Details about our program

 

Principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting, instruction, teaching styles, qualities of a teacher and how to become a good, safe Yoga instructor are all subject matters we focus on. Lineage will be explored with respect regarding each student’s path. Throughout the training Ki and Bob will place a lot of emphasis on teaching methodology, body reading and how to help all types of students. Our style includes a lot of hands on adjustments and corrections. As such it is necessary to emphasize safety for both teacher and student in this process. Throughout the training Ki and Bob will be instructing Hatha Yoga class each Saturday and Sunday morning from 9:00 – 12:00 noon. By participating in these classes with two teachers you will receive practical guidance and live examples of all aspects of teaching. We will meet Sat. & Sun. afternoons from 2:30 – 5:00 P.M. for meditation, philosophy, lineage, and discussion of living the life of a Western Yogi. Bob and Ki have been working for the Sufi Order International by digitizing meditation talks of Pir Vilayat Khan and Pir Zia Inayat Khan. You will be given many meditation talks by these two great meditation teachers, as well as some very rich DVDs on yoga, lineage and Sufism.

During the course of this training there will be 20 hours of anatomy – physiology offered. The anatomy sections of this training will generally take place on the third weekends of the late winter and spring months at the Hatha Yoga Center. These will be afternoon sessions and will be taught by Ki. This is a very important part of the training. Ki is very dynamic in her presentation of anatomy as it applies to yoga and teaching yoga. The book that will be used to study will be ANATOMY OF MOVEMENT by Blandine Calais-Germain. Many of your questions concerning particular issues of the body that come up in Yoga class will be explored by Ki in her very interactive approach to Yoga Anatomy. Practical understanding of bones, joints and muscles as applied to asana – this is Ki’s approach to this vast field of information. Injuries, conditions and problem areas of the body will be discussed after initial understanding is demonstrated. You will find this part of the training to be a true delight.

To fulfill your training you will participate in Yoga classes at the Hatha Yoga Center and serve in a tutoring role with Bob or Ki during this time. It would be best to find times when two classes in a row are taught. Your main duty during these classes is to observe the teacher, as well as practice with Bob or Ki. There will be a brief discussion with the teacher of the class(es) after the class. The amount of classes you need to attend in the tutoring role depends on you. If, for instance, you attended all weekend workshops and the Yoga Anatomy, then this would add up to 120 hours and so you would need to attend 60 hours worth of classes as a tutor during the course of the time you were in the program, or you could finish the program the following fall or winter by attending the teacher training weekends that will occur on the first weekend of each month, starting in October of 2015. The tutoring class attendance could be spread out over length of time you were in the program. You can find the combination that works for you on obtaining the 180 hands on hours required for graduation.

Living the life of the Western Yogi will be an ongoing theme interwoven throughout the training program. Many personal stories of our own experiences in studying and teaching Yoga will be shared throughout the training. During certain of the weekend gatherings the main discussion will center on the issue of being a Yogini/Yogi in the modern world. Text focus will include: THE UPANISHADS by Eknath Easwaran; THE YOGA SUTRAS (you can choose the author of interpretation); and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Ethics will be emphasized throughout the training program. We will utilize the California Yoga Association for Yoga instructors, as printed in the Yoga Journal, as a beginning point for this discussion. With ethics as an underpinning Ki and Bob offer exercises about mindful use of touch and giving corrections in Yoga classes. We will also discuss licensing, insurance, injury in Yoga class, professionalism with all students and colleagues and how to keep the Yoga space safe when teaching.

Ki and Bob will dedicate some of the afternoon training sessions to a celebration of the various styles of meditation. Within this Yoga Teacher Training there is an invitation for you to reflect on all the great traditions and embrace the unity that can be found through the weaving and intertwining of the uniting messages. This is an opportunity for you to truly unfold your spiritual life and open up to much broader understanding of how the various spiritual paths support each other. We will celebrate life by honoring the great beings from all of the main religious paths.

All students will have ample opportunity to observe us teaching, as well as each other during student teaching exercises. Ki and Bob will create smaller groups for the students to teach each other and get feedback from each other concerning their teaching techniques. Some student teaching and a whole lot of discussion about how to see through the eyes of an observant Yoga teacher will be focused on throughout this training. Our past graduates report this was effective for their preparation for teaching.

At certain of the gatherings there will be written or recorded material by Ki and Bob that will be distributed to help in your study of Yoga. There will be certain “homework” assignments asked of you. The writing exercises are meant to be interesting explorations for you to record on paper. Ki and Bob encourage you to do daily writing in your personal journal from the beginning to the end of the training. The process of this training will take you to new places of understanding and this will be encouraged through reading, writing and other artistic expressions; as well as through asana and meditation practice. You will be delighted to receive all the meditation help in the numerous meditation talk CDs of Pir Vilayat Khan and Pir Zia Inayat Khan that you are given to work with in your own way. These meditation talks are a huge bonus.

We will graduate students if they have fulfilled 200 hours of training with us in Seattle , and, or Bali and also submit a video that demonstrates to us that you can teach Yoga.. We aim to graduate every person who completes the 200 hour training with us. Know that you automatically receive 20 hours of home study credit with us if you study for 180 actual hours with us. We wish to make sure that you will be able to safely conduct a Yoga class and also demonstrate that you have a thorough enough knowledge of Yoga to be a good Yoga teacher. We will give each person feedback on their teaching technique.