Teacher Training

Although my training was many years ago (2000-2002), the core values and insights I gained from Esther Myers and the teacher training remains strong with me today. The training was comprehensive, relevant, challenging and inclusive. I currently train teachers and often refer back to what I learned during my training with Esther. I would absolutely recommend the training for anyone wanting to become a yoga teacher or deepen their own practice and/or knowledge of yoga.

Hello Monica and Tama,

I am so thankful for the training from Esther Myers Yoga Studio and the support, patience and encouragement from both of you as I worked to complete the teacher training last year. I am happy and hopeful that my yoga career will grow and that I will be able to share my genuine passion and enjoyment of the practice with others.  I have so much gratitude for the Studio, the Teacher Training Programme and you both.

Esther Myers Yoga Studio’s 500-hour teacher training prepares its trainees to teach principles and techniques of yoga that are more advanced, and to teach with greater skill, then could reasonably be expected of an RYT 200.”

Esther Myers Yoga Studio teacher training program is extraordinary. It is comprehensive, highly organized, and presented by gifted teachers. The program covers everything from the nuance of asana and pranayama to the depth of Yoga philosophy, from basic anatomy and physiology to the fundamentals of teaching. The training I received has proved invaluable.

Dear Tama and Monica,

My heartfelt thanks for your generous guidance through these 18 months. The Yoga Teacher Training Programme was simply one of the very best learning experiences I’ve ever had.

“When I ran into some problems with my shoulder and neck a doctor advised against yoga. The osteoporosis clinic does not like yoga for people with this problem. Their blanket rejection was too extreme to my thinking. I decided that I would respect my actual limitation and continue to do as much as I could do safely. With so much to gain – strength, balance, and flexibility on the physical side as well as all the benefits of meditation – the sense of wellbeing far outweighs the risks every person has in regard to their own physical limitations.” anonymous student

“For those who have done yoga for 30, 40 years but are aging and for those who start in their 60’s, the approach at Esther Myers Yoga Studio is accessible and enjoyable.  That is why I joined at 65, did the Teacher Training and will continue for years to come.” Gail Funston

“Yoga makes sense to me and my body, the attention to physical detail was just what I needed and wanted. Your emphasis on the spine, the ground, and the breath is easy to remember and work towards.  The practice takes over my whole body and mind, and for the whole class I am safe.
Your unremitting kindness and gentleness and politeness, combined with the beauty and dedication of the place, make the classes feel like a spiritual practice in a spiritual place.”  anonymous student

It was a true pleasure to learn from you and Monica over the past 22 months and I am very grateful for your excellent teaching.  I certainly plan to continue attending classes (and learning) at the studio.

It’s been almost four years since I came to Canada.  My yoga training has been such a positive part of my life during this challenging transition.  I feel so fortunate to be taking my yoga training at Esther Myers Yoga Studio with you.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, wisdom, encouragement and help.

Thank you Monica and Tama for this awesome teacher training.  The program really is set up using adult learning principles and I acknowledge you both for your patience, your openness and for always promoting learning and inquiry.

Hello Monica and Tama,
Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for your passionate and compassionate teaching and guidance over the last 2 years. I am increasingly struck by how much I have learned and continue to learn from you both. As the (Teacher Training) programme progressed, I became more and more impressed by the subtleties of the curriculum, how all of the pieces — the workshops, assignments, observation, personal classes, home practice and practice teaching — fit together and build on one another.

Graduate of the 750 hour Yoga Teacher Training Programme

I have no words to express the love, dedication and efforts that you and Tama and other teachers at the Studio put towards teacher trainees and students.

The benefit of observation and internship classes, personal practice and the deep insight into oneself is beyond words.

Thank you for everything.

I do not think I can thank you enough for all your work and passion; this is what makes the studio and Teacher Training Programme so successful.

I would like to express my deep appreciation regarding the great workshop today.

Valeria Blumenkranz’s ability to simplify the scientific terms and apply them to the yoga practice is an excellent model for us as a teacher. Thanks again for providing such a high standard of learning environment for us.

