Testimonials
I started Flow Yoga Teacher Training with Leah Gillman for the wrong reasons: I was going through a transition in my life, I wanted to be distracted and busy. Serendipitously, Leah subbed for a class I was taking at the Y, and she handed me a flyer for the program. I had really enjoyed the class with her…I signed up. What started out as an almost-random fluke turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. Through FYTT my body has gotten stronger, my spirit has grown clearer, my brain is more willing to focus, or even to be quiet altogether. By organizing and leading an incredible learning community, Leah made for the space for all this growth to happen. Leah is terrific at teaching yoga, and she’s terrific at teaching people how to teach yoga. She is able to see what everyone in the room needs and wants, and quickly figures out how to help them get there. She can make constructive feedback feel like a gift. She creates links between what people already know and new knowledge, she demonstrates with her hands, with her words, with her body, with pictures, with handouts, with the example of her own life. As Oakland Unified School District’s 2008 Teacher of the Year, I often get asked about what makes a good teacher. I wish that everyone who asks could come see one of Leah’s classes; with her ability to transfer wisdom, to differentiate for each of her students and to inspire an entire class, she models effective teaching at it’s finest. –Karen Pezzetti
This program is awesome!
The most amazing part of this program is the group dynamic – fed, in part, by Leah’s set-up and her awesomeness. The environment is warm, excepting, and in my program there was absolutely no hint of competitiveness or contention and I totally love each and every one. We each had something unique to give and to receive.
Leah has a lot to give and knows her stuff. She also encourages others to share, and will let the group share its knowledge while still maintaining structure so that we still learn the topic.
The opportunity to teach and to gain additional experience were great. Leah’s connection to the YMCA allowed us to make up additional classes, adjust “real” people, and to teach.
I loved the variety in the class – we were introduced to many different (highly competent) instructors of various modalities. We learned physical asanas, but also yoga history, yamas and niyamas, and anatomy.
Leah is fair, down-to-earth, fun and an exceptional teacher. I felt like I was in great hands – Thanks!!! –Erin Jarvis
I attended the 200 hour program that Leah was offering in the Spring of 2010. My initial intentions were to open up potential career paths; hopefully teaching some yoga gigs on the side. I didn’t anticipate the changes that my body and mind would go through.
My body is so energized and intelligent. My muscles are awakened and I feel the energy in parts of the body that I’ve never felt before. I feel the potential that my body has and the progress that it can make.
My mind is full of knowledge; from a culture and time before ours and from the wonderful teachers from Barefoot Movement. Going into this program, I had some “issues” regarding going into other people’s personal space. I can say now that, though it’s not gone, it’s heavily worked on. This program made it possible for me to make contact with people and become familiar with the human physiology; both in theory and practice.
As for the program curriculum, it was great. We were exposed to so many different aspects of yoga. Though this is a flow vinyasa teacher training, Leah had us take different yoga style classes. From anusara to iyengar to ashtanga to yin to restorative and everything else in-between! We had history lessons of the important texts and anatomy lessons including some awesome videos!
This teacher training is closely tied with the Downtown Oakland YMCA. There is an open slot for a yoga class at the YMCA for Barefoot Movement students. I took advantage of this and did one of my first teachings there. What a difference it makes to have not-known students taking your class!
So many great things to say! I couldn’t say more than this was fantastically, amazingly, awesomely perfect. –Alex Miley
Hi Leah!
Hope things are going well for you. Just read your newsletter … the studio is action packed, yippee!
I taught my first class at Berkeley yesterday and I totally didn’t pass out from nerves! I’m pretty sure that out of all the sciency stuff I’ve done and the teaching workshop at Berkeley, the thing that prepared me most was your yoga teacher training.
I will probably never teach yoga as my career, but I am forever grateful for having had the experience anyway … not only did the training draw me deeper into my own practice, it gave me invaluable experience for teaching and public speaking in general. -Erin Jarvis, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley (received 1 year after certification)
Three Words: Money Well Spent!
This teacher training program gave me the confidence and education to get me going on my path to teaching flow yoga. It was a great exposure to all the different forms of yoga and how to structure a class. You even get anatomy basics! There was more than a class feel to this program, it was a baptism into the yoga community and family of flow. Two Thumbs up! Namaste! –Samantha Stevens
I have known Leah for 5 years, since I began teaching at the Downtown Oakland YMCA.
Her classes are inspiring to students and instructors alike. Many of the early students are still in her classes.
She presents yoga at a depth that I can only aspire to.
She requires a lot of others and an equal amount from herself.
Leah is comfortable in her own body, individual hands-on adjustments are one of her many gifts.
When she began offering teacher training, I considered it a wonderful opportunity, and was fortunate to join the 2nd training.
She makes learning a joy, I look forward to each class.
She attracts a group of dedicated people who are becoming talented teachers.
I especially enjoy the anatomy part of the training; she has the ability to focus on the essentials without bogging down in details.
Leah is part of the tradition of wise women who have guided humanity though the ages. She got spunk. –Don
I work full time yet I loved the way this 200 hour year long program fit seamlessly into my schedule. It was always a joy to learn from Leah.
I appreciate the way Leah respects and adapts to each of her student’s learning styles.
I thought the guest teachers were amazing.
I loved leaning from the participants. Their extra credit presentations were very interesting.
I felt supported by my peers and appreciated the rich learning environment.
I came into the program injured, yet I learned how to teach even with all of my limitations!
I can’t believe how much I learned and experienced for such a great bargain. –Karen J
If you are ready to explore the physical and mental joy that yoga seems to have on people- and then challenge yourself to share that joy with others-then the Flow Yoga Teacher Training program is the place you should think about doing it.
Leah Gillman is not just a skilled yogi- she is thoughtful in her approach to the art of teaching yoga. She is a wealth of knowledge-she is light and powerful in her own body, and you feel the confidence she brings in her teaching.
Yoga looks different on everybody, and you will learn to appreciate that difference in you and others- which is human and real, and for me, the true meaning of yoga. Not only will you learn the inner workings of the body (i.e. lots of anatomy!), you will learn that while in your body, your breath is the true guide. You will learn the philosophy and history of yoga. You will develop your own technique and touch and voice, and learn that you are more powerful than you thought. You will be blown away when you finally learn how to do Bakasana…and then be blown away that you can teach it to others!
You will make good friends-my classmates come from all walks of life and all age ranges-from dancers to lawyers to the arborist. Leah has the gift of bringing people together and sharing this wondrous thing called yoga in a way that allows us all to create our own paths in learning.
It is an intense, one year, 200 hour commitment. And if you are ready either deepen your own practice, or teach others to move and breathe and seek joy, then this is the way to do so. Namaste –Ife
I am just reaching the end of Leah Gillman’s 2008 Yoga Teacher Certification Course and can recommend the course highly to anyone thinking of taking it. Leah is an excellent teacher, full of wise guidance, and encouragement. She is friendly, humorous and inspiring. Her course is very well-designed and provides a great combination of Yoga practice and theory. The course’s connection with the Downtown Oakland YMCA is particularly helpful in that every student has many opportunities for practice teaching not only to other classmates, but also to regular YMCA members.
It is possible to obtain a Yoga teaching certificate by taking an intensive course for three or four weeks. No such training, however, could possibly provide what this longer course does, with its opportunities for personal growth, information absorption, teaching practice, and the formation of relationships with one’s fellow students. Even if I do not do much Yoga teaching in the future, I shall be very glad I took Leah’s course. –Cecilia Storr