N E X T T R A I N I N G S E S S I O N S : 5th - 8th March 2024

Join our growing team of Children’s Seasonal Yoga Teachers

We are delighted that you are interested in the Yo-Chi Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training for Children.

The Yo-Chi Programme is a social enterprise and the brainchild of one of the country’s leading Yoga Trainers, Sue Woodd and drama specialist Laura Wills. Sue and Laura spent nearly five years alone piloting the programme in schools and writing this unique programme with Jan Earney, a former Head Teacher.

We now offer Yo-chi training programmes in Seasonal Yoga for Children as well as offering an ongoing membership option, which gives you access to our amazing rolling curriculum and online support.

Our Yo-Chi Seasonal Yoga Training for Children is accredited by the Yoga Alliance Professionals and is offered to you as a stand-alone, four day, face to face, comprehensive induction in how to teach yoga and mindfulness to children seasonally.

The course is open to Yoga Teachers, Primary School Teachers and other professionals who work with children and are passionate about their well-being.

On passing your training, you will receive a certificate, a manual and flip-chart to use as part of your classes.

The course also covers marketing your classes, child development, teaching skills, equality and diversity in yoga practice and child protection.

 The Yo-Chi Programme License Option

Owning a Yo-Chi license is completely optional following on from your training. However, once you have finished your four-day induction, you will be supplied with one Yo-Chi curriculum for that season, for you to trial, plus seasonal resources for your classes.

You can sign up for the License as soon as you have completed your training, OR you can enjoy using the Yo-Chi programme curriculum for a one month trial and then decide if you want to join our growing number of Licensees at just £12 per month!

The License allows you full rights to use the Yo-Chi Programme brand and it’s content, plus a new curriculum for each season, packed with exercises, yoga/drama games and our specially written unique Campfire stories. It also gives you access to all our artwork and online support.

From our experience, many Yoga Teachers complete their Yoga Teacher Training and then struggle after some weeks to keep the children engaged, having to think of ideas on a class by class basis and spending a lot of time on planning.

With your Yo-Chi Programme License, this is all done for you!

ALREADY TRAINED AS A YOGA TEACHER?

No problem! Now you can sign up to be a Yo-Chi Licensee without doing another training and receive a new curriculum 5 times a year, which will include:

• A unique Campfire story which you deliver in chapters over a 4-6 week period

• Videos of Yo-Chi poses, flows and organ warm ups for each session

• Seasonal Mindfulness and Relaxation - plenty of ideas, visualisations and scripts

• Drama/Yoga games and exercises for the season

• Access to artwork and supporting documentation /policies and procedures needed for schools

• Online/telephone support from us which will give you advice on approaching schools, marketing and any other general support needed

• For this, you need to be able to meet the following criteria:

• Be a professionally trained School Teacher or Yoga Teacher

• Be able to supply us with proof of training and DBS

• Have already taught children in some capacity for three years or more

Do you have any questions? Please fill out this form below and we will get back to you or have a read of the FAQ’s below.

If you’d rather have a chat, please call Laura on 07909 851 992.

Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training for Children FAQ'S

How can I train to teach seasonal yoga to children?

Our Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training for children is accredited by the Yoga Alliance Professionals and is offered to you as a standalone, four-day, face to face, comprehensive induction in how to teach yoga and mindfulness to children seasonally.

This is not dependent on you taking up the option of an ongoing licence, which includes access to our curriculum.

The course is open to yoga teachers, primary school teachers and other professionals who work or have worked with children.

On passing your training you will receive a certificate, a manual and free flip chart to use as part of your classes.

The course also covers marketing your classes, child development, teaching skills, equality and diversity training and child protection.

If you decide to complete this four-day training alone it does not give you licence to teach the Yo-Chi Programme, although you will be fully equipped to teach children yoga and teach it seasonally under your own name. However, we always recommend you attend continuous professional development courses as an active teacher of yoga.

How much does the 4-day Children’s Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training cost?

£495 (£100 deposit is required to secure your place on your chosen course, a two-part payment of the remainder can be arranged on request)

After completing the 4 day Children’s Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training, do I have to purchase a Yo-Chi ongoing Licence?

Taking up a Yo-Chi Licence is completely optional following on from your training. However, once you have finished your four-day induction you will be supplied with one Yo-Chi curriculum for that Season for you to trial, plus seasonal resources for your classes. You can sign up for the licence as soon as you have completed your training, OR you can enjoy using the Yo-Chi curriculum for a one month trial then decide if you wish.

How much is a Yo-Chi licence?

Your licence is £12 per month.

This gives you the licence to use the Yo-Chi brand, all artwork and its contents, plus a new curriculum for each season, packed with exercises, yoga/drama games and our specially written unique Campfire stories. This is an ongoing library of information and resources that keep your classes seasonal and in the moment.

The membership also gives you access to all our artwork and online support.

We have set the Licence option up because the Yo-Chi curriculum was written over seven years and it would be impossible to deliver this amount of knowledge and ideas in four days.

We have also designed the Induction training, so it stands alone as high standard yoga teacher training for those that do not want wish to use the Yo-Chi curriculum.

How will I benefit from purchasing a monthly Yo-Chi license?

From our experience many yoga teachers complete their yoga teacher training and then struggle after some weeks to keep children engaged, having to think of ideas on a class by class basis and spending a lot of time on planning.

