Ep 121: How To Find The Best Continuing Education

The continuing education landscape for yoga teachers can be overwhelming. There are countless trainings promising to teach you about a subject that you're interested in. However, the problem isn't that you haven't taken enough of them, it's that most continuing education focuses on giving you more information instead of helping you apply what you already know and what you're learning in the training. Information accumulation doesn't create confidence; applying that information does. This episode breaks down what actually matters when investing in continuing education (using working with injured students as an example), what to look for when evaluating trainings you're interested in, and how to invest your time and money wisely.

• Information Overload in Continuing Education
• What Actually Matters in Continuing Education for Injuries
• What Actually Transforms Your Teaching
• Red Flags in Continuing Education Offerings
• Investing Wisely in Continuing Education
• Recommendations Based on Where You Are

The best continuing education doesn't just add to your knowledge base; it transforms what you can actually do when you take that learning back to your classes.

Resources Mentioned:

Teaching Students with Injuries Mentorship - Six-month program with real students, real-time application, ongoing support covering anatomy, pain science, injuries, nervous system, recovery strategies, and sequencing

Designing Transformative Workshops - Learn to structure workshops, create transformative educational content, and deliver workshops by planning for them effectively. 

Transcript

Monica 3:59

Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Monica, and I'm so glad you're here. Here we talk about the anatomy, the injuries, the nervous system insights, plus all the real life knowledge you wish had been included in your yoga teacher training. Now, because you're listening to this podcast, I know that you at least have your initial$200 certificate, but you might be thinking about continuing education. What you wanna study, what you wanna learn, or maybe some teachings that you can include in your classes. I've noticed when I'm scrolling on social media that there are ads for all kinds of continuing education, I'm gonna use some of my background in education to kind of walk you through how to recognize if a training is right for you and what the outcome of the trainings. Should be or what you'd wanna be on the lookout for. So I'm gonna use the topics of anatomy or pain science or injury management because that's what I'm most familiar with. And this is how I can make how you select a training, a concrete and easy to understand process. Okay, so imagine that you see a training on pain, science and injuries, and you think, Hmm, maybe this is the one. Maybe if I take this training, then I will finally feel confident working with injured students. So you save it or bookmark it, and then you see another one and maybe another one. And pretty soon you have a number of trainings that you've saved, that you think you might choose from? So today we're going to talk about not just which trainings to consider, but what actually matters when you're investing your time and money in deepening your education. By the end of this episode, you are going to understand the difference between education that transforms your teaching versus education that just fills you up with more information. You're going to know what to look for when you are evaluating continuing education options, and you're going to feel clear about what your next steps should be. Before I jump in, I know that the continuing education landscape for yoga teachers can be overwhelming. There's so many offers, so many different approaches, so many people claiming to have the answers for you. And when you genuinely wanna help your students and you're trying to make a responsible investment in your teaching, it's really hard to know what's worth it. And what's not. So let's start by talking about the biggest problem I see with most continuing education for yoga teachers who wanna work with injuries. One example is the training's focus on giving you more information instead of helping you apply what you already know. You take a training on shoulder anatomy, for example, and you learn about the rotator cuff muscles, the labrum, the capsule, the bursa. You learn about different types of shoulder injuries and their mechanics. And you feel excited about this new information that you've just learned. So you go back to teaching and a student tells you that they have a shoulder impingement and you're still confused as to what to do or what to say, and you know why? It is because knowing the anatomy of the shoulder and knowing what to say to a student with a shoulder impingement are two different types of skills. You could take a training on pain science, and you learn about pain being a protective output from the brain and about the biopsychosocial model. It's fascinating. It changes how you think about pain, but then you're teaching a class and you need to offer a modification for someone with knee pain and all that theoretical knowledge doesn't translate into knowing what to actually do. In the moment. So what happens is you keep learning more and more thinking that if you just learn some more, if you learn enough, then you'll feel more confident. But confidence doesn't come from accumulating more information. It comes from applying the information And most continuing education trainings don't offer you that. They give you lectures, they give you readings, they give you diagrams and charts maybe. And yeah, all of that has value, but if the training doesn't also give you the opportunities to practice applying that information. With real students in real situations, then you're going to finish it with more knowledge, but the same degree of uncertainty when it comes to actually teaching. So if information alone isn't enough, then what should you be looking for in your continuing education? First, you want education that focuses on application, right? Not just information. This means it includes practice opportunities where you're actually working through scenarios, developing modifications, having conversations, making decisions. You're not just passively receiving information, you're actively using it. For example, if the training presents a case study of a student with hip pain, and you have to work through what questions you would ask, what modifications you would offer, and what language you would use. That right there is application or a training might have you bring your own students and work through their specific situations with some guidance. That also is application. The information becomes useful when you practice applying it. Second, you want education that meets you where you are and builds from there. If you're just starting to work with injured students, You need foundational skills. You need to understand pain science