This training brings together two previously separate courses into one comprehensive programme, spread out over the course of a year with plenty of space for practice.

The full 200 hour training comprises of both the modules described above, the Theory into Practice module at 108 CPD hours and the Practice and Teaching module at 92 hours. See full content and CPD hours in the sections for each module further down this page, and in the course prospectus. 

These modules can be taken as the full course within one year, or separately over whichever time frame and order suits you.

Within these courses you get presentations, practice videos, manuals, notes. You can see the full list of what's included in the separate pages for each module.

You will also get tutorials with Charlotte included for each and access to 15 minute free chats with her whenever you need.

This training is for yoga teachers who have completed at least a 200 hour yoga teacher training. It also can be for any fully qualified movement professionals with a background in yoga. Other health professionals can do the Theory into Practice module only.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you need guidance here, or you can always book in a 15 minute chat with Charlotte to run through any queries or needs you have in terms of your suitability.

Basically, this course is for anyone interested in deepening yoga beyond mere physical practice and into the realms of embodied awareness. This course could also be for you if you simply want to deepen your own practice, or come to Somatics for your own healing journey or awareness. It could also be for those who want to refresh or bring new life into their existing practice or teaching, or understand aspects of stress, trauma, Polyvagal Theory, neuroscience, fascia in relation to yoga philosophy and embodied awareness.

Many join the course because they've already felt like coming into more fluid, explorative, curious practices away from fixation on idealised form and acrobatics and need support moving this into their teaching. When such attachment to ‘getting it right’ doesn't align with needs or values anymore, it can be very helpful to join those along the same path!

Many take this course as a deep dive into their own practice, meeting needs, trauma and stories held in their tissues that they feel ready to meet. It is this experiential work and personal journey of embodied awareness that can most feed into teaching that isn’t simply ‘going through the motions’ of modern postural yoga, but explores movement and breath as gesture, expression and agency.

This training will allow you to call yourself a Somatic Therapeutic Yoga Teacher. The term Somatics is becoming more and more recognised and acknowledged by the public and teaching environments as deeply therapeutic for body and mind.

There is also a recognition that the word Somatics means something other than yoga, but when brought under the umbrella of yoga philosophy, how it might help find qualities that maybe yoga has lost, through the recent emphasis on Modern Postural Yoga. It might help reawaken the deep quality of nuance, subtlety of practice and attunement. If you have become disenchanted with teaching yoga in ways that might be ambitious or overly attached to the outcome of asana, then this could well be the change in direction you need.

There is more and more understanding that we need to move in fluid fascial ways that aren't simply ‘one size fits all’ in terms of body, or an idealised form imposed upon us externally. If you recognise there is a need for people to connect with themselves without separating out mind and body or that physicality is much more than what we can do, then this training is for you.

This will also suit you if you're interested in how our movement as gesture expresses our boundaries, our needs and lets us tell stories of our past in ways that help move out held tensions from the body. Many people are interested in exploring their physical and mental health in ways that modern neuroscience shows we need for nervous system regulation and therefore health.

There is a recognition that people need more than simply being told what to do physically, but to access the curiosity and exploration that makes them move in ways that they were simply designed. This is the basis for fostering trust in their body that ultimately allows the potential of safety to flourish and even post-traumatic growth. There is a trauma-informed aspect threaded throughout this course that also allows a holding of space to let people meet their deeper needs.

Many take this course as a deepening of their own practice and relationship with body (soma), recognising that self-awareness is the route to cogently holding space for others. 

If you have a 200 hour yoga teaching certificate or are a qualified movement professional with at least a year's yoga experience, then you are very welcome to join.

The Theory into Practice module is also open to non-yoga teachers who are either wanting to attend to deepen their own practice or might be in other professions where embodied awareness is a useful understanding. For example, many psychotherapists have taken this course.

Only yoga teachers and other movement professionals can take the Practice and Teaching module.

