A welcome and guidance for new students
Thank you for booking your training with us! We are pleased and honoured to support our students in their Ayurvedic Yoga Massage journeys. AYM is such an amazing method, such few people know about it and we are very happy that you found your way to this training. You will soon be able to offer AYM, and help people in such a wonderful, effective, inspiring way! We will do our best to support you to practise with confidence, joy and longevity. May you help many, many people through AYM!
We also want to share with you that the founder of this beautiful method Kusum, often passes her love on to all our students through Despina, your principal tutor. Even at this early stage know that you are joining a wonderful worldwide community that is lovingly guided by our incredibly talented and beloved teacher.
Although this document is long, we hope that you will find it helpful. We want you to be very comfortable and prepared for the practical part of your training. We have so little time physically together in the same space, and so much to share! The more comfortable and prepared you are, the better we can teach and learn this amazing technique. Feel free to skim read/dip in and out of different sections of this document as you need to before your training.
Training guidelines: How the practical part of the trainings work
I am an experienced teacher and overall, the therapist trainings receive excellent feedback. I am sending you separate, detailed description of how the trainings work, and my approach to teaching, and here I would like to explain why I choose to do that. Obviously, I am not here to waste anyone’s time and make you do unnecessary reading! But I do want students who are committing to a longer/intensive training to have the clearest possible idea of what to expect, especially if you have not attended a short training with me previously (such as a 4-hour workshop, or a level 1 training).
The trainings are generally a source of joy, inspiration and learning for both myself and the students! About 99% of the time. I have sometimes had students (thankfully, extremely rarely!) who could not connect with my teaching style and really couldn’t get comfortable in the class, despite my best efforts. If/when that happens it can be upsetting and disappointing for the student, and of course for me. I can work out how to proceed with the student in question by discussing options with them outside the class, but in the meantime, unavoidably there will be some level of disruption to the rest of the group. Nobody can be everyone’s ideal teacher, but I do try my best to serve everyone’s needs, and of course to avoid such situations.
This is the main reason why I ask you to spend some time reading the attached document on how the trainings work and let me know if you have any concerns. An added advantage is that it will save even more time during the practical part of the training. If you already understand how the training works, I won’t have to explain to you during class what the learning objectives are during each part of the training, what to expect regarding the pace of learning, when it’s OK to move on and when you need to ask me to spend some more time explaining/exploring/practising a technique, etc.
Introductory videos:
Please watch in the 2 weeks before the start of your training
If you are attending a Level 1 training, then you will receive access to the introductory videos two weeks prior to the start of your practical training. You have approximately 7 hours’ worth of videos to view. It is much more conducive for you and your group to do this before we meet in person. It allows us to save some time discussing the foundations of the course such as what AYM is, where it comes from, how we do consultations, and how to best communicate with your clients for example. We can use the time that we have in the same space to teach you new AYM techniques, which is impossible to do without being physically in the same space.
The introductory materials are equally if not more important than learning the AYM technique! I often say I’d prefer to have a therapist who is good at understanding my needs and communicating with me and is offering some improvised massage without training, than to have a therapist who’s technical skills are excellent, but they don’t know how to listen, understand and adjust their treatments to what their clients need on the day. As we can cover these skills safely in online videos, I offer you those videos in advance of the training. Then during the training, we can practise and deepen the skills that we start developing in the introductory videos, as well as having more time to demonstrate and practise the AYM technique. Think of the introductory materials as the foundation for the practical training.
You will not be expected to memorise and be able to apply everything just because you watched the videos but watching the videos in advance helps to make your training more efficient. Two weeks before your training you should have an email from our online teaching software alongside details of how to create your account.
Times
We will be working from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm on all days, with lunchtime around 1-2 pm, unless we specify otherwise. I am happy to amend the times if it suits the whole group better, or if someone needs to arrive later/leave earlier. This will only be possible if all the other students and the course venue are available and able to amend the times. If there is anything that might be a problem for your attendance of any part of the training, let me know as soon as you find out so I can check whether we can make alternative arrangements to accommodate your needs.
Venue and transport
We will be at the Yoga Barn, it’s a lovely space in a park! If you won’t be driving/cycling then you can either get a lift with one of the other students or we can pick you up at a local train station, probably the easiest to get to from central Glasgow would be Dumbreck. http://yogabarnglasgow.co.uk/location
Accommodation
If you will be travelling and booking accommodation for your training and on a budget, then let us know and/or post in your assigned WhatsApp group. One of your classmates might have space available at their place, or one of the local AYM therapists might be able to let you stay with them at a discounted rate.
