Ilana Nankin, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO
San Francisco, CA
Enhance your well-being, improve student outcomes, and transform your school community
Please fill out the short form below to apply and connect with one of our Educator Development Advisors. On your call, you’ll explore funding options, learn more about the training, and get answers to any questions you have!
Tuition: $3,000 $1,500 after Tuition Assistance from our Teacher Education Fund
Tuition Assistance is currently available while funds last! Thanks to the help of our partners in our Teacher Education Fund, we’re currently able to subsidize half of your total tuition through our Tuition Assistance program. Space is limited; only available while funds last. Apply now to take advantage of this opportunity!
Interest-free payment plans available.
Learn how to support your own mental and physical health as a busy educator, gain transformative social-emotional learning and mindfulness tools to integrate seamlessly into your classroom, and become certified to teach yoga to young people and adults.
Enhance your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being by cultivating a yoga and meditation practice
Teach trauma-informed, accessible yoga classes and meditation practices to adults and young people
Integrate researched-based and CASEL aligned social-emotional learning practices into your instruction
Design and facilitate wellness workshops and professional development for your school, district, or organization
Join a community of educators and leaders using wellness as a vehicle for healing and social change
Gold-standard international yoga teacher certification that enables you to register through Yoga Alliance (RYT-200)
Qualifies you to lead SEL, mindfulness, and wellness practices, workshops, and programs in your school, district, or organization
This training can be applied toward a Post-Graduate Certificate or Master’s Degree. You have the option to add graduate-level credits for an additional fee.
Weekly Monday Training [Zoom]
February 3, 10, & 24
March 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31
April 7, 14, 21, & 28
May 5, 12, & 19
June 2, 9, 16, & 23
4-6 PT • 5-7 MT • 6-8 CT • 7-9 ET
Monthly Weekend Training [Zoom]
February 8 & 9
March 8 & 9
April 5 & 6
April 26 & 27
May 17 & 18
June 7 & 8
9-1 PT • 10-2 MT • 11-3 CT • 12-4 ET
Summer Immersion [Zoom]Mondays & Tuesdays
June 16, 17, 23, 24, & 30
July 1, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, & 29
9-1 PT • 10-2 MT • 11-3 CT • 12-4 ET
Summer Immersion [Zoom]Wednesdays & Thursdays
June 25 & 26
July 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, & 31
9-1 PT • 10-2 MT • 11-3 CT • 12-4 ET
Over 15,000 educators have become certified through this training, driving Breathe For Change’s positive impact on the lives, learning, and well-being of 20 million students around the world.
Our research-backed curriculum brings a unique blend of neuroscience, mindfulness, somatic healing, yoga, psychology, and social emotional learning. Our curriculum has been utilized by over 100,000 educators to support 5,000,000+ learners–and its benefits have been verified by research from Harvard, California State, and Tulane Universities.
Facilitate social-emotional learning practices and workshops
Deepen your connection to your breath, body, emotions, and thoughts
Practice and teach the physical practice of yoga for your community
Learn and honor the history of yoga and embody its ethical principles
Form a deeper understanding and appreciation of the power of your body
Breathe For Change programs meet ESSA Level II Promising research standards.
A study conducted by Harvard found our programs can play a protective role in maintaining mental health.
A study conducted by Learn Platform found that our programs reduced educator-reported stress and burnout, while improving global health, SEL, self-efficacy, and challenging student behaviors.
Dr. Ilana’s Nankin’s dissertation revealed the critical connection between educator well-being and student social-emotional and academic outcomes.
A study conducted by the California State University of Fullerton found our programs can improve focus and attention.
A study conducted by a Ph.D. candidate at the Stanford Mind-Body Lab found reduced teacher stress and burnout and enhanced efficacy.
A randomized controlled study conducted by Tulane University found that our programs may improve symptoms of anxiety among students.
Teacher Education Fund: Get $1,500 off now from the full training tuition. While spots last.
We offer interest-free payment plans starting at $250/month.
Utilize district or federal funds to bring Breathe For Change to your school or district.
Many Breathe For Change graduates have successfully funded their teacher training through a DonorsChoose project.
Completing this training will make you eligible to earn our Certificate, worth 15 credits (30 ECTS.)
Completing this training will complete Module 1 of our Master’s of Education in SEL, Mindfulness, and Yoga.
Please note the Post-Graduate Certificate and Master’s Programs are available for an additional cost. Learn more about our Master’s Degree Program here.