I would like you to know that the past year has been an amazing year full of such wonderful learning experiences and all made possible by everyone on the staff at EMYS and every one of the students.  Thank you for creating such an enriched environment.  EMYS has set the bar EXTREMELY high.

I want to thank you so much for the Empowering the Aging Body weekend which I felt was outstanding. We are really fortunate to have found EM studio. The arc of the learning is interesting. Friday was so stimulating, all of it was wonderful. Some of the learning was gentle, some of it was startling. Things seep through and then a year later, they seep through more securely and who knows what could happen a year from now? The feeling of feeling full but sensing there is still lots more room, is wonderful.

I really enjoyed your Hands-on Assisting workshop. I feel much more confident in doing assists in those poses. Thank you for your lovely and stimulating teaching!

Thank you so much for your gifted teaching, support and for sharing your knowledge during the Teacher Training Programme. For me, it was the most rewarding learning experience of my life and has inspired me to continue on the path of learning both as a teacher and in my personal practice. It was a unique process that challenged me both physically, mentally and spiritually.

I sometimes wonder how it came to be that I was on the receiving end of such good fortune. Many years ago when studying with Esther I remember thinking how amazing it would be to be a yoga teacher. The energy and the equanimity all seemed so far beyond my capabilities at that time. Ideas do become reality.  You have all taught me that yoga is for everyone and I am truly inspired by the way the practice has developed in such a loving spirit of generosity and compassion.

It is my intention to honour your gift with my practice and teaching to the best of my abilities. I will always be grateful to you, Tama, Monica and Paola and to Esther.

I began teacher training after I had been practising yoga for about 5 years. Tama and Monica encouraged me to enroll and it has been the best thing I have ever done for my body. I came to yoga rather late in life, just in the years before my retirement. Doing the training not only helped me to truly understand yoga practice, it also enabled me to pay attention to my body and to remain flexible despite the aging process. Teacher training and the subsequent teaching I am now doing also provided me with the discipline to practise daily, to learn new ways of doing poses, to develop ideas for stretching all areas of the body as well as improving flexibility and stamina for myself and my students.

The programme is solidly grounded in both theory and practice and is geared towards the needs and goals of the students. The Studio encourages disciplined innovation and is always on top of the latest research in the field.

Teacher training is a wonderful opportunity to enhance practice and develop a community of like minded practitioners. I would encourage anyone who is interested in deepening their practice or who wants to become a yoga teacher to do their training at Esther Myers Yoga Studio.

What I found most impressive about the programme is the depth of care and sensitivity towards bringing this teaching into the general population. I cannot recommend this Teacher Training Programme highly enough for anyone interested in being the best yoga teacher they can be and for deepening one’s own yoga practice.

Monica’s ability to translate this teaching to beginner students and teacher trainees is an extraordinary gift and one which could benefit teachers and yogis everywhere.

Jungian analyst and author of Jung and Yoga: The Psyche-Body Connection, Inner City Books, Toronto, November 2000.

The training that I have received from Esther Myers Yoga Studio Teacher Training Programme has been invaluable, both in my practice as Jungian analyst and with my research in the body-mind connections.

Thank you both so much for The Power of Touch intensive this past weekend. I was so much more capable after over a year of training to “take in” both the abstract and the concrete application of hands on assisting. I was left with a good sense of what practice in hands on assisting can add to my teaching. What an amazing learning opportunity under your combined wisdom and with all of the teachers and teachers in training that participated.

I am grateful and honoured to study under your direction.

Pre and Post Natal Teacher Training
It was wonderful for me to take part in a workshop where the teacher draws on so many years of experience. The workshop certainly took away all my fears and trepidations about teaching pregnant women.

Tama and Monica, my thanks to you both for The Power of Touch Weekend. I enjoyed it immensely. I had never been to your Studio and I was pleasantly surprised by its comfortable, modest atmosphere and felt very ‘at home’ in your space.

All of the students were interesting, kind and considerate. It was helpful to change partners often, allowing participants to interact with new people and to experience adjustments on different body types.

Class discussions were insightful and thought provoking. The curriculum covered was manageable in the time allotted. There was generous time for discussion. We never felt rushed to complete the course.

Thanks again for a positive weekend.