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Join us for the first Mental Health Certification designed specifically for yoga teachers in Charlotte.Fact:
We’re teaching yoga in a mental health era — one where anxiety, burnout and trauma are part of the room, and curious teachers are learning how they can serve this growing population.
Many teachers aren’t prepared for what to do when someone panics, cries, or becomes overwhelmed in class. This gap is real, and it matters.
What will I learn and experience? Join this peer-led certification program designed to help yoga teachers:
✨ Teach safely and confidentiality to students with mental health needs
✨ Learn the scope of care and teaching nuances important to this population
✨ Understand the mind-body connection and nervous system regulation
✨ Respond skillfully in complex and elevated situations
✨ Mitigate student risk and learn triage protocol
What will I receive?
QPR - Suicide Prevention Certification
Yoga Alliance CEUs
Practical tools and resources
Sequencing frameworks
Common mental health language
Local mental health provider guide
What doors will open?
Expanded facilitation opportunities may include corporations, retreats, schools, community centers, private yoga training, and partnerships with healthcare and wellness organizations such as hospitals, medical centers, and senior living communities.
🪷 Limited to 20 participants - Ideal participant has a 200 Hour RYT certification or 3 plus years of yoga teaching experience.
🪷 Registration now open!
Yoga teachers have an opportunity to support the growing population of individuals who deal with mental health challenges every day.
Meet your facilitators:
Sara Cain-da Costa, E-RYT500, YACEP, NBC-HWC, CPT
Terrie Reeves, E-RYT200, YACEP, MSTOD, CCE Executive Coach certified, and Harvard Medical School and IOS Mindfulness Certified.
SIGN UP: https://thrivecarolinas.com/event/yoga-for-mental-health-certification-for-yoga-teachers-2/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRE9apleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF3WjM3WmpoZ2FMRkpTU2Q5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHokIUrEbLNIJ_aLCSntZcGylyVzu0BSqtbfNgRtLB0MVNl7HXVx01JnT1RoJ_aem_v_knLihn-Yr1AXT8J9uKMg
Read about our WHY.....
💚Sara Cain-da Costa – Yoga Teacher, Mental Health Advocate, & Mind-Body Leader
My passion for mental health is deeply personal.
I grew up alongside my mother’s severe mental illness, witnessing how stigma and lack of support impact lives. I’ve experienced loss, family members and dear friends whose lives were impacted by mental health challenges. And later, during my own mental health crisis, I found myself searching for something that could help me not just understand what I was going through but actually live through it.
I began practicing yoga in 1998, not because I was seeking a new path but because I needed one.
For me, yoga has never been just about exercise for the body. It became a way to steady my mind, soften in difficult moments, and reconnect when life felt overwhelming. Through my own experiences, including mental health challenges, a breast cancer diagnosis, and the long process of healing, yoga and mindfulness were not a cure, but they were a lifeline.
Therapy helped me understand.
Yoga helped me regulate.
Together, they worked.
Over the past 20+ years, I’ve taught yoga as a practice of nervous system support and reconnection especially for those navigating stress, trauma, and mental health challenges.
Through my leadership work in mental health treatment settings at HopeWay and volunteer with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health), I’ve seen something clearly:
We are teaching yoga in a mental health era.
And most yoga teachers are not trained for what actually happens in the room.
Moments of overwhelm, dysregulation, or emotional activation require more than intuition they require skill, scope awareness, and steadiness.
Yoga for Mental Health was created to bridge that gap equipping teachers with practical tools, clear boundaries, and the confidence to support real people in real moments.
This work is deeply personal to me.
And every time I teach, I carry not just what I’ve learned but what I’ve lived.
“We’re not just teaching yoga—we’re holding space for humans navigating real lives and real challenges.” – Sara Cain-da Costa
Sara Cain-da Costa, E-RYT500, YACEP, NBC-HWC (Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach), CPT, QPR Instructor
💚Terrie Reeves – Social Scientist, and Mental Health Advocate
My passion for mental health is deeply personal. I grew up in a fractured family where instability and uncertainty were often the norm, and for many years, I learned how to navigate life without the tools to process what I was experiencing. Like many people, I faced my own struggles with anxiety, low self-esteem, and periods of depression, and at times, I coped in unhealthy ways that led to an eating disorder. I am happy to share that this coping mechanism is part of my past, and it no longer serves me.
Six years ago, I lost my brother to alcoholism, a painful reminder of how real and complex mental health challenges can be. Yoga and mindfulness taught me the power of the pause and gave me the tools to heal, regulate, and live life with greater intention.
Research now confirms what many practitioners have experienced firsthand: mindfulness practices and yoga-based interventions have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress while improving emotional regulation and overall well-being.
Studies in neuroscience and behavioral health also demonstrate that these practices can positively influence the nervous system, helping individuals move out of chronic stress responses and into states that supports healing and resilience.
My lived experiences, along with evidence-based research, have motivated my WHY for building and facilitating this program. Creating this Yoga for Mental Health Certification is my way of helping others bring these life-changing tools to the people who need them most.
“Most yoga teacher trainings don’t prepare teachers for what happens when real life shows up in class.” – Terrie Reeves
Terrie Reeves, E-RYT200, YACEP, MSTOD, CCE Executive Coach Certified, and Harvard Medical School and IOS Mindfulness Certified
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6401 Carnegie Blvd, Suite 2A, Charlotte, NC, United States, North Carolina 28211
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