This course is in-depth and does ask for your full engagement, but as such it is a rich and deep journey. You can drop into as much or as little as you need to satisfy the basic CPD hours as well as committing to follow the practice videos, presentations as directed before live discussions so you get the most out of the content.

You have the materials for life so you can continue to study and access them as you need.

You are also guided to your own self-enquiry, self-reflection and practice. There are many tools along the way, and we are always available to help you navigate what you need as you go along.

We also know that life happens and are always on hand to help you make up any content you have missed later. You can see the full commitments for each course within each module.

Yoga therapy is a different, specific training to this (or to yoga teacher training) that is mostly to work with a client for a health issue in a process that includes an assessment.  

Therapeutic yoga teaching is then essentially guiding a practice that has an emphasis on health, taught by a yoga teacher, rather than a yoga therapist. This means that it is often taught in groups or one-to-one without the full assessment process. It is also about the nature of the practice itself; to be guided by embodied awareness to support health/ equilibrium/ homeostasis and a body relationship that helps people to recognise and respond to their deeper needs.  

There will be an option to receive printed copies of the written materials for each module, at a small extra cost, otherwise they are downloadable PDFs within the course portals. This is for the notes for each theme with the Theory into Practice module, and the manual for the Practice and Teaching module. 

No, the live sessions are not recorded as we don’t believe it is ethical to record others voices and send out. These sessions need to remain a space where folks feel they can speak freely and openly without any censoring that can occur when they are being recorded.  

This also encourages you to stay engaged with the course and commit in the same way you would do if in-person. The course requirement is that you attend 80% of live course sessions and all of the workshops. You are welcome to join those on future courses to make up any missed. 

The workshops are held at the London School of Capoeira, Unit 1-2 Leeds Place, London N4 3RF - nearest tube Finsbury Park. 

The course is accredited with Yoga Alliance Professionals.  

Yes, this is a further training for yoga teachers, so within your YT insurance. 

Yes, over the course of the two modules there are three 30-minute online tutorial sessions (on Zoom) with Charlotte. You can book these in at any time, and they can be used as and when you need them. It could be that you want support with the coursework or have concerns about any aspect of the course. It could be that you need reassurance or support, as the training can be quite a deep personal journey, with sensitive and trauma-informed practices. The sessions can also be used to discuss anything you prefer not to bring to the group sessions, or a place to explore potential subjects for assessment.

There will also be a dedicated course WhatsApp group for your training intake.

Yes, we are very used to taking students through the course content having run them for many years. We have many systems in place to provide the information you need as you go along and also answer any queries quickly and as you need.

You will also be offered peer support through the opportunity to either pair up with another student or join a study group. You don't have to take this up; you may prefer a more personal journey, but if you do want to be connected with one or more people, we send out questions to determine whether you prefer that by something like location or interest or another reason.

There will also be a dedicated course WhatsApp group for your training intake.

Yes - Charlotte always welcomes the opportunity to talk in person, as this also helps you see if her teaching and the course is a good fit for you. Please book a slot with her here: https://calendly.com/charlottewatts/15min

For the online course and workshops in this module, you have a choice of two times in the same week. You sign up for one of the groups when joining the course, but are always free to join the other group if you have to miss a session or want to attend both. 

Online course:

Live session dates: Mondays 6-7.30pm or Wednesdays 2-3.30pm 

Introduction to this module: Jan 5th or 7th

Live session dates: Mondays 6-7pm or Wednesdays 2-3pm 

Theme 1 Arriving: Jan 12th or 14th

Theme 2 Stress: Jan 26th or 28th

Theme 3 Trauma: Feb 9th or 11th

Theme 4 Belly: Mar 9th or 11th

Theme 5 Fascia: Mar 23rd or 25th

Theme 6 Posture: April 13th or 15th

Theme 7 Body Psychotherapy: May 11th or 13th

Theme 8 Mindful Language: June 1st or 3rd

Theme 9 Health as Whole: June 29th or July 1st

Theme 10 Bringing it all Together: July 13th or 15th

Workshops:

