Yoga Therapy for Chronic Fatigue Burnout & Long Covid

With Fiona Agombar and Sarah Ryan

START DATE Spring 2025 - Pre Course Training and Live Classes for the duration of the training with Fiona begin as soon as you have reserved your place.

In this CPD training you will discover unique ways to harness energy for fatigue conditions such as exhaustion, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Burnout & Long Covid with the help of yoga therapy. You will be guided through yoga practices Fiona has developed over a career supporting people with CFS.

Week 1 - Prana and its relationship to yoga and our energy.

• The five prānas
• The importance of working with apāna in fatigue states
• Granthis (restrictions) that can cause health problems. (obstacles that can stop prāna flowing)
• Examples of personal granthis
• A brief overview of the panca maya (kosha)
• Breath work and pranayama examples for helping fatigue and softening granthis
• Using a bhavana in relation to prāna
• Practice

Week 2 - The Cakras and Fatigue

• The çakras and fatigue
• Fatigue and the çakras – mooladhara çakra
• The importance of creating a safe space
• Teaching somatically
• Practice with Fiona including nyāsa

Week 3 - The Nervous System

• How society views fatigue – the problems of the patriarchy
• Definitions of fatigue including burnout and ME/CFS. Are there differences with Long-Covid?
• Symptoms and how these are relevant to yoga.
• The various models of stress
• The rational v emotional brain
• Polyvagal theory
• The mitochondria
• Avoiding the push-crash pattern and dealing with relapse.
• How fatigue affects a yoga practice
• The importance of micro breaks and pacing
• The role of trauma in chronic fatigue and how this affects teaching
• Finding a resource
• Practice with Sarah

Week 4 - Long Covid Focus

• Samskara and our shadow side
• Facing our emotions and not disassociating – self-inquiry
• Self-compassion, people pleasing and boundaries.
• The major tools of yoga therapy including nyāsa, pranayama , deep relaxation and mantra
• Welcoming fatigue and symptoms with acceptance as an opportunity for self-inquiry and spiritual investigation.
• Practice with Fiona

Week 5 - A deeper dive into Prana and the relationship to breath and our energy.

• Slow and low and pauses after the exhale
• An update on Long Covid, symptoms and the breath
• The breath – more teaching tools on how we teach for those with Long Covid and extreme fatigue states – less is more.
• Coming out of the hyperventilation pattern and what this looks like
• Nitric Oxide – how we can increase it, what it does.
• How we decrease inflammation
• The role of pronation in movement and breath for Long Covid
• Offering choices
• The five prānas – the great vayus – revision
• The importance of working with apāna in fatigue states – revision
• Understanding prana, samāna, udāna and vyāna and their relationship to energy flow and an example of each
• What can help and what can harm regarding the breath
• Practice with Fiona/Sarah

Week 6 - How stress manifests in the student – breath, body, mind, speech

• The pandemic and the effects on our nervous system
• Fear, the pandemic and fatigue
• The pandemic and mental health
• The purusharta model and how we find security
• How we can help our students to find a sense of safety and security
• The importance of micro breaks and pacing (revision and update)
• The importance of the teaching voice and language
• Finding a resource

Week 7 - Trauma, co-regulation, fatigue and the yoga teacher with guest Aneta Idczak

• Update on polyvagal theory
• Knowing our baseline – recognising the three states of our nervous system.
• Understanding self-regulation and the importance of co-regulation
• The role of the teacher in co-regulation for the student
• Connection and holding space
• Giving the student agency – ideas on trauma informed yoga
• Interview with Aneta Idczak on what Trauma Informed means when teaching
• Q and A session/ discussion

Week 8 - A deeper look at the chakras and fatigue

• A deeper explanation of the main chakras and fatigue
• Fatigue and the importance of the first three chakras
• Practices including nyāsa and bija mantra – showing how nyāsa can increase feelings of safety

Week 9 - Yoga Therapy and Fatigue

• Overview of yoga therapy and fatigue
• Definition of yoga therapy
• Definition of yoga
• Kriya yoga
• Tapas and svadhyaya
• Isvara pranidhana and how this relates to health
• Sources of disease according to yoga
• The klesa
• Samyoga, attachment, identity etc.
• The importance of mantra
• The importance of choice in chanting

In addition to the 90 minute sessions, there is a significant amount of additional recorded material and written content. Please allow for a minimum of 3 hours per week for the online content. CPD/CE Certification is provided on completion of all elements of the course and Fiona is available to answer your questions throughout the course. Recommended minimum hours of training 30.

In each week you will have the opportunity to take part in yoga practice and there will be space for questions.

It will be extremely useful for both this course and your teaching if you can read my book Yoga Therapy for Stress, Burnout and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. If you order it from the publisher Singing Dragon I’ve arranged a 20 per cent discount until the end of May for everyone in this course with the code: BURNOUT20

You will have the opportunity to have your specific questions addressed each week by Fiona Agombar.