The Science of Stretching™

If you have stiff hamstrings, tight hips, or a locked-up spine, the Science of Stretching™ approach to flexibility training can effectively and systematically create more space in the body you live in. Founded in 2007, this unique methodology has helped hundreds of thousands increase mobility, reduce pain and injuries. If you’re excited about learning this methodology—and teaching it to others—I’d love to invite you to join our next live, online training course.

Science of Stretching™ Benefits:

• Relieve back, neck and shoulder pain
• Learn to move like a younger version of yourself
• Protect and care for your joints
• Build long, strong supporting tissues
• Enjoy the sports and activities you love
• Feel the youthful freedom of a flexible body
• Learn to palm the floor in a forward bend
• Squat bum to heels without discomfort
• Interlace your hands behind your back with straight arms
• Sit school-style with your knees on the floor

Our approach is different. There are hundreds of stretching books and mobility routines available, but most don’t work. The stretches feel great, but they don’t change your range of motion. The Science of Stretching™ approach uses best practices from published exercise physiology research combined with time-tested protocols from yoga, dance, martial arts, and gymnastics to provide a solution that delivers predictable results.

This system is taught to students of all levels, including complete beginners and students with injuries. Our goal is to re-establish basic range of motion (ROM) not to learn contortion or pretzel poses. The benefits of a long, limber body go way beyond yoga poses: flexibility improves your posture, reduces pain, reduces the chances of injury and allows you to move like a younger version of yourself.

Why Become a Stretching Coach?

Transform your clients bodies and minds. Science of Stretching™ is a rigorous practice that delivers measurable results. Your clients will improve their flexibility and reduce stress, and enjoy long-lasting results.

Stand out in the yoga market. Stretching Coaches add value to their communities not by competing with others but by truly bringing something unique and needed to the market

Love your job. When you turn your passion for yoga into your profession, your work feels like play.

Enjoy a flexible schedule. If the typical 9-to-5 schedule bores you, yoga teaching offers creative scheduling options that can be built around the rest of your life.

Earn $25-75/hour. You can earn the starting rate of $25-40/hour and know that senior teachers earn upwards of $75+/hour for Science of Stretching™ classes.

Huge demand for teachers. Specialized yoga teachers earn more, find jobs easily and attract clients. As a flexibility-focused teacher, you’ll find it’s much easier.

Get certified from home. If you’re looking for a convenient way to learn a new skill, this course allows you to go deep without leaving home.

Join our supportive community. Our teacher community spans 41 countries and includes a positive peer group that will support you.

Is this Yin Yoga?

Like yin yoga, Science of Stretching™ classes leverage the power of passive, long-hold poses. Unlike Yin, Science of Stretching™ does not teach meridians, does not stretch ligaments (bad idea), and does not teach or subscribe to structural limitation theory. YOGABODY is a non-dogmatic school, science-based, and business positive.

Science of Stretching™ at-a-glance

• Year Established: 2007
• Style: Long-hold, passive stretches for flexibility
• 3 Principles of Practice: (1) wet noodle (2) breathe to relax (3) time under passive tension
• Props: mat, block, strap, balls(optional)
• Prerequisite Experience: 10-25 yoga classes (any style)

3 Primary Teaching Opportunities

1. Private Sessions - I’ll show you how to quickly find students in your area and all around the world. As a private teacher, you’ll work for yourself, set your own schedule, enjoy hourly rates, and can make a huge impact on your students’ lives. You can teach from anywhere. For deep-stretching classes in particular, online classes are an excellent option.

   Location: your home or theirs or virtually via video chat.
   Earning potential: $40-80 per hour for private sessions

2. Group Classes - These classes are offered at local studios and fitness clubs and include both the "why" and the "how" of Science of Stretching™. You’ll lecture on the basics, teach groups, and assign homework. I’ll give you a sales email to send to local studios in your area so you can book your first 60-minute group class easily and start teaching right away. I’ll also give you posters, event handouts, and promotional materials you can provide to the studios so you’ll look like a pro.

   Location: most group classes are in local yoga studios or fitness centers.
   Earning potential: $25-50 per class for group sessions

3. Workshops - These 90-minute sessions include four parts: introduction, lecture, practice, and questions. I’ll show you how to deliver a 90-minute experience and provide you with all the materials needed to pitch and land your first paid gigs. Materials provided include slide show presentation, done-for-you contact for your partner, pricing info, promotional poster, and handouts for your attendees.

