300-Hour Advanced Trauma-Informed Yoga & Coaching Training
At Life of Wellness Institute, we offer a profound pathway for teachers ready to move beyond studio instruction into transformative one-on-one guidance. This training weaves together the full spectrum of yogic wisdom—philosophy, breathwork, and meditation—with modern neuroscience, Ayurvedic principles, and professional coaching skills to create truly individualized practices.
Every session is held live, ensuring real-time mentorship from our Founder, Melanie Taylor, within an intimate cohort of dedicated practitioners. Through embodied learning, nuanced discussions, and personalized feedback, you’ll develop the confidence to support clients in private practice, wellness centers, and specialized settings like eating disorder recovery.
Graduate equipped to guide nervous system regulation, design personalized practices, and build meaningful connections through trauma-informed coaching—all while honoring yoga’s ancient roots and modern applications.
How We Compare
While many 300-hour programs focus on advanced postures, we prepare you for the deeper work of one-on-one transformation:
Our live, interactive training provides immediate feedback on coaching skills and therapeutic sequencing—because true nervous system work requires presence and adaptability. Through bi-monthly mentorship sessions and a curriculum grounded in ICF coaching competencies, you’ll develop tools that change how you facilitate growth—whether in private practice, studios, or specialized wellness settings.
“This training… allowed me to elevate my practice as a yoga provider. I feel equipped to support clients with intention, compassion, and clarity.”
— Alyssa G, RYT500, Occupational Therapist, the YogiOT.
What You’ll Learn
This training prepares you to integrate yoga’s full potential with evidence-based coaching techniques:
The Art of Individualized Guidance
Develop professional coaching skills including active listening, powerful questioning, and client-centered goal setting—all aligned with ICF core competencies. Learn to apply Polyvagal Theory through breathwork, movement, and meditation tailored to each client’s nervous system needs.
Yoga’s Full Therapeutic Potential
Move beyond asana to skillfully integrate yoga philosophy into modern practice. Work with the subtle body through koshas, gunas, and prana vayus while maintaining trauma-informed boundaries that honor each student’s autonomy.
Building a Sustainable Practice
Master client intake processes, progress tracking systems, and authentic marketing approaches. Develop referral networks with wellness professionals while staying true to your values.
Bridging Wisdom Traditions
Discover how Polyvagal Theory and Ayurveda intersect to create practices that cultivate both safety and growth, with quarterly research updates to inform your teaching.
Yoga Alliance Recognition
Graduate as an RYT-500 with certifications in Trauma-Informed Viniyoga and Ayurvedic Wellness Coaching, credentials respected worldwide for their rigor and applicability.
Why Choose Us?
Discover Your Professional Path
Whether guiding private clients, teaching specialized populations, or creating community programs, your mentorship includes tailored strategies to build a career aligned with your unique strengths and values.
Join a Committed Global Community
Learn alongside an intimate cohort of carefully selected peers across time zones, forging connections that last beyond certification. Our alumni network includes teachers leading in treatment centers, studios, community interventions, and nonprofits worldwide.
Rigorous Standards, Respected Certification
As a Yoga Alliance RYS-300 school, we deliver 100% live training with trauma-informed practicums, ensuring your RYT-500 credential reflects exceptional preparation for professional settings.
1:1 Mentorship Rooted in Experience
Melanie Taylor, our founder and Yoga Therapist, provides personalized guidance drawing from 30+ years of experience in business management, yoga therapy for mental health and teacher development.
Science-Based Learning - Stay Current, Stay Relevant
We provide annual manual updates incorporating the latest neuroscience and trauma-informed research, ensuring your foundational materials remain cutting-edge. Plus, you'll receive our Science Newsletter—with peer-reviewed study breakdowns and clear "TLDR" takeaways you can immediately apply in teaching. No jargon, just practical insights.
Live Learning, Lasting Impact
Experience the depth of in-person training through our immersive virtual classroom—with real-time feedback, case studies, and teaching labs that prepare you for real-world client work.