Founder & CEO
San Francisco, CA
Head Trainer
Oakland, CA
Lead Trainer
Austin, TX
Community Operations Manager
Bedford, MA
Meditation Trainer
Los Angeles, CA
Middle School Teacher
Palm Springs, CA
Founder & CEO
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Ilana Nankin—the Founder & CEO of Breathe For Change—is an award-winning entrepreneur, teacher educator, and former public school teacher committed to using wellness as a vehicle for healing and social change. Ilana earned degrees in both psychology and education at UC Berkeley, and received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at University of Wisconsin. Her dissertation revealed the critical connection between educator well-being and student learning, and the positive impact that wellness and social-emotional learning can have on teachers and students’ lives. Inspired by her research, Ilana founded Breathe For Change, a movement on a mission to enhance the health and well-being of educators, students, and entire communities. Breathe For Change offers the world’s only 200-hour Mindfulness, SEL, and Yoga Teacher Training specifically for educators, and provides wellness and SEL professional development for schools, districts, and organizations. Since 2015, Breathe For Change has certified 10,000+ educators through their 200-hour training, who are now positively impacting the lives and well-being of over 2,000,000 students around the country.
Head Trainer
Oakland, CA
Michelle Cordero, Breathe For Change’s Head Trainer, has devoted the last 3 decades to deepening her connection to and sharing the powerful practice of yoga with the world. Michelle has led retreats, workshops, and teacher trainings internationally, and was voted “Best Yoga Teacher of the East Bay” by Oakland Magazine. She is certified at the highest level with the Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 & YACEP credentials.
Michelle’s greatest passion is inspiring educators to teach yoga in an inclusive and accessible way. She teaches with a sense of humor, curiosity and compassion. Michelle’s classes are inclusive, gender affirming, trauma-informed and uniquely tailored to meet the needs of each student regardless of experience, age, gender, or body shape.Michelle has contributed greatly to the development of Breathe For Change’s 200-hour Training, 300-hour Training, Professional Development offerings, and Educator Collective events.
Michelle has her Master’s Degree, a certificate in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy and is a Certified Wellness Coach and Craniosacral Work practitioner, and has trained with the Trauma Center’s Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TC-TSY) program and the Trauma Informed Resilience Oriented Approach (TIRO). She also completed a 75-hour Skill in Action training with Michelle C Johnson, focused on the intersection of Yoga and Social Justice. Michelle is inspired and honored to be guiding you along your yoga teaching journey.
Lead Trainer
Austin, TX
Rabia Meghani (she/her) is a Medical Researcher, Behavioral Therapist, Educator, Yoga Therapist and a student of Kathak. Rabia’s formal education is in public health, epidemiology and education. Merging her knowledge of disease and education with the ancient science of Yoga and Ayurveda, Rabia aims to make these practices accessible to the masses while honoring the roots of the science. Her passion lies in integrating yoga and mindfulness in K-12 and higher education spaces.
Rabia uses her knowledge of yoga, ayurveda and mindfulness to help those experiencing physical and emotional ailments. When it comes to healing, Rabia believes that one size does not fit all. This is why she works on the full person and caters her practices to each and every individual. Currently Rabia is working on creating mindfulness and yoga tools to be made accessible in K-12 and higher education settings. Her hope is to lobby for systemic change to make these nervous system healing modalities accessible to all. To learn more about Rabia, please visit www.rabiameghani.com
Community Operations Manager
Bedford, MA
Izzi has been practicing yoga in various spaces since 2008, and has always worked within the realms of education and service. While living in Denver, CO, she worked as an Early Childhood Lead Teacher, completed a Master’s Degree in Education and Human Development, participated in over 500 hours of Yoga Teacher Training with The River Yoga, supported her first Breathe for Change 200-hour training, and led weekly classes in deep stretch meditation, candlelight vinyasa, and power vinyasa. Izzi is now living in Massachusetts, and – alongside her work with B4C – she is a Lecturer in Human Development and Family Relationships, teaching online undergraduate courses for the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Education and Human Development. In addition to all of the inspiring B4C trainers she has worked with, her mentors in yogic training and practice include Dr. Christa Kuberry (Yoga Alliance Vice President of Standards), Christen Bakken (let it be Meaning Full), Anthony Davis (Shapeshift Wellness), Steph Winsor (stephwinsor.com), Kady Lafferty (Yoga Alliance Director of Standards; Big Booty Yoga), and Samy Mattei (Yoga Mattei)
Meditation Trainer
Los Angeles, CA
Kirsten Rogers is a meditation trainer and proud member of the Breathe for Change team. She became a yoga teacher in 2017 with the intention of sharing this practice with people of color and communities that have historically had little exposure and access to yoga. She is a co-creator of Black to Yoga, an organization with the mission of making yoga and wellness more accessible for Black people. Kirsten has deepened her practice and understanding of yoga through trainings in trauma informed yoga, non-violent communication & meditation and yoga for teens. She is honored and grateful to share this indiginous practice and explore healthful ways to feed the mind, body & soul.