Clothing, what to bring with you, other preparations
- For the trainings you will need comfortable clothing that you can move freely in, that’s easy to take on and off. If the clothing is too loose it will get in the way. Something like yoga trousers/leggings and a tank top or t-shirt (not too loose) tends to work well. Make sure that you have some clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit oily. Cotton and synthetic fibres are usually the easiest to clean.
- For people who prefer to keep their chest region covered, we will be using lungis (a style of sarong) to drape around the body as needed. You will always be appropriately draped when you are receiving massage. When you are receiving massage your teacher or classmate will need to practice how to get you (the client) to change, lie down and come up again and change into your clothes comfortably, all while being covered.
- Underwear: for all genders, comfortable underwear that is stretchy enough to get out of the way when we need to massage the gluteal muscles is useful.
- Nails need to be trimmed short but not so short that it’s painful for you to massage.
- You will be provided with notes, but if you have your own notebook that you prefer to use, please bring it along. Please bring a pen although I will have some spares if some of you forget.
- Bring a water bottle/thermos cup ideally, if not then it’s not a problem, we just have to make sure that we leave drinks well out of the way when we are practicing. I will have a big thermos hot water container that you can use to refill your cups during the day.
- If there is anything else that you personally need, then of course bring it with you.
Nourishment
Herbal teas, green tea, oat, rice and coconut milk will be provided for all trainings.
Lunch arrangements differ depending on the group. We will let you know nearer the time.
Attendance
It’s important to attend all times of the training as laid out in the program. If, for some reason you miss a day or weekend, we can see if we can make the time up some other way, or I can adjust your certificate to show that you have attended most of the training, but you need to attend some extra hours to complete it.
Please try to arrive to the training at least a few minutes before we start to settle in, so that we can start on time. I fully understand that punctuality is not always easy and that’s fine, but I do expect you to take the training seriously, and to understand that if you are not in the room during the times of the training you will be holding everyone back. If someone has a problem with transportation, is unwell or injured and needs to be away for part of the training that’s fine as long as I am made aware, and I can make a plan for what I am going to do with the rest of the group and how we make up for lost time with the missing student.
I am happy to give you a short comfort break whenever you need one. Just make me aware, and I will find the first opportunity to give the whole group a short break. Please do not leave the room during the training outside of the break times without checking with me, unless in the case of an emergency.
Certification and aftercare
We will provide you with a certificate at the end of your training, and you can also participate in two mentorship video calls with your teacher in the weeks following your training.
You will be provided with a course follow-up document and a few more hours of videos covering how to proceed after the end of your training, the best ways to practise and improve as an AYM therapist, recommended further trainings and resources for setting up your business. Please feel free to contact Despina through your mentorship group if you need any help! Even if you are doing well you never know what tips or ideas you might pick up from staying in touch with our community, and in any case being part of a community of practice will always help you do better and be happier!
Cancellation policy
Deposits are not refundable, apart from the unlikely event that we need to cancel or reschedule your training. However, if you cancel your booking we may be able to transfer a proportion of your deposit to a future training of your choice, within a year of your initial booking.
- If you cancel 4 weeks before the start of your training, we will transfer 90% of your deposit.
- If you cancel 2-4 weeks before the start of your training, we will transfer 50% of your deposit.
- If you cancel nearer the time, we may allow you to transfer your deposit if you are on a low income, or there is an unavoidable reason for the cancellation, such as bereavement, serious illness or injury.
REMAINDER OF COURSE FEES
- 100% refundable up to 90 days before the start of the training
- 50% refundable up to 60 days before the start of the training
- Not refundable nearer the time, unless in the case of serious illness, bereavement or natural disaster
To support a quality experience the trainings are very small. However, we get last minute cancellations with alarming frequency. The course fees are already as low as they can be set with the presumption that the trainings will be well attended. For us to keep our training accessible, last-minute cancellations are unsustainable in our business model. If you cancel with a lot of warning, you will at least give us the chance to advertise your place in time with the hope that we will still see you at a future training. Transferring to a different course with adequate warning is not a problem at all.
Complaints
If you have any thoughtful complaint or criticism about any aspect of the course, we would welcome hearing about it. You will be given a questionnaire at the end of the course, which will invite your comments. Otherwise please feel free to write or phone at any time or to take up any matter with your principle tutor.
Contact & Enquiries
The easiest way to get most of your enquiries answered is through your course WhatsApp group. If you can’t find/would prefer not to use your WhatsApp group, then you can contact us on the below:
General administration: You can reach our student support team [email protected]
For anything related to your attendance times, questions regarding the contents of the training etc: contact Despina, [email protected] or by text/WhatsApp message on 07403262496.
Please do not call outside of business hours unless in the case of an emergency, and please note that I might not be able to answer phone calls during business hours as I might be teaching or in a treatment.