The Yo-Chi Programme is a fun and educational yoga-based seasonal curriculum and most of the work has been done for you!

Each seasonal curriculum focuses on our special ‘Yo-Chi’ style exercise giving you stacks of engaging activities and games. You will have ideas and tools to help children understand the functions of their bodies through special fun animated Organ Characters.

They will also learn about seasonal food, emotional awareness through role play and drama exercises, plus mindfulness and relaxation scripts and visualisations.

Yo-Chi is one of the leading yoga-based programmes in the country and is presently being successfully run by other licencees in schools and nurseries and as after school clubs across the country.

It can also be extended to private classes, parties/festivals and other bespoke events.

What happens before my training?

You will be required to complete an application form.

If your application is successful you are then invited to do a friendly and relaxed 'over the phone' interview with one of our directors.

This is a chance for you to ask any questions you may have and for us to get to know you a bit more before training.

We will also request 2 people to act as referees for you. One professional and one character reference. You will also need to present us with your enhanced DBS check.

How do we operate as a business?

Yo-Chi is a 'not for profit' Social Enterprise. This business model was chosen because we believe it suits our ethos as a company. The team have written such a lengthy and in-depth curriculum of resources over a seven year period and we needed to find a way of giving teachers access to this programme season by season, so we decided to licence via a membership.

Tell me more about the benefits of becoming a Yo-Chi Licencee?

When you become a licencee, you get a licence to access all the branding, art work, correspondence, marketing and weekly resources needed to run as a small business.

We know from experience how much time and effort all this can take and our model leaves you much more time to focus on delivery.

The benefits of having a membership are as follows:

• Having a well-respected yoga brand behind you which has already been tried and tested - this really helps when approaching schools

• A NEW online programme via 'Teachable' for every season over a three year period - 5 Seasons per year, packed with exercises, games and stories

• Ongoing support from the head office to assist you in running and marketing the programme as a part-time or full-time business

• Advice and support from our management team who have a wide range of experience within education. Our lead trainer Sue Woodd is co-founder of the Seasonal Yoga teacher training, 500 EYRT with Yoga Alliance and YICEP and a senior instructor with the Tai Chi Union. Co-founder Laura Wills is a Yoga Teacher and drama specialist and Jan Earney is a former head teacher with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

• You can run Yo-Chi as before/after school clubs/as part of the curriculum and as holiday activities - we have many other yoga teachers doing this and all have been piloted

• All profit from your classes are your own - full guidance and advice on how to market and how to price your classes is provided

• You receive specially designed programmes for two age-groups ranging from 3 to 11 years • Weekly stories, exercises, games and mindfulness scripts

• Access to all marketing and artwork material. (Please note: you will need to pay for your own printing costs.)

• You will be invited to join our Facebook page for Yo-Chi teachers, where you can share ideas and advice

• 50% off Seasonal Master classes run by international master trainer and founder Sue Woodd.

Do I have to pay the monthly subscription to be licensed to use the Yo-Chi name?

Yes, you do. If you just stick with your 4-day induction you will receive your certificate and can still say you were trained by the Yo-Chi 'Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training for Children' - but you would not use our brand.

Once I have completed the four-day induction what will I be able to teach children?

You will be able to teach children:

· about the cycles of the seasons, how we relate to nature and the skills of different animals

· specific yoga poses and flows for the season

· functions of the organs

· how to concentrate and focus the mind

. understanding emotions and empathy with others

. games to encourage social interaction, co-operation and sensitivity

. how to develop awareness of the body and how to manage their health

· how to link moves and exercises together with themed stories and sequences

· meridian stretches and moves to balance and unblock their energy

· relaxation and mindfulness tools - how to become still so they can find quietness and inner peace

What if I don’t pass the four day Children’s Seasonal Yoga Teacher training?

It is very rare for people not to pass the training. Our trainers are extremely encouraging and supportive. If after your training we thought there was a reason you would not be able to teach children yoga we would discuss this with you privately and offer you advice, and support and the best step forward for you.

What would happen if I wanted to cancel my monthly subscription?

You can cancel this at any time with 2 months’ notice. You would be expected to pay for the remainder of the month plus an extra month. The reason for this is from experience, there is a huge amount of effort that goes into supporting our teachers and getting you off the ground. If you had decided to stop teaching yoga to children we would also be looking to recruit someone in your area to take over these classes, which also takes time, money and resources.

What if I ended my membership and the classes I had been teaching as a 'Yo-Chi’ licencee, I then taught as a 'freelance yoga teacher'?

You would no longer be able to use the Yo-Chi branding, characters, art work or curriculum. We would also request that you started new classes under your own name and ask that the school or class you were teaching were also informed of this change so there was no conflict of interest around the Yo-Chi brand.

What if I decided to take up the membership at any time after the training - even a year down the line?

This is absolutely fine. You can do this at any time. All you need to do is get in touch with head office and we can get you set up!

What else do I need to do once I am qualified to teach children yoga?

You will need to arrange your insurance (this can usually be added to your existing teaching insurance) and DBS, then start marketing your classes! Our hope and aspiration for Yo-Chi is to be running classes across the UK giving tools to every child. This training is not just adding another string to your bow, its joining a movement!

We can't wait to welcome you to our growing team. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us. Laura Wills T: 07909 851 992