & INTEGRATION

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

June 29

GRADUATION

698 Main St, Moncton, New Brunswick
@ KUUMA Yoga Studio

PROGRAM SCHEDULE & DATES

Dates are tentative and subject to change due to scheduling conflicts

YOG101: Touch, Consent & Communication
September 26-28

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 5, AP: 5, PE: 7.5)
Semester: SPARK

Description:
This immersive weekend explores the intersection of somatic touch, consent, and communication. Students will learn the foundations of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and how language, presence, and energy shape our relationships—on and off the mat. We’ll introduce KUUMA’s trauma-informed touch model, including verbal and non-verbal consent, assisting in restorative postures, and how to offer the signature KUUMA savasana experience. Through hands-on practice and deep listening, students begin their teaching journey by building the most essential skill: relational trust.

Key topics:

  • The 4-part model of NVC (observation, feeling, need, request)

  • Nervous system literacy and somatic safety in touch

  • Verbal + non-verbal consent cues (tealight system, body language)

  • Introduction to therapeutic touch: intention, pressure, pacing

  • How to assist in restorative/yin postures without disrupting nervous system regulation

  • Creating sacred endings: KUUMA-style savasana rituals

YOG102: Hot Yoga Lab
October 4-6

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Semester: SPARK

Description:
This weekend dives into KUUMA’s signature approach to hot yoga—where flow meets function. Students will explore intelligent sequencing, transitions, cueing without demonstration, and how to manage energy in a heated room. We’ll dissect the structure of a class that builds intensity with purpose, and learn to lead with clarity, presence, and adaptability. This is where your teaching voice begins to take shape—strong, embodied, and trauma-informed.

Key Topics:

  • Structure & flow of a KUUMA-style hot yoga class

  • Functional sequencing: building intensity and cooling down

  • Voice as a directive tool (tone, rhythm, clarity)

  • Teaching without demo

  • Observing & managing the energy of the room

  • Cueing foundational and intermediate postures with layered options

  • Safety and pacing in a heated environment

YOG103: Vinyasa Flow Lab
November 8-10

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Semester: SPARK

Description:
This weekend is your laboratory for flow. We’ll explore the fundamentals of teaching Vinyasa yoga with integrity, including breath-to-movement cueing, posture breakdowns, beginner-friendly sequencing, and how to hold space while demonstrating. Students will build their sequencing and cueing muscles while gaining confidence in their presence, pacing, and clarity. This is where creative spark meets practical structure.

Key Topics:

  • Foundations of Vinyasa: linking breath with movement

  • Building beginner-friendly sequences

  • Teaching while demonstrating: energy management & flow

  • Posture clinic: sun salutations, standing poses, transitions

  • Cueing essentials: directional, breath, sensation-based

  • Working with music and rhythm

  • Creating a safe arc for beginners and mixed-level classes

YOG104: History & Philosophy
November 22-24

Hours: 17.5 (YHE: 17.5)
Semester: SPARK

Description:
This weekend traces the deep roots of yoga—from its ancient origins to modern expressions. We’ll explore key texts like the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, while reflecting on how these teachings can guide us as practitioners and teachers today. Through discussion, embodied practice, and personal reflection, we’ll connect philosophy to lived experience and learn to teach from a place of wisdom, not performance. This is a journey into the heart of yoga—not as a style, but as a way of being.

Key Topics:

  • Timeline of yoga: Vedic roots to postural yoga

  • The 8 Limbs of Yoga: beyond just asana

  • Introduction to the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita

  • Concepts of Dharma, Karma, Liberation & Devotion

  • Embodying yogic philosophy in daily life

  • The evolution of modern yoga: colonization, commercialization, cultural shifts

  • Reflection: What kind of teacher am I becoming?

YOG105: Assist Lab: Mechanics & Maps
December 13-15

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, AP: 7.5)
Semester: FLAME

Description:
This experiential lab is where technique meets intuition. You’ll learn how to assist with clarity, consent, and care—developing hands-on skills rooted in anatomical knowledge and energetic awareness. We’ll explore the mechanics of foundational postures, how to read bodies in real time, and how to map your touch with purpose. Through repetition, feedback, and mindful practice, you’ll begin to build your own personal “assist library,” while honouring autonomy and cultivating trust.

Key Topics:

  • Consent-forward assist culture (verbal + non-verbal cues)

  • KUUMA’s Touch Model: intention, pressure, nervous system pacing

  • When not to assist: trauma-informed best practices

  • Functional anatomy: where to press, lift, stabilize, or support

  • Assisting in Vinyasa & Hot Flow

  • Practice: giving and receiving assists with feedback

  • Co-regulation, presence, and energetic hygiene

  • Non-popcorn policy & cultivating trust as a facilitator

YOG106: Embodied Integrity: The Ethics of Holding Space
January 10-12

Hours: 17.5 (YHE: 17.5)
Semester: FLAME

Description:
Teaching yoga is not just about postures—it's about presence. This weekend explores what it means to hold space with integrity, accountability, and clarity. We’ll unpack the ethics of consent, projection, power dynamics, and how to create a safe space for diverse students. Through discussion, reflection, and embodied inquiry, you'll examine your own motivations, biases, and leadership style. This is your opportunity to align who you are with how you show up—in and out of the studio.

