FALL 2017 /// September 12th – December 7th
We all love that feeling of being strong yet flexible, grounded yet free that we get from understanding how to fully engage in each pose. We will talk about ALIGNMENT, a lot. The way we align ourselves on our mats is a metaphor for the way we choose to align with the world around us. We will learn to see our practice on our mats as a reflection of the way we are making decisions in our daily lives and use that understanding to create more informed choices. We will discuss alignment priorities, common mis-alignments, how to prevent injury, and heal with engaged ACTION.
There will be STORIES. Through stories we learn to see and develop a better understanding of ourselves and the world through metaphor. This training will begin with the story of GANESH, who is referred to as “the remover of obstacles”, “the lord of new beginnings” and “the lord of the threshold”. He is symbolic of crossing the threshold of where we are now into a new experience. Ganesh represents having the courage, will and strength to move from what is familiar to us into ambiguous spaces in order to learn and grow and create the lives we want.
There will be PHILOSOPHY. Most of the yoga we read about is written from a Classical point of view. But there are many different philosophies to consider. YOGA PHILOSOPHY will be discussed and divided up into three sections: Advaita Vedanta, Classical, and Tantric Yoga. These philosophies are progressive. They build on each other as yoga evolves through time. Each has its own beautiful way of explaining the importance of understanding our relationship to spirit and matter or ourselves and the material world.
In our culture, one of the ways in which we orient ourselves is our ability to MEASURE. Through this concept, we will learn about the system of Samkhya, meaning “to measure,” by studying the map of the TATTVAS, or principles. There are several concepts in place which help us to make our way through this map such as iccha (will), jnana (knowledge), and kriya (action), the study of karma, understanding spanda (vibration), and through an introduction to the 5 elements.
Some yoga poses are more grounding and have an earthy, watery quality that keep us at peace. Some poses have a fiery, airy, energetic quality that invigorate us and encourage our will and desire. We come to understand these qualities (or gunas in sanskrit) in each pose through the experience of the 5 ELEMENTS.
There will be BOOK REPORTS & DISCUSSION. Book reports are a great way to learn from the masters and create collaboration. Some books will be required reading before the training starts and some, such as the Bhagavad Gita, will be read in class as a group.
The following books are required for the training:
- “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown
- “The Anatomy Coloring Book” by Kapit and Elson
- “The Hidden Language of Hatha Yoga” by Swami Sivananda Radha
The following books are recommended for the training:
- “Wheels of Life” by Anodea Judith
- “Eat, Taste, Heal” by Thomas Yarema
- “Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution” by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda