Black background with white line drawing of a person doing a yoga pose and the text "Yoga & Somatic Foundations".

A 50-Hour Self-Led Training

You feel called to work with grief.

Maybe it came from your own experience of loss. Maybe it's simply something in you that knows how to sit with what is hard — and wants to learn to do it with more skill, and more to offer. You found the Mindful Grieving YTT, and discovered that a foundation in yoga is the starting place. This course is that foundation.

Enroll Now

The course is in its final production.
Enroll now to lock in your place — you'll have access the moment it opens.

Who this is for

Yoga and Somatic Foundations is a 50-hour self-led training that grounds you in the essential teachings of yoga, somatics, and asana — the prerequisite preparation for the Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy Teacher Training.

It's built for the person who already understands the body and healing work — a therapist, bodyworker, coach, or holistic practitioner — and needs the yoga and somatic framework specifically. You already know you want to do this work.

This is the door.

Why the foundation comes first

The call to this work is real. And the path to it has a starting place — a foundation in yoga philosophy, somatic awareness, and embodied practice that the YTT builds directly upon.

You may already understand the body through your existing work. This training gives you the specific yoga and somatic framework that Mindful Grieving facilitation rests on. The ground you build here is not separate from the grief work. It is the first layer of it.

What You’ll Walk Away With

This training is designed to help you:

  • A solid foundation in yoga philosophy and somatic principles.

  • How to lead safe, effective, and accessible asana practices.

  • The basics of sequencing, cueing, and embodied anatomy.

  • An introduction to trauma-sensitive yoga and creating safe spaces.

  • How to weave somatic practices and awareness into your classes and grief-support work.

  • Learn from Wendy Black Stern and Corinne Andrews.

You’ll leave with more confidence in your own practice, and the tools to begin guiding others with clarity and care.

Meet Your Guides

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Wendy Black Stern, C-IAYT, PRYT, Grief Guide

Wendy is the founder of the Center for Somatic Grieving and a pioneer in integrating yoga, mindfulness, and somatic practices to support people through grief. Her journey into this profound work began with the loss of her son, Noah, in 2008—a heartbreak that opened her to a path of healing, service, and deep presence. She is a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist and teacher with over 25 years of experience, and her work is inspired by the teachings of Ram Dass, Shiva Rea, Twee Merrigan, and the lineage of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.

Wendy’s approach weaves together personal reflection, community connection, and somatic wisdom to guide others through the transformative process of grief. In 2012, she founded the Grief Support Network, which laid the foundation for what would become the Center for Somatic Grieving. She is a contributing author to Stories of Friends and Family Lost, where she shares her personal story of love, loss, and healing. Wendy lives in Boulder, CO, and finds nourishment in nature, live music, soulful connection, and life with family.

A woman in a beige dress with long curly hair standing on a beach with ocean waves and a blue sky in the background.

Corinne Andrews, ERYT-500, RPYT, Life Coach

Corinne is the co-owner/director of Shraddhā Yoga and lead teacher of the Immersion and Teacher Trainings. Her formal practice began in 1998, and she started teaching in 2003 after taking her first YTT at the Mount Madonna Center in CA. She continued her studies with Embodyoga®, Meridian Yoga & Shiatsu, Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, Sanskrit and Vedic Chanting, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga, BMC Workshops, Trauma Sensitive Trainings, Neelakantha Meditation, as a Birth Doula and on-going Yoga Philosophy courses. She is also certified as a Life Coach, offering sessions through Trust Therapeutics and is the author of the book Birthing Mama.

Corinne’s classes draw from decades of committed practice and study, her long-time relationship with her spiritual teacher GurujiMa, and her aspiration to live yoga through a life surrendered to Divine Consciousness. She loves being immersed in nature, hiking, creating in the kitchen, traveling to India, and loving & learning with her teenage children, husband and dog.

Module 1

Fundamentals of Yoga & Somatics

  • Introduction to Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy

  • Overview of Yoga Philosophy, History & Key Teachings

  • Embodied Anatomy & Safe Movement Principles

  • Families of Postures & Breathing Practices

  • The Art of Sequencing

Module 2

Foundations of Teaching

  • Trauma-Sensitive Yoga: Creating Safe Containers

  • The Role of Asana and Breath Awareness in the Mindful Grieving YTT

  • Practice Teaching

  • Preparation for Mindful Grieving YTT

Essential Reading

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Self-Led & Self-Paced

Yoga and Somatic Foundations is entirely virtual and self-led. The moment you enroll, you have immediate access to all course materials, and you move through them on your own schedule.

50 hours of content across two modules, with required reading included. Complete it before the start of the YTT cohort you plan to join.

You move through it independently. This isn't a mentored program — but if questions come up along the way, Wendy is available to support you.

A flyer promoting mindful grieving yoga therapy teacher training. It features a logo of a lotus flower, text that reads 'Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy Teacher Training,' a group of people meditating on the floor, and a smiling woman outdoors.

About Our Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy Teacher Training

The Mindful Grieving Yoga Therapy Teacher Training is where this foundation leads.

It's a 200-hour certification in grief-focused yoga therapy — mindfulness, somatic practice, and the Mindful Grieving curriculum — that prepares you to hold circles and lead grief programs in your own community. You'll learn to create safe, supportive spaces for people in grief, and join a global network of certified facilitators doing this work around the world.

It comes in two formats — same curriculum, same certification, different container:

What becomes possible

When you complete this training, you'll have more than a prerequisite fulfilled. You'll have a real relationship with your own body as a practitioner. A working understanding of yoga philosophy, movement, and breath. The beginning of what it means to hold space somatically.

From there, the YTT takes everything you've built and deepens it into something you can bring into the room with a grieving person. That confidence — grounded, oriented, already in conversation with the body — begins here.

Logo for Yoga & Somatic Foundations featuring a white line drawing of a person performing a side stretch yoga pose on a black background.

Enrollment

Your Investment — $499, one-time.

Self-paced — move through it on your own schedule. Complete before the start of your YTT cohort.

If cost is a barrier and you're committed to the YTT pathway, please reach out before you decide not to enroll.

ENROLL NOW

The course is in its final production.
Enroll now to lock in your place — you'll have access the moment it opens.

This course was built to genuinely prepare you for the YTT — not to check a box, but to give you real ground to stand on.

Because it's a digital, self-paced course, enrollment is non-refundable. If questions come up as you move through it, reach out — Wendy is here.

And if cost is the only thing standing between you and the YTT pathway, tell me before you decide against it. Scholarships are available for students in need and committed to the work.

FAQs

  • 50 hours of self-led content. The pace is yours — just complete it before your YTT cohort starts.

  • Yes. Many students come from healing professions. The yoga and somatic framework here deepens your existing work and prepares you specifically for the Mindful Grieving YTT.

  • No. The course starts at the very beginning — yoga philosophy, somatic principles, and safe movement — and builds from the ground up. Whether you're brand new to yoga or have practiced for years, you'll get exactly what you need here.

  • It fulfills the yoga-certification prerequisite. The YTT also asks for at least 25 hours of personal growth work. Questions about readiness? Schedule a call with Wendy.

  • Yes. Begin that conversation anytime — you'll just need to finish Foundations before the YTT start date.

  • No. A 200-hour cert means you can apply directly to the YTT. This course is for people working toward that certification.

More questions? Schedule a free Information Session

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