Testimonials
Since 2009, Flow Yoga (fka Trailhead Healing Arts Center) has provided the most integrative, comprehensive, and challenging Yoga Teacher Training programs in Central Illinois.
If you are reading this message, this is your sign to apply to the Yoga Teacher Training program at Flow. Words cannot describe how wonderful this program has been spiritually and physically for my yoga practice. Even the most experienced yogi will come away with a deeper or more meaningful understanding of yoga. Justina is a warm, welcoming light that guides you through the material. She helps you to stretch outside of your comfort zone to look deeply into yoga beyond your practice and shows you how you can help guide others in their yoga practice. One of the things I love about how Justina teaches is her deep understanding that there is not a "one size fits all" approach to yoga, so she provides beautiful insight from her vast experience and encourages you to continue seeking knowledge and finding your true yoga self. This learning approach will help you do the same for your yoga students. I highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to teach yoga or someone looking to receive a well rounded yoga education.
KS
It is a place of enlightenment.
K E D
I’m presently taking the 200 Hour TT and it has been so much more than I expected. Not only are we learning the asanas and how to teach others but Justina and her wonderful guest instructors are taking us deeper into Yoga philosophy and on our own personal journeys of mind, body, and spirit.
Martha Peebles
When I started my yoga teacher training, almost a year ago, I had no idea the transformation I would see in myself and also the lifelong friends I would gain along the way. All I knew going in was that yoga poses came naturally to me and I might possibly make a good teacher. Spending a year learning at Trailhead has not only prepared me to teach yoga and meditation but has also deepened my own asana and meditation practice. I went in expecting only to learn how to teach asanas and came out with more understanding about the philosophy of yoga and how healing it is, not just physically but mentally as well.
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After graduating I’ve had many congratulations and questions asking if I’m glad it’s over. I’m absolutely not glad it’s over. Don’t get me wrong I’m extremely happy to have my certification, but I will miss these ladies so much. We all grew so close and if any of us had an issue we were struggling within the slightest way we came together as a group to support one another. It was the best experience watching how we all grew and changed while studying and deepening our practice. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of women to spend this last year with.
L.M.
I have been doing Yoga off and on since high school in the late 1960s. My wife and I began Yoga once again with a friend diagnosed with recurrent breast cancer. Subsequent to that loss, my wife and I both suffered a heart attack and cancer.We practiced yoga during our “cancer years” and following some experiences with the practice I began searching for a Yoga 200 hour training to prepare for more advanced training in Yoga for cancer. I contacted several schools then saw we have a local training course at the Trailhead Healing Arts Center in Springfield, Illinois.I telephoned Justina Schacht, owner of Trailhead, and within a short while knew that I could learn a great deal from her. My wife and I visited with Justina and we signed-up. No regrets and all expectations are being exceeded.Justina is a down-to-earth caring soul with years of experience in Yoga but too has experienced the depth of challenge within her own life needed for a true teacher. Experiential knowledge provides the “soul” of her practice and both my wife and I always leave the class with added energy and feeling peacefully happy.
Justina is certified in Ayurvedic medicine as well as advanced Yoga and meditation practices. Her studio can only be described as an energetic space where people find community and personal connection. Justina is open in sharing experiences difficult to speak of which also creates a comfort zone for people to release and share.
Her Asana are challenging but always done with an eye on injury prevention. The teacher training includes a subscription to an online anatomy course with in-class discussion and testing. We train and discuss the Asanas always with an eye to anatomy, breath and energetic movement maximizing the benefits.
Reading and classroom discussion dives into the philosophy and culture of the practices along with ethical and legal obligations for the Yoga teacher. We share a lot of personal experiences and approaches used to interface with various personalities.
Our Asana practice is designed to instruct the teacher on proper alignment, energetic direction, and breath. We have students ranging in age from early twenties to late sixties and everyone participates in review and helping each other attain proper alignment within the poses; it is a close community that develops within the first two sessions providing a true learning environment.
