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Online Yoga Therapy Training: Foundations Program

The online Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy course is designed to certify you to work with individuals within the yoga therapy model. Upon completion, you will have the information and skills to work one-on-one with people for a wide range of conditions.

The course will teach you anatomy, philosophy, theory, and how to apply this information and tools in a therapeutic setting. The online yoga therapy Foundations Training Program is structured to be completed in about one year with an option to continue into our Advanced Yoga Therapy Program.

There is also the option to move through at a slower pace, completing when ready. The unique online and remote retreat format allows for schedule flexibility so that people with a variety of life situations can participate.

Course Details

The main part of this course will be delivered in 50 lectures online. (see course outline) These classes will be available for you online 24/7, allowing you to take them when it’s most convenient. Each class will include homework to help you integrate and fully understand the information. 

There is a community forum for all trainees to ask questions that arise at any time. There are two weekly, live group Q&A’s with the Head Teacher, Brandt Passalacqua, that delve deeper into material and questions. These calls provide mentorship and are also a way to stay connected to the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy community throughout your studies.

Each class lecture, the community forum, as well as the live sessions will be available to you at any point along the way, so even when you’ve completed the course and have received your yoga therapy certification, you may ask questions, re-watch lectures and interact with other students (and Yoga Therapists!).

This yoga therapy program and curriculum is based on years of knowledge and experience as a practicing Yoga Therapist.

  • You will be taught through a Koshic “lens” or framework. The Koshas are how yoga views the human experience.
  • By the end and completion of this program, you will be able to assess any client and teach them techniques for self-healing.
  • You will have a clear grasp of how human anatomy works and be able to apply it in a real world setting.
  • This course is designed for actual application and the teachings come from actual cases.

The goal of the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program is to train people to be clear on how to work with any condition from lower back pain to arthritis, physical health to mental health, depression to spiritual connection, in a focused way that has full integrity.

Next Class Starts on April 16

Become a Certified Yoga Therapist. Sign up now and begin your training (this will ensure your spot)! Then link up with your class cohort for discussion and community in our forum. 

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Why Choose Breathing Deeply?

The Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program is taught by its founder, Brandt Passalacqua, a Yoga Therapist with extensive experience in the field.


Brandt has maintained a full-time yoga therapy practice for almost two decades where he has worked successfully with clients with a wide variety of conditions. His down-to-earth approach provides students with proven, real-world applications of ancient yoga therapy concepts.


Brandt is an approachable, compassionate teacher who is invested in his students and their practices. This is the way yoga therapy has traditionally been taught—teacher to student—in a mentoring relationship that goes beyond the formal training model. We are proud to continue in this lineage.

The program’s online availability and the modular format allow students to learn at their own pace and study when and where they choose. Once enrolled, students gain immediate and full access to the course including all pre-recorded online content and live interactive sessions, of which there are several each week to choose from. With 24/7 access to all course materials, students are given the freedom to learn at their own pace, in the setting of their choice, as their schedule allows.

Breathing Deeply encourages both students and graduates to connect, share, and learn from each other. From the start, our program offers students the opportunity to interact consistently with like-minded yogis through live Q&As, an active discussion forum with monthly and daily topics, and our social community network made to facilitate peer engagement, providing connection with intention.


As a community, we are committed to helping others. Sharing the same intention, we seek to become effective healers and work to deepen our practice so that we can provide expertise and guidance to lessen suffering.

Throughout the course, students not only work one-on-one with a Teaching Assistant to guarantee their mastering of the (course)work, they are encouraged to open, lean in, stretch their curiosity, engage in thoughtful conversations, and obtain answers consistently during live Q&A’s (3x’s weekly) with the headteacher and Breathing Deeply founder, Brandt Passalacqua. These sessions allow students to ask questions, share resources and gain expert advice and input.


Outside of the 3 hours of live sessions each week, Brandt is also consistently available for students through our community network, our discussion forums, as well as during our live interactive retreats.

At Breathing Deeply, we believe that mentoring is a critical component of competency-building and that it should continue well past graduation.


Because of this, a unique benefit of training with Breathing Deeply is Yoga Therapist graduates always have a home with us, receiving continued mentorship from colleagues and teachers while working in the field. Being able to help clients with complex issues with the guidance of seasoned Yoga Therapists and experts to infuse and inspire one’s yoga therapy practice is an integral part of clinical success and longevity.

