200-Hour program
Begin to Refine
The Path of Practice: 200-Hour Program plants the seeds for becoming a yoga teacher, should it be your calling to become a yoga guide. Whether you teach or not, this is a path toward embodied wisdom. For those who wish to teach, we prepare you to teach both on-line and in person classes. Rather than a prescription for how to teach a given system of yoga, we invite you to cultivate a language of yoga that articulates the body in asana and pranayama and incorporates the study of poetry, sutras, myths and chanting. It is a journey that leads right to the heart of being.
The heart of the Prajna Yoga practice involves asana with a focus on internal alignment, mindfulness, and flow. We emphasize anatomical study with a focus on structural integration. Through meditation and study of the “three jewels”—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—we encourage an embodied wisdom. Thus the Prajna Yoga practice supports internal transformation at the deepest level.
module 1 | From the ground up
In this module we begin by opening to mystery, to the power of now and the practice of presence. We start the long climb from the feet to the crown of the head. We study the amazing, ever-changing fluid matrix of the fascia and how it provides support for all structures of the body. Pivoting off theme of connective tissue, we study inter-dependency, that is how all beings are woven together by shared experience.
In the body, we build our temple from the ground up, so that the architecture of the feet establish integral alignment for the ankles, knees, hips and spine. Through floor work, standing poses and prop work, we open the pathway of energy through the legs. We investigate what it means to be a leader in today’s larger community, not only as a teacher of postural yoga, but as a facilitator of change. We emphasize self practice, self inquiry and meditative wisdom to generate compassion and tolerance in order to meet the needs of diverse populations.
module 2 | Bringing Heart & mind together
To open the heart-mind, we need a firm back and soft front. This module begins with the dynamic power of the coccyx and sacrum as the source for spinal motion. We do practices to mobilize and stabilize the lower back while strengthening the core musculature along the spine. We study the architecture of the pelvis and see how the pelvic diaphragm supports the respiratory diaphragm.
Throughout the course we weave in strands of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Through the lens of the five yamas (ethics) we address the complex and divisive issues of today that involve race, gender, sexuality and power in our society. Through meditation, we further develop the witness consciousness, seeing the way thoughts, hopes and fears arise against the backdrop of a spacious and boundless “mind essence”. We note the way stress, anxiety and the “busy brain” corrode the spirit.
module 3 | The wisdom body
The embodiment of wisdom is a time honored process. You can’t push the river and it comes through settling, gaining insight and opening to grace. In this module we gain postural balance and fine articulation of the upper spine, neck and cranium. We re-educate the neural-muscular system and brain pathways by working with the eyes, ears and brainstem. This allows greater possibility for freedom in movement, feeling, thought and action.
Throughout this module we follow along the Eightfold Path of the Buddha, investigating the teachings on impermanence, conditionality (one’s “karma”) and suffering. Through metta practices on loving kindness we practice to dissolve mental fixation, free from extremes that polarize, divide and isolate. In meditation, we yoke to an all pervading intrinsic wisdom, sometimes called “natural mind”. In the teaching practicum at the end of the training, we help students find the language to articulate the yoga experience through sensitivity and mindful precision. We encourage each student to tap their greatest potential in order to teach yoga from a place of clarity, originality and devotion.
OUR KEY INGREDIENTS
Mindfulness & Meditation | All of our practice is rooted in mindful, loving presence. In the Path of Practice, you will come away with an established daily meditation and a steady practice to help you live fearlessly in the world with an open heart.
Yoga Postures & Somatic Awareness | You will learn not only classical yoga postures but through our unique, highly sought after SATYA program (Sensory Awareness Training for Yoga) develop skillful connection between body and mind.
Anatomy Principles & Alignment | We specialize in living anatomy, that is how to align your bones, balance your fascial and increase the flow of prana through your circulatory system.
Subtle Body Training | Subtle body awareness connects us to the chakras, the flow of breath and the exquisite movement to the pulse of life within.
Social Media Marketing | Should you decide to teach, learn how to promote your classes via FB and IG.
Environmental Protection | We believe that the ecology of the body cannot be separated from the ecosystem at large. You will discover ways to advocate on behalf of the rivers, oceans, forests and fields.
Social Justice | Develop a language to speak out on behalf of all beings, to live with compassionate presence in your community and to be a voice for positive change in the world.
