Katonah Chair Training

There are few tools in yoga that are as versatile and useful as a chair. It is a prop that offers accessibility, support, and new possibilities in practice for all bodies and levels of experience.

In this training, we will explore how to use this prop in many ways as a teacher and as a student.  We will look at how we can utilize this prop to deepen our work in our personal practice and how to use it in private and group class settings. We will learn how to adapt chair work for different students with different needs and in different settings, from the senior center to the shala.

Training will include:

• Break downs and fundamentals of chair setups
• Adjusting and adapting chair setups for different people and different chairs (pertaining to online teaching)
• Different considerations for teaching chair yoga online and in-person
• Sequencing both group and private classes: How to develop a clear class focus and make good choices
• Applying Katonah Yoga theory* and functional biomechanics in a clear and accessible way

Training includes 3 hours of pre-recorded content, 10 hours live on zoom and

Includes 2 free chair classes with Mary Dana

* While no prior Katonah Yoga® experience is required, hours are bankable towards a 200-hour Katonah Yoga® Certification and YA CECs

Recommended Prop List (in order of importance)

Need recommendations? Check out this blog post: 

• 1 Yoga chair or standard folding chair
• 2-4 Yoga blocks
• 1-2 Yoga blankets (or towels)
• 1 Travel yoga mat  (something that can be easily folded)
• 1-2 Yoga straps (quick release is preferred)
• 1 Sandbag

About Mary Dana

Mary Dana Abbott first found herself on a yoga mat over 30 years ago, when she attended Hatha yoga classes as a young child. Since then she has immersed herself in numerous disciplines and styles, both as a teacher and a student. Mary Dana believes the yoga practice is about unleashing everyone's potential for a more joyous and radiant life. She is known for her disciplined and accessible approach to asana: incorporating precise alignment, sensible sequencing, and a sense of humor in her teachings. She has amassed over one thousand hours of training and holds certifications in Hatha Vinyasa, Katonah Yoga and Pilates Mat. She has trained hundreds of teachers at both the 200 hour level and beyond. You can find her in Brooklyn when she's not on the road or (on the zoom) leading workshops and trainings.

Find out more about Mary Dana at www.marydanayoga.com.

About Katonah Yoga®

Katonah Yoga is a syncretic Hatha yoga practice developed by Nevine Michaan over 40 years. She and her teachers incorporate classical Hatha yoga with Taoist theory, geometry, magic, mythology, metaphor, and imagination — in a practical framework designed to potentiate personal and communal well-being.Framing the practice, maps of time and personal space are defined and refined. Themes using asana as origami, manipulating form for function, and developing a sense of personal measure are incorporated in KatonahYoga practices.

Katonah Yoga is organized around three principles of esoteric dialogue: all polarities are mediated by trinity; the universe has pattern, pattern belies intelligence; by virtue of repetition there is potential for insight.

Disciplined techniques are organized for revelation through revolutions.

Learn more: www.katonahyoga.com