teacher training
My goal is to help you develop your own, mature, enlightening practice within the lineage of Ashtanga Yoga. Everyone comes to Yoga with unique, individual circumstances, and I use my knowledge, experience, and passion to become your ally and together we explore Ashtanga Yoga to find a practical and joyous practice for you that will serve your personal aspirations. I'm part of a great lineage that includes Krishnamacharya, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy, and many other dedicated, passionate, devoted people. If you desire it, I want you to become part of this lineage and join with all of us who continue to benefit so tremendously from practice.
David's 10 day immersion/teaching intensive is for serious Ashtanga students who want to experience a period of a more concentrated in depth study. You'll have the opportunity to spend several hours per day focused on practice and be able to delve deeper into the heart of Yoga. You will be immersed in the lineage of Ashtanga Yoga studying asana, pranayama, philosophy, chanting, meditation, Yoga imagery and mythology, and teaching methodology.
This course is designed for dedicated Ashtanga Yoga students and teachers. A strong emphasis will be placed on an 'experiential' understanding(ie, lots of practice and hands on learning) of the vinyasa system through an in depth study of the Primary Series and Secondary series, therapeutic principles of the Ashtanga style, and a developing a contemporary and traditional approach to teaching people of all levels and all abilities.
Upcoming Teacher Trainings/ Immersions
• May 12-23, The Bandha Room, Olympia, WA
• May 27- June 13 2010, Ashtanga Yoga Philadelphia, Philadelphi, PA
• June 17-27 2010, Yoga Shala, Spokane, WA
Specific topics include:
Details
Pre-immersion preparation (beginning one month prior). This includes developing your regular asana practice so you are prepared for ten days of daily mysore practice with David. Developing qualities of studentship before the immersion will improve the quality of our time with David, so he will be handing out study goals with reading and journaling assignments. If you have the opportunity to study with David prior to the training this would be preferable. David will also be handing out guidelines to help you explore current dietary habits with the intention of preparing your body for the immersion by viewing food as elements of yin and yang energy, feeling gratitude, and using food to bring balance and well-being to one's life.
During the immersion studies...
Your daily asana practice: You will have daily morning mysore practice. Mysore practice is in the tradition of Ashtanga Yoga, your practice will consist of following the sequences of the primary series and the intermediate series within the context of your personal needs. Davids emphasizes bhakti (devotion) and listening within to find your practice. You start from where you are and progress in the postures in the sequences of Ashtanga by understanding the meditation inducing breathing system that is the heart of this vinyasa method. You hone in on each asana within the vinyasa sequence utilizing alignment principles dynamically with serpentine flow and breath. In his teaching, David focuses on working with the cycle of the breath and intelligently employing ujjayii pranayama, uddhiyana and mula bandha's to harness Prana, the powerful life force carried on the breath. Authentic practice requires risking and opening to where breath leads you. Such openness is a sort of Yogic gambling that wins you an emotional and physical power reflected in your loving, fierce and receptive stance towards everyone and everything you experience. During these morning sessions, David will help you go seriously and enthusiastically into your practice. This aspect of the training will be the welcome support and rooted basis for all your exploration of the topics and studies of the course.
Shruti parampara: Shruti parampara which means one hears and then memorizes and keeps it in their heart and transmits those verbally the same content to the next generation for further retention and dissemination. This is they style in which we will have daily study of the shastras (teachings of yoga) along with commentary and discussion, reading and journaling assignments.
Macrobiotic philosophy: David will continue with the pre-immersion focus on balanced eating by introducing elements of macrobiotic - style diet in support of your yoga practice. As part of the immersion you will also have the opportunity to participate in a catered macrobiotic diet. A macrobiotic approach to wellness focuses on bringing balance to a person's physical and emotional condition by utilizing foods that are balanced energetically and nutritionally.
Other topics of study through lecture, workshopping, and small groups
will include:
• study of alignment as a way of finding our unique center
• principles of adjusting
• introduction to pranayama
• daily chanting and study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and Ashtanga
mantras
• introduction to Samkya and Classical Yoga Philosophy, the Upanishads
and the Ramayana
• energetic and subtle anatomy
• Sanskrit foundation
• introduction to Bhakti Yoga through japa mantra and kirtan
How will I get the second half of the training? The second part of the training will be offerred in Spokane in 2011, but will also be offered at other yoga centers. Please see David's website for a schedule of his trainings.
If I don't want to be a teacher should I do the whole thing? In special cases David is willing to work with individuals who are not seeking the full 200 hr certification, and who are interested in attending the immersion on a part time basis.
What are the hours? Most mornings will be from 6am to 9am and then afternoons will go from 10am to 3pm. The first day usually starts at 1pm - and we will be finished around noon on the last day.
Is there a list of books that I need to buy in order to be ready for the homework? Yes, a list of required books will be posted soon.
Are scholarships available? There are a small amount of need based scholarships available which you can inquire about when you register.