Justina is confident in her approach and grasp of the topics conveyed including holding a Master of Arts degree in consciousness. She guides the class into areas of their own lives as a natural flow and we actively offer the many perspectives to every situation which leads to the group gaining both understanding and appreciation for each other, the basis of the term Namaste!
I looked at a lot of schools and consider my finding Trailhead a real gift. Love it!
R. K. and N.M.
My 200 hour yoga teach training has given me a truly significant basis of knowledge to begin teaching. This program goes beyond asanas into a background of philosophy, spirituality and self care. It has made a noticeable difference in my anxiety and daily life. Although it teaches you to teach and conduct classes, it reminds you that your practice starts with the self. Justina’s studio is an open and safe location to begin your journey.
J.M.
Thank you to @trailhead_yoga_ayurveda for teaching me the true meaning of what yoga is. UNION. Any other westernized version of what yoga is, is shattered when you enter their doors. Almost three years ago, I was blessed to enter those doors. I was blessed to scrap my barista money to become a certified yoga instructor! And I’ve been teaching yoga privately for 2 years and have been privately practicing in self mediation for 5 years. I’ve been secret about this solitude because it’s a practice of reflection, not exercise primarily. In its eastern roots, yoga was life. The awareness and the union of everyday life and everyday beings. And I do my best to follow this path. Yoga is me and you and it’s an everyday discipline. It is a tool of awareness and healing.
A small ode to yogis: We are the women who vary with vengeance. We track our prey. Pray to tender gods. Godspeed to you enemy. God bless you always. We are owl bird and hollow hole and stepping stone and we are showing our teeth. And we come in packs. Covens. Flocks. We dress alike and we color coordinate. We run with wolves.
J.O.
I am so grateful for Justina and her knowledge. Being a part of the 500 level Yoga group has been one of the best things I have done in my life. Justina is a hidden treasure in our community. She has studied and true to her nature researched the history and philosophy of Yoga and Ayurveda. I am blessed to be in her presence and even gain a tenth of the knowledge she has. This 500-level class is one of the best things I’ve done in my life. So much love and light and real girls!!!
A.B.
The overall training was extremely comprehensive and well done; the visiting teachers were excellent and the sense of connection and community between the teacher and students was an extraordinary, life-changing experience.
P.B.
My experience with my teacher training at Trailhead was phenomenal. It has been one of the best experiences of my life. The knowledge and encouragement I received were above and beyond what I could have expected.
B. H.
I enjoyed every minute of my teacher training through Trailhead. It deepened my understanding of yoga and meditation and has made me a confident yoga teacher. Justina is extremely knowledgeable and a great teacher. I recommend Trailhead Yoga center to anyone wanting to take a teacher training course..
L.M.
I’m nearing the end of my 200-hour yoga teacher training with trailhead, and it has been the most amazing experience beyond my expectations. I had been practicing yoga a few years prior to enrolling and wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to find that we were learning much more than just teaching postures. We dove deep into yoga philosophy, history, nutrition, anatomy, and much more.
Justina brought in many guest teachers that specialized in different types of yoga ( prenatal, yoga for diabetes, Iyengar, supported yoga, etc..). I will be graduating having learned far more than I paid for, and bonds with the other students that will last a lifetime, so thank you Trailhead and Justina! It’s been an amazing journey.
— KM
This was an awesome experience and I learned so much!
Justina is an amazing teacher and has a wealth of information on yoga and Ayurvedic healing. It is totally worth the investment, even if you don’t plan to teach yoga in the near future. Check it out!
— ZE
​Great Teacher! Great Program! Life-changing, actually!!!! Even if you're not interested in teaching, I strongly recommend it to help deepen your own practice, understanding, and connection.
— AR
The instructors are spot on, knowledgeable, and approachable. Really feel as if I have had an incredible experience and my body is appreciative.
Bronwyn E R.