THE JAMTSE PROJECT AND THE JAMTSE SCHOOL OF YIN YOGA
The Tibetan word Jamtse means kindness. It is the name His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave our project for the support of Tibetan refugee children. The word is made up of the words ‘care’ and ‘love’, and for us represents not only the heart of His Holiness’s teaching, but the central message of Yin Yoga itself. When we look at the essence of the Yin archetype we see the Mother, that part of the cosmos which reminds us of the possibility of unconditional love and acceptance.
I’ve been teaching Yin workshops and trainings for the last fifteen years and have refined our trainings to three modules. We believe that these modules present a platform from which our students can begin to teach Yin Yoga with a sufficient understanding of the physical, energetic and emotional aspects of the practice. The second and third modules invite us to continue to deepen our practice while opening to the question “what does it mean to teach and live from a place of mindfulness and balance”.
Although we believe that these trainings can prepare students to teach, we recognize that they are just a beginning. Becoming a teacher is a life long journey and we encourage our students to keep studying, and most importantly, keep practicing.
I’ve been teaching Yin workshops and trainings for the last fifteen years and have refined our trainings to three modules. We believe that these modules present a platform from which our students can begin to teach Yin Yoga with a sufficient understanding of the physical, energetic and emotional aspects of the practice. The second and third modules invite us to continue to deepen our practice while opening to the question “what does it mean to teach and live from a place of mindfulness and balance”.
Although we believe that these trainings can prepare students to teach, we recognize that they are just a beginning. Becoming a teacher is a life long journey and we encourage our students to keep studying, and most importantly, keep practicing.
200 HOUR YIN YOGA CERTIFICATION
As of 2018, we are offering a 200 hour Jamtse School of Yin Yoga, teacher certificate.
This is not a license or permission to teach, but a certificate confirming that a student has completed 200 hours of our trainings. In order to receive a certificate, one must have attended all three modules, and repeat one module of their choice. If a student has no previous training in anatomy, we recommend that they repeat the first module, otherwise it is up to the student to choose which module they repeat.
It is our experience that the modules have enough depth that repeating them always brings new understandings. If a student has certificates from previous 50 hour trainings with us, they can apply those toward a 200 hour certificate. Shorter weekend modules aren’t included in the 200 hour track.
We decided to offer this inclusive certificate because we know that our trainings and philosophy represent a consistent view of what Yin Yoga means to us. The Jamtse School is a way of presenting this view of what for us is the heart of the practice. We realize and embrace the importance of the physical aspects of Yin Yoga. We believe that teachers should have an understanding of anatomy as it applies to the practice. We pay attention to the health of the connective tissue. We understand and speak of the importance of the way energy moves in the body during the postures. These things are all important, but we feel that the most important gift Yin has to offer us is held in the archetype of the Mother, for it's this that is at the heart of the Yin archetype itself. We believe that the greatest healing comes from unconditional love, and that that's what Yin Yoga can invite us to practice. The longing I feel in myself and in so many others is the desire for self acceptance, for unconditional self love. This is a gift we feel Yin has to offer, a time to be with ourselves and with our bodies without the need to be different than who we are at that moment. To be fully present without the need to strive and change things.
This place of acceptance is where real transformation and transcendence can begin. Although our trainings have different focuses, they all carry this same message.
This is not a license or permission to teach, but a certificate confirming that a student has completed 200 hours of our trainings. In order to receive a certificate, one must have attended all three modules, and repeat one module of their choice. If a student has no previous training in anatomy, we recommend that they repeat the first module, otherwise it is up to the student to choose which module they repeat.
It is our experience that the modules have enough depth that repeating them always brings new understandings. If a student has certificates from previous 50 hour trainings with us, they can apply those toward a 200 hour certificate. Shorter weekend modules aren’t included in the 200 hour track.
We decided to offer this inclusive certificate because we know that our trainings and philosophy represent a consistent view of what Yin Yoga means to us. The Jamtse School is a way of presenting this view of what for us is the heart of the practice. We realize and embrace the importance of the physical aspects of Yin Yoga. We believe that teachers should have an understanding of anatomy as it applies to the practice. We pay attention to the health of the connective tissue. We understand and speak of the importance of the way energy moves in the body during the postures. These things are all important, but we feel that the most important gift Yin has to offer us is held in the archetype of the Mother, for it's this that is at the heart of the Yin archetype itself. We believe that the greatest healing comes from unconditional love, and that that's what Yin Yoga can invite us to practice. The longing I feel in myself and in so many others is the desire for self acceptance, for unconditional self love. This is a gift we feel Yin has to offer, a time to be with ourselves and with our bodies without the need to be different than who we are at that moment. To be fully present without the need to strive and change things.
This place of acceptance is where real transformation and transcendence can begin. Although our trainings have different focuses, they all carry this same message.
JAMTSE SCHOOL OF YIN YOGA TEACHER TRAINING MODULES
TAOISM, ANATOMY AND SEQUENCING
In this training we examine the essence of Yin Yoga. We look at the relationship of Yin and Yang from a Taoist point of view. By understanding this relationship and the archetypes of Yin and Yang we can understand more clearly what the practice of Yin Yoga is really about. |
EMBRACING THE YIN PATH
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. |
YIN YOGA AND STORYTELLING
Yin Yoga is a special meditation that isn’t just about the mind, but is asking the whole body to become involved. By putting ourselves in postures and accessing our deep connective tissue we begin to connect with our own stories at a very deep level. |