basics. Learn a framework for having initial conversations and practice offering simple modifications. If you start with advanced material before you have the foundation, it's just going to create more overwhelm. On the other hand, if you've been working with injured students for years and you're comfortable with the basics, you might benefit from more specialized training in specific conditions or with specific populations. The point is that good continuing education should match your current level and move you forward from there. and not assume that everyone in the training needs the same thing or starting from the same starting point. Third, you want education that gives you frameworks and principles, not just. Random scripts for you to memorize Because every student is different. Every injury is different. Every situation is different. If you're just memorizing what to say for a rotator cuff injury and what to say for a knee injury and what to say for a hip. Injury, then you are going to feel overwhelmed trying to remember all of that. But if you learn frameworks that you can apply across different injuries or areas of the body, then you can think on your feet. For example, one of the communication frameworks that I teach is acknowledge, ask, affirm, and offer. It works for any injury. You don't need to memorize different scripts. You just need to understand the framework and practice using it. This is less overwhelming and much more sustainable. Fourth, you want education that addresses both the technical skills and the mindset shift. Because a lot of what might be holding you back from working with injured students isn't the lack of knowledge, it's actually the fear. It's the imposter syndrome. It's the belief that you need to know everything before you can even get started. Good quality continuing education addresses these mindset barriers along with the practical skills. And fifth. You want education that includes ongoing support, not just a one-time training, because something like learning to work with injured students is an iterative process. You learn something, you try it, you have questions, you get feedback. You refine your approach. You try again. If the education ends after a weekend workshop or a six week mini training, then you left to figure out the next steps on your own. Ongoing support means you have somewhere to go when you encounter students with situations that you haven't seen before or heard before or that you question working through. Now let's talk about which topics in continuing education actually make a difference in your ability to work with, for example, injured students. Modern pain science is foundational. Understanding that pain is a protective output from the brain. That tissue damage and pain don't always correlate. That context also influences the pain experience, this change everything about how you approach modifications and how you communicate with your students. You need the foundational principles, and you need to understand how they apply to your teaching. Communication skills are equally important. Learning what to say when a student tells you about their injury, how to ask questions that give you the information you need. How to use language that reduces nervous system threat. These skills are immediately applicable and they build your confidence fast. A lot of anatomy trainings don't teach this, but this is often what you need the most. Understanding your scope of practice and when to refer out is crucial, not because you need to be more cautious, but because you need to be clear about what your role actually is. Is when you understand that your job is to facilitate movement exploration and not to diagnose or treat, you feel a lot less pressured to have certain answers for your students. And when you know the signs that someone needs more support than a yoga class can provide, you can make good decisions without second guessing yourself. practical modification strategies for common injuries give you tools you can use immediately. You don't need to know how to modify for every possible injury everywhere in the body, but you learn modification principles for the injuries you see most often, like lower back pain, shoulder issues, knee sensitivity, or hip discomfort. You are going to feel much more prepared in your day-to-day teaching when you understand this. Basic understanding of anatomy and movement is helpful, but you need less than you think. You need to understand how major joints move, what major muscle groups do, and how different poses create different demands on the body. Focus on functional anatomy that directly informs your teaching decisions and sequencing considerations for injured students helps you think beyond individual pose modifications. How do you structure a class when you have students with different injuries? How do you warm up joints before asking for range of motion? How do you balance offering options without constantly stopping the flow? These are practical skills that make a huge difference. I also wanna give you some red flags to watch for when you're evaluating continuing education options because who helps you with this? I don't know. First, be cautious of. Trainings that promise that you're going to be an expert after a weekend or even after a week long, training. Learning to work confidently with injured students takes time and practice. A weekend workshop can give you foundational knowledge and some tools, but it's not going to make you an expert if a training is promising that they're either overselling or their definition of what an expert is, is very different from mine. Second, be wary of trainings that focus heavily on diagnosis. Your job as a yoga teacher is not to diagnose what's wrong with the student's body. So if a training is teaching you how to diagnose. Rotator cuff tears or disc herniations or labral issues that is outside of your scope of practice. You want trainings that teach you how to work with students who have these conditions, not how to identify them. Third, watch out for trainings that don't include any application or practice component. If it's all lectures and readings, with no opportunity to apply what you're learning, you're going to complete it with information, but not necessarily with usable skills. Fourth, be cautious about trainings that claim One approach is the answer to everything. The reality is that working with injured students requires multiple skills and types of knowledge. Pain science is important, anatomy is important. Communication is important. Modification strategies are important. If someone is saying that their particular method is all you need, they're oversimplifying. And fifth, be skeptical of trainings that don't clearly explain what you'll be able to do differently after completing them. good continuing education. Should have clear learning outcomes. By the end of this training, you'll be able to do X, Y, and Z. If those outcomes aren't specified, it's hard to know if the training