The Salt and Light Coalition Yoga Workshop is a 25 hour continuing education program affiliated with Yoga Alliance where students learn how to teach yoga to vulnerable populations. The course was developed based on the vast experience both trainers have with nonprofit work and has the seal of approval of our referring partners.
We reserve the right to withhold certification from students that fail to develop the skills to safely and competently teach yoga. All students must practice teaching throughout the program. Completion of a practicum is mandatory. Attendance: students must attend 70% of the classes. NO refunds will be given if students miss more than 70% of classes and are unable to get certified. The hours that are missed will be made up by paying for another workshop taught by a certified yoga teacher chosen by Izabel Olson.
I have read and understand all of the requirements for certification and agree to meet all of the requirements outlined in this document.
Your YTT Certification Registration Form has been received! We will contact you shortly about payment and next steps.
Izabel Olson, PhD, 200 E-RYT, is the founder and director of Salt and Light Coalition. Izabel stumbled into yoga in her native Brazil and fell in love instantly because the practice reminded her of dance, an art form she was passionate about, but had long been forced to forget due to an injury. During a trip to India to deepen her yogic studies, she became conflicted with her faith and yoga passion. After almost quitting yoga, she found Holy Yoga ministries which allowed her to combine her passion for yoga and her love for God. Olson was born and raised in Brazil and brings latin rhythms and movement developed deep in the streets of Rio, to create a well rounded and fun yoga practice. Izabel was a professional dancer and is currently an enthusiastic Holy Yogi and Ashtangi. Her classes are grounded in the traditional techniques of the Ashtanga method and in the grace and love of faith, while playing with the freedom of Latin movement. Always focused on a trauma-informed practice, Izabel has taught Holy Yoga at the Cook County Jail, at the Vine, an after school program for low income youth, and at the Dream center Chicago, a residence program for trafficked women. Izabel is currently serving at Salt and Light Coalition, while simultaneously being part of the Holy Yoga Leadership team, and a course instructor for their level 3 Kids Holy Yoga program. Izabel is passionately dedicated to promoting the use of faith, yoga, meditation, and pranayama as pathways to healing and empowerment.
Alexia's first encounter with yoga was a playful one. As a five-year-old she would walk around the house on her knees in lotus posture, mimicking the photos she found in a yoga book in her grandfather's library. The book disappeared but the inspiration remained in the back of her mind. Seventeen years later, Alexia realized that she couldn't deny her hunger to learn the practice of yoga: she left Guatemala, her home country, and moved to Chicago to start her teacher training. Alexia's greatest influence was Kino MacGregor, one of the few certified Ashtanga teachers in the country. Kino's inspiration helped Alexia discover that her heart is in the Ashtanga yoga practice. Alexia practiced for six years under the guidance of Todd Boman, who supported her practice and taught her faith and dedication with his own shining example. She apprenticed with Todd in the mysore classes and learned how to teach the method. In July 2012 Alexia went to Mysore, India for the first time and studied for six weeks under the guidance of Sharath Jois at the Jois Institute where Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was first codified. In 2013 she got a 200-hour certification from Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor at the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado.
Alexia teaches the mysore program at Yogaview, Chicago, public classes at Moksha Yoga Center, and private lessons. She has found daily practice to be profoundly transformative, calming, and empowering. As a teacher, Alexia inspires students to persevere, with enthusiasm, and share in these benefits.
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