Testimonials: Mentor Program

I never imagined that I would someday be a mentor to such a dedicated group of students who share a desire to help our seniors. I have been able to use this unique opportunity to share my knowledge, experience and passion for yoga in a new way. Getting to know everyone and seeing their excitement as they grow in their own personal yoga journey thru this program has been thrilling and such an honor.

I learned so much from Sherry Zak Morris and her Yoga Vista Academy team during the six-month online Mentor Chair Yoga Program! The most impressive results for me are: I have more participants in my classes – my energy is in the flow! I used to get very tired after the sessions. Now I’m filled with energy, love and grace which the students give me back!

The Videos and Online Modules are very exciting; you learn Yoga poses and anatomy from a different perspective. Yes, and I found out that I’m an entertainer! We laugh and giggle a lot more during Chair Yoga! Thank you Sherry Zak Morris, Corey Stiles and Justine Shelton!

Namaste from Switzerland

I am so grateful to all of you. Gerry has been an exceptional mentor.

Thank you so much for your amazing feedback and suggestions!!! You have no idea how happy I am right now. Your positive and encouraging words give me the confidence to move forward with my teachback class. This course has exceeded my expectations. It is so informative and wonderful. I have learned so much. Thank you both, for the inspiration.

While I got a lot out of the traditional online course, I kind of got hung up in the anatomy portion and the online mentoring program with Viki Boyko got me past that hurdle. The Teachback video was really hard for me to contemplate, and I’m not sure I would have gotten past that without Corey’s Live Mentoring class. Corey was fabulously supportive and also gave me a lot of ideas and a network of chair yoga instructors to work with.

Overall, the course taught me a lot – the fact that it took me a year and a half to finish might have had something to do with it! But, I do feel extraordinarily prepared to go out and teach!

I’ve been a life coach for nearly 20 years. The mentoring through YVA is among the most rewarding coaching I’ve ever done. It’s incredibly inspiring to encourage aspiring chair yoga teachers to help them discover the strength, the creativity and the confidence of the teacher voice inside. The mentor program in combination with the online course provide a solid structure that delivers strong, capable teachers.

I must say that the material, videos and various teaching methods were fantastic. I did not know what to expect in an online course but I feel that I learned more than the face to face format as I was able to control the pace, access the information any time and remain focused. I loved the mentoring and coaching offered by Corey as it kept me interested and I was able to connect with others who were experiencing the program at the same time. I also enjoyed receiving your newsletters and Corey’s cheerful e-mails which brought so much fun to the program.

I truly found the Chair Yoga Program to be beyond informative. You offer SO many resources to the student. I loved that a mentoring program was offered, studying at your own pace, yoga videos, modules, and “spot on” yoga lessons. I learned so much regarding anatomy and the aging of our bodies and how to correct and decrease pain. I liked the emphasis on how to cue and speaking loud and clearly. Honestly, I would highly recommend this training to any one that wants to incorporate these important subjects. For me personally, I have become a better version of myself.

Gerry, I appreciate your weekly “Gerry Hugs” as well as your guidance in making my video. It was the scariest part of the course for me, and your guidance made it much easier.

But even after enrolling in the course, the task seemed daunting. Enter Corey Stiles, professional mentor extraordinaire and all around amazing woman. Because of her and Sherry’s unwavering positive encouragement during the Fast Track Mentor Program, never giving up on me, even when I gave up on myself for awhile, I was not only able to complete the course, I developed a level of confidence with designing classes and teaching seniors that I truly hadn’t expected.

THANK YOU so very much for everything – knowledge, info, support. I feel like this course is now one I will keep referring back to – without it being yet another dusty yoga book on my shelf. I know I’ll be dipping into the manuals and talks for a very long time.

I want to let you know that I think Victoria (Viki) is wonderful. I feel her energy through the screen. She is a motivator for sure.

