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50 Hrs – Yoga & Gestalt Therapy (YGT)Teacher Training Certificate Course

50 Hrs – Yoga and Gestalt Therapy (YGT)Teacher Training Certificate Course

50 Hrs – Yoga and Gestalt Therapy (Y-GT) Teacher Training Certificate Course

 

Course Overview

Yoga and Gestalt Therapy (Y-GT) Teacher Training Certificate Course

The Yoga and Gestalt Therapy (Y-GT) Teacher Training Certificate Course is an integrative professional program designed to bring together the embodied wisdom of yoga and the experiential depth of Gestalt Therapy. This training offers a transformative framework for yoga teachers, therapists, counsellors, and holistic health practitioners who wish to deepen their understanding of self-awareness, presence, and authentic human connection through a mind–body–emotion approach.

 

In an era marked by emotional fragmentation, stress, identity confusion, and relational challenges, there is a growing need for therapeutic methods that address the whole person – body, mind, emotions, and awareness. Yoga provides practices that cultivate inner stillness, balance, and somatic awareness. Gestalt Therapy emphasizes present-moment experience, personal responsibility, and integration of fragmented parts of the self. The Y-GT course harmoniously combines these systems into a powerful experiential learning process.

 

Foundations of Yoga in Y-GT

Yoga is not merely a physical practice but a holistic science of self-realization. Rooted in classical yogic texts, it aims to cultivate awareness (sakshi bhava), self-regulation, and harmony between body and mind. Through asana, pranayama, meditation, relaxation, and ethical observances, yoga supports:

  • Heightened body awareness
  • Emotional balance
  • Nervous system regulation
  • Non-judgmental observation
  • Inner integration

The yogic concept of witnessing consciousness aligns naturally with Gestalt Therapy’s emphasis on awareness in the present moment.

 

Foundations of Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy, developed by Fritz Perls and colleagues, is an experiential and humanistic therapeutic approach focused on awareness, authenticity, and integration. The word “Gestalt” means “whole” or “complete form.” The therapy emphasizes:

  • Present-moment awareness
  • Integration of fragmented aspects of personality
  • Responsibility for one’s choices
  • Body awareness as a pathway to emotional insight
  • Authentic contact and communication

Gestalt work explores how unfinished emotional experiences and unexpressed feelings manifest in the body and behavior. It encourages individuals to experience rather than merely analyze their thoughts and emotions — a principle that resonates deeply with yoga practice.

 

Why Integrate Yoga with Gestalt Therapy?

Both yoga and Gestalt Therapy are experiential and awareness-based disciplines. When integrated, they create a holistic framework that:

  • Connects somatic awareness with emotional processing
  • Encourages embodied presence
  • Bridges movement with psychological insight
  • Facilitates self-discovery through direct experience
  • Promotes integration of mind, body, and emotions

 

For example:

  • Mindful asana can reveal habitual tension patterns linked to emotional holding.
  • Breathwork supports awareness of suppressed feelings.
  • Guided inquiry during relaxation enhances insight into unfinished experiences.
  • Meditation strengthens the capacity to witness internal dialogue without avoidance.

The integration allows practitioners to move beyond technique and into authentic experiential facilitation.

 

Purpose of the Y-GT Teacher Training

The course aims to:

  • Train participants to integrate Gestalt awareness principles into yoga teaching
  • Develop emotionally intelligent and presence-based facilitation skills
  • Introduce experiential dialogue and body-based inquiry methods
  • Support trauma-sensitive and ethical teaching practices
  • Cultivate authentic therapeutic presence

Graduates will be able to design and lead Y-GT sessions that combine movement, breath, awareness practices, and reflective processes to support emotional integration and personal growth.

 

Who This Course Is For

This course is suitable for:

  • Certified yoga teachers seeking therapeutic depth
  • Yoga therapists and advanced practitioners
  • Counsellors and psychotherapists
  • Social workers and wellness professionals
  • Mindfulness facilitators
  • Individuals working in emotional healing or community wellbeing

No prior training in Gestalt Therapy is required, as foundational concepts are introduced within the program.

 

Learning Methodology

The Y-GT Teacher Training is experiential and reflective. It includes:

  • Theoretical foundations of Gestalt Therapy
  • Yogic psychology and philosophy
  • Guided experiential exercises
  • Body-awareness explorations
  • Role plays and dialogue practice
  • Teaching practicum sessions
  • Reflective journaling and group process work

Participants not only learn concepts but personally experience the integration of yoga and Gestalt principles.

