Each student in the program will be required to take the following three courses (students who have already completed any of the courses will take Special Studies instead and will still participate in the same classes and activities along with everyone else).
KIN 72: Yoga Teaching Methodology – 1 unit
Students will learn yoga teaching methods, sequencing, pacing, and cueing techniques with effective class management and communication skills. Special emphasis will be placed on how to create a student-centered, inclusive, accessible, and equitable class environment to appropriately address the needs of a diverse population.
KIN 70: Yoga Techniques and Training and Practice I – 3 units
Students will learn beginning-level asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing practices), meditation and other traditional yoga techniques. Techniques are presented through analytical training and guided practice in how to teach and practice the techniques.
KIN 71: Yoga Techniques and Training Practice II – 2 units
Students will learn intermediate-level yoga asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing practices), meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques. Techniques are presented through analytical training and guided practice in how to teach and practice the techniques.
The three classes listed above (KIN 72, KIN 70, & KIN 71) will be a required part of the Costa Rica Study Abroad program, and will total 6 units. Note that they will also involve some online work before departure and will finish in-person in Costa Rica.
IN ADDITION, YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THE 200-HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM.
Prior to the program, KIN 74 (Yoga Philosophy for 2 units) and KIN 73 (Yoga Anatomy for 2 units) will be offered online during the month of June by your instructors, Tara Jacobson and Andrea Thomas. If you opt to take these two classes, and then take the three required classes for the Costa Rica program, you will only be 1 unit shy of completing the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program. (You’ll complete the training program by later taking either KINES 50.2 Yoga Teacher Practicum for 1 unit or WEE 991 Internship for 1 unit.) For more information about the 200-hour yoga teacher training program, please email your Costa Rica yoga instructors: Tara Jacobson (tjacobson@santarosa.edu) & Andrea Thomas (athomas@santarosa.edu).
Note that this Costa Rica Study Abroad program will give you a unique path toward obtaining the yoga teaching certificate, but that it is not a requirement; you will only be required to take KIN 72, KIN 70, and KIN 71 as part of the Study Abroad program.
YOUR YOGA INSTRUCTORS
Andrea Thomas, Program Co-Founder and Coordinator
Email: athomas@santarosa.edu
Andrea Thomas is a passionate and experienced teacher of movement who deeply believes in the power of inclusive, evidence-based wellness and fitness practices. She holds a Master's degree in Exercise Science from The George Washington University, and has facilitated college students' learning in fitness modalities, yoga, pilates, health, wellness and nutrition for 23 years as a full-time faculty member. She is associate faculty in Kinesiology, Athletics and Dance at SRJC.
As an undergraduate student, Andrea channeled her childhood love and study of dance into teaching group fitness at the local YMCA. Eventually she started practicing and later teaching hatha yoga. Eager to learn, she completed the Asheville Yoga Center's 200-hour teacher training program and a 300-hour advanced teacher training course through Body Balance Yoga. She continues to deepen her study of yoga, mainly at Asheville Yoga Center in North Carolina. Andrea's other professional credentials include American College of Sports Medicine certified Exercise Physiologist, American Council on Exercise Group Fitness Instructor and Yoga Alliance Experienced Registered 500-hour Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500). She has completed the Health and Wellness Coach certification through Real Balance, comprehensive pilates instructor training through Club Pilates and Balanced Body's Pilates Bridge program, and specialty trainings in barre fitness, distance running coaching, nutrition and indoor cycling. An accomplished endurance athlete, Andrea completed three Boston Marathons and more than 100 races from 5K to 50K distance.
As a yoga teacher Andrea has led practices at festivals and in Major League Baseball clubhouses, and especially loves introducing beginning students to the practice. In 2017 Andrea co-founded SRJC's Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training certificate with the goal of making yoga education accessible to more people and for communities historically underserved by yoga in the West. One of her greatest professional joys is supporting and witnessing students become teachers who share yoga's ancient healing wisdom. In her free time Andrea loves line dancing, karaoke, being at the beach, supporting favorite causes, reading and spending time with loved ones, including her rescue cat.
Tara Jacobson, Program Co-founder and Instructor
Email: tjacobson@santarosa.edu
Tara Jacobson is a dedicated educator and practitioner in the fields of kinesiology, fitness, and health, with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from San Diego State University. With over 30 years of teaching experience, Tara brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role as a full-time Kinesiology Instructor, program coordinator, and department chair at Santa Rosa Junior College.
Tara's journey into movement and wellness began with her early love of dance, which eventually led her to become a dance and fitness instructor starting in high school. After college, she completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Integrative Yoga Therapy at Bodyworks in Petaluma and later expanded her expertise with a 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Shamanic Awakening in Sacred Valley, Peru.
In addition to her yoga training, Tara holds credentials from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) as an Exercise Physiologist and NSHC (National Society of Health Coaches) as a Certified Health Coach. She is a Balanced Body certified Comprehensive Pilates Instructor with most of her training completed locally with Gwen Miller.
Throughout her career, Tara has been deeply involved in teaching a diverse range of lecture and activity-based classes in Kinesiology, Fitness, Yoga, and Pilates Instruction in a variety of formats: in-person, online, hybrid, and HyFlex. Tara has developed and coordinated three career education certificate programs in Fitness, Yoga, and Pilates instruction playing a crucial role in helping shape the next generation of instructors to meet local industry needs with affordable and accessible training opportunities. She promotes diversity and inclusion so that individuals of all experiences and abilities can thrive. She also teaches locally at Active Wellness Fitness Center in Petaluma.