YOGA IMMERSION SYLLABUS
In this Immersion Yoga Training each module will cover different components of asana, pranayama, meditation and Buddhist and yoga philosophy. These trainings have been specifically designed to cultivate a deepening and development of your personal yoga practice.
Modules will build on each other allowing you to build on what you already know. See below for a breakdown of the enticing content to be covered.
IMMERSION TRAININGS 2021
MODULE 1
Weds. 30th June – Sun. 4th July
MODULE 2
Weds. 3rd – Sun. 7th November
Participants may sign up for one or both modules.
Modules 3 & 4 will run as a continuation training in 2022.
Use your practice as a tool for transformation. Deepen and be inspired in your personal practice. Progress beyond the hobby stage and see how yoga and meditation can bring real change to your life.
Immersion Yoga Training in 2021 is being run in two modules, June and November. They will be held at Yoga Ground Wanaka and led by Susan Allen one of NZ’s most experienced teachers. See Susan’s bio here.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
The overall intention is to guide you to a more holistic, life changing practice. The two modules on this Immersion Yoga Training will build on each other drawing from these following explorations.
ASANA
Topics to be covered:
– Asana in the context of the 8 limbs of yoga, as opposed to a standalone physical practice. Yoga asana is not just a form of exercise or gymnastics; asana is a physical practice that sits within the 8 limbs of Raja Yoga; this context informs the approach and technique of asana practice.
– Developing sensitivity and understanding within your asana practice. If you are interested to progress in your asana practice you need to understand where you are starting from as well as having a clear idea about where you are going and why. Rather than just randomly practicing sequence after sequence we will help you develop an intelligent strategy about why you are doing what you are doing. Then your practice becomes useful, transformative and inspiring.
– A slowing down, a sensitising and a deepening of awareness of breath and body within the asana.
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SEQUENCING, YogaAOS
Sequencing is important!
The definition of vinyasa is a structured sequence that moves the body, breath or mind in a particular direction. In this regard we will be creating themed sequences:
– focus on one body part eg. thoracic collapse
– bio-mechanical movement pattern eg. back bending
– energetic shift such as stimulating or calming
– kosha driven practice that creates a specific change of the body, breath or mind
– breath exploration – cultivating different aspects of a healthy breathing pattern
– asana adaptations that bring about a particular structural or energetic change eg. using the arms to create thoracic extension
– understanding repetition versus stay in asana
DEVELOPING YOUR PERSONAL PRACTICE
Yoga at its heart is a personal practice. What is your yoga?
Topics to be covered:
– Understanding the needs of your body, nervous system/breath and mind from a developmental, maintenance or therapeutic viewpoint.
– How to personalise a practice for yourself or others by considering physical, energetic and mental needs.
– Having confidence to do your yoga and see the transformation when yoga is practiced in this way.
Tools to be drawn from include asana, pranayama, meditation, contemplation and relaxation.
EXPLORING BREATH
Topics to be covered:
– Practicing a breath centric asana practice. Understanding how these following elements effect our physiological and mental state: transition timing, anatomy of breath and movement, rhythm, pauses, breath texture and current.
– Bio-mechanics of breathing and how it creates the directional flow of breath. How breath creates and supports stability and movement within asana.
– Physiology of breathing. How to breathe with the diaphragm and the importance of nasal breathing. Exploring your personal breathing habits. Understanding why big, deep breathing increases anxiety, hyperventilation and other breathing disorders.
– Energetics of breath. How to use different breathing patterns to service energetic needs eg. to either stimulate or calm the nervous system.
– Day to day breathing. How your asana and pranayama breathing effects your daily breathing pattern. How your yoga practice helps cultivate (or wreck!) a healthy day-to-day breathing pattern that supports the nervous system, your energy levels and your mindstate.
MEDITATION
Topics to be covered:
– Begin or refine a meditation practice.
– The link between asana and meditation and how their individual development supports each other.
We will draw on knowledge from the Buddhist meditation tradition including:
– refining and sharpening concentration and presence
– improving meta-cognition ie. awareness of our mind state and mental strategies
– emptiness practices that cultivate a less identified relationship to thought and emotion
– shifting where we operate from in our daily life, operating less from thought and more from awareness.
YOGA IN DAILY LIFE
– Use asana to develop mindfulness strategies to then bring that with you off the mat into your relationships, work and emotional life.
– Practicing healthy breathing in asana thereby cultivating a healthy nervous system that supports wellbeing.
– Bringing meditation principles into everyday life, such as greater meta-cognition, self awareness, understanding reactivity and thought identification.
– Using the practice as a whole for one of transformation.
