"This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you. Wherever your eyes and arms and heart can move against the earth and the sky, the beloved has bowed there - the beloved has bowed there knowing you were coming."
- Hafiz
EMBRACING THE YIN PATH
Module 2: A Yin Yoga Teacher Training
For me, the Yin path is about acceptance and connection.
The Yin archetype herself invites us to stop striving. She invites us to stop trying to change things in our life without first accepting things as they are. This is not an invitation to passivity or to saying “oh there’s nothing I can do about myself or the world”. Acceptance is the platform from which transformation takes place. Acceptance is really the beginning of our spiritual journey. It begins when we are willing to connect with what’s true in ourselves and others.
In this teacher training we ask the question “What does it really mean to be an effective teacher”. “What does it really mean to teach?”
We soon see that what really makes an effective teacher is one’s ability and willingness to connect with our students. This connection with others goes hand-in-hand with our willingness to connect to ourselves. In this training we examine ways of connecting with all parts of ourselves and our students through the teachings of the indigenous nature traditions. Although I have great respect for the Hindu philosophy and Buddhist philosophy I am most drawn to the simple nature traditions. We examine our own personal journey through the archetypes of warrior, healer, teacher and visionary.
These four archetypes live within us all and it is the balance of these archetypes that brings us to a place of equanimity and acceptance. These archetypes are very closely connected to the natural world, and each archetype represents an element. The warrior is about air, the healer about earth, the teacher about water and the visionary about fire. The archetypes also connect with the four directions: the warrior to the North, the healer to the South, the teacher to the West, and the visionary to the East.
For me, this connection to nature is critically important for my own well-being and peace of mind and for the future of the earth herself.
During this training we do daily Yin practices, meditations, sharing, and discussions about how to bring these archetypes into balance for ourselves and our students.
To create and hold a safe space for peaceful acceptance is the privilege of the Yin teacher. In this 50 hour training, we’ll look at ways we can best support our students in their own journeys as we explore creative and collaborative approaches to teaching and learning through inquiries and explorations of the following themes.
THIS TRAINING INCLUDES
* Develop body and energy awareness through Yin practice and body meditation
* Learn to follow our “inner teacher” and support others to do the same
* Explore and develop our unique strengths and styles as teachers and individuals through our relationship with the healer, warrior, teacher, and visionary archetypes that are part of us all
*Practice using story, poetry, and metaphors to invite a deeper somatic experience
The training will consist of approximately 45 contact hours. In order to receive a certificate of completion, I will ask each student, during the 30 days following the training, to complete an additional 5 hours of independent study. After completing the independent study, each student will communicate their experience to me by mail or email. Your communication won’t be judged or graded, and each participant will receive a certificate of completion for 50 hours of Yin Yoga Teacher Training.
This training is a stand-alone training, and is open to anyone who has taken Taoism, Anatomy and Sequencing as well as any dedicated yoga students or teachers who are interested in deepening their practice. If you haven’t studied with me before and plan on coming to the second or third module only, then I ask that you get a copy of The Yin Yoga Kit, and familiarize yourself with the basic concepts, and do some of the practices in the book or CD. The training is suitable for teachers and dedicated practitioners. You don’t need to be a teacher or even experienced in Yin, just come with an open heart and a willing mind. The three trainings can be taken in any order.
The syllabuses for both Module 1 and Module 2 trainings have been submitted to Yoga Alliance through certain Yoga Schools and are part of their 500 hour Teacher Trainings. If you have any questions about Yoga Alliance or the training, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
The syllabuses for both Module 1 and Module 2 trainings have been submitted to Yoga Alliance through certain Yoga Schools and are part of their 500 hour Teacher Trainings. If you have any questions about Yoga Alliance or the training, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
