Teacher Training

A Unique Program Grounded in Hatha Yoga

At Yogayama, students obtain a strong foundation in Hatha Yoga, the basis for many of today’s physical forms of yoga. Influences from Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Iyengar Yoga are also incorporated in the Yogayama sequences that trainees learn and use to embody their theoretical learning of asana. 

As a Yogayama Teacher Trainee, you study all aspects of yoga and acquire a deep understanding of yoga and what is needed to teach yoga. This training is both an individual journey as you pursue the yoga path, and also the start of your teaching journey. Upon graduation you will be fully prepared to teach from your own understanding of yoga, and from that understanding you will also continue to grow and develop as a yogi and teacher of yoga. 

The Yogayama 200-hour teacher training curriculum includes:

• Asana
• Pranayama
• Meditation
• Online anatomy course
• Reading bodies
• Sequencing and how to think about intelligent sequencing
• Alignments, adjustments and assists
• When and how to use props
• Yoga philosophy
• Sanskrit names of poses
• Ethics for Yoga teachers
• Pedagogy and practical teacher experience
• Ayurveda and nutrition
• Yoga as a lifestyle
• Practical experience
• Small group mentoring

Two special features of this program are Yogayama’s approach to asana and pranayama. 

Asana is taught in such a way that trainees learn to safely build up an asana practice through intelligent and safe sequencing. They learn to read bodies physically and energetically and teach classes from what they see in their students rather than from a prescribed sequence or flow. Teacher trainees will also learn to apply asana in therapeutic ways through alignment and use of props based on the group of students in front of them. 

This approach to asana emphasizes the principles for teaching safely and providing clear instructions. It is designed to help students understand how to work in poses, find ease, and safely move towards poses they may once have thought to be out of their reach. Trainees will learn to work with parts of the body that need to lengthen and strengthen, and which actions need to be understood in order to keep the body safe while working toward a particular peak pose or theme. 

Pranayama represents one of the main methods of classical Hatha Yoga is often translated as “expansion or elongation of life force.” For the yogi, practicing pranayama means working with a group of breathing and cleansing techniques that will enhance health and that also, according to yogic tradition, have a more subtle effect on the vital life force (known as prana) itself. Through regular pranayama individuals prepare the body and mind for further meditation practices.

The pranayama lineage that is practiced in Yogayama’s Teacher Training is based on the teachings of Swami Kuvalayananda and O.P. Tiwari, founders of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in Lonavala, India.In the Kaivalyadhama tradition of yoga, pranayama is perhaps the most highly regarded tool to be used for creating a greater contact with the inner world and more subtle parts of us as human beings.

Online Anatomy Education

Starting in Fall 2018, Yogayama will launch Sweden’s first online anatomy course as part of its 200-hour teacher training. Students will have access as soon as they have paid the full amount of the training and will be required to complete this online anatomy course, before to the start date. The online anatomy course will take approximately ___ hours. Students have lifelong access to this online platform.

Practical Details

Yogayama’s Teacher Training is suitable for those who wish to help others expand their understanding and practice of yoga, as well as deepening their own practice and knowledge of the ancient traditions of yoga, including yoga’s purpose, background and goals.

The education consists of 200 hours, distributed over a period of approximately nine months, with approximately one course week in the month. The kick-off “Introduction” consists of nine-days of full-time studies, and the remaining time is scheduled for a number of weekends. Prior to the practical exam, each student has about two months of preparation with the others participants so they can exercise their teaching skills through assisting, observing, guiding and practicing one another.

Time schedule

The first 9 introductory days at 07.30-17.00 (Except for the first introduction day 08.30-17.00). Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 07.30-17.00.

Online meeting schedule coming soon

INFORMATION SESSION

Do you have more questions about structure and content, or other questions about education? Feel free to listen to one of our information meetings. The spring meetings in Stockholm are posted to Instagram yogayama_ostermalm.

1. Introduction: Establish your internship and start studying

During nine intensive days, we lay the foundation for the entire education. You establish a daily practice consisting of chanting, pranayama, asana and meditation as well as starting your studies in some of the main subjects of the education. During the introduction, we focus mainly on anatomy (adapted specifically for yoga teacher), the history of yoga tradition and philosophy, practice and technology as well as an introduction to yoga teacher education and how it may be to start yoga training.

2. Hathayoga: Our platform

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the text that forms part of that many of today’s yoga forms are inspired by, was written in its entirety during the 1400s and describes how to use asana, breathing exercises (pranayama) and cleansing techniques (kriyas) can prepare the body for greater contact with our inside and pave the way for mental and spiritual development. During the weekend we will come to know us more closely with the foundation of hathayoga as a tradition. We also develop the instruction and review both common injuries and how to customize the training for beginners.

3. Internship: Anatomy, Safe Exercise, Yoga for Beginners

This weekend, we are deepening in both anatomy and injury prevention. We develop the technical skills in the asana practice, discuss the yoga teacher’s educational tools, and review how to construct a yoga class constructively.

4. Philosophy: Central texts in yogic tradition

The origin of today’s yoga classes rests yesterday to find thousands of years back in time. In texts such as Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, there is fabric that inspired thousands of practitioners for centuries. By studying these texts, yoga practice becomes a broader tool that includes everything from physical training to spiritual development. During the weekend, we focus mainly on Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita and discuss how these works are relevant and useful to today’s practitioners.

5. Ayurveda: Yoga, Diet and Awareness

According to yogan’s sister philosophy, Ayurveda, all beings have a unique combination of characteristics and qualities, “doshas”. By adjusting the diet and our way of living by body type, according to this health system, we can achieve optimal balance for the individual. During the weekend we meet yogayama’s ayurvedic physician, you learn the basics of Ayurveda and what distinguishes the different body types. We also look closely at other aspects of the relationship between diet and yoga. For example, what includes “yogic diet” and what are the benefits of making our choices of food more aware?

6. Research: Yoga as a Lifestyle

How do I integrate yoga into my life in a natural way? Is it just training or there are other aspects to consider? How do I take the feeling from Savasana to work or home to the family? We meet some of Sweden’s leading experts who explain how yoga practice affects their lives, discussing the role of yoga teachers and the responsibilities (and benefits) