Inversions, Arm Balances & Backbends | IN STUDIO
Charli Van Ness | 10am–6pm Sunday 19-20 Sep 2026 | 15 hours | Price: £325
Do we have the focus, skill and attunement to find the stillpoint within it all?’
Transform Your Teaching of Advanced Asana
Do you feel under confident teaching inversions, arm balances, or deep backbends? Do your students ask for these poses but you’re unsure how to teach them safely and effectively?
This 2-day YACEP CPD training will give you the tools, confidence, and hands-on experience to teach advanced asana to students of all levels—from complete beginners to seasoned practitioners.
You’ll learn how to break down complex poses into accessible steps, use props and the wall creatively, offer safe hands-on adjustments, and design intelligent sequences that prepare the body while honouring individual limitations.
This course can be taken as a stand-alone CPD module or allocated as a 15-hour elective on our 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training programme.
Why This Training?
This course provides practical, hands-on training in the poses students most want to learn—and teachers most need support teaching.
Build Teaching Confidence
- Feel empowered to include advanced poses in your classes with the knowledge to keep students safe.
Wall & Props Mastery
- Learn creative ways to use the wall, blocks, straps, and bolsters to make challenging poses achievable.
Safe Hands-On Adjustments
- Develop skilled, trauma-informed touch techniques for supporting students in inversions, arm balances, and backbends.
Inclusive Teaching Approach
- Discover how to offer modifications and progressions so that everyone can participate safely.
Injury Prevention Focus
- Understand anatomy, contraindications, and how to spot potential risks before they become problems
This training equips you with the skills to teach advanced poses with confidence, creativity, and compassion.
Exploring Inversions, Arm Balances & Backbends 2-day Course Content
Day 1 | Inversions & Wall Work
Day 1 focuses on inversions, using the wall as a teaching tool, and building student confidence.
- Welcome & Foundation Setting – establishing safety principles and teaching philosophy for advanced asana
- Inversions Deep Dive – headstand, forearm stand, and handstand progressions using the wall and props
- Wall as Teaching Tool – how to use the wall for student confidence and alignment
- Spotting & Hands-On Adjustments – safe touch techniques for inversions and balance poses
- Building Shoulder & Core Strength – key preparatory exercises and conditioning sequences
- Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them – troubleshooting inversions with compassion and clarity
- Student Fear & Resistance – psychological and physical approaches to support hesitant students
- Practice & Integration – guided inversions session with peer teaching practice
Day 2 | Arm Balances & Backbends
Day 2 covers arm balances, backbending, counterposes, and intelligent sequencing.
- Arm Balances Fundamentals – crow, side crow, flying pigeon, and beyond
- Progressions & Regressions – meeting students where they are with prop support and modifications
- Backbending Safely – bridge, wheel, camel, and advanced backbend variations
- Anatomy of Backbends – understanding spinal mechanics and safe range of motion
- Counterposes & Neutralizing – essential poses to balance the nervous system and spine
- Sequencing for Advanced Poses – how to intelligently build up to challenging asana in a class
- Hands-On Adjustments for Arm Balances & Backbends – safe, effective touch and verbal cuing
- Teaching Lab & Peer Feedback – design and deliver sequences featuring advanced poses
- Integration & Next Steps – closing circle, resources, and ongoing support
Exploring Inversions, Arm Balances & Backbends Key Training Benefits
By the end of this 2-day intensive, you will:
- Understand the history, philosophy, and psychology behind inversions and arm balances
- Learn practical techniques and progressions for teaching these poses safely
- Discover how to sequence inversion-focused classes with intelligence and creativity
- Apply the Koshas framework to deepen the energetic and emotional experience of advanced poses
- Gain confidence through hands-on teaching practice with fellow trainees
This comprehensive training provides you with practical skills and deep understanding.
Playful Approach to Practice
- Discover how to teach inversions and arm balances with a sense of play, curiosity, and joy rather than fear and struggle.
Perspective Shifting Benefits
- Understand the psychological and emotional benefits of going upside down and how inversions shift our perspective both physically and mentally.
Safe & Effective Adjustments
- Learn hands-on adjustment techniques that support students without causing injury, along with clear verbal cuing alternatives.
Koshas Integration
- Apply the ancient wisdom of the Koshas (energy sheaths) to deepen the experience and understanding of arm balances and inversions.
Personalized Teaching Approach
- Develop the ability to assess individual students and offer tailored modifications, making your teaching more inclusive and effective
Who is this course suitable for?
