Yoga teacher course injury modification rehab

Injury Modification Graduate Course

Tools for yoga teachers and fitness professionals

LIVE LIFE

FIERCE GRACE

40-hour Hybrid In-Person/Online certification in Injury Modification

with Michele Pernetta and Todd Taylor

NEXT COURSE STARTS FEBRUARY 28th 2025

A unique course 30 years in the making. This course combines a one-day live online zoom session with a full weekend in-person (which can be live-streamed also for at-home study) and self-study at home of our online video materials.

In the yoga and fitness industry today, many more people are coming to class with injuries or issues, looking for a natural way to heal. It is important that instructors not just keep the person safe, but actually offer modifications that will help them in their quest for healing.

Our work is primarily grounded in yoga wisdom, which has informed many physiotherapy and rehabilitation exercises for decades. We have now expanded our classes and courses to include physiotherapy wisdom to provide a practical, wide-reaching set of tools for yoga teachers and fitness professionals to use to enhance whichever discipline they teach and offer more options to their clients.

This 40 hour course is one of the first in-depth certifications for yoga teachers and fitness instructors to:

Learn how to teach tried and tested exercises scientifically proven to stabilise and strengthen a range of injuries or issues
Learn how to modify over 50 yoga postures that span all yoga styles and offer guidance for modifying many types of exercise or asana
Understand how to not only modify for individuals, but how to do this on the spot within a class setting
Learn how to include the student in the process so they can feel what works best for them

You will learn and practice how to:

Work with common injuries including disc prolapse, sacrum and sacroiliac problems, hamstring injuries, psoas and hip issues, shoulder issues, sciatica and the main types of knee injury
Suggest modifications for the above as well as unspecified pain with no apparent “cause”, arthritis and generalised joint pain
Provide modifications for the main yoga asanas that span all yoga systems and learn principles for modifying all poses
Practise teaching surprise injuries on the spot
Learn which common asana alignment errors can cause injury or wear and tear even to a healthy body
Understand how to work with neck, wrist, shoulder and other injuries
Work with older students, the very stiff or overweight
Recognise the safest option for students, fast
Understand the yoga teachers role in a persons healing journey

What you will receive

Certificate of Completion of 40 hours Injury Modification Training
The Injury Modification Manuals with the proven rehabilitation and modification sequences for each of the body areas studied
Resistance band (in-person students only)
Three months access to our Injury Modification and Rehabilitation online portal housing over 40 hours of videos on the lectures and workshops tutorials and content for the course.

View Course Syllabus

This course is for teachers from all yoga and fitness backgrounds, from the new teacher to the more experienced, eager to increase their knowledge and understanding of how to work with injured students and provide alternatives and modifications for safety and stabilisation, particularly in group class settings.

The course has been specifically designed for teachers who work in the group class environment, although all the tried and tested skills translate to the one-on-one session. It is particularly challenging for teachers to be able to modify poses and exercises for multiple people with different injuries, all at once, while teaching in a busy group class setting. But this is specifically what today’s yoga and fitness instructors need the skills to do, as more and more people come to group yoga classes with discomfort or injuries.

Gain the skills and knowledge to keep your clients safe and on the path to recovery with this one-of-a-kind course.

Testimonials

"As someone who has all sorts of injuries I have always been drawn to the inclusiveness of yoga and the fact that you can modify every pose to suit your personal conditions. As a new yoga teacher you can find yourself in situations where you are not ready to facilitate a new or injured student's experience due to your lack of knowledge. This course helps to tackle that issue. You leave the course feeling more confident and positive about your teaching skills. One of the greatest realisations on the course was that there is no one way of doing things." - Diana Varakina

"The Fierce Grace Injury Modification course used a range of learning styles. I really enjoyed taking part in the practical techniques and paired work. There was plenty of opportunity for Q&A’s. I feel that the course has given me the confidence to support and empower students. I am able to take the principles learnt on the course and implement them into my sessions. Providing modifications for safety and rehabilitation with effective use of props. I feel the course has helped me improve my standard of teaching, taking it to the next level." - Shirley Jacobs

Why train with
Fierce Grace

We have been teaching injury modifications, as well as alignment protocols to students for over 25 years and yoga teachers for over 20 years. With 25 plus years' experience of running busy yoga studios and supporting students with injuries in class settings – we are well placed to help you increase your skills in how to effectively support injured students when they arrive in your class.

Michele Pernetta our founder and course leader has had a special interest in yoga for injuries since avoiding double knee surgery through yoga. She has since taught over a quarter of a million people and brought her years of experience to the contents of this course which she will share with you. Together with anatomy specialist and fellow senior yoga teacher and anatomy specialist Todd Taylor they bring over 27 years of experience to the course.

We have been building a team of experts, increasing our class offerings and syllabus to better serve people of all ages and abilities. The aim of our 200 Yoga Teacher Training programmes and our Graduate Courses is to support yoga teachers, improve teaching standards and ultimately the student's experience.

Our passion is expanding yoga’s reach to injured people - from injured athletes, to the total novice. We look forward to working with you.

Course Syllabus Overview

Lower back injury modifications
Back, pelvis, and sacrum anatomy
Shoulder and hip anatomy
Shoulder, neck, and wrist modifications
Hamstring Injuries and sciatica
Anatomy of the pelvis, knee, and spine
Knee injury modifications
Arthritis and other issues
The Stabilisation Sequences
The psychology of pain
Recognising an issue, approach, suggesting modifications to students
Modification practice - work with a live person with pain in practical sessions
Protocols around hands-on adjustments
The role of the yoga teacher/coach in the arena of injury
Trauma and the role of Pranayama and meditation in healing
How to ensure the student is on the right track, signs, cautions, when to refer.

Schedule

The course is a Hybrid Live in-person/Live online/home study course. It’s never been easier to learn and get certified.

One day on Zoom
Study on-demand videos and tutorials in your own time prior to the in-person weekend via our course portal
A two-day weekend in person

We believe these 3 learning modalities make the course our best yet and delivers:

Time to study and review the videos and manuals at your own convenience.
The intensity and support of an in-person experience (the in-person days can also be live-streamed for those who can’t attend.)

About the course tutors

Michele

Michele Pernetta has taught over 300,000 students over a 27 year career and is the founder of Fierce Grace Yoga and the Course Leader of Fierce Grace Teacher Training. A personal student of Bikram Choudhury and Larry Schultz, Michele brought Hot Yoga to the UK in 1999. Michele's extensive experience and qualifications in Bikram, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Rocket, Martial Arts and Massage Therapy - as well as her decades of study in health and meditation - culminated in the launch of the Fierce Grace system in 2013. Michele personally healed her knees through yoga, and has helped countless students successfully work to stabilize a whole range of issues.

Todd

Todd Taylor is a Certified Massage Therapist and holds Full Body Certifications in A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques.) Todd is an Anatomy Specialist and as well as an experienced certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher and Pilates Instructor. He started his work in ART in San Francisco working with the Gaelic Football League and has received his training from leading physiotherapists and chiropractors in both the United States and Europe including Dr. Michael Leahy, developer of ART. He currently works in London treating patients at clinics and teaching yoga.

COURSE DETAILS