Brandt Passalacqua

Head Teacher & Creator of Breathing Deeply

Completion and Certification

You may begin and complete this Foundations Program at any time. 
There are four requirements to Breathing Deeply  Yoga Therapy certification:

  1. Completion of all 50 online lectures and coursework
  2. Attendance of three weekend remote retreats
  3. Completion of two papers outlining case studies
  4. Oral exam by teacher

Remote Retreats

There are three retreats as part of the course certification. These retreats are taken “remotely”, offered three times each year.

Each retreat will cover yoga teachings, Sadhna, and muscle testing/structural analysis including:

  • Healing through the Body and Breath #1
  • Healing through the Pranic Body and Conscious Mind #2
  • Yoga Therapy for the Innermost Self #3

About

To complete the Foundations Program you must attend each of the weekend remote retreats. They do not need to be in the same year or in any specific order. This allows you to move through the program at your own pace.

Online Remote Retreats

We offer a distance option for those too far to make the live retreats. These remote retreats include the same material as the residential retreats and are held live online with Brandt from 9am-5 pm EST during a weekend day.

*Note that this option is for the Foundations Program only and can not be applied towards the 875 Hour Advanced Program.

Payment

The retreats are billed separately from the course tuition (to be paid at the time of retreat registration). The fee will vary depending on the accommodations you choose. Generally, each remote retreat cost is approximately $350 per weekend.

Upcoming retreat details can can be found here.

Want to Learn More? Check Out Our Information Session

Brandt talks about common questions applicants have about the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program. Tune in to get the full program details.

Foundations Program Path

  • Apply

    Join our family of aspiring Yoga Therapists from all over the globe. Be a part of a diverse group of people who are united by a respect for the positive difference that yoga practice can make in people’s lives, and a desire to help people discover this difference for themselves.

  • Learn At Your Own Pace

    Learn At Your Own Pace

    Take it in. Watch all 52 online lectures at home, with access to the course 24/7.

  • Coursework

    Coursework

    Gain knowledge through coursework, some to be handed in and passed.

  • Attend Live Classes Virtually

    Be mentored by Brandt from start to finish. It’s what makes our school unique. Join live Q&A’s each week (offered on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday) no matter where you are—we’re all together here in our virtual classroom. Absorb the teachings and bring them into the world.

  • Connect With Other Yoga Therapists

    Be a part of our online forum by posting, responding, and participating in our online community. Each of us brings our unique stories, experiences and insights to this program. Sharing them with each other creates a community of learners that continues past graduation and continually supports and strengthens each other.

  • Attend Three Retreats

    Take three retreats, all offered each year. This requirement allows you to either take online distance learning retreats “remote retreats” or three residential weekend retreats in New York. You might even do a combination! To fulfill this requirement, you will need to attend all three retreats remotely, residentially, or a combination of the two. (Advanced students take all retreats live, see below)

  • Work With Clients

    Work With Clients

    You will work with two case studies while being mentored along the way.

  • Final Exam

    Take your final oral exam…don’t worry. You’ll do great!

  • Share Your Work

    Share one of your case studies by presenting it to your Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy community. Let others learn from this work you’ve done.

  • Certification

    Woo Hoo! Receive your Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Certification and serve as a Yoga Therapist.

  • Lifetime Course Access

    Wait, there’s more? Continued mentorship is always available. Breathing Deeply believes that this model is a big piece of supporting ethical Yoga Therapists and it also makes our program special. You always have a home with us.

Prerequisites

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. Prospective students must have a high school diploma or equivalent certificate to be accepted for enrollment.

Applicants must also have completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training or equivalent from any tradition. Others will be considered case by case.

We now offer an Online Yoga Teacher Training program for students without one.

Still need more information about the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy programs? Check out our frequently asked questions below.

The Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy program is based on Structural Yoga Therapy, a system developed by Mukunda Stiles, as well as, a fusion of an Ayurvedic model and a Koshic model looking at the five aspects of the self (physical body, energetic body, conscious and unconscious mind and the bliss body) to assess clients. These are an integral part of the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Programs.

The Foundations Program is part of the Advanced Yoga Therapy Program. It is mostly online for those who want to become Yoga Therapists. The Foundations Program provides you with the basics and is a solid place to start. The residential part of the 875-Hour Advanced Program is a much higher standard certification. Mentoring is provided throughout both programs and beyond graduation.

It depends on where they live and how they choose to work. Many Yoga Therapists run programs at schools, hospitals, rehab centers, etc… The pay varies. In private practice, rates tend to be equivalent to other helping professions (Therapists, Massage Therapists, etc…).

