Resilient Youth Certification Training
2026 Certification Update: Our 2026 Educator Certification has concluded. For information about future training opportunities, please visit the Resilient Youth website.
This is more than a training. It’s a movement.
The Resilient Youth Educator Certification is offered in partnership with Yoga in Schools, with funding support from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia for the 2026 training.
The initiative combines the lived experiences and perspectives of today's youth with decades of expertise in education, mindfulness, and mental wellbeing to equip educators with practical, evidence-informed tools for building resilience.
Having reached tens of thousands of young people and over 1,500 educators, Resilient Youth continues to expand its impact across Canada.
Developed by Resilient Youth | In partnership with Yoga in Schools
Why This Training Is a Must-Attend
Join us this summer in the vibrant port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia for two transformational days of:
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Cutting-edge, evidence-informed body–mind strategies
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Practical tools to address tech addiction, anxiety, mental health crises, and youth disengagement
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Approaches that support healthy relationships, emotional regulation, and resilience
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Proven strategies for schools, organizations, and post-secondary campuses
This is professional development that will change how you lead, and how young people experience the world.
*Each participant will receive a NEW comprehensive manual with teachings that can be implemented immediately.
Meet the Team Behind the Certification
The Resilient Youth Educator Certification brings together Sophia Rae Kierstead-Abbass, the 20-year-old founder of Resilient Youth and a psychology student at Acadia University, with award-winning educators Jenny Kierstead and Blair Abbass, founders of Yoga in Schools and authors of 10 nationally recognized school programs.
You will leave feeling:
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Grounded
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Inspired
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Equipped
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Hopeful about the future of youth mental health
Who Should Attend?
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Educators & school leaders
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Mental health professionals
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Youth workers & coaches
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Post-secondary leaders
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Anyone passionate about supporting the next generation
If you believe our children deserve tools for resilience, not just survival, this training is for you.
Halifax, NS
July 16–17, 2026
Don’t miss out!
Register today for the Resilient Youth Certification Training and learn how to bring health promoting practices into your classroom or work setting in a safe, inclusive way.
Our programming features the industry leading education you need for rich professional and personal development, along with plenty of opportunities for connection with teachers and therapists across North America. You’ll be able to attend in person OR virtually, depending on your needs.
Workshops include:
-How to become your greatest ally and eliminate self criticism
- Personalize your toolbox of psycho-educational resilience strategies
- How the gut-brain connection influences our mental health.
- Movement for unwinding a chronically stressed nervous system.
-Breathwork for self-confidence, courage and clarity.
Come nurture your mental health, connect to emotional intelligence and foster a healthy connection with your body.
A selection of our Workshop Titles:
- Presentation by teen Founder, Sophia Rae
- Tools for Tech Addiction
- The power of purpose amidst the AI revolution
- A Neurodivergent's Journey of Resilience
- Raising Resilience through flexiblity
- Positive Psychology for Recovery
Attend our Intensive Yoga Teacher Training Certification and stay for the Summer Conference: Resilient Youth Certification.
Graduates Receive a Double Certification of Yoga in Schools and 200hr Studio Training
That means you’ll be able to teach yoga anywhere in the world.
Yoga Teacher Training isn’t just yoga theories, lesson plans, and postures. It’s a practical, transformational course (that can be done virtually) that will take you from yoga enthusiast to confident yoga teacher, even if you're only a novice.
Participants will be trained in and receive extensive manuals in: Yoga 11 Lesson Plans, Yoga for Autism and Yoga for Diverse Learners.
Previous conference attendees have reported 100% satisfaction from the experience.
Participants have found the YTT and the Summer Conference to be as much of a personal retreat as it is a professional development course.
Research has shown that yoga helps students to make healthier lifestyle choices, become more skillful in relationships, and control their impulses, all while supporting their learning.
Are you ready to bring this transformational tool into your school and see the positive benefits that it brings to your students?
New Program:
Resilient Youth Certification
Date: July 16th-17th, 2026
Time: 9am until 3pm
Location: Chocolate Lake Hotel, Halifax or Virtually, online
Investment: $500.00 +HST
Resilient Youth
Resilient Youth Certification PLUS Intensive Yoga Teacher Training
Date: July 6th-12, 2026
Time: 9am until 3pm
Location: Chocolate Lake Hotel, Halifax or Virtually, Online.
Investment: $2950.00 +HST
Leaders: Jenny Kierstead, Blair Abbass, and leadership team.