   Location: workshops can take place in yoga studios, fitness centers, or corporate settings.
   Earning potential: $100-150 per hour for workshops or corporate

*Rates for beginner teachers. Experienced teachers can earn 2-3x as much. Where you live, your teaching venue, and your experience are the variables increased pay.

A Letter from Your Trainer

I was a stiff office guy when I went to my first yoga class at age 23. When I bent forward, my hands only made it halfway down my shins. Backbends were out of the question and my hips felt like two blocks of ice.

When I sat on the floor, my back was hunched and my knees were way up off the ground. When I tried Wheel pose, it felt like my chest would explode. It’s terrible when you feel trapped in your own body, so I went on a mission to find a solution.

My yoga teachers told me yoga was not about flexibility, but that was easy for them to say — they were already flexible. For me, yoga was about flexibility because I couldn’t do anything.

My yoga teachers were no help, so I sought out gymnasts, dancers, and acrobats for some guidance, and here’s what I learned:

• Yes, you can increase your flexibility at any age
• Flexibility gains do not happen without targeted training
• Your current sports and exercise routines are probably making you tighter

I didn’t invent these theories. I discovered them from a handful of gymnastics and anatomy books, a super flexible yoga student named Anthony I met in class, and through my own trial and error.

What matters to you is that this approach really works.

When I first started teaching this method in 2007, my colleagues mocked me. They told me no one would ever come to a yoga class that was all about flexibility, but here I am all these years later with more demand than I can even manage...

... and that’s why I’m recruiting teachers.

Flexibility training has never been more needed in the market. Here’s why.

• Our modern lifestyles are making us stiff. We spend four hours a day hunched over our phones, six hours a day on the computer, and an hour a day in a car.

• Pop fitness trends also make us stiff. CrossFit, SoulCycle, Orange Theory, and obstacle races will get you in great shape, but they make you stiff. As people flock to these fitness trends, they need help to balance the strength with mobility.

• Older people are everywhere. The world’s population is aging fast and people are living longer than ever before. Average lifespan is 75+ in most countries, and older people want to move like they did in their younger years. They need your help.

If this sounds exciting to you; if you want to become a certified Science of Stretching coach and help students radically transform their flexibility and reduce stress, then I’m excited to invite you to our up-coming teacher training program.

Stay bendy,

Lucas Rockwood
Founder / YOGABODY

About The Certification

This course is registered with both Yoga Alliance Continuing Education (CE) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE). By successfully graduating, you’ll be qualified at the 30-hour academic level for the official Stretching Coach™

It’s possible to start teaching immediately without any additional training. We currently have instructors in 21 countries (and counting), and the demand for teachers far outreaches the current supply. So it’s a great time to get trained.

NOTE: We do not sell certifications; all credentials are merit-based and well-deserved. We take pride in the caliber of our graduates and we’ll hold you to a high standard.

Online Training Experience

Most online training courses are simply a bunch of downloads – that doesn’t work. At YOGABODY, we’ve trained professional teachers since 2006, and it’s clear that community-based, intensive, interactive courses are the ideal way to learn. You need to ask questions, practice teaching with your peers, have direct access to your instructors, and take an active role in your learning journey. YOGABODY pioneered online yoga education, and our experience is unmatched by any other school.

• 2 hour live sessions daily*
• Session times: 3 pm Barcelona / 2 pm London / 9 am NYC / 6 am California (find your time)
• Includes posture clinic, lecture & practice teaching (1st hour)
• Guided group class (2nd hour)
• *Can’t make it live? All replay recordings available the same day

Course Curriculum At-a-Glance

The training curriculum is designed to empower you with the anatomy, physiology, leadership, safety, and business skills needed to become a successful Stretching Coach™. Course director, Lucas Rockwood, has been training professional instructors since 2006, and his approach is 100 percent focused on results. This is not a yoga retreat or an extended workshop. You’re here to learn to teach, and you’ll walk away as a qualified instructor.

• Science of Stretching
  Learn what’s under the skin with the stretch reflex, sarcomeres, the nervous system, muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

• Science of Stretching 101
  Based on the best peer-reviewed research from exercise physiology, you’ll learn the three principles of practice and how to apply them to opening up the body.

