Welcome to our Spring 2023 Aerial Teacher Training!! After so much positive feedback from our last training, we want to keep creating aerial teachers. This 30-hour training will prepare you to be a safe, inclusive, and informed aerial teacher. You will learn safe rigging, numerous foundational postures, basic anatomy, and how to structure a class for a variety of students.

Tejas Yoga Lab (TYL) is an inclusive space. We welcome all and encourage everyone to explore their practices safely while working to grow and expand their mindset and abilities. 

What does it mean to be an aerial teacher? An aerial teacher is different from an aerial instructor.  An instructor can lead a class, call out poses and is an authority on many things. A teacher can instruct skillfully, but also relates to students, draws out their individual gifts and talents, and tells them what they need to know in the moment, even if it is not what they want to hear. A teacher never believes “the hype”: good or bad. Teaching is not a popularity contest. A teacher must also be an excellent student, continue to study and grow, and seek to expand in all directions.  Your job as a teacher is to make your students feel welcome and help them grow. Teach from your heart.

TYL is a safe space and inclusive space. Therefore, everyone who is part of our community needs to respect certain boundaries, and as a teacher, please recognize the power differential that you will hold. Avoid intimate relationships with students and understand the difference between a student and a friend. 

Please use respectful language and meet students where they are in their practice. If you as a teacher cannot accept a student’s weaknesses, how do you expect them to? It’s about the student and not you. As a teacher, you are a steward of their safety and growth while accepting and encouraging them wherever they are in the moment.

In short, during training, you should expect to learn and grow in a safe and inclusive space. You will learn about the different types of aerial equipment and hanging, safety, postures, being in the air, tricks, assisting, and how to teach and structure classes. At the end of the training, expect a “teach out” where you will teach a class that you design and are evaluated on.

Please wear comfortable clothing that will allow you to be in different shapes and positions without getting caught in any silks or rigging. Form-fitting yoga attire made of “non-slippery” material is recommended. It is possible to slide out of the hammock. Sleeves, short or long, are required for comfort and to prevent pinching the skin at the top of the arms.

Please bring a reusable water bottle filled with your preferred hydration (no alcohol is permitted during training hours). Water is available in the studio for purchase or to refill from the water fountains. A Harris Teeter supermarket is less than a 5-minute walk from the studio, where snacks and meals can be purchased. There are several restaurants within walking and driving distance. 

Please be aware that if you decide to bring anything to the studio that requires refrigeration, we do have a refrigerator that we use to keep water and towels cool, but it may not have any space for you to store food. Therefore, bringing a cooler is recommended. If you have any specific needs, please reach out to Kristy Schiano, TYL Director of Education at 215-410-9650 or academy@tejasyogalab.com, and we will do our best to accommodate you.