©STRETCH THERAPY™

Stretch Therapy Teacher Intensive Program

2024 – update

At this time, we are not offering the ST Teacher Intensive Program.

In the Covid era, we have been working to re-formulate the format of the Teacher Intensive Program. Details will be available here when completed.

For now, you can read below the outline for the pre-Covid Intensive Program Part A.

Details

– Part A: ten full days
– Numbers: minimum 10, maximum 20
– Presenters: Kit Laughlin and Olivia Allnutt; and, depending on location, a number of Senior Stretch Therapy Teachers

Part A

Part A teaches attendees how to teach the ST system and methods to beginner students in the group setting.

Pre-requisites for Part A

(Updated 1 December 2019)

Contact (in-person) experience

To be eligible for Part A, attendance of four days’ of ST workshops (or equivalent, more below). This must include one two-day ST workshop.

Options:

  1. Attend two 2-day ST workshops
  • Start with one of the two entry-point workshops, meaning no prior ST experience required. These are Into the Stretch (beginner focus) or ST for Performance (focus on mastering particular end poses). Then,
  • Repeat your first workshop, or attend the other entry-point workshop. Or,
  • Attend Deeper Into the Stretch – the pre-requisite for this is either Into the Stretch or ST for Performance

2. Attend one 2-day ST workshop plus a minimum of 12 hours of Stretch Therapy classes or workshops given by a currently listed teacher (please tell us who your teacher is in your application).

  • This option allows you to start with 12 hours of ST classes and use this as the pre-requisite to attend Deeper Into the Stretch as your one 2-day ST workshop for Part A eligibility.

About Stretch Therapy two-day workshops

Into the Stretch and ST for Performance are each entry-point workshops – neither require past attendance of any other ST workshop. You decide which workshop suits you best to get started.

Deeper Into the Stretch has the pre-requisite of attendance of an Into the Stretch or ST for Performance workshop, or equivalent class-based Stretch Therapy experience with a listed teacher.

NOTE – If you wish to attend Part A ST Teacher Intensive, however, our strong recommendation is to attend an Into the Stretch workshop so that you can see and experience how the system is taught to complete beginners. This is exactly what you will be doing as soon as you graduate!

Part A

30 contact hours (over 5–6 days)

Mandatory pre-study prior to Part A

These are included in your registration fee for Part A. Upon registration, you will be sent all documents, and coupons to access online video materials.

Study guide 1 (of 2)
Principles and Foundations of the Stretch Therapy method

This block is text, assembled from a number of sources. We consider this essential ‘core’ information. Estimated time to read and assimilate this material is about 15 hours. No skip reading here, please! We suggest spreading this task over a number of weeks.

Contents are:

– Preface and Introduction from Stretching & Flexibility (2nd ed.)
– Key blog posts about the ST system, and related materials
– A number of fundamental, beginner exercises that attendees are expected to know inside out! In addition, knowing the basics means that we can go deeper into the material during the Intensive. These exercises will be taken from Stretching & Flexibility (2nd ed.) also.
– The ‘Unnumbered Lesson’, from the same text. This is a unique part of the system, consisting of movements and stretching lines in between all the major poses.

Study guide 2 (of 2)
The Starter Course Part 1, other key video exercises from Starter Course Parts 2 & 3, plus fundamental partner exercises from the ST YouTube channel

All contents of Study Guide 2 is video. Links to all material will be provided, as part of the workshop package. We suggest watching and following along the first viewing, then a second viewing with the audio turned off, where you are thinking about the essential cueing aspect. How have the results in your body been created, and what words would you use to recreate these in your students’ bodies? If you can’t remember, watch that section again listening to the audio: this is where the Cues are found. Assuming two viewings, one at normal speed and one ‘stop–start’, time to complete will be around 10 hours.

Following this review, Study Guide 2 requires that attendees write shorthand (dot point style) suitable exercise cues to each of the still images representing the exercises. Estimated time to complete study guide 2 is about five hours.

Part A attendees are required to submit the completed study guide two weeks prior to attending the Part A Intensive—we need to know that you have this basic understanding.

The big picture

Don’t leave this work until the last minute. The ST system is all about repetition—no one can master front splits by doing the element exercises once! Before you start, though, how do you best learn? If you learn from the written form of instructions, then plan on reading the exercises excerpted from Stretching & Flexibility at least twice, and practise them. If you learn best by watching, listening, and imitating, then consider repeating the video material at least a few times.

