In-Depth Details: The Unnata Teacher Training

The Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training is a deep immersion into a unique method of Yoga that uses the support of the hammock to explore, refine and advance traditional asana, both in the air and on the ground.

The Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training

The Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training provides far more than a foundation to teach Aerial Yoga. It’s a deep immersion into a unique method of Yoga that uses the support of the hammock to explore, refine and advance traditional asana, both in the air and on the ground.

As a result of this course, you will be ready to teach fun, safe, and innovative Unnata Yoga classes to diverse populations. And you will assimilate the ah-ha’s you learn in the hammock into how you teach traditional Yoga, too.

This course will make you a better Yoga teacher. You’ll discover fine distinctions about your regular practice that would take years of intensive study to realize in any other way. The Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training will inform and empower how you teach every style of Yoga and other movement art.

Choosing Unnata Yoga

The Unnata method is rooted in Yoga, which means everything we discover in the hammock can be studied and applied to a traditional floor practice, too.

In some Aerial Yoga styles, you might spend most of the class tied up in knots, twirling in a dizzying arrangement of aerial acrobatics. With Unnata Yoga, we engage traditional Yoga asanas purposefully to teach proper alignment in the air. In fact, many of our students come to us from aerial arts backgrounds to learn how to apply correct mechanics of Yoga while elevated.

We also use the hammock to highlight subtle distinctions that can only be discovered from an aerial perspective – then we apply these lessons to a traditional floor Yoga practice. With Unnata Yoga you can guide your students into asanas they may never have dared to dream possible – true inversions, and deeper, supported backbends. Then your students can work these same mechanics to achieve similar results from their usual Yoga practice, too.

Because Yoga is our foundation, we ground as much as we elevate. We dance between the elements of Earth and Air. We use the hammock as an interplay of opposites: to root then rise, cocoon or climb, to soothe and inspire. We love to play, too, and we do it with purpose.

If you’re looking for a circus-centric course, we may not be a match. But if you’re seeking an in-depth, authentic Yoga training with an enlightening twist, we’re here for you.

The Unnata Teacher Training is a rigorous 8-day (minimum) immersive training that gives you everything you need to start teaching, and get your Unnata business up & flying.

Please Note: The Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training program is only available to Certified Yoga Instructors. We also highly recommend that you take several Unnata Aerial Yoga classes, or have some prior experience with the aerial yoga hammock before attending the course.

"Amazing course! It is a meticulously planned curriculum that was extremely insightful. I had a lot of ‘A-Ha’ moments which I will not only benefit from as a teacher, but also on a personal level.”

Karen Bowen

Moondog Yoga, Quakertown, PA, USA

Inside an Unnata TT

When you arrive at your Unnata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training, you will be welcomed into an intimate group of dedicated teachers, who like you, aspire to live and share the wisdom of Yoga. You’ll study diligently, and practice, and teach, and play, and absorb the teachings of the Unnata method. Like any true Yoga training, it’s physically, emotionally and spiritually intense – and so worth the journey.

Because everyone in the course will have already completed a 200-hour Yoga TT (or more!), you’ll engage conversations about Yoga that can only arise from this shared base of Yogic understanding. Your peers will provoke new perspective from their own experience, and you can inspire with your own insights, too.

No matter what your Yoga background – whether you study or teach Vinyasa, Hatha, Power, Kundalini, Yin, Restorative, or any other form, your particular Yogic expertise will be honored and appreciated, and you will be able to incorporate what you know into how you teach Unnata classes. And you can infuse the insights from the Unnata Yoga method into refinements in your regular teaching. This means that however you teach, your own creative expression can shine, even as you build on the solid foundation that Unnata Yoga provides.

You will learn to:

Teach and practice over 100 aerial asanas, many which are unique to the Unnata method
Discover and create an infinite number of aerial asanas from your own creativity and the creativity of all Unnata instructors around the world
Safely guide students in and out of positions
Assist students of all body types and abilities
Sequence full and balanced class plans that seamlessly transition from floor and aerial asanas, poses and counter-poses, for a well-rounded Yoga practice
Incorporate the use of the hammock into the understanding of Yoga that you have already honed and perfected over the years
Apply the Yoga hammock to bring more awareness of subtle energetic aspects of Yoga, including bandhas, koshas, and more
Understand basic safety requirements for secure rigging & hanging your own Aerial Yoga hammock

"Thank you. I was finally able to engage that portion of my core necessary to do crow pose! I was also able to use a lot of the imagery from Aerial Yoga and apply it to the mat when teaching [traditional yoga classes)."