The path toward becoming a C-IAYT begins with the Foundations Program, the residential program is made up of seven eight-day residential retreats (500+ hrs) and a practicum of 160 hours for you to deliver in your own community. This portion is mentored and progress is monitored. Both programs can be taken concurrently or you could stagger the retreats over time. You could complete the program in 2.5 years.   The practicum could be started while you are completing the Advanced Program. For a slower option, you can learn at your own pace, over five or six years. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Admission requirements for the Foundations Program are a 200-hour teacher training certification or equivalent. If you do not have a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training but have yoga and related experience, please see our Foundations + Yoga Teacher Training Combined Program. The Advanced Program requires a 200 hour TT or equivalent and one year of teaching experience. The Foundations Program is part of the Advanced Program.

The online portion of the Foundations Program contains 50 sections of lectures and coursework online. In addition there are three live Q&A’s per week. The recommendation is that you attend at least one of the Q&A’s per week via video conference (video + audio on phone or computer) and the times are spread out to cover most schedules (and time zones!). There is also a community aspect in forums with various discussion open to topics of your interest. All you need is video and audio capability. Videos and homework can be viewed/completed at your own pace and viewed multiple times as required.

The format of the Foundations Program requires you to do three retreats in New York over a weekend (Friday night to Sunday afternoon). They are offered three times/year. We also share these same retreats online (“remotely”), three times per year. It is best to attend retreats live for an optimum experience. The Advanced Program is made up of 7 8-day modules (3 in year 1 and 4 in year 2). These retreats can be taken in any order for your convenience. These seven modules include the three Foundations retreats. See these trainings on the Retreat page on our website or contact us for more information.

The Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Committee of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
For more information, visit iayt.org.

The difference between Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapy certifications: They are separate certifications. Breathing Deeply does not offer any Yoga Alliance certifications and is not part of the Yoga Alliance. Yoga Therapy certifications are separate.

The Foundations Program will certify you as a Yoga Therapist. Also available is the 875-hour Advanced Yoga Therapy Program which provides you the highest level of yoga therapy training (C-IAYT).

Absolutely. The Breathing Deeply Foundations program gives you the skills and support you need to practice yoga therapy. If you are certified by our school then you have taken the course and have demonstrated the capacity to provide yoga therapy. As of this writing, you may call yourself a Yoga Therapist in the all 50 U.S. states and in Canada.

The Advance Program certifies you as a C-IAYT. It demonstrates your capacity to work with clients with a more thorough knowledge base. The Advanced Program is currently the highest level of education for practicing yoga therapy.

The first level (Foundations Program) is our online program, three-weekend retreats, and live sessions. This allows you to use the BDYT Yoga Therapist Certification. It isn’t seen as “hours” but might be in the 250-hour range. You can start confidently seeing private clients using this credential and putting your knowledge to work.

Our second level is our Advanced Program – 500 residential hours in Claverack, NY plus the online course and mentored practicum.

One popular question our applicants ask is whether to take a 500-hour RYT (advanced teacher training) or seek IAYT yoga therapy certification. Click here to read our response.

The foundation program requires two clients. The minimum is six sessions/client (12 sessions total as a minimum). These practicum hours can be done in your area with anyone in need.

Most people take 18-24 months to complete. The fastest one would be able to fully complete our program is 15 months.

Each lesson varies in terms of the content and length. Most run anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, sometimes looking like 30 minutes of lecture and another video/practice that is attached to this lecture material. These are self-paced, so you might schedule yourself to watch one per week or decide on a faster or slower pacing. One of Brandt’s superpowers (which is strongly executed in the foundations course, is his ability to distill ancient broad (sometimes complicated) information into real-life, clear and cohesive concepts.

So, you might decide to put an hour or two into it/week, (watch one lesson and do the corresponding coursework) or you may decide to spend more time on it. One more thing that might be useful is that the practices being taught will likely be woven into your personal practice, so that will take some awareness (and time).

A BDYT Campus is a physical location (usually a yoga studio) where you can take our program. You still participate in our online foundations course while moving through the program with a group of fellow (local) yogis, gathering monthly.

Yes. We currently have several students that live in Canada and will work as Yoga Therapists once they’re certified. (As an aside, we are in the process of expanding our program to offer two levels of training. Both levels (Foundations and Advanced Programs are used internationally.)

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Next Class Starts on April 16