Join Our Next Cohort
This training has three modules that can be taken out of order. Upon registration, our founder, Melanie Taylor, will contact you to work together to determine the best plan for you.
Next Cohort Schedule Coming Soon
For more information or to be notified when the schedule is posted, please email info@lifeofwellness.ca.
2024-2026 Cohort Schedule
Module 2: Advanced Anatomy & Teaching
Weekend Intensives: April 5/6 and 26/27, May 31/June 1, June 14/15, and July 12/13, 2025
8:00 AM–4:00 PM MST/MDT / 10:00 AM–6:00 PM EST/EDT
Module 3: Transforming Lives with Yoga
Tuesdays, Sept 16, 2025 – May 5, 2026 (No class on Nov 11, Dec 16, 23, 30, 2026)
5:00–8:00 PM MST/MDT / 7:00–10:00 PM EST/EDT
300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Pre-Requisite
The 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training program is open to anyone and recommended for those who have completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification with a Yoga Alliance-certified school. If your previous training was not through the Life of Wellness Institute, a bridge workshop may be required. Dedicated students not on a teaching track may also be considered for advanced study.
Affordable Payment Plan Available
Pay in Full
Price: $4500
We are a registered school, and provide T2202s to all Canadian students for tax purposes. For other countries, please speak to your teacher for more information.
WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY
“I would recommend this course to EVERYONE!! Even if they don’t want to teach yoga or know anything about yoga. The knowledge and support you will gain from Mel will change your life!!
I am filled with more confidence, and my flame has been reignited! I believe I can change my life and my career and help support others in their own healing.” -Cori Williams.
“This training was detailed, trauma-informed, and person-centered. Melanie holds space for her students and encourages them to find answers within themselves. Her warm energy and nonjudgmental approach gave me the tools to care for myself—which in turn helps me care for others. I feel ready to teach and provide a safe environment for all.” -Alex Pattinson
“Trauma-informed yoga gets to the heart of what yoga is meant to be. I wanted training that aligned with my values—from our first call, I knew this was it. Melanie facilitates a beautiful online space where I never felt like I was missing out, no matter where in the world I was.” -Mary Whiteside
“I feel equipped to support clients with intention, compassion, and clarity—not just as a teacher, but in my own healing. This training clarified my dharma: how to serve others while honoring my wellness. The community we built is lifelong. Learning from Mel has been an honor I’ll carry forever.” -Alyssa G
Hi, I'm Melanie
For over thirty years, I’ve been where you are—passionate about yoga’s healing potential but disillusioned by trainings that prioritize perfect poses over people. That’s why I founded the Life of Wellness Institute: to create a different kind of teacher training. Your lived experience matters more than handstands here. Nervous system science trumps rigid alignment cues. Ultimately, you’ll learn to build a career that sustains both your students and yourself.
My approach—honed through three decades as a yoga therapist and trauma educator—is what I call sacred pragmatism. No spiritual bypassing. No toxic positivity. Instead, just proven tools: breathwork adapted for real trauma recovery, movement that respects anatomical diversity, and business strategies that let you teach from integrity instead of burnout.
Over the years, hundreds of teachers have used this framework to carve their own paths—in hospitals, nonprofits, and private practices where their work actually changes lives. Now, I’m sharing every lesson I’ve learned so you can skip years of trial and error and step confidently into your calling.
This philosophy isn’t academic for me. It’s the lens I’ve used for over thirty years to understand people, trauma, and what it means to heal. That’s what I’m sharing with you.
Ultimately, this isn’t just about teaching yoga. It’s about creating spaces where healing happens—and making a living while you do it.
No pressure, just clarity!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is This Right For Me?