 

Core Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain the principles of Gestalt Therapy
  • Facilitate awareness-based yoga sessions
  • Guide embodied emotional exploration safely
  • Integrate dialogue techniques into yoga practice
  • Recognize body–emotion connections
  • Maintain ethical and trauma-informed teaching boundaries
  • Design structured Y-GT classes for various populations

 

Vision of the Y-GT Program

The Yoga and Gestalt Therapy Teacher Training envisions cultivating facilitators who embody presence, authenticity, and compassionate awareness. By integrating the self-regulatory practices of yoga with the experiential insight of Gestalt Therapy, this program prepares teachers to support individuals in becoming more whole, integrated, and conscious.

It is not merely a skills-based training – it is a journey into embodied awareness and transformative teaching.

 

Detailed Syllabus

MODULE 1: Foundations of Gestalt Therapy & Yoga

1.1 Introduction to Gestalt Therapy

  1. Historical background
  2. Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, Paul Goodman
  3. Core philosophy of Gestalt Therapy
  4. Gestalt vs analytical & cognitive approaches
  5. Holism: Body–Mind–Emotion–Environment
  6. Gestalt view of health and neurosis

 

1.2 Yogic Foundations Relevant to Gestalt

  1. Yoga as an experiential science
  2. Patanjali’s concept of Drashta–Drishya
  3. Awareness (Smriti, Sakshi Bhava)
  4. Present-moment anchoring in yogic texts
  5. Comparison: Gestalt “Here & Now”
  6. Comparison: Yogic “Atha Yoga Anushasanam”

 

MODULE 2: Awareness & the Gestalt Continuum

2.1 Awareness Continuum

  1. Sensation → Feeling → Emotion → Thought → Action
  2. Interruptions in awareness
  3. Contact and withdrawal
  4. Grounding and orientation
  5. Tracking moment-to-moment experience

2.2 Yogic Awareness Practices

  1. Body scanning (Somatic awareness)
  2. Breath as awareness anchor
  3. Sensory mindfulness in asana
  4. Micro-movement awareness
  5. Stillness and awareness pauses

 

MODULE 3: Body, Breath & Emotion in YGT

3.1 Body as Primary Field of Experience

  1. Body memory and emotional holding
  2. Muscular tension and unfinished business
  3. Gestalt body reading (non-interpretative)
  4. Supporting safe emotional expression
  5. Somatic cues and therapist presence

3.2 Pranayama & Emotional Regulation

  1. Breath patterns and emotional states
  2. Yogic breath awareness vs breath control
  3. Gestalt use of breath amplification
  4. Containment and titration
  5. Contraindications and trauma sensitivity

 

MODULE 4: Gestalt Experiments Integrated with Yoga

4.1 Gestalt Experiments – Theory

  1. What is a Gestalt experiment?
  2. Experiment vs exercise
  3. Creativity and spontaneity
  4. Role of the facilitator
  5. Safety and consent

4.2 Experiential Practices

  1. Empty chair adapted for yogic context
  2. Polarities through movement and posture
  3. Voice, sound, and mantra as expression
  4. Movement dialogues
  5. Breath-movement-emotion experiments
  6. Working with resistance compassionately

 

MODULE 5: Asana, Movement & Contact

5.1 Gestalt-Informed Asana Practice

  1. Asana as awareness laboratory
  2. Effort vs ease (Sthira–Sukha)
  3. Choice-based movement
  4. Staying with sensation
  5. Exit, completion, and integration

5.2 Contact, Boundaries & Relationship

  1. Contact cycle (Fore-contact → Contact → Withdrawal)
  2. Boundary disturbances:
  3. Introjection
  4. Projection
  5. Retroflection
  6. Deflection
  7. Confluence
  8. Yogic parallels
  9. Teacher–student relational field

 

MODULE 6: Application, Teaching & Ethics

6.1 Teaching Methodology

  1. Structuring a Yoga-Gestalt session
  2. Language: phenomenological vs interpretative
  3. Verbal cues and inquiry
  4. Group facilitation skills
  5. Individual vs group sessions

6.2 Ethics, Scope & Professional Practice

  1. Yoga teacher vs therapist roles
  2. Scope of practice and referral
  3. Informed consent
  4. Emotional safety and containment
  5. Cultural sensitivity
  6. Self-care and supervision

 

MODULE 7: PRACTICUM

  1. Guided self-practice logs
  2. Peer-led Yoga-Gestalt sessions
  3. Observation and feedback
  4. Reflective journaling

 

MODULE 8: Assessment Methods

  1. Practical teaching demonstration
  2. Case reflection presentation
  3. Written assignment (awareness-based reflection)
  4. Attendance (minimum 90%)

 

 

 

 

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