Christine Mihan

OM Land Yoga, Brewer, ME

Your Unnata Trainer

We now offer Unnata Aerial Yoga teacher trainings globally, in multiple languages. Yet, our handful of official course leaders (all expert Yogis and experienced Unnata teachers) are each personally trained by our founder, Michelle Dortignac. They are united by a shared love of the Unnata method, and a passion for training teachers in this unique practice.

The Teacher Trainers gather regularly to ensure they teach with the same consistent standards. No matter who leads your Unnata TT, or where in the world you take it, or in what language it’s offered – you will receive an exceptional Unnata Yoga experience with clear guidance and individual attention.

You can learn more about our Teacher Training team here. Or, use the button below to find an Unnata TT near you.

Unnata^®. Real Yoga. Elevated.

Become a Better Teacher with Unnata Yoga

In traditional Yoga you’ve always got at least one foot on the ground (or sometimes it’s a hand or a head!) – and you’re always tethered to earth. With Unnata Aerial Yoga, your body explores suspension in space: it asks that you fine-tune your balance in multi-dimensions, and let go of reliance on terrain you’ve taken for granted.

It requires a skillful teacher to navigate these subtle dimensions of an Unnata Yoga practice – not just what’s happening in a student’s body, but also to be present to what might be happening in a student’s mind or emotion when experiencing new sensation in the hammock, or when orientation in space is upturned.

In your Unnata TT, you will develop the habit of planning and delivering each class with heightened attentiveness to the multi-dimensional effects of a Yoga practice – physically, mentally, emotionally, and more. You’ll learn to offer a deeply rewarding Yoga experience that challenges and inspires the whole person – body, mind and spirit. This will increase your skill as a teacher – when you teach Unnata Aerial Yoga, or any other form of Yoga.

"What a transformative training experience you provided! I am still processing the miraculous improvements in my body - I truly haven't felt this aligned, mobile and grounded (yet elevated!) since middle school - and you helped me reconnect with yoga in a broader and deeper sense as well."

Augusta Foshay-Rothfeld

Fishers Island, NY

Attention & Intention

We’re dedicated to our community, and we enjoy building long-lasting relationships with our teachers, well beyond the initial Unnata training. This means we’re selective in who we certify.

We’re sticklers about the 200-hour Yoga certification as a prerequisite for this training, and through our short application form, we get to know a bit more about your yoga education, experience and practice before you’re accepted into the course – just to make sure it’s a great fit for both of us. Once you’re in – be ready for a creative, demanding and delightful exploration into the Unnata method.

You’ll get 65 hours of practice and instruction, including over 52 hours of hands-on instruction. Then, after a week of intensive, awesome days of discovery, comes the final assignments (the remaining 13 hours): you’ll revisit everything you’ve learned through a written test and oral review with the course leader, and a practicum where you teach a live class to real students! Your peers will observe your class and give you feedback, and you’ll take and observe their live practice classes, too. The live class is not a test – it’s designed to help you build confidence and practice your new teaching skills in a safe, supervised environment. Through this process you’ll realize how much you’ve learned, and you’ll pinpoint any gaps in your understanding – which you can refresh with your teacher right away.

Clearly, we’re not a factory churning out certificates to half-hearted teachers. Unnata means “elevated,” and we’re known for holding high standards, which our teachers honor. Our teachers share a passion not just for the asana of Yoga, but also for understanding what Yoga really means, beyond the poses.

Yes, we’re Yogis. You too? We’re inspired to bring you into the folds!

Christine Mihan

OM Land Yoga, Brewer, ME

Post-Graduation Support

It’s not just what you learn in those 8 days of training. Anyone who has taken a 200-hour Yoga TT knows that an initial course is a foundation – and what you do next determines whether you stumble or soar. After an Unnata TT, we don’t leave you suspended mid-air, grasping to figure out what’s next. We provide extensive, ongoing support to our community of teachers, so you’ve got a network available to assist your success.

As an Unnata member, you’ll get:

Continuing Education

Access a treasure trove of tools to help you continue to grow as an Unnata teacher. We know that after an 8-day training, your head will be brimming with information, and you might eventually want a “refresh” on what you’ve learned. That’s why our exclusive Members Area of the website contains a knowledge-bank of material to help you reconnect and remember the original course material, and study advanced techniques as you grow. You can watch quick video lessons called “Unnatips” which offer teaching insights and extra variations of asanas. Or, you can get premium access to full-length Unnata video classes with accompanying PDF class plans that you can practice, study, and even teach to your own students. With Unnata Yoga, we never stop evolving – we continue to develop new resources to support you for years beyond your initial Unnata TT.