• Hamstrings: Anatomy & Physiology
  Three of your hamstrings start at your sits bones and +1 joins the group halfway down your femur. These 3+1 muscles are the key to hinge movements, healthy spinal flexion, and functional posture.

• Hips: Anatomy & Physiology
  This large, strong joint is supported and articulated by dozens of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and tissues. No wonder “stiff hips” are such a common problem. You’ll learn the key areas we target to open them up.

• Spine: Anatomy & Physiology
  Lumbar spine injuries are one of the big reasons people come to yoga, but to create a healthy spine, we need to understand the entire spine, from the neck to the tailbone. We’ll explore function, dysfunction, and mobility.

• Sequencing
  You can create hyper-focused classes (hips, hamstring, spine) or full-body flexibility themed classes. In this module, you’ll learn how to craft a great class.

• Teaching Techniques
  Our approach is to be (1) effective (2) progressive and (3) accessible. To this end, you’ll learn how to organize your room, how to use your voice, body language, camera positioning, authority, verb choice, and more. In this module, you’ll learn how to be an effective leader.

• Class Enhancements
  Music, candles, essential oils, set, and setting. Since Science of Stretching is a slow, quiet practice, the small details you add to your classes can greatly increase the experience itself.

• Injuries 101
  Lower back, knees, shoulders, and wrists are probably the most common injuries we see. As a yoga teacher, you’re not here to diagnose or treat injuries, but you are here to coach. In this module, you’ll learn how to help clients help and heal themselves.

• Pain Management
  Pain is your body talking to you, saying “Hey, slow down!”. As yoga teachers and students, it’s our job to listen and decipher the pain messages – not to mask the pain or push through it. Rather than vilifying pain, we embrace it as our body’s intelligence guiding us to safely move forward.

• Your First Paying Class
  There has never been more demand for flexibility-focused teachers than right now – and not just in yoga studios. In this module, we’ll do real-time walk-thru demos on how to pitch yourself to local studios, how to obtain private clients, and how to get your first gig in the next week.

• Marketing 101
  Most yoga teachers tell me they don’t like marketing, sales, or business. Can you relate? If so, don’t worry, you’ll love this module. Our done-for-you marketing and promotions are simple, ethical, and exciting – and they really work.

About the YOGABODY
Teachers College®

Founded in 2006, YOGABODY Teachers College® is a “Top 5” training school with over 15K graduates in 41 countries. Our school is science-based, business-positive, and future focused. The success of YTC graduates speaks for itself. No gurus, no incense, no chakras, no Om’s. We’ve taken the best of ancient yoga practiced and combined it with modern science and technology to provide trainees real career opportunities.

Meet Your Trainer

FREE! Bonus Materials
($561 value)

When you train with the YOGABODY Teachers College®, you get access to dozens of resources for life. Our constantly expanding bonus materials, support offerings, and resources all by themselves make the course the obvious choice for career-minded teachers.

Online Business Bio Page ($249 value – FREE!)
You’ll get a custom web page where you can take online payments, stream or sell video classes, schedule and setup Zoom classes, and create a 100% personalized online web presence. Best of all, it takes about 10 minutes to set it all up. No cost for life for all graduates.

New Student & Liability Waiver ($49 value – FREE!)
For insurance and data privacy reasons, it’s essential that you have a new student form with a liability waiver for your classes. You’ll get access to our 100% online form your students can sign with their finger (phone) or mouse (computer). A signed copy of the contract will be sent to both you and your students – brilliant! No cost for life for all graduates.

PDF Pose Charts x55 ($99 value – FREE!)
We’ll send you our studio master file PDF of pose charts we developed after years in our studios. This is a great place to get ideas, copy/paste sequences, and find structures for your classes.

Science of Stretching Training Manual ($39.95 value – FREE!)
You’ll use this manual to learn pose-by-pose this system of targeted mobility training. You’ll learn the principles of practice, breathing, modifications, and more.

Music Playlists on Spotify x8+Lists ($99 value – FREE!) If you’ve ever tried to make a yoga playlist, you know how challenging it can be. In our studios we release new lists every 3 months, and all our trainees get access.

Frequently Asked Questions

100%, 365-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

If you complete the course and for whatever reason don’t feel like you received the education you expected, just email us for a full and prompt refund anytime within a year of purchase. We’ve been educating professional teachers since 2006 and take this responsibility very seriously. We regularly hire from our own graduating classes, so our curriculum must be at market leading standards. We’ll turn your passion into a profession.