is actually going to meet your needs, I know that continuing education represents a significant investment of both time and money, and I wanna address that directly. When you're evaluating whether a training is worth the investment, ask yourself these questions. One. Will this training help me do something I can't currently do? Or will it just give me more information about things I already understand conceptually? If it's the latter, it might not be worth it right now. Number two, does this training include application and practice, or is it information only? Remember, information alone rarely translates into confidence and application. Number three, will I have support after this training ends, or am I on my own? Once it's over? Ongoing support significantly increases the value of the investment because you can continue learning as situations come up. Number four. Is this training addressing my actual barrier, or am I hoping that it will magically make me feel ready? If your barrier is fear or imposter syndrome, more anatomy knowledge probably isn't the solution. You might need something that addresses the mindset piece more directly. And number five. What could I do with the time and money I'm investing in this training? Sometimes the best investment isn't another training. Sometimes it is practicing with the knowledge you already have or getting individualized support or focusing on building your teaching business so you have more resources for education later. I am not saying don't invest in continuing education. I've invested thousands of dollars and hours and it has been worth it, but I want you to invest wisely in education that actually moves you forward. Not education that just makes you feel like you're doing something or you're racking up hours. So what do I actually recommend for yoga teachers who wanna work with injured students? Specifically? If you're just starting out and you feel overwhelmed by the idea of working with injuries, start with foundational communication skills and basic modification strategies. Learn how to have the initial conversation when a student tells you that they're injured or they're experiencing pain. Learn a simple framework for thinking about modifications. Practice these skills with students. You are already teaching. You need to build confidence with the basics. If you've been working with injured students for a while, but you're feeling like you're just winging it or you. Don't really have a clear framework focus on deepening your understanding of pain science and developing systematic approaches to sequencing and modification. This is where understanding principles becomes more important than learning specific protocols. Some of my own continuing education included this kind of support. But many of them didn't. And there's a big difference in the retention and integration of the information as well as the application of it, as I tried to infuse what I was learning into my classes. And the trainings don't have, be solely on this topic, pain injuries, anatomy. Think about a yin training or a restorative training. Do you get to practice and apply what you're learning and return to ask the trainer questions about what happened with a student in your class? How about if you wanna learn more about Ayurveda? How is the training set up? Are you just learning over the weekend? And then kind of set free to teach and apply what you've learned. What if you have questions, do you have somewhere to go to get them answered? I suggest you look for mentorship or coaching programs where you can bring your actual students and work through their specific situations with guidance. This is where learning accelerates because you're not only embodying your newly acquired education, but you're having the chance to apply it and getting feedback on your application right away. This is what I offer in my teaching students with injuries, mentorship, And it's the format that I've seen that creates the most transformation for teachers. And if you want to expand your teaching beyond group classes and start offering workshops or specialized sessions for people with specific injuries, focus on learning how to design educational experiences. How to structure workshops and how to communicate your expertise. This is a different skillset from teaching regular classes, and it's worth developing if that's a direction that you wanna go in. So I have two offerings that might be relevant depending on where you are in your journey. First, if you're ready for ongoing support, where you bring your actual students, and we work through modifications, sequencing, and communication strategies together in real time. My teaching students with injuries, mentorship might be a good fit. Okay. This is a six month program with two calls per month where we work through real situations you're encountering in your teaching. We cover anatomy, pain, science, injuries, the nervous system, recovery strategies, and sequencing. But everything is taught in the context of application. You're not just learning information. You're learning how to use it. Second, if you want to start offering workshops on injury related topics or just transformational workshops. I have a video training called Designing Transformative Workshops, and it walks you through how to structure a workshop, how to create educational content that actually transforms people's understanding and how to deliver workshops confidently. I'll link both of these in the show notes below. Both of these offerings are application focused, which means you're not just accumulating more information, you're developing skills that you can use immediately. So let's recap the best continuing education for working with injured students. Focuses on application, not just the information. It meets you where you are and gives you frameworks you can use across different situations and with different students. It addresses both technical skills and mindset, and it includes ongoing support when evaluating trainings. Look for clear learning outcomes, practice opportunities and realistic promises about what you'll be able to do afterwards. You don't need to take every training that comes across your feed on social media. You need to invest strategically in education that actually moves you forward. And sometimes the most valuable education isn't another full training. It might just be that you need one-on-one support in applying what you already know. You probably know what you wanna study deeper. What you need now is a space that will offer you the opportunity to practice, to get feedback, and to get support in using the new knowledge that you're integrating and that's available to you. You just have to be very selective and intentional about the trainings that you choose to invest in. Thank you for listening. Check out those resources in the show notes below. These are trainings that were designed with application in mind. I'm so glad you're here and I'll see you next week. Okay, bye.