Monique Lonner, Director of Advanced Training and of the Yoga Therapy Training Program at Soul of Yoga Institute, had a unique first experience with Yoga.
Knowing little about Yoga, she was enticed to her very first Yoga class by her friend who suggested that they combine it with their Thursday Girls Night Out, fondly referred to as ‘Cigarettes and Tequila.’ The year was 2000, and Monique’s health and personal life were not at their best. However, the once a week Yoga class soon turned into twice a week, three times a week, and then, she was enrolled in a Yoga Teacher Training program! Needless to say, ‘Cigarettes and Tequila’ quickly took a back seat to her Yoga practice.
Monique’s inspiration for the Advanced Training at Soul of Yoga Institute had its origin in her initial Yoga practice and studies, which were very physically based and posture oriented. After teaching yoga for several years in New York, she relocated to San Diego, and began searching for a yoga studio to call home. She attended a class at Soul of Yoga, and was so moved by the spirituality of the class, that she knew she had found her place. The teacher was Tom Kelly, one of the co-founders of the studio. “It doesn’t matter if you can stand on your head if you can’t open your heart.” That is how Monique summarized Tom’s philosophy, and is also what Yoga now means for her. After going through The Soul’s 200 Hour Teacher Training Program, which was steeped in yogic traditions, lineages and spirituality, she realized that there was a need for a 300 Hour Teacher Training that combined both the physical and the spiritual aspects of Yoga. With the blessing of co-founders Tom and Trisha Kelly, she was called to create it.
After the success of that re-designed program, she created the 300 Hour Advanced Certification Training in 2010, followed by the Accredited Yoga Therapist Program in 2014. She and her Assistant Program Director Shannon Ramo work together in a complimentary way, ensuring a top-notch learning experience for all. Shannon shines in the inter-personal engagements and in her passion for social issues, inclusivity and accessibility. And Monique brings her beautifully melded knowledge of science and contemplation, and her ability to weave curriculum and wisdom keepers together in the best possible way.
The advanced courses are available to any and all who have an interest, but Monique says that they tend to appeal to people who come from a more narrowly focused 200 Hour Teacher Training program than the one offered at Soul of Yoga, and who didn’t receive training in some of the more nuanced aspects of Yoga training, history and spirituality.
Recently, Monique and Shannon have re-designed the Advanced Training curriculum, and have brought in new courses that respond to the current zeitgeist with its new issues and awareness. Some of these new courses are Advanced Teaching Skills, Philosophy & Physiology, Brain on Yoga, Chronic Disease and Ease, and Yoga for Heart Disease and Cancer. Two that Monique is particularly excited about are Brain on Yoga, and Marma Points. Brain on Yoga deals with children’s brain development, brain longevity, traumatic brain injuries, autism and Alzheimer’s, and how to teach to a neurodivergent population. Marma points are convergence points in the body between energy body and physical body. In the new course students study how they can be used to balance doshas and maintain health as a part of practices that involve asanas, pranayama, mantra and mudra. All of the advanced courses are taught by highly acclaimed and world-renowned Master Teachers such as Indu Arora, Durga Leela, Richard Miller, Leslie Kaminoff, Dr. Linda Chamberlain and Dr. Stephanie Sutherland, to name a few.
The structure of the advanced training program was also improved in the re-design of the courses; now having a much more accessible and modern format, with shorter durations and flexible attendance options. Gone are the 10 day long in-person sessions, created with the intention of minimizing the travel burden for out of town students. Now, all of the courses are available in three different formats; in person, via Zoom, or recorded (it’s noted that the Yoga Therapy program has a limit to the number of recorded hours a student can watch for certification), and are a much more digestible 6 day length. Monique states that “advanced level training is all about taking Yoga to a broader population, and making it accessible to all.”
A phrase that I’ve heard Monique use a few times when describing how she would be without Yoga is “crippled and crazy.” She says it lightheartedly, but it is a perfect description of the physical and the spiritual healing that she found through Yoga, and that she now beautifully shares with the world. In addition to directing the advanced training programs, she still teaches her twice weekly Hatha Yoga classes. And why is that? Through teaching, she says, she is able to put into practice all that she herself is continuously learning while attending each and every course in the Advanced Training Programs.
I’ve attended a few of her Hatha classes, and what strikes me most about them is her caring and personal connection to each and every one of her students. She arrives with enough time to walk around the room, to ask how each person is feeling, and to find out if there are any physical issues or discomforts. She also gives great freedom of choice during the classes; offering modifications and options, but really allowing her students to feel into what their bodies are needing. She meets each student where they are, and gives them the ability to take ownership of their own unique bodies and needs. And who knows, perhaps one of her students is struggling through a Cigarettes and Tequila time of their life, or with some other obstacle that life can throw our way. That’s why Monique will always find time to teach, to hold space and to offer healing for all who might need it.
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