Become a Certified Stretching Coach

Science of Stretching™ Training
Unlock Your Hips, Hamstrings & Spine

4.7 of 5 Star Rating •
Exceptional Yoga Alliance School
Trusted by 23K+ Graduates Worldwide

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.

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 Gravity Yoga instructor and help students radically transform their flexibility and reduce stress, then I’m excited to iinvite you to our up-coming teacher training program.

Stay bendy,

Lucas
Founder & Director
YOGABODY Teachers College®

30hr Yoga Alliance Certificate + American
Council on Exercise (ACE)

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

Can’t Make Live Class?

No problem. The replay is available the same day, and every single question is answered each day by your trainers. Plus, you’ll have real-time, ongoing discussions in our Telegram Chat group, so you’ll be able to follow along perfectly.

12-Day Course (2hr daily)

Set aside approximately two hours per day for study and practice. This can happen all in one session, or you can break it up into two or even four parts. It’s up to you. It’s ok if you need to miss a day, simply double up on another day to catch up.

eLearning Platform

You’ll be issued a login and password for our official eLearning platform where you’ll find pose-by-pose tutorials, setup and safety videos, checklists, flashcards, and more. This new and updated platform has five times the number of resources offered in any other course, and you get lifetime access!

Class Discussions

Our private Telegram group and Chat is where most of the discussions happen. We’ll share photos and videos of our practices, answer questions, and explore opportunities together. We are active in the group every single day.

Live Training Sessions

YOGABODY’s expert trainers conduct training sessions via Zoom Meeting. We’ll field questions, demonstrate, and practice together. This is the next best thing to you and I being together in the studio. NOTE: if you’re unable to join us during the live class, replays are available the same day, and you’ll still be able to join in our lively discussions and Q&As.

Bonus Materials

Our ever-growing resources include new student forms, copy/paste promotional forms, business card templates, and more are all included in the program. We make it fast and easy to get started—a big part of the reason our graduates are doing so well.

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 great 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.

Lucas Rockwood | Master Trainer & Director (E-RYT, YACEP)

Lucas is an internationally-renowned yoga trainer, TEDx Speaker, podcaster, writer, and entrepreneur. His early yoga and meditation teachers include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka. Lucas left the USA in 2003 and traveled and taught extensively before making Barcelona, Spain his home base. In a previous life, he worked in theater, publishing, and as a vegan chef and nutritional coach. He’s the father of three international kids and remains as passionate about yoga as when he first began practicing in 2002.

YOGA STUDIOS. Lucas opened his first studio (and restaurant) in Koh Samui, Thailand in 2006 and franchised a second location in 2011 in Amsterdam. His newest studio group, YOGABODY Fitness, operated from in person 2012-2020 and was one the largest and most-influential in Spain with daily classes, workshops, and international training programs. In 2020 (COVID), the studio group moved 100% online and expanded its reach by a 5x.

YOGA PROPS & PRODUCTS. From the back of his first yoga studio, Lucas launched a yoga props and nutritional supplement division that has grown into a large, international company in its own right. YOGABODY now distributes yoga props and products in 81 countries including the Yoga Trapeze®, Wonder Wheel®, and Hurts So Good® Massage Balls.

TEACHER TRAINING. Lucas founded Absolute Yoga Academy (2006-2018), one of the top 10 yoga teacher training schools in the world in its time with 2,000 certified teachers (and counting) and courses in Thailand, Holland, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines. In 2016, the school modernized to become The YOGABODY Teachers College®, a cutting-edge new approach to professional yoga education and one of the only college-credit recommended courses in the world offering diploma courses for mind-body fitness professionals.