- Yoga Teachers wanting to expand their teaching repertoire
- Practitioners ready to deepen their advanced asana practice
- Teachers seeking confidence in teaching challenging poses safely
- Those wanting to learn hands-on adjustments and prop modifications
- Anyone looking to master the art of inversions, arm balances & backbends
Why This Training Is Different
- Comprehensive breakdown of advanced poses
- Extensive use of wall and props for accessibility
- Hands-on adjustment training with safety focus
- Advanced modifications for all levels
- IN STUDIO immersive experience
- Focus on playfulness and perspective shifts
- Philosophy and psychology of inversions
- Can be taken as stand-alone CPD or part of 300hrs YTT
Course Includes :-
- Inversions Methodology & Progressions
- Arm Balance Foundations & Variations
- Wall- based Teaching Strategies
- Props Integration (Blocks, Straps, Bolsters)
- Hands-On Adjustment Techniques
- Advanced modifications & regressions
- Sequencing for inversion-focused classes
- Philosophy and psychology of inversions
- History and benefits of advanced asanas
- Kosha theory in arm balances and inversions
- Student assessment skills
- Building Strength & Flexibility Safely
- Teaching Practicum
- Personal Practice Development
- Teaching Toolbox & Resources
- Comprehensive Training Manual
Practical Information
- Please bring a notebook and pen.
- Wear comfortable clothes to practice yoga
- We have plenty of blankets and props here for you to use.
- Please make a note when booking of any ailments and injuries Charli should know about
- You will receive a PDF Manual for this Module.
Are you interested in this Course?
"Charli was an excellent facilitator - made me feel so incredibly comfortable and confident to try new things - I learnt so very much both personally and professionally from a teaching perspective"
Charli Van Ness Biography
Teacher Trainer, E-RYT-500 hours
Charli teaches Classes, Workshops, Teacher Trainings Retreats to the community of all ages, especially to those who are vulnerable or in recovery. She has been teaching since 2005 and is an E-RYT 500hrs Yoga Teacher. She has run her own RYS 200hrs Teacher Training School since 2007 and collaborates with the Shala School of Yoga on our 200-hour Teacher Training Course for those wishing to become teachers or for self development. Being a YACEP Provider, Charli also runs short CPD Courses – KulaKids Teacher Training, Padme Humm Sound Healing CPD Training + Women’s Wellbeing CPD Training. Charli is in absolute JOY when sharing her healing modality ‘Sound Energy Medicine’ (VibroAcoustic Therapy) + Womb Mandala Healing delivered in Groups, Privately + to accompany Art Therapy and Massage Therapists in Treatments.
Charli is a mamma to 4 children, 2 dogs + devoted to her life partner Matt. Off the mat her aim is to live a life full of heart, compassion, creativity, empathy with an ethical ethos in everything she does….whether its making a fire, getting messy in the kitchen, climbing the walls, walking in the forest, to dancing her heart out with family + friends. Living a simple but full life in East Sussex. Charli is in love with the ‘human body’ and since she was 2yrs old she has enjoyed the art of movement, this has included her teaching to the community Dance, Acrobatics, Yoga and her recent passion Climbing to help climbers improve their performance with Yoga.
Qualifications : 300hrs Yandara Advanced Yoga Training (Mexico & Hawaii), 200hrs Power Yoga Training (UK), CPD 6 Days Yoga Therapy Training, Yoga Nidra Training (UK), Sound Energy Medicine (VibroAcoustic Therapy Training) (UK), Meditation Training (UK), AcroYoga Dance Training (UK), NATD Acrobatics Teachers & NATD Tap, Ballet, Modern & Disco Teachers, Physical Education & Biology Advanced Level.
Highlights: Creator & Founder of Yoga Rhythm (est.2005) & Yoga Rhythm Teacher Training School of Excellence (est.2007), 1st British Advanced Training Scholarship Award Winner with Yoga Alliance International (2016), Produced Yoga Rhythm Foundation Series DVD voted one of the Top 10 Fitness DVDs by FitPro. Produced Natural Fertility Booster series 3xDVD Boxset recognised by the Western Medical Health Industry. Featured in Magazines, Tabloids & on the SKY Media Network.
Are you interested in this Course?
Course Dates
This is a two-day course in the studio
-
Saturday 19 Sep 2026 IN STUDIO
10am-6:00pm
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Sunday 20 Sep 2026 IN STUDIO
10am-6:00pm
Pricing
- The cost is £325 for the full day training
- Support Us in Keeping Course Fees Accessible. We are extremely grateful if you could opt for Bank Transfer (BACS Direct Debit) at checkout — this is not a standing order. This secure and straightforward one-off payment method made from within our software (no need to visit your Bank app) helps us minimize high card processing fees, allowing us to keep our course prices down. Thank you for your support. 🙏
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- If you do not pay in full, please ensure that you save your bank details so we can process the final payment. This will happen 21 days before the start of the course and receipts will be sent to you when the payment has been taken.
- 300 hour students get a 10% discount on this training if they have booked three trainings with us (priced at £395 or more) including core module 1 or 2. Email us if this is the case and the discount will be applied when the balance is taken.
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Terms & Conditions
- Trainings at the Shala School of Yoga are independently run by the teachers, and all payments for training services are processed by the Shala School of Yoga on behalf of the individual teachers hosting the course.