The Art of Safe, Skillful & Supportive Touch
Bring the art of intentional touch back into the yoga room with the knowledge, confidence, and consent to do it well.
Have you ever wanted to offer a hands-on assist but hesitated because you weren't sure where to place your hands, how much pressure to apply, or whether your student would welcome it?
Maybe you're concerned about causing an injury, disrupting someone's experience, crossing a boundary, or making a student feel uncomfortable. Or perhaps you've received little formal training in assists and aren't sure how to weave them into your teaching with confidence and intention.
You're not alone.
Hands-on assists have become something of a lost art in modern yoga.
Between limited training, misconceptions about touch, and a greater awareness of trauma, consent, and inclusivity, many teachers have understandably become hesitant to offer them.
But avoiding touch altogether isn't the only way to create a safe and empowering yoga space. Learning to offer it skillfully is.
Why I believe in the art of assists
During my first six years of teaching yoga, I was fortunate to be mentored by four exceptional teachers, each with more than 20 years of experience. They regularly incorporated safe, supportive, intentional assists into their teaching, and the spaces they held fundamentally shaped my practice and the teacher I would become.
As someone with a naturally hypermobile body, I learned firsthand that a deeper expression of a pose isn't always about going further. Sometimes, it's about finding constructive tension, building strength and stability, and discovering the support that allows mobility to become sustainable.
Those teachers gave me more than adjustments to my alignment. They helped me develop a greater awareness of my body, experience my own capabilities differently, and understand what it feels like to be supported rather than simply pushed further.
Over the past 12 years of teaching across more than five cities, I've continued to explore how intentional touch can deepen a student's relationship with their practice. I've also seen how differently people inhabit their bodies: some move with tremendous flexibility but struggle to find stability, while others hold tension or feel restricted in movement and breath.
An effective assist requires more than knowing where to place your hands. It calls for observation, anatomical understanding, communication, discernment, and the ability to meet the person in front of you.
I can honestly say that intentional touch has become one of my greatest teaching strengths. It's allowed me to cultivate meaningful connections with students and help them discover greater awareness, confidence, and sustainability in their practice.
And it's a skill I want more teachers to feel equipped to offer.
A different relationship with touch
In a time when touch in wellness spaces can feel complicated, I believe we have an opportunity to reclaim the art of assists with greater care, education, and accountability.
A well-executed assist isn't about forcing a body into a shape, achieving a more impressive pose, or demonstrating a teacher's expertise. It's about offering thoughtful support that helps a student explore a sensation, recognize a new possibility, or experience their practice from a different perspective.
When offered with clear consent, ongoing communication, respect for personal agency, and an understanding of the teacher-student power dynamic, intentional touch can become a meaningful experience of support and connection.
And while not every student wants to be touched, many students actively welcome assists once they've experienced them, understand their purpose, and feel empowered to choose.
The goal to know how, when, why, and whether to offer touch.
What you'll learn
I've curated this two-part, hands-on training to bridge the gap between understanding the value of assists and feeling confident enough to offer them in your own classes.
Whether you're a newer teacher who wants a solid foundation or an experienced instructor looking to refine your approach, you'll have space to bring your questions, concerns, and even your less-than-great experiences with assists.
Together, we'll explore:
Consent & communication: How to ask for and receive clear consent, communicate your intention, and honor a student's changing preferences.
The how: Where to place your hands, how to apply appropriate pressure, and how to use leverage, positioning, and body mechanics to support a student safely.
The why: Understand the intention behind each assist, what you're helping a student explore, and when an assist may not be appropriate.
Who & when: Develop your observational skills and discernment to recognize when an assist might be supportive and when to leave space instead.
Cueing & connection: Integrate verbal cues and intentional touch without overwhelming, interrupting, or disempowering your students.
Safety & sustainability: Understand your responsibilities as a teacher, practice working within your scope, and learn how to protect your own body while assisting others.
Confidence through practice: Work through common yoga postures with guided demonstrations, partner practice, feedback, and opportunities to refine your technique.
You'll leave with a deeper understanding of the principles behind hands-on assists, practical experience with more than 20 assists across each two-hour training, and a toolkit you can begin applying to your teaching.
For studio owners, this is also an opportunity to invest in the quality and consistency of your teaching team, support more confident instructors, and help create a studio culture where students feel both supported and empowered.
Choose your training
Part 1: Foundations of Hands-On Assists
$125 | 2 hours | Highly recommended before Part 2
Build a strong foundation in consent, communication, body mechanics, and the intention behind an effective assist.
You'll practice 15+ assists covering common postures, including:
Sun Salutations A & B
Standing Side Bend & Standing Backbend
Reverse Warrior
Triangle & Extended Side Angle
Child's Pose
This training is ideal for teachers who want to understand the fundamentals, build confidence with touch, and develop a reliable starting point for offering safe, supportive assists.
Part 2: Furthering Safe Hands-On Assists
$125 | 2 hours
Expand your teaching toolkit with assists for postures that often require greater discernment, communication, and technical understanding.
We'll explore forward folds, twists, backbends, handstands, and seated asanas, with an emphasis on appropriate application, student agency, and adapting your approach to the individual.
Complete both trainings
$215 for both sessions — save $35.
Take both parts to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the art of assists, from foundational skills to more nuanced applications.
Upcoming in-person trainings
Denver, Colorado | The River Yoga
Part 1: Thursday, November 5 | 2–4 PM
Stamford, Connecticut | Bkone Studio
Saturday, November 14
Part 1: 1–3 PM | $125
Part 2: 4–6 PM | $125
Both trainings: $215
San Diego, California | Riffs Yoga Studio
Part 1: December 5 | 5:30–7:30 PM
Early bird: $75 through November 20; then $95.
Part 2: December 20 | 5:30–7:30 PM
Early bird: $75 through December 6; then $95.
Prefer to learn online?
Hands-On Assist Online Course
Practice from anywhere, revisit demonstrations at your own pace, and build confidence as you integrate assists into your teaching. Your enrollment also includes a monthly live Q&A for questions, feedback, and support as you put what you've learned into practice.
Whether you're a yoga teacher who wants to feel more confident offering assists or a studio owner looking to invest in your team's development, this training is an invitation to learn, practice, and refine a skill that can meaningfully shape the student experience.
You just need to be willing to learn.