Teaching Yoga to Athletes
The Premier Online Course to Make You an Expert Specialist on Yoga for Athletes
Freshly updated and now with closed captions!
This is the original—and still the best—yoga for athletes teacher training.
It’s designed and led by me, Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT500, a studio owner, yoga teacher, and endurance athlete with coaching certifications from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the Road Runner’s Club of America. I’ve taught athletes from middle school to the professional leagues for two decades, and I have worked extensively with the University of North Carolina football and men’s basketball teams. Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams was my private yoga student for over a decade.
If you want to specialize in teaching yoga to athletes, this is the online course for you. You will:
- take your teaching to the next level
- feel empowered to teach athletes of all sports and levels in studio, gym, or one-on-one settings
- expand your understanding of yoga, sports training, and the connections between them
- earn CEUs
- study with leading expert on yoga for athletes, author of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga and Yoga Journal‘s Active Yogi blog, endurance sports coach, and master teacher (that’s me!)
Students from New York to New Zealand, Canada to Malawi, and Copenhagen to Kenya have loved this course and find that going all in on your teaching career reaps amazing gains. If you’ve been dreaming of working with athletes of all sports and levels, or even simply wondering how yoga fits in your own training, this course will give you concrete skills to:
- serve your students
- elevate their game and focus
- keep them safe and happy
- sharpen your skills teaching athletes and everyone
- grow your business so you can do more of the work you love
Who It’s For
Combining newly recorded video discussion and yoga practices from my weeklong teachers’ intensive with updated lectures, other online classes, reading, and prompts for self-study, this course empowers teachers—or teachers-to-be—of any style of yoga to begin teaching yoga to athletes.
It has also proved useful for:
- coaches
- PE teachers
- personal trainers
- physical therapists
- athletes interested in designing their own practices
“Sage has a way of meeting the athlete where they are and using yoga to enhance them. She does a wonderful job of teaching yoga teachers to have that same connection.”
Jamie McDaniel
Teaching Yoga to Athletes student
What You’ll Learn
In the course, we cover:
- Philosophy: learn clear and easy ways to describe yoga philosophy in ways your athletes will appreciate
- Physiology: consider the role yoga plays in the context of a training cycle so you can best serve your students
- Psychology: understand the needs, abilities, and limitations that athletes bring to a yoga practice
- Pedagogy: learn to modify classes for athletes of various sports, differing levels of experience, and all points in the training cycle
- Profession: define your business goals, structure a working plan, and embark on a successful career teaching yoga to athletes and everyone
Take a look at the course outline and view a sample lesson below.
How You’ll Learn It
When you register, you’ll receive online access to:
- dozens of lectures across five units
- fifteen yoga practices to illustrate and integrate the principles we discuss
- additional reading materials, which you can read on the site or in an e-reader, or print for future reference
Work at your own pace and at a time that’s convenient for you, and use your lifetime access to review the materials (and new additions) at your leisure.
Registering for this course is a major investment in your career. I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the program. First, consult this list of frequently asked questions, then schedule a discovery call to talk about the course here, or write info@sagerountree.com for a personal reply.
If you purchase and the course doesn’t meet your expectations, I offer a one-week refund window.
Certification Option
Certification in yoga for athletes is an optional upgrade. Read about it here.
Earn CEUs
If you track Yoga Alliance CEUs, you can claim 30 for completing this course.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will Teaching Yoga to Athletes take me to complete?
Each unit has reading, videos, and homework. The reading could be two or three hours per unit; the videos are between three and four hours per unit. Homework will take an additional two or three hours, with the exception of unit 3 homework, which will take longer, as it involves going to classes. There are also resources for additional study that could add many hours.
Then, for the certification track, there is an exam (say, three hours), and recording/watching/self-critiquing a teaching video, which will take at least three more. (I’ll get feedback to students on homework, exam, and video within two weeks of their submission, and I aim to answer questions sooner than that.) We’ll also consult as needed, which will probably be a few more hours of chat time (phone or video).
Putting that together, estimate 8–10 hours per unit x 5 = 40–50 hours for the content, plus another 8–10 more for the certification materials.
How does the online content of Teaching Yoga to Athletes differ from the in-person content?
It depends where the content is offered. In the five-day intensive I lead at my Carrboro studio, there are five days, where we meet 10–5. That gives us more time for group work, which in the online course is homework, and for discussion and practice.
As you make your choice, consider how you learn best. Some students vastly prefer the live classroom setting, while others have logistical concerns that make online an appealing option.
How does the certification upgrade for Teaching Yoga to Athletes differ from the content?
Certification involves all the content, as well as unlimited back-and-forth mentoring with me. Together, we’ll review your homework, exam, and teaching video, to be sure you are as clear as possible on how you can help athletes achieve their personal best—and how you can structure your career for maximum impact.
What if I’m not sure I want to work with athletes?
The Teaching Yoga to Athletes course is really an exercise in figuring out how to help our students by determining what stresses they undergo in daily life—whether through sports training, a tough job, or illness and injury—and learning to devise routines to support them. In that way, it’s appropriate for all yoga teachers, especially those who want to sharpen their abilities to work with special populations.
Your early books focus on endurance athletes. Does Teaching Yoga to Athletes include all sports?
Indeed! We discuss everything from curling to surfing. Each unit contains homework and discussion that will get you thinking about the best ways to help athletes in all sports. You’ll get to focus on the sports of particular interest to you, and to hear from others about their interests.
Is Teaching Yoga to Athletes geared to new teachers, or experienced teachers?
Everyone, but the more experience you have, the better, whether it’s as a yoga teacher, as a coach, or as a personal trainer or physical therapist. The course presumes you’re comfortable analyzing movement patterns and eager to consider how asana can help correct imbalances in your athletic students’ bodies. I then guide you through several exercises (with my feedback, if you do the certification side) to structure useful routines for athletes in various sports and at different stages in their training cycles. We go beyond asana, as well, to create meditations and visualizations to help sharpen the mental game. Finally, we investigate the profession, covering questions on pricing, business structure, and marketing.
Preview the Course
Like all the courses here, this one has a full sample unit for you to enjoy. Here, it’s the Philosophy Lectures. Expand using the dropdown arrow, click through the pages and watch—or, if you prefer, read—the videos. The icon in each video with a page of text and a magnifying glass will pull up the transcript.