Online workshop dates: Wednesdays or Sundays 1-6.30pm   

Workshop 1 - Grounding, Orientation and Agency: Feb 25th or Mar 1st   

Workshop 2 - Observing and Responding to Needs: April 29th or May 3rd

Workshop 3 - The Language of Embodied Awareness: June 17th or 21st

Workshop 4 - Resourcing Yourself to Support Others: July 22nd or 26th

London Workshops (two full weekends):

Workshop 1: Grounding, Orientation and Agency – Saturday 30^th May 11am-6pm

Workshop 2: Observing and Responding to Needs – Sunday 31^st May 10am-5pm

Workshop 3: The Language of Embodied Awareness – Saturday 27^th June 11am-6pm

Workshop 4: Resourcing Yourself to Support Others – Sunday 28^th June 10am-5pm

The workshops are held at the London School of Capoeira, Unit 1-2 Leeds Place, London N4 3RF - nearest tube Finsbury Park. 

For the online course and workshops in this module, you have a choice of two times in the same week. You sign up for one of the groups when joining the course, but are always free to join the other group if you have to miss a session or want to attend both. 

Online course:

Live session dates: Wednesday 2-3.30pm or Sunday 6-7.30pm

Intro: Sep 2nd or 6th

Live session dates: Mondays 6-7.30pm or Wednesdays 2-3.30pm 

Theme 1. Central Axis and Skull-Sacrum Polarity : Sep 7th or 9th

Theme 2. Shoulder, Neck and Jaw: Sep 21st or 23rd

Theme 3. Hips, Sacrum and Belly: Oct 19th or 21st

Theme 4. Diaphragm, Ribs, Lungs, Heart: Nov 2nd or 4th

Theme 5. Arms, Legs and Eyes: Nov 30th or Dec 2nd

Final group practice and submission info: Dec 14th or 16th

Final assessment to be submitted by end Feb 

Online workshops:

Wednesdays or Sundays 2-6.30pm

Workshop 1: Teaching Skills Specific to Somatics: Oct 7th or 11th

Workshop 2: Sequencing Classes to Focus on or Integrate Somatics into Yoga: Nov 18th or 22nd

In-Person Retreat at Emerson College, held in Spring and Autumn

A weekend retreat at Emerson College, Forest Row in Sussex UK is run in Spring and Autumn annually. This is open to all, but yoga teachers can apply 8 hrs CPD in Somatics practice, and those on the Somatic Therapeutic Yoga Training can apply this to their CPD requirement for practice. It is particularly beneficial to have this time with Charlotte, and immersion in in-person practice and teaching wherever possible. There will be time given on the retreat for those on the course to check-in, ask questions and reflect. 

Upcoming dates:

October 24-26, 2025

TBC March 20-22, 2026

November 6-8, 2026

Retreat Schedule

Friday

3pm - arrival

3.30pm – afternoon tea (pay as you go)

4.30-6pm - Central axis and skull-sacrum polarity: spine undulations, forward and side

6.15pm - dinner

8-9pm – Somatics into restorative practice

Saturday

7.30-8am - Qigong-inspired practice: arms, legs and eyes

8–9am – breakfast

10am-11.30am - Shoulders, neck and jaw: reptilian to all-fours/ dorsal sheath

12.45pm – lunch

3.30pm – afternoon tea (pay as you go)

4.30-6pm - Hips, sacrum and belly: prone and baddha konasana/ ventral sheath

6.15pm - dinner

7.30-8.30pm – Soundbath with Ruth Summers

Sunday

7.30-8am - Qigong-inspired practice: arms, legs and eyes

8–9am – breakfast

10am-11.30am - Diaphragm, ribs, lungs and heart

12.45pm – lunch

1-1.45pm – check-in for those on the Somatic Therapeutic Yoga Training

3pm – departure

You can always attend that theme within a future intake to ensure you have covered the required hours for the course. You need 80% attendance to live sessions. 

These are not recorded to ensure the engagement of live attendance and to respect the space as a place to share potentially vulnerable and sensitive information.