Atma Yoga Teacher Training 2008:

The goal of the Atma Yoga teacher’s program is to create influential, charismatic yoga teachers who can encourage their students to use yogic practices in pursuit of their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual goals.

Since 2001, ATMA YOGA has been developing a training program that is the only one of its kind in the world. What makes Atma Yoga so unique is that it integrates yogic philosophy and yoga practices that work together in this modern age.  Highly spiritual but far from new-age, Atma Yoga draws upon the ancient sciences of yoga to give students the necessary tools for becoming modern yogis. Our program prepares teachers to pass these tools along to their students with authenticity.

• The principles of Atma Yoga are described in the ancient Sanskrit texts called the Vedas. The primary sources of information on Atma Yoga are Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Siva Samhita and other Puranic and Upanishadic texts.

• Whether you feel a call to teach others and be an instrument of transformation, or if you are simply looking for a deeper, more spiritual experience of your yoga practice, Atma Yoga teacher training is sure to take you to a new level of ability and self awareness.

• Atma Yoga uses a variety of yogic technologies and unadulterated yoga philosophy to accelerate you and your students’ journey to become modern yogis.

• The teacher training is a powerful and intensive immersion into yoga practice, yoga philosophy and the science of presentation skills.

• The mechanics (physical aspects) of each technology are unique to Atma Yoga and come from an ancient repository. They are being introduced in this era for the first time.

• Training focuses on knowing the physical and subtle aspects of the asanas and how to both increase and decrease the intensity of the practice so it can be adjusted to various body types and personalities.

• The philosophy, however, is strictly based on Vedic parampara (an unbroken lineage of Vedic knowledge).  The philosophy is expressed in the yoga classes and other events through mantras, music, stories and sanctified foods.

• The lifestyle and philosophy classes focus on a simplified understanding of the forgotten aspects of yoga. The goal of the philosophy segment (a series of lectures in the evening) is to help yoga teachers understand the psychological potential of yoga as tool for personal transformation.

A summary of what we will study and explore:

Yoga Techniques (what to teach)

Hatha yoga:

Atma yoga 1.0
Atma yoga 2.0
Power yoga I
Power yoga II
Slo-deep-stretch
Restorative yoga

How to be a modern yogi:

            Personal sadhana - Pranayama, internal dialogue, japa (mantra repetition)...
            Travel sized yoga and meditation set

Confident and Charismatic teaching (how to teach)

Presentation skills: level 1 - the science of charisma & confidence
            Vocal techniques
            Presence
            Sense memory
            Emotion and objective
            Yoga teacher auditions

Anatomy and Physiology (when to teach)

            What we can and can’t do as yoga teachers
            Paul Grilley DVD
            David Coulter power points
            The nervous system
            Nadis & chakras
            Nutrition

Philosophy (why to teach)

Evening lectures
Part one: Transform stress into strength
Part two: Dream forward, design backward
Part three Hero – lead, teach, inspire
Part four: The hidden truth of yoga

Reading
                Anatomy of Hatha Yoga – David Coulter
                Human devolution – Michael Cremo
               
Practice Sessions (preparing to teach)
           Memorizing & practicing
           Intro
           Atma Yoga set, breathing sequence, instructions
           Systematic relaxation
           Practice teaching (in small groups)

Daily schedule
Monday – Friday
7:30 Atma yoga I or II
9:00 breakfast
10:30 clinic
12:00 lunch
1:30 Practicum
3:30 Kundalini (TU/TH) / slow deep (M/W/F)
5:30 Snack and yogi tea
6:00 lecture
7:00 rest
Saturdays will be special event days: Mantric tantric, pranic healing, redeathing, etc…
Sundays will be practice days
(Please note all schedules are subject to variability from location to location.)

Prerequisites
Read:

• David Coulter’s Yoga Anatomy (read chapters 1,2, & 10 beforehand
• Human Devolution

Memorize:

• Practice all the asanas in Atma Yoga 1.0 & 2.0
• Use must be familiar with the names and order of the asanas in Atma Yoga 1.0 & 2.0
• You will receive a preparation package after your payment is received.

Elements of the training 

Twice daily yoga
There will be two yoga classes a day during the training, sometimes three. These will give you a clear conception of how the classes are taught. In addition, after four weeks of yoga you will be in the best health of your live.

Clinics
Every day you will have a clinic either on the various aspects of the yoga class such as asana and breathing, or on presentation skills.

Presentation skills

One of the biggest stumbling blocks potential teachers suffer from is lack of confidence. Atma yoga has an amazing and systematic process for creating confident, charismatic teachers.We place a great deal of attention on developing expert presentation skills. A confident, professional delivery of yoga instruction is as important as understanding the content.