I do love the course materials, You Tubes, newsletters, etc. but somehow I became, in Corey’s nice word, “stalled.” A few days after Corey emailed me, I finished the section on the spine and took the tests. Thank you for creating the mentor/cheerleader position. I feel I’m not alone now.

I am so very happy and honored to be a part of Yoga Vista Academy and to be able to help others along their journey. I certainly would not have guessed when I first starting following the two of you and then taking classes thru certifications that I am doing what I am doing now… being an Academy Mentor Teacher!

I want to thank you for offering the mentoring program. I don’t know if I ever would have finished my program without the motivation, deadlines, and help offered in the program. I’m going to start by offering free classes at some of the homes and senior centers until I feel comfortable with this population.

Your occasional personal emails were great for staying motivated and finishing the course. If you didn’t send me that final email checking in to see how I was and letting me know how close I was to finishing (just needed the final teach back), I would still have it hanging over my head. Your personal touch made it much more than an impersonal online course for yoga.

I really enjoyed taking part of the Yoga Vista Mentor Program. Not only was I helping adding teachers to our Gentle and Chair Yoga Community, I was also growing myself by going back into my books and refreshing my memory and knowledge of this amazing course. I would definitely do it again.

I have been so blessed to learn about Sherry Zak Morris and Vista Yoga Academy with the online curriculum for Chair Yoga certification! She is a phenomenal teacher and explains everything clearly and with joy and a great positive attitude, which is contagious!!! Also, the mentoring of Josee Madison has been such encouragement to grow, improve in my knowledge of the human body and how to help hurting people. Sherry’s online teaching program for Chair Yoga is complete, detailed and thorough! I have confidence, through her knowledge and detailed understanding of the body, to be able to help so many hurting people and give them Hope! Kudos to Josee and Sherry for all you do! Thank you for your patience in helping me do my best!

Gerry Hurtig is a real jewel! He is a great motivator and support for getting on with the plan. This is such a wonderful course you have put together!

The mentoring program was truly a stroke of genius. I doubt I would have finished the course without it. The idea of online courses is great but personally I love live, in person learning (probably a factor of age!) The online learning is dry and isolating so the mentoring gave it back the human connection that was so special.

I would highly recommend the Live! program to any aspiring chair yoga teacher, or to any yoga teacher who wants to add chair classes to his/her repertoire. I found the line on the cover of your Teaching and Certification Training Manual to be true: I have indeed been empowered with knowledge, skills and confidence! For me, the live element was key to my decision to do this training. I know from experience that I don’t finish most of the online learning I begin. Lynda is a fantastic teacher with much to share. In addition, I know that I learned a great deal from the other student teachers in our live group. My experience was more than worth my 6 hour round-trip commute.

I just wanted to extend my thanks. I couldn’t have done this without Viki’s support! She is an extremely skilled teacher and a delightful, kind person.

Viki is a great mentor, very supportive and thorough and creative in her teaching.

I am thrilled I took this program! Your On-Line Program was so informative and I have learned so much. The addition of upgrading this program to the “LIVE” option including a qualified/seasoned Yoga Teacher and Location to support, encourage, and educate me made this opportunity complete. Not being a 200 hour, I had my reservations on whether I would be able to complete this program with a successful Teachback. I know I could have not succeeded at the level I did with out the compassionate and honest feedback and support of my Mentor Teacher, Lynda! She watched me come into the program like a deer in headlights and with gentle but firm direction, she never gave me the feeling that I do no less than succeed if this is what I wanted.

Hey Gerry, I was looking back at the 25 + e-mails from you and want to say that I truly appreciated your encouraging words and advice. You kept me on task and that’s what Vata Karen needs :-).

The live mentoring component was invaluable. Viki is a highly skilled and effective instructor. She is extremely competent, and has a way about her that makes learning easy and fun. I found that her personal interaction with us was key to engagement in the program. In addition, Viki went above and beyond. She was extremely welcoming and supportive. She established relationships with the individuals in the class. She reached out to us with information, reminders, and follow ups. What was perhaps the most helpful, was Viki’s willingness to have us observe and participate in her chair yoga classes. Observing her teach provided an entirely different learning experience. For me, that was the most valuable learning lesson of them all.

