Yoga Methodology
This section will mainly deal with asana practice and teaching. Practice first! Only by familiarizing yourself with the material will you become comfortable teaching it. We will cover all the postures in Primary Series, discuss how to both practice and teach them. For practice you may practice alone or in a class. If some of the vinyasas or other techniques are different with the teacher you normally practice with, just do as you are being taught and don’t worry about it! Try to create a balanced approach to yoga that is sustainable and fits in your life. Do something right when you wake up if at all possible even if it is very short and simple. This will have a far greater impact on you than attending public asana classes.
There are three categories that you should try to include in your practice each day if possible.
Therapeutic Movement Study your own body and do something to create balance and ease. This can be absolutely anything from self massage to somatic movements, or any therapeutic exercises that you sincerely believe are helpful for you. In times of injury, illness or excessive stress this area of practice should be longer. If all is well, it may only require a few minutes.
Asana Practice Do at least Surya Namaskar each day. Three A Salutations, three B salutations and three finishing postures are a daily minimum that will keep asana working in your body. Unlike therapeutic work, asana has structure. Learn Primary Series. Try to practice it as regularly as you can, ideally every day except for new moon and full moon when you may take a well deserved break.
Pranayama/Meditation After asana take some time to notice your internal world. No need to analyze everything too closely, just stop verbal thinking in the mind to the extent possible and try to maintain this state as long as possible even if only for a few seconds. This will lead to lots of insight and has its own way of taking us inside and giving us access to the messages we need to receive. Of course it is difficult to concentrate! What is the best way to work on it? Pranayama. Study the pranayama course and use those techniques to help concentrate your mind.
For information on Mudra and Pranayama, please refer to our Pranayama Course. This will give you the tools to take your asana practice deeper and experience more of the internal aspects of yoga.
All this needs as much time as you have to give. A couple hours per day would be ideal or even more. If you don’t have that kind of time then do what you can manage and be grateful for whatever time you do have. If you can manage the golden recipe of doing something at the same time, in the same place, every single day without fail for a long period of time, you will certainly understand the mental benefits of yoga. Even if you only have 5 minutes per day, it works and it is absolutely worth your time.
Asana Practice
Our course only covers the Primary Series. However, if you are able to keep up with the practice video and if you have previous experience, you may also practice the Intermediate Series as well. We put it in just in case you want to try!
Teaching Yoga Postures
Teaching yoga postures is a natural evolution of practicing them. In order to absorb the information in this course you will need some hands on experience. This can be as simple as doing some yoga with a friend once a week and asking to practice some of your new techniques. Yoga studios always need substitute teachers. This is another great way to get some experience. All the trainings in the world cannot prepare you for being in front of people and leading a class. At some point you just have to make the jump and try it. Even if it goes quite badly from your own perspective, you will learn a lot! It can be a very joyful and rewarding. As a student you may share what you know with others who have not yet learned the same information as you. This is all it ever amounts to whether you are teaching your very first class or if you have been at it for decades! Look for an opportunity to share.
Join our Sunday classes online if your time zone permits. See how I teach in a live situation. Join our live training weekends and watch other people attempting the adjustments and verbal cues. The only bad teacher is one who does harm to others or one who is just too afraid to try.
Now that you have seen me adjusting postures, watch some other people learning how to do it!
Here we will go through the practice move by move and talk about the transitions. These are all based on Surya Namaskar and the more precise and developed your Surya Namaskar is, the better your timing and vinyasa will be. This is a lot to hang on to and remember at first. Only by practice can you begin to feel natural with it. You will soon see that it is a kind of logic and once you have a foundation it becomes intuitive.
Bryce Delbridge is my long time friend and student. I first met Bryce when he was a baby. Our parents were old friends. When Bryce was 15 years old he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. He began a very rigorous practice of yoga to avoid having metal rods fused to his spine. He is a master teacher and practitioner. In this series of videos he will be showing techniques that we can all use to become strong and light, and gain the abilities needed for vinyasa practice.
In the two videos above Bryce Delbridge addresses the areas of asana practice dealing with strength and balance. Not only does he give methods for building strength and ability with arm balances, but he also looks at some common injuries associated with them and teaches therapeutic techniques to address these issues.
Step by step instructions on how to become light, strong and capable of doing the handstand/arm balance postures
Precautions for how to avoid some of the common pitfalls and injuries associated with arm balances
Self Massage, Somatic work, and a robust toolkit of techniques for self care to help you gain ability safely
Learn to use sliding movements to build strength
Understand how to use the Cat/Cow movement to assist in floating movements
Explore some common questions associated with this area of practice
Many of us may be quite far from handstands and arm balances. The techniques given in this workshop give tools for getting stronger that work for everyone whether you are at the very beginning or deep into this area of yoga practice
In this insightful series of videos Mila Rybakova Eppler explains methods for grounding and stabilizing the spine through the use of Bandhas as she teaches a very different approach to asanas from vinyasa. The longer hold times and strong focus on alignment is very beneficial for deepening your understanding of yoga postures.
When you have become grounded in asana practice and have stabilized and purified your body at east to a cetain extent, you are ready to move on to the next stages of yoga. It is recommended to take the pranayama course during this training. Pranayama is the bridge from the physical practices of yoga to the internal contemplative practices. While it is still a physical practice, it leads to states in which one can understand and appreciate the deeper aspects of yoga. You should develop a regular yoga practice at the same time and in the same place each day. Follow the pranayama course carefully. Practice through the entire course. This will complete your education in the physical aspects of yoga practice. We would like to take you far beyond simply understanding the mechanics of practicing yoga postures.
Password:ganapati
Asana is an infinite art. I can only give you my own limited ideas and understanding. By practicing with other teachers you will get more exposure and different perspectives. The teachers in the videos below are all dear friends of mine who I respect very much. They have all done yoga for many years and taught successfully in their own countries and cultures. Some teach Ashtanga sequences and some do not. You will definitely see the influence of Ashtanga in their masterful techniques. Practice along and enjoy some different perspectives!