This part of program also teaches people to deal with nervousness and anxiety as well as to release repressed emotions. Atma uses a unique blend of yoga and presentation science to bring out the best in future teachers.

Practicum time
A portion of the afternoon is dedicated to memorizing and practicing the many elements that go into making a confident yoga teacher.

Lecture series
This is a comprehensive overview of yoga, yoga philosophy, and its roots in the Vedas. It also covers yoga psychology.

Yoga business and marketing seminars
The business of yoga: marketing, design, getting jobs, and putting together your own center are some of the subjects covered in this segment.

Mantric Tantric
Mantric Tantric is a full day event which gives yoga students an intensive immersion into japa (mantra repetition) by using only mantras of the highest degree of purity and non-sectarianism in a series of 60 and 30 minute partner meditations. The result is the most extraordinary experience of Vedic sound vibration a person can have in a single day. One mantric tantric is said to be the equivalent 1000 perfectly completed yoga classes. Duration: 8 hours

Pranic Healing
This is a very powerful pranayama based workshop. It creates a uniquely open and healing state within the students and generates a yogic type of therapeutic healing. It is followed with a delightful soul healing practice called “the psychological renewal of witnessing a miracle.” Duration: about 3 hours.

How to design workshops and retreats
In the training you will explore and develop ideas for workshops based on the events and technologies offered in Atma Yoga. Working in small groups you will have the opportunity to create various seminar and workshop possibilities. Many of which you may come to implement in your own cities and centers.

Guest Speakers - we are fortunate to have many marvelous yoga personalities come through LA. We will be announcing who will be visiting us as we approach the date.

Mantra Music CDs
Atma Yoga places great emphasis on the atmosphere and consciousness that is created by the music played during all of our programs. We also encourage all students of yoga to play mantras in their homes and cars. Finally, one of the most effective ways for a student in the yoga program to take home what they experience in the class is by practicing the meditation that they learn in class at home. This is facilitated by making the recorded mantras available for them to purchase.

Annual retreats
Atma Yoga has planned annual retreats in the Americas, Asia and Europe. These 7 to 10 day events are a marvelous way to immerse your yoga students into Atma Yoga and spiritual activism.

What to expect during the training program

Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster
Yoga practice by its nature affects the emotional body. Atma Yoga is designed to create shifts in the consciousness of the student. To accomplish this, Atma Yoga uses powerful technologies that promote internal transformation.

All the technologies we use are safe and transcendentally focused. Nonetheless as they have the ability to shake loose and dislodge obstacles and anarthas (scars of the heart), it can feel very dramatic. I will make every effort to be supportive, and it is crucial that everyone understand that each of you has a role in creating a safe, loving environment. Everybody’s experience of the program may change from day to day. Some aspects of the program may cause indifference, ecstatic bliss, or sheer frustration. Be prepared to go through everything and to support others as they go through there experiences.
Above all, come determined to have fun and learn an empowering way to share spiritual consciousness with the world

Becoming a powerful teacher
The teacher training will challenge you to push through any obstacles you have to working with the public. Participating in a yoga intensive has the benefit of bringing many personal issues to the forefront. This gives you the opportunity to move through obstacles as well as dovetailing hidden or under-used propensities.

If your confidence is high and you follow the necessary steps to insure participant safety, you will be able to provide the public with a powerful yoga experience. More importantly, these people will be attracted to you and they will come to trust you. You are providing them with a meaningful and often healing experience. Over time they will look to you for advice on how to live their lives. Yoga teachers can become very instrumental figures in people’s lives. This is all the more reason why Yoga teachers should be attentive to their practice and be able to teach from a solid spiritual foundation.

The teacher training is an important opportunity for aspirants (students of yoga) to deepen their personal sadhana and their understanding of Vedic philosophy. Because the course is taught with a complete overview of Vedic systems, the students develop a universal and more logical perspective on Vedic philosophy as whole. This culminates with an understanding of the universalistic Vedic conclusion of acinyta-bedhabedha (unity in diversity).

Supplies list (bring these things with you)
Yoga mat
Yoga strap
Meditation pillow
Warm shawl or wool blanket
Eye pillow (optional)
Notebook (laptops are recommended if you have one)

Closing note
The whole aim of the Atma Yoga program is to press forward the respiritualization of the world. Do not underestimate the potential impact you can have on the world. WE are like the links of a chain… alone we accomplish very little; but working together we can bind the misery that haunts this world.

Your servant with love,

Atmananda Das
atma@yogamandir.com

Los Angeles dates: July 11 – August 9 – 2008

Click here to register:  TEACHER TRAINING APPLICATION

Any questions? Please call Atma (310) 494 -147