AOTA 

We are officially approved as a  provider for Continuing Education with AOTA. Here is the list of programs that are approved so far and info about each one. If you have any question, please email us at: info@specialyoga.com

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YOGA FOR ALL ABILITIES 95H CERTIFICATION PROGRAM-  PART 1 (48h)

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The Part 1 comprehensive training program provides the essential tools for working with children with special needs. Using hands-on instruction, our teacher guides program participants through each stage of the special child’s development. Topics include how to evaluate infants and children, how to create the optimum home environment and how to work with specific syndromes and disorders.

For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here.
 

YOGA FOR ALL ABILITIES 95H CERTIFICATION PROGRAM-  PART 2 (55h)

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This course further expands on the techniques learned in Part 1 with special emphasis on 
working with teens and young adults, but also refining your skills to work with kids from 0-12 years

For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here.​

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON DOWN SYNDROME AND CEREBRAL PALSY

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Sonia Sumar teaches this comprehensive continuing education course in the theory and practice of Yoga techniques for babies and children with Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome. It is important to understand the medical contraindications to certain asanas and breathing techniques.
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For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here.​

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON AUTISM AND ADHD

 

Participants will start each day by deepening their own Yoga practice with a Meditation and Hatha Yoga Class led by Sonia Sumar or other certified yoga instructor assisting Sonia during the program.  After an introductory discussion on teaching Hatha Yoga to children with Special needs, 4 hands on training sessions with children with Autism and/or ADHD follow.  Each class ends with a group discussion and question and answer period about the techniques learned, the appropriate yoga routine and what stage the child is in.  

​For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here.​

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON SCLERODERMA AND ARTHRITIS

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Kathy Randolph teaches this 3 day course on how to teach Yoga to those with Scleroderma or Arthritis. Kathy has specialized in developing a yoga routine designed for people with Scleroderma or Arthritis. Her yoga routine consists of several postures that can help stretch and strengthen the spine, massage the abdominal organs and strengthen the core, including overall flexibility of the muscles in the body.

​For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON ASANAS, ADJUSTMENTS AND SEQUENCES

 

Renata Sumar Gaertner teaches this course to help you to go deeper in your practice and also help your students to understand how to perform yoga poses safely and progress in their practice. It will help you improve your understanding on how to safely adjust yourself and your student(s) in a yoga pose and how to build sequences to help you to connect deeper within. 

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For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON TRAUMA, SENSORY PROCESSING, AND WORKING WITH LIMITED LANGUAGE

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Taught by Senior Licensed practitioner and OT Cheryl Albright, this course is a very intensive and dynamic 3 days of training where we will explain how the Sonia Sumar Method is integrated in the medical model, case studies, and research in regards to sensory processing, trauma, and limited verbal language. Will have a practice 2 of the days. Every day will conclude with a deep relaxation or meditation session so the participants can better absorb the newly learned skills and gained knowledge.

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​For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON TEACHING ASANAS, ADJUSTMENTS AND SEQUENCES

 

Renata Sumar Gaertner teaches this course to help you learn to guide and adjust your students effectively into and out of any yoga asana.  There will be discussion about different body types and conditions to be aware of when teaching. Students will learn how to modify and add variations of asanas for different students in a multi level class.  The importance of the hips and spine in performing yoga poses will be discussed.  Students will study and understand the differences between shortening muscles and body limitations and how to work with both.  We will discuss ethics when teaching a yoga class and when and how to touch and adjust students.  Participants will also learn how to correctly give verbal adjustment instructions to students for forward bending, backward bending, lateral and spinal twists, and inversions.    

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For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON GET READY TO LEARN:  YOGA IN THE CLASSROOM

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Anne Buckley-Reen, OT, RYT, teaches this dynamic 2.5 day program, offering the school based practitioner a clinically researched Yoga curriculum utilizing developmentally graded yoga sequences which align with RTI and PBIS. Used throughout the United States and abroad since 2008, this popular preparatory yoga curriculum addresses learning and behavior issues across all ages (preschool–high school), stages and levels of ability. This program has been shown to positively impact

self-regulation, attention, communication, motor planning, sensory-motor processing, and classroom performance. Get Ready To Learn ("GRTL") is designed for implementation and adaption across the range of classroom challenges from minimal to severe. Challenges addressed include students with mild to severe physical limitations, autistic spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning disabilities and attention and emotional/ regulatory issues. Chosen as a PBS “Innovations in Education” 

program, this program has been highly acclaimed by participating teachers, therapists, and administrators. 

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For more info on Course and AOTA standards, please click here