50 credit hours towards Nosara Yoga Institute 1000-Hour Master Educator Certification
50 Yoga Alliance CEUs

 
Yoga originated in Asia, but today it has become a world-wide phenomenon. In the US alone, the number of Americans who self-identify as yoga practitioners has risen to 20.4 million, a 30% rise in the last four years. With interest in the health benefits of yoga booming, questions arise: Is yoga a merely physical practice for increased flexibility, stress relief, and fitness? Where did it come from? Is yoga a religion? An esoteric path of spiritual self-realization? Accurate information about modern yoga and about yoga’s philosophical origins can be difficult to access. 

This program aims to introduce current research into the often blurry intersection of modern postural and classical yoga, introducing some of the leading scholars in these fields. During our week together we will unearth some surprising historical, religious and cultural influences that have shaped yoga in its present day forms. Together, we will gain a better understanding of yoga's origins and evolution with particular attention to the catalysts that have provoked change over the years. We will study the early practices of the renunciate yogis, the impact of British colonialism, the spread of yoga outside the east, and finally the modern adaptations that continue to re-define yoga today. Having identified some of the threads of classical yoga philosophy, modern posture practice, and how others have defined yoga through the centuries, we will examine our own philosophical and spiritual beliefs, answering the questions:

1. How am I making meaning of yoga within the bigger context of my life?
2. How is my yoga experience influenced by my own beliefs and culture?
3. How do I assist others in integrating or reconciling yoga with their personal beliefs and cultural landscapes?

In this weeklong training for yoga teachers and practitioners Horace and Janel will cultivate a climate of inquiry with self, with one another, and with the origin and evolution of yoga today. There will be ample time to explore the beauty and wonder of our Costa Rican beaches, jungles, waterfalls, and wildlife. Join us in this ever-evolving landscape and find your place in the evolution of yoga.

Day One | Welcome to Costa Rica
Horace and Janel begin our journey with a big welcome to Nosara, Nosara Yoga Institute and Costa Rica. We will join together in a simple movement practice, take time to become acquainted with one other and to give ourselves time to land.

Day Two | The Roots of Yoga
Janel opens the day with a two-hour morning practice of movement, breathing and meditation.  During our midday session we will explore the contextual roots of yoga philosophy and modern practice. In a climate of relaxed learning, we will use multi-media visuals, experience and discussion, as well as individual and group movement, journaling and dialogue. The evening session is devoted to meeting some of the scholars who are at the forefront of yoga research and to building a collective map of yoga past and present. 

Day Three | Yoga, Philosophy and Belief: Path or Pathology?
Horace begins the day with a morning sadhana of asana, pranayama and meditation. We will create working definitions for some of our terms of study including: yoga philosophy, yogic lifestyle, and spiritual practice. We then examine through lecture, discourse and experience world religions, and their effect on and by yoga. During this session Janel will share some of the findings of her own academic research into the experience of Nosara Self-Awakening Yoga within a Catholic Benedictine Monastery. 

Day Four | Unpacking the bag you call Yoga.
We will head to the beach for low-tide yoga in the tide pools before delving into Yoga Philosophy on a personal and cultural basis. We examine the many effects on our beliefs including but not limited to: culture, religion and science. We will use and discuss the tools of meditation, self-inquiry, and conscious communication in identifying the "yoga sutras" of our own lives.

Day Five | Originating a personal yoga philosophy
Janel begins the day with a two-hour morning practice of movement, breathing and meditation. We will bring it all together, forming an understanding of yoga philosophy within the larger context of each of our lives and each of our  experiences.  We will examine and discuss  the tools necessary to assist others in developing and fine tuning their own personal yoga practice, allowing each student to feel comfort in expressing their yoga according to their own belief system. We conclude with an evening Satsanga (from the Sanskrit सत्सङ्ग Sat = true and Sanga = company, to join company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth). 

Day Six | Sharing through Teaching
The last day is a day long celebration of expressing our own yoga. Each participant will be helped to step into the role of educator and share a group experience based on their own beliefs and current understanding of yoga. We will come together in the afternoon for a final integration before our graduation ceremony.

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