To really embody this material, spread the work out over at least six weeks: read, and re-read, the written materials; and do, and re-do, the video programs, just as if you were doing that class for the first time. The effort you put in here will benefit you hugely at the Intensive. If you want to do a thorough job, budget about 35 hours in allStart early, and spread it out! Life will get in the way.

Written examination

The final part of the prerequisite for attending Part A is to complete a written examination; this will be done during the workshop itself, early on in the training. Completed study guides 1 and 2 will show us that you have the understanding that is needed for you to get the most out of the 100% experiential training that is the Part A Intensive. Time spent completing the two study guides will repay itself many times over.

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Insurance

AUSTRALIA

Stretch Therapy is a named modality with Aon as part of their Allied Health Practitioners cover: see HERE.

If you already have professional indemnity/public liability insurance through Aon and – upon successful completion of the Stretch Therapy Teacher Intensive Part A – you wish to add Stretch Therapy, contact Aon to request this. Generally, there is no additional charge to add a modality to an existing policy.

If you do not have insurance presently, you can apply to Aon.

Other insurers in Australia

If you have professional indemnity insurance already for another modality but not with Aon, please speak directly to that insurer about whether they will add Stretch Therapy to your current policy – often, they will do this upon request.

UNITED KINGDOM

An insurance policy for ST teachers and apprentice teachers is available in the UK.

DSC-Strand Limited Swithins Tilford Road Farnham Surrey GU9 8HU
T: 01252 735806
E: info@dsc-strand.co.uk
www.dsc-strand.co.uk

Send DSC-Strand Limited an email asking for Care-Sure Insurance for Stretch Therapy.

Expression of interest

Potential attendees are asked to complete an application outlining why they are interested in participating in the Intensive program.

We’d like to know why you want to train to become a Stretch Therapy Teacher!

Attending Olivia and Kit’s workshop is always an inspiring experience. Not only I got thoughtful and well-organized information to advance my skills as a Yoga teacher, I also observed immediate improvement to my own flexibility that I thought impossible. Through the hand-on experience of identifying and removing the inhibitors within my body, I can explore the opportunities to continue improving myself physically and non-physically. With more than a decade of learning from them, I am still amazed how innovative they are and how effective their approach is, continuously. It is a true privilege to call them my teachers and my friends.

Justin – Boston, Massachusetts USA, 2017

Approaching the age of 40 I began to notice several ‘old injuries’ resurfacing. Shoulder, hip and knee were all causing enough pain that I was talking with my GP, surgeons and a variety of health care professionals (physio, chiro, etc). At best I would get a little short term relief but it would not last. The most common advice I received was to do less. I reached a point where i was no longer doing the things I enjoyed, I was in pain and I was not seeing any improvement. It was then I decided to get off the treatment table and back into my body.

This led to studying the Stretch Therapy Mastery Series videos through Vimeo. With regular practice I quickly realised I was on the right path. 12 months later and I am moving with an ease and freedom that I haven’t experienced since childhood. Attending several Stretch Therapy workshops took the gains I had already made to the next level. It was an easy decision to enrol in the Stretch Therapy Teacher Intensive program and I feel incredibly fortunate to be sharing this knowledge and helping to make a positive change in how others experience their body.

If you are someone who is looking to gain a greater awareness of your body, to identify and address imbalances and to put an end to the associated pain (as I was), I strongly recommend Stretch Therapy.

If you are a therapist looking to add an extra modality to your practice, empowering your clients to make a lasting change and an exit from the hamster wheel of healthcare I strongly recommend Stretch Therapy Teacher Training.

Mark – Hobart, 2016

My experience was truly amazing while attending Olivia’s Stretch Teacher Workshop. She explained it so clearly and precisely, and I felt confident after the workshop to start taking my own classes. Thank you again Olivia.

Karyle – Melbourne, 2015

I have been working in the fitness industry for 8 years (part-time) and more recently focused on yoga (3–4 years). I have seem a lot of people want to fix their bodies or supplement their athletic regime and have been very frustrated that my knowledge base could not always serve the deconditioned and on the end of the other spectrum the injured athlete.

This course opened up my eyes to a whole new world of practicable possibilities that will give me the tools to guide individuals to fitter more supple bodies. I am so glad that this wealth of knowledge has been opened up to me.

While I have been running / walking lately I have been dreaming of the yoga classes I will hold in the future and how much richer they will now be with this information in tow. I will be practicing on myself as over the weekend I could see that you were all highly attuned to your own bodies (an element essential for a great teacher) and understand that I need to develop these qualities within myself.

Sylvia – Sydney, 2014


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