Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training Online

with Hamsa Spagnola, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, TRM
Amy Daya Eberhardt, MPH, LMT, CYT
and Rev. Shankar Fern, IYM

Training Schedule
September 9 – December 5, 2026
Wednesdays 6:00-9:00pm ET
Saturdays 10:00am-2:00pm ET

The Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga Teacher Training provides a solid foundation for Yoga teachers so that they will know how to adapt the traditional Yoga asana for those students who may be limited in movement owing to age, illness, disability, or injury. Through the use of gentle assists, various props and mindful observations, the teacher will receive an overview of how to adapt and teach those students who have all types of limitations and age-related conditions; and how not to feel insecure when working with them.

This course prepares you, the teacher, to adapt, adjust, and accommodate the traditional Yoga class so that students of any age, shape, ability, or disability may enjoy the Hatha Yoga experience safely and comfortably.


In this training you will…

  • Receive an in-depth training manual, specifically designed to support you as you continue to grow as an Adaptive teacher
  • Gain access to a student portal that provides a centralized location for all your training materials, recordings of the daily practices, and other resources to facilitate a deep immersion
  • Collaborate with your fellow teachers-in-training during break-out sessions, designed to help to get to know one another
  • Practice teaching and receive constructive feedback from your trainers and peers
  • Work one-on-one with people living with specific conditions
  • Observe and participate in several classes including Gentle Mat, Chair, and Restorative Yoga; Yoga for Arthritis; Yoga for the Heart; Yoga for people living with multiple sclerosis; and Yoga for Osteoporosis
  • Complete a research paper exploring a physical or mental condition of your choosing and develop a practice to support the student with that condition
  • Create and design your own Chair/Gentle Mat Yoga class to share as your final practicum



Curriculum

Daily sessions will include theory and practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation. The curriculum will consist of...

  • Focus on asana (postures) and how to adapt for various conditions/limitations

  • Deepen experience with pranayama (breath work), meditation, and Yoga nidra (Yogic rest)

  • Study Raja Yoga (philosophy) and learn to incorporate it into practice

  • Review anatomy and physiology as it relates to various conditions such as osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, spinal conditions, osteoporosis, various cancers, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, etc…learn what to do and not do for specific conditions

  • Learn how to work with props including wheelchairs and walkers

  • Understand how to create a safe space/environment for your students

Once you have met all requirements, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Integral Yoga as an Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga teacher.

Upon graduation, you can expect to be able to guide people living with limitations confidently and compassionately through a Hatha Yoga experience that is both safe and satisfying. You will be able to teach in many settings, including Yoga studios, gyms, assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, veterans’ organizations, schools, prisons, and hospitals.

Prerequisite

This program is open to certified Yoga teachers of all traditions with a minimum 200 hours of training.

Please note: health care and movement therapy professionals without a 200-hour Yoga certification, but with comparable experience (such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, Feldenkreis trainers, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Technological Requirements

Please be aware that you must have regular access to the Internet to participate in this online training. You must be able to run Zoom on your computer, and also have an active e-mail account for delivery of course materials.

Tuition

Tuition must be paid in full before the start of the training unless you are enrolled in the payment plan (see below). After the training begins, there are no refunds.

  • $1500 Regular Tuition
  • $150 Early Bird discount ends Aug. 1
  • $225 IYTA Member discount
  • $300 IYINY Active Teacher discount


A payment plan is available in monthly installments, there is a $25 administrative fee to enroll in the payment plan. Students enrolled with the payment plan are eligible to receive the early bird discount as long as the first payment is made by August 1.

Auditing

Teachers who are already certified through Integral Yoga may participate in this program at a discounted rate of $650. Auditors are not required to attend all sessions and will not be evaluated on assignments. If you are interested in auditing this course, please email [email protected] with a copy of your Integral Yoga Adaptive or Gentle/Chair Yoga certificate.

Certification and Continuing Education Credits


Testimonials

“I really appreciated the way the asanas were covered—the demos, the instructions, the modifications. It has helped deepen my own teaching in my regular classes. It felt like we learned every aspect of gentle yoga—the warm-ups, the chair yoga, the floor work, asanas against the wall.”
— Joseph

“The sequencing of the curriculum was helpful to me, progressing from explicitly taught lessons, to nonjudgmental group practice, to our own creative application of the skills learned.”
—Debbie

“It was a great introduction to the art of modifying postures for various populations.”
—Susan

Continuing Education (CE) Opportunities

Yoga Alliance (YA): Approximately 100 total hours. You can input your contact hours using your YA login information. Integral Yoga 300-hour: Approximately 100 hours towards RYT 500 designation Yoga Therapy: This is one of the required modules to become certified as an Integral Yoga Therapist.

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Lead Trainer

Interview with Hamsa Spagnola and longtime collaborator, Achala Godino. At a time when so many of our elders are becoming interested in the benefits of Yoga, Namaste spoke with Hamsa and Achala about how the Adaptive Gentle and Chair Yoga TT can help teachers learn to give a safe and beneficial class to older Yoga students. Read more >>

C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M.

Hamsa Spagnola

Hamsa Spagnola, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M., is Integral Yoga certified and has been teaching various styles of Yoga for more than 35 years with compassion and an open heart. She pioneered, created, and developed the Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training certification program and the Adaptive Yoga Teachers Manual for the Integral Yoga Institute. She teaches for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New York and in New Jersey. Hamsa also teaches stress management and meditation classes and offers Reiki classes and private Reiki sessions throughout New York and New Jersey. She is a traditional Reiki master and an Interfaith Minister of Spiritual Healing. Hamsa is an active member of IYTA, Yoga Alliance, and IAYT.

Instructors

M.P.H., L.M.T., C.Y.T.

Amy Daya Eberhardt

Amy Daya Eberhardt, M.P.H., L.M.T., C.Y.T., is an adaptive Yoga teacher, licensed massage therapist, Reiki practitioner, and writer. She filters her creativity and intuition through heartfelt empathy and care for the well-being of her clients and students. From 2013–2020, as one of the pioneers in the Integrative Health Department of New York University Langone Health hospital, some of her many assignments were teaching chair Yoga to employees, including floor nurses, social workers, chaplains, and administrators, providing massage to caregivers, and reiki and mind-body practices to patients, and serving as a member of the PACT (Pediatric Advanced Care Team) in pediatrics. Through Healing Circles Global, she cohosts a healing circle for caregivers and one for writers. She also taught deskside Yoga in corporate settings both in-person and online and made a series of Yoga videos in a collaboration with The Monday Campaigns, which are available to the public on YouTube.

IYM

Rev. Shankar Fern

Rev. Shankar Fern, IYM, has been not just instructing and studying the teachings of Integral Yoga for several decades but living them in every aspect of his life. He is the first to acknowledge that he is a “work in progress”, and his Faith in God (as the Divine Mother) and Guru acts as his guiding light through all his trials and tribulations. He loves sharing with others the insights he has been blessed with through his study of the yoga scriptures combined with daily prayer, worship, and meditation, and hopes to create a lasting community of those who seek wisdom and knowledge in this course.

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The Adaptive Gentle/Chair Yoga Teacher Training provides a solid foundation for Yoga teachers so that they will know how to adapt the traditional Yoga asana for those students who may be limited in movement owing to age, illness, disability, or injury.