September 2025 – June 2026
Our 250 hour Yoga for Mental Health Teacher Training will deepen your own personal practice, enrich your understanding of all 8 limbs of yoga and give you the skills to teach yoga to others. Learn how yoga can help with stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues and how it can reduce symptoms and promote well-being.
In this specialized program, you will learn how to apply the tools of yoga to support mental health.
You Will Learn:
- Understand the interplay between yoga and mental health (embodiment vs. dissociation, window of tolerance, fight, flight,
freeze, fawn responses) - Pranayama (breathwork) and mental health, using pranayama to address common mental health diagnosis
- The energetic and emotional impacts of foundational asanas and how physical movement helps process and release emotional and mental stress
- Learning how to observe and reframe thought patterns, non dual states, and matching meditation practices for mental health concerns
- Trauma-Informed yoga practices
- Holistic frameworks for mental health and practical integration
- Rid ourselves of habitual patterns, create a healthy balanced state, and restore energy
- Train the mood to become still, develop self-awareness, increase mental clarity, and decrease emotional reactivity
- Integrate intelligent use of vinyasa (breath-synchronized movement)
The Eight Limbs of Yoga
- Yama (social ethics to live in harmony with others)
- Niyama (personal ethics to live a balanced life)
- Asana (postures to build strength and flexibility so energy can flow freely)
- Pranayama (breath awareness and control to increase your vitality)
- Pratyahara (internalizing the senses to reduce external distractions)
- Dharana (developing concentration and focus)
- Dhyana (sustaining our focus toward meditation)
- Samadhi (Oneness)
Our philosophy is non-dogmatic. We offer a contemporary approach deeply rooted in the ancient wisdom of classical yoga. By immersing yourself in the study of yoga, you move toward becoming a balanced, whole individual deeply united with yourself and connected to others and the world we live in.
Who is this training for?
The specialized training is geared toward mental health professionals and anyone else interested in yoga to support optimal mental health.
Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals
This specialized Yoga for Mental Health Teacher Training has applied for continuing education units with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Approval is pending.
Schedule
Saturday – Sunday, 9 am – 5 pm (one hour lunch break each day)
September 20-21, 2025
October 18-19, 2025
November 15-16, 2025
December 20-21, 2025
January 17-18, 2026
February 21-22, 2026
March 21-22, 2026
April 18-19, 2026
May 16-17, 2026
June 13-14, 2026
Tuition*
$4250 regular price, $3950 early price if paid in full by Friday, August 22, 2025
4.5% transaction fee added for credit card payments. Payment plan available.
Required Course*
Comprehensive Yoga Anatomy Online Training with David Keil (currently $110): https://www.yoganatomy.com/yoga-anatomy-
courses/online-comprehensive-yoga-anatomy-course/
*Anatomy course fee is not included in the teacher training tuition
Maximum Students: 15
Schedule and requirements subject to change
Additional Certification Requirements*
Complete minimum of 30 hours of Comprehensive Yoga Anatomy Online Training with David Keil (currently $110): https://www.yoganatomy.com/yoga-anatomy-courses/online-comprehensive-yoga-anatomy-course/
- Observe and assist a senior teacher, 15 hours
- Complete all homework assignments (approximately 3 hours per week)
- Teach 2 community classes at Torus Center for Integrative Healing
- Read 2 books from the book list and write a 1-2-page review for each
- Teach yoga to a needy group at no charge (service/karma yoga)
- Provide proof of CPR certification
- Complete a 20-hour self-study project in a specialty area of yoga that interests you. Present your
exploration as a document, video, class or other medium appropriate for your topic. - Demonstrate the ability to teach an inspiring Level 1-2 yoga class clearly, safely and appropriately.
* Fees for required and elective workshops not included in tuition.
Book Requirements
Yoga Teacher Training Manual included
Required for Coursework (purchase on your own)
- Light on Yoga by B.K.S Iyengar
- Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translated by Swami Satchidananda
- Scientific Keys 1: Key Muscles of Yoga by RayLong
- From Alignment to Enlightenment Using Props to Achieve Stability and Ease in Yoga Poses by Tricia Fiske and Marianne Cirone
Required Supplemental Reading (Select any 2 out of 4 books listed)
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van Der Kolk
- Moving Inward: The Journey to Meditation by Rolf Sovik
- Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Yoga & Psychotherapy by Rudolph Ballentine, Swami Ajaya, and Swami Rama
Instructors
Tricia Fiske, E-RYT 500,YAECP, Level 3 Tantra Yoga Alchemy Instructor, has been a teacher since 1999. Yoga Practitioner at Torus Center for Integrative Healing.
April Waldrop, E-RYT 500, Yoga Therapy Student, Urban Zen Integrative Therapy practitioner. Yoga Practitioner at Torus Center for Integrative Healing.
The Torus Team – Jamie Kruse, LCSW; Chardyce Kott, LSW; Amy Hogan, E-RYT 500, MSW Student; April Waldrop, E-RYT 500, IATY Student; Tricia Fiske, E-RYT 500, YAECP, Level 3 ParaYoga Instructor
Hosted by: Torus Center for Integrative Healing & Prairie Yoga
Location: 121 Flinn St Batavia, IL 60510
Registration and Payment
- To register, please complete this application form here. A interview is required for acceptance.
- Completion of Dosha Quiz: https://kripalu.org/content/whats-your-dosha
- Upon application approval, pay the non-refundable $500 deposit within 10 days to reserve your spot. The deposit will be applied toward your tuition. Details on how to pay will be provided upon application approval.
- 4.5% transaction fee added to all credit card payments
- To avoid the credit card transaction fees, you may pay by check made payable to Torus Center for Integrative Healing. Returned checks subject to $50 fee
- Auto-pay Monthly Payment Plan Option: After the $500 non-refundable deposit is collected, remaining tuition is auto-paid by credit card in 6 consecutive monthly payments @ $679.25 each. Deposit and first auto-payment must be paid before the first training class. Payment Plan includes the 4.5% credit card transaction fee and $150 finance fee.
Refunds: Requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to Jamie Kruse at Torus Center for Integrative Healing at: info@torus-center.com Refunds are limited. See details at: https://prairieyoga.org/refunds-for-teacher-training
For questions regarding registration:
Jamie Kruse
Torus Center for Integrative Healing
121 Flinn St, Batavia, IL 60510
224-803-2295 – info@torus-center.com