Community

Our community gathers on our exclusive Facebook page to engage in active, ongoing conversations about the Unnata method. Once you start teaching Unnata Yoga to your students, you’ll have epiphanies and questions, and you’ll want to connect with veteran Unnata teachers. Our worldwide, enthusiastic Unnata teachers are eager to share their wisdom and experience, answer your questions, encourage your growth, and cheer your success.

Impact & Evolution

Be part of the most influential method of Aerial Yoga alive today. We encourage our community to contribute to the conversation, and share in the growth of Unnata Yoga. We’re innovators, so we’re constantly adding new techniques and refinements, so you have even more material to work with, well past graduation. As long as you remain a member in good standing, you will get yearly updates to the teacher’s manual, and the ability to re-take the Level 1 course at no cost as an observer. This lets you keep the method fresh in memory, and it keeps you connected to the community. You’ll also be eligible to take the Level 2 and Level 3 courses so you can continue evolving your own teaching and practice.

Business Development

Equip your business with Unnata marketing tools to promote your classes everywhere. Our Business Support Kit includes downloadable, printable, and web-ready materials, including: images, videos, and text so you can show the world what you’re up to! Also, you’ll have the option to feature either yourself or your studio on the Unnata website’s Unnata Teachers Worldwide page. Your profile can include your own photos, class descriptions, video (if you have one), contact information, directions to your studio, and more. We also make sure you understand the best and safest ways to hang the hammocks from your rigging points, and point you in the direction of professionals who can help you install proper rigging.

As you can see, when you graduate from an Unnata TT, you’ve got a wealth of resources ready to support the next steps in your growth, and beyond.

"The reason we chose the Unnata program is because it remains a yoga course, designed around the hammock, not a number of tricks under the guise of yoga. The after-course support from both Michelle, and the other Unnata teachers has been amazing."

Carly Michelle Bowden & Julie Swart

Aerial Yoga South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Offering Unnata Yoga

How will you apply your training once you graduate from an Unnata TT?

Your unique expression of Unnata Yoga may manifest in many forms, and we give you plenty of freedom to explore the direction that works for you. Our worldwide community of teachers is full of innovative Yogis who find all manner of ways to share the art of Unnata Yoga.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Be Productive: Teach Unnata Aerial Yoga classes in a studio setting. Many of our teachers quickly transition to a full schedule of Unnata classes.
Be Creative: Design workshops & immersions. You can incorporate your prior yogic experience into aerial-inspired themes. (ex. Handstand with the Hammock, or Safe & Supported Inversions, etc.)
Be Focused: Share the Unnata method in private or semi-private sessions. Some of our teachers and students rig a hammock in their homes and don’t require a full studio set-up.
Or Just Be! Let the Unnata method be just for you. Use it to improve your own practice, and enhance your traditional Yoga teaching. You never even have to teach an Unnata class to make it well worth the initial investment.

Representing Unnata Yoga

Upon graduating from the Unnata Aerial Yoga teacher training, you will belong in our international community of instructors, and you can immediately begin to teach Unnata classes. When you identify your classes as “Unnata”, and establish yourself as an Unnata teacher, you align yourself with Unnata Yoga’s worldwide reputation for quality and care. Unnata Aerial Yoga is not a franchise, but to protect the integrity of our method, we do use a limited trademark license agreement for teachers to legally identify as Unnata^® Aerial Yoga. Highlights of the agreement include:

In order to be granted the limited trademark license for teaching Unnata Aerial Yoga, you must take 100% of the training (no partial days allowed) and you must pass the final exam.

While you have no obligation to call your classes “Unnata”, most of our teachers welcome the opportunity to be recognized in this way, because we’re a community with a common purpose.

As Unnata teachers, we want to share the elation of experiencing Yoga in the elevation of the hammock. We’re innovators with a healthy respect for tradition, and reverence for the teachers who have come before us. And we’re willing to stretch into the possible. We invite you to join us!

Advance with Unnata Yoga

Excited to elevate your Yoga and teach with distinction? Ready to fuel your soul with a thrilling and fulfilling teacher training? Time for an Unnata TT?

Let’s Soar!

FIND AN UPCOMING UNNATA AERIAL YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

“I am thrilled to become a part of this wonderful community. I am also amazed by the method and the way it is taught, as well as the effect on the body and mind. I am looking forward for all the support you’ve created, materials and all available resources.”

Ivana Matijaca

Croatia