I think without having the mentor system I may not have completed when I did! I made a decision to set a date a few weeks before my final teachback. I shared this with Karen. She was so excited and positive about it that I didnt want to let her down, let alone let myself down by cancelling it. I also told my students a few weeks before so that would also keep me to my plan. I made a draft class plan and sent to Karen. She made a couple of suggested amendments which I considered carefully. It was a great feeling on teachback day when I reported to her that I had done it!!
I will miss our conversations but I’m sure we will stay in touch.

Corey is a treasure – I am SO glad to have had her support in this journey. Thanks to her encouragement, I am through the final exam. I just need to spend more time watching videos and continuing to build on what I’ve already done, and in the next month or so, I can record my teachback. I already know what I will be writing for my field assignment, based on two friends in my class.

I can’t say how much I have enjoyed this training and how grateful I am for the impact it has had on my teaching. I look forward to my teach back with Jane and my fellow yogis this Sunday. I hope my assignment brings a smile to your face, your imprint and enthusiasm enabled me to have fun as I created real world options for all of us that go to the market and slump our way up and down the aisles. No more, the cart is an effective prop now. Chair yoga is totally portable!

The course was great. I really enjoyed the live portion with Jane and learned so much in the few times the group met. Love the videos with the various teachers and styles. The thing that I learned most is to remove EGO and that not all bodies are the same. I really love all of the feedback.

I am so very glad I decided to sign up for the mentorship program. It made a huge difference in my progress in the program. The Mentoring program was VERY helpful! I do like to work on my own, and I thought I would easily be able to do that as I have before with other online (unrelated) courses. But as I noticed myself letting “life” get in the way of my keeping up my pace, and the offer for the Mentorship program was so affordable it made it a no brainer to give it a try.

I got a lot of value from the conference calls and sharing with the others in the group. It gave the experience a much more connected and personal feeling to speak with others going through the same process. Gerry was very helpful of course by being there but not being too much. He was there to help and guide, and was there as much or as little as needed. I appreciated the weekly encouragements via our Facebook group.

I would definitely recommend to other students what a fine mentoring program you have. I still remember the day I received Sherry’s email regarding the program and how I could join in. As you could probably tell, I really needed the motivational perks to keep me on task and get it done! Phew!!

I had my doubts last winter if I could make it through with everything going on in my life but I will say with no doubt that you inspired me, Corey, to finish. After you helped me with the timing and schedule I was re-energized.

You’ve been a terrific motivator. Probably the best there ever was 🙂

How can I offer help to others when I still can’t help myself? I think I just made a very large step forward………. I’m talking right now at this very moment as I typed the words “how can I help others when I can’t help myself”. Thank you Viki for contacting me today with your encouraging thoughts. It prompted me to reach out to you to explain why I’m off track in my course. In doing so my heart and mind just became full of enlightenment and emotion’s.

I enjoyed working with Gerry. He is probably one of the most positive minded people I have ever met. 🙂 He made himself available via phone & email. He was our greatest cheerleader in the Facebook group, always offering encouragement. I would encourage any student who needs that extra bit of encouragement or motivation to use the Mentor Program. Sometimes doing a course online can be lonely. Having the Mentor and the group, really helps to bring the students together. The Facebook Mentor group were also very encouraging and helpful with their support and ideas. We all wanted each other to succeed.

Thanks so much for everything. You don’t know what this program has done for my self confidence. I am so motivated working with the seniors and I just keep learning more. My gratitude also to Justine and Viki for all of their cheerleading and kind words.

Corey was an excellent mentor, even though I didn’t use her to full advantage! Just knowing that someone was there and keeping touch was great motivation to continue on. She quickly recognized where I was at and let me do my thing my way! Invaluable!!!

THANK YOU for your wunderful email! I feel loved, energised, vital and I’m on my flow IN TO ME!!!