Yoga History, Philosophy and the 8-limbs - deepen your practice

Family and Work Friendly Schedule for Weekend Modules:

Available ONLINE or IN-Studio you choose

• Fridays, 6:00pm – 10:00pm
• Saturdays, 11:30am – 4:00pm
• Sundays, 11:30am – 3:30pm

Price of this module: $335

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Did you ever wonder how yoga started and why this is more important now than ever?

Are you curious to learn more about the wisdom literature of yoga and how it can improve your life?

• Do you wish to deepen your understanding of yoga philosophy and make meaningful decisions in life?
• Do you want to incorporate meditation into your daily practice and everyday life?
• You want to learn how to handle stress better?

We cannot understand today without understanding yesterday. History is relevant and is essential to fully understand our role and responsibility in the society, our relationships with one and other, and yes, to fully understand yoga and your practice.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of Attention Deficit Culture. Most of us, and there is no blame here, we are simply too busy, but most of us want solutions, answers, concrete fixes, and quick results. We also want to be always happy…

But life is uncertain, emotions come and go, most things are ambiguous, and some things have no solution…

So there we are, living in a complex world, we will not have easy answers.

-Mindfulness is not 5 minutes of deep breathing.

-Yoga is not just asana and body enhancing workout

-Meditation is not just watching your breath

-A complete life is not complete if you are always happy

These are concepts we learn from 8 limbs of yoga. Having a historical perspective will give you a deeper appreciation.

Yes, we will still do asana, we will move occasionally

Yes, we will meditate

• Yes, we will have group exercises
• Yes, you will have to sit through some lectures – you need information and understanding, and we all need to learn to focus better for more. We will not grow if we stay with 15 minutes of inspirational cliché… yeah, I said it!

Beyond mindfulness and meditation you will learn a detailed history of yoga from Indus Valley Civilization till Modern times:

• Indus Valley Civilizations – their art history, agricultural and architectural achievements. Possible religiosity of Indus Valley civilization.
• Rigveda, including the Upanishads. How parts of the Rigveda fit into the timeline of history.
• Development of classic period. The Gita and its historical context. The Yoga Sutras (8 limbs of yoga )and their historical context. Who was Patanjali and where he obtained his sources.
• Introducing the time of Buddha. How and why Buddhism, Jainism and Tantric ideology developed.
• The birth of non-dualism.
• Expanding on Tantric times and literature.
• Modern yoga. British times. Assimilation in the west. Swami Vivekananda and Gandhi. Historical background and theological development of the modern concept of yoga. (This is really a “reformation” of Hinduism, a reformulation of old ideas into progressive 20th century ideal.)
• Yogananda: The origins of ‘Oneness’ spirituality. Advocating cultural and philosophical understanding between East and West.
• Krishnamacharya’s lineage. Origins of modern asanas. Development of further asanas and opening the practice to more people other than Brahman boys through Desikachar.
• Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, and the development of two major asana ideologies
• The goal of meditation in its historical concept, and how to re-interpret ancient text to fit modern needs.
• Practice using your voice as a vehicle to mindfully guide the intellectual, emotional and spiritual spaces.
• How to handle emotional responses and releases during practice.

Part of the 300HR yoga teacher training. The workshop offers Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credits, but open to all students who simply wish to learn more!

All of our teacher trainings are structured to be beneficial and enjoyable for those who wish not to teach. We believe yoga is a path of lifelong learning. Teacher training is a term that we use because we are Yoga Alliance and Washington State Certified Teaching Vocational School and that is the language that they determined for these classes. But that does not mean that these trainings are restricted for teachers only. We welcome everyone who is curious, who enjoys learning, who wishes to understand yoga in a deeper level.

You can buy the 300 HR teacher training two ways. Either purchase it module per module or buy all 15 modules and save $400.00. If you want to buy all 15, please look for the link under the main page 500-HR Teacher Training.

To receive your 300-Hr diploma from Spira you must complete 15 modules and pass the final exam and presentation. The training can be completed in as little as 2 years. Most students can comfortably complete the training in 4 years. However, our program is flexible: You can study at your own pace, taking as many years as you need to finish all 15 modules. After each 4-year period, we will charge an additional $100 to reactivate your enrollment in the training