Key Topics:

  • Trauma-informed space holding and language

  • Yamas & Niyamas as lived principles, not rules

  • Consent, power dynamics & energetic responsibility

  • Boundaries as love: protecting space for self and others

  • Cultural appropriation, lineage, and respecting yoga’s roots

  • Authentic leadership vs. performance or persona

  • KUUMA’s non-sexualization policy & anti-guru stance

  • Reflection: your personal code of integrity

YOG107: Blueprint of Movement Anatomy
February 7-9

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, AP: 7.5)
Semester: FLAME

Description:
Welcome to the intersection of structure and sensation. This weekend explores the blueprint behind intelligent yoga sequencing and the anatomical frameworks that support safe, functional movement. Learn how to design classes that follow the body’s natural patterns—balancing strength, mobility, and nervous system regulation. With guest instruction from Ashleigh on applied anatomy, you’ll gain the tools to read bodies with precision and sequence from a place of clarity, creativity, and embodied intelligence.

Key Topics:

  • Functional movement principles: structure informs sequence

  • Planes of motion, joint mechanics, and primary muscle groups

  • Sequencing arcs for safety, sustainability, and intensity

  • Spinal mobility, hip function, and shoulder stability

  • Understanding load, range, and compensation

  • Cueing to support anatomical variation and consent

  • Intelligent transitions and flow-based progressions

  • Designing trauma-informed sequences that regulate the nervous system

  • Common injuries and how to sequence preventatively

  • Thematic layering + anatomical logic in class planning

YOG108: The Business & Energy of Teaching Yoga
February 28 - March 2

Hours: 17.5 (PE: 17.5)
Semester: FLAME

Description:
This weekend is your roadmap to building a sustainable, ethical, and empowered teaching practice—on and off the mat. You'll gain the practical tools to navigate yoga as a profession, from invoicing and pricing to contracts and insurance. But we’ll go deeper, too—exploring boundaries, energetic hygiene, burnout prevention, and how to show up authentically in a world of algorithms and expectation. This is not just about making money—it’s about protecting your magic while offering your gifts in a grounded, professional way.

Key Topics:

  • Registering your business (Canada-specific info: sole prop vs. incorporation)

  • Invoicing, pricing, taxes, and studio contracts

  • Yoga insurance and liability essentials

  • KUUMA’s values on equity, communication, and professional integrity

  • Energetic boundaries: emotional labour, burnout, and self-regulation

  • Creating your personal brand: voice, style, niche

  • Instagram 101: how to share, teach, and connect online

  • Healthy communication: saying no, raising rates, holding your ground

  • The ethics of monetizing spiritual work

  • Leadership that nourishes, not depletes

YOG109: Advanced Teaching Tools
March 21-23

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Semester: BURN

Description:
This weekend is designed to elevate your teaching practice with intention, creativity, and presence. You’ll learn how to build intelligent sequences that explore advanced postures, teach without demonstrating, and use subtle tools like voice, timing, music, and energetic pacing to guide students through transformative experiences. We’ll go beyond memorized cues and into the artistry of reading a room, adapting in real time, and trusting your unique voice.

Key Topics:

  • Advanced sequencing: peak poses, flow arcs, layering transitions

  • Teaching without demo: observation, pacing, and precision

  • Verbal cueing refinement: rhythm, tone, and timing

  • Creative class planning: theme, anatomy, emotion, and flow

  • Using music intentionally (and when not to use it)

  • Assists for advanced postures (if appropriate to the room)

  • Adapting classes to your students’ needs in the moment

  • Energy management as the teacher: leading without leaking

  • Teaching as art: presence, instinct, and creative direction

YOG110: The Art of Holding Space: Teaching Beyond the Pose
April 11-13

Hours: 17.5 (PE: 10, YHE: 7.5)
Semester: BURN

Description:
This weekend explores the unseen curriculum of yoga: presence, regulation, and the subtle art of holding space. You'll learn how to lead with empathy, stability, and discernment—whether you're guiding a class, a conversation, or a room full of energy. Through the lens of trauma-informed facilitation, co-regulation, and nervous system literacy, we’ll explore how to create spaces that are truly safe, sacred, and transformational. Because teaching isn’t just about what you say or do—it’s about how you are.

Key Topics:

  • Nervous system literacy: recognizing regulation and dysregulation

  • Trauma-informed language, consent, and classroom dynamics

  • Co-regulation and emotional attunement

  • Boundaries as safety: yours and your students’

  • Space vs. spotlight: decentering the teacher ego

  • Holding silence, stillness, and discomfort

  • Relational awareness and group energy

  • Somatic leadership: anchoring presence in your body

  • KUUMA’s values: non-sexualization, consent culture, no performance zone

YOG111: Somatic Breathwork
May 2-4

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 7.5, AP: 10)
Semester: BURN

Description:
This weekend explores the breath as both a physiological function and a somatic tool for awareness, regulation, and transformation. You’ll learn how to guide breath with purpose, safety, and nuance—integrating traditional pranayama with modern nervous system understanding. Through the lens of embodied anatomy, we’ll explore the mechanics of breathing, the role of the diaphragm, and how the breath moves through the body on physical, emotional, and energetic levels.

Key Topics:

  • Anatomy of breath: diaphragm, lungs, intercostals, nervous system

  • The breath-brain-body connection: vagus nerve, heart rate, and regulation

  • Functional vs. dysfunctional breathing patterns

  • Breath as a tool for nervous system awareness and co-regulation

  • Trauma-informed breath cueing: what to say, what to avoid

  • Teaching pranayama: Ujjayi, Nadi Shodhana, Kapalabhati, and more

  • Somatic breathwork for emotional processing and embodiment

  • Contraindications: when breath practices may not be appropriate

  • Breath and touch: guiding breath with hands, cues, and presence

YOG112: Meditation & Embodiment
May 30-June 1

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 7.5, AP: 5, YHE: 5)
Semester: BURN

Description:
This weekend is an invitation to go inward. You’ll explore meditation not just as a still practice, but as a living, breathing extension of embodied presence. Through a blend of ancient yogic techniques and modern somatic awareness, we’ll examine how meditation supports regulation, intuition, and deeper connection with self and Source. You’ll learn how to teach meditation with clarity and care—honouring the nervous system, offering spacious language, and guiding others without performance. This is where your teaching becomes quiet, real, and powerful.

Key Topics:

  • Classical and contemporary approaches to meditation

  • Somatic stillness: how the body supports awareness

  • The subtle body: chakras, koshas, and energetic anatomy

  • Brain-body connection: how meditation supports regulation and neuroplasticity

  • Trauma-informed meditation cueing: invitational language and pacing

  • How to teach: seated, walking, breath-focused, and silent meditations

  • Neurosculpting™-inspired frameworks (optional)

  • Holding space for discomfort, emotion, and silence

  • Integration of meditation into class sequencing

  • Reflection: what is your personal meditation practice now?

YOG113: Practicum & Integration
June 27-29

Hours: 17.5 (TTP: 10, PE: 7.5)
Semester: BURN

Description:
This closing weekend is where it all comes together. You’ll step fully into the role of teacher—designing and delivering your own unique class with support, feedback, and celebration. We’ll revisit the foundations of cueing, sequencing, and holding space, while making room for each student’s authentic voice and evolving presence. Through guided practice, reflection, and integration, you’ll leave this weekend with greater confidence, clarity, and connection to the teacher you’ve become. This is your flame—lit from within.

Key Topics:

  • Practice teaching your final 60-minute class

  • Peer and mentor feedback sessions

  • Revisit cueing, pacing, sequencing, and use of space

  • Integrating assists, breathwork, and meditative language

  • Playlist, lighting, and energetic arc of a full class

  • Group sharing, reflection, and celebration

  • What’s next: professional pathways, continued study, staying in integrity

  • Final closing circle and certification ritual

  • Private 1:1 feedback (if time permits or offered asynchronously)

PRICING & MEMBERSHIPS

Membership costs are subject to 15% hst

We know every nervous system learns differently - and every life has its own rhythm. That’s why KOULU Yoga School offers two clear payment paths for our 200HR teacher training program.

PAY IN FULL

2,500 + HST
This option is for those ready to go all in and receive the full experience.

Includes:

  • Unlimited KUUMA Membership for the duration of the training

  • KUUMA hoodie or t-shirt of your choice

  • 6-Class Pass to share with a friend

  • 1:1 Neurosculpting Session with Andie (60 minutes)

  • Priority access for practicum teaching

$250 CAD + HST x 12 months
A flexible payment option with steady support throughout the year.

Includes:

  • Unlimited KUUMA Membership for the duration of the training

  • Access to all weekend modules, course content, and mentorship

  • No credit check or financing application required

Note: This option does not include bonus perks available with the pay-in-full package.

PAYMENT PLAN

✨ WHAT’S INCLUDED ✨
Certification from KOULU Yoga School (RYS® 200HR with the Yoga Alliance)
FAR Infrared hot yoga education + trauma-informed teaching tools
Neuroscience-informed movement & meditation training
Therapeutic touch & consent-based assist training
Class sequencing skills: SPARK©, FLAME© & BURN©
Manual, resources, templates & anatomy education
Supportive instructor check-ins + group chats

APPLY NOW

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