Absolutely. Our training meets you where you are. Many students join to build nervous system regulation tools for anxiety or stress, deepen their understanding of trauma-sensitive practices, and create sustainable self-care routines. You’re welcome to take any module that supports your goals—you would simply skip the teaching-specific modules like The Art & Science of Teaching Yoga or the certification modules. If you change your mind, you can always add those on later.
We combine 100% live Viniyoga training with trauma-informed neuroscience and Ayurveda. Unlike pre-recorded programs, you’ll get real-time learning and feedback from our founder Melanie Taylor and learn from your peers in an intimate cohort.
Our Yoga Teacher Trainings are also fully modular—you can take individual modules for continuing education, or complete the full training at your own pace within 18 months, with the option to upgrade along the way.
Eligibility & Accessibility
While a 6-month practice is recommended, it’s not required. We begin gently with restorative yoga and progressively build skills at your pace.
Yes. We adapt for chronic pain, hypermobility, mobility aids, and neurodivergent needs like sensory-friendly pacing. Note: Acute injuries may require doctor’s clearance.
Absolutely. Our Community Agreements are designed to cultivate an emergent space for everyone.
We use gender-neutral language, honor pronouns.
Modules & Certification
You’re welcome to take any module on its own. Each module counts toward your continuing education, and you’ll receive a CE certificate upon completion. If you decide later to complete the full training, your modules will apply toward certification. However, we ask that you complete the full program within 18 months of starting your first module. If more time is needed, just reach out to Melanie—we’re happy to discuss extensions.
Sometimes a single module is all it takes to realize you want the full experience. If you complete your first or second module and decide to pursue the full certification, simply let Melanie know within two weeks of the module’s end. We’ll then apply your module tuition toward the full training cost—so you pay the same total price as if you had enrolled in the full program from the beginning.
Absolutely. We do ask that you complete your certification within 18 months of starting your first module. If more than 18 months have passed, we may request a brief skills refresher or competency check to ensure you’re set up for success. Just let Melanie know, and she’ll help you navigate the process. If more time is needed, however, just reach out to Melanie—we’re happy to discuss extensions.
About Our Curriculum and Courses
Our foundation is Viniyoga—a trauma-sensitive approach emphasizing breath-centered movement, adaptive sequencing for diverse bodies, and neuroscience-backed nervous system regulation.
You’ll learn about trauma, how to recognize and support trauma responses, use activation-aware cueing (e.g., no “push through pain”), and apply frameworks from the Life Of Wellness institute Trauma-Informed Framework.
Yes. We’re a Registered Yoga School (RYS®) at 200-hour and 300-hour levels, and a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® (YACEP). Yoga Alliance registration is optional for teaching.
Yes. Our individual modules are YACEP-approved and can be taken on their own, as part of a full teacher training, or as a refresher. We also offer additional CE trainings, including Integrating Yoga in Mental Health Recovery and Prevention, among others. You can find upcoming CE offerings under Courses > Continuing Education in our menu.
Payment & Logistics
Our modules are offered on a rolling basis, so you can start when it works for you. Each module has its own schedule. View upcoming dates and register for individual modules or the full program on our Courses page. If you’re unsure which path fits best, schedule a free discovery call with Melanie.
Live sessions are held during daytime hours (Calgary time/MT) and are designed to fit the schedules of working professionals and caregivers. Each module has its own schedule, so you can choose the timing that works best for you. View upcoming module dates on our Courses page or reach out with questions—we’re here to help. If you’re unsure, schedule ae a free discovery call with Melanie.
We offer flexible payment options to fit your needs. Pay in full, use our interest-free payment plan, or purchase individual modules as you go. All payments are processed securely in Canadian currency. GST is applicable for Canadian students and waived for international students upon request. Contact us before your invoice is issued and we’ll remove it. If GST is charged through online registration, you would need to apply for a rebate through the Canadian government.
You’ll have access to all course materials for the duration of your module, and we keep them open for one week after completion to give you time to download everything. All materials are downloadable, so you’ll have your own copy to keep. We’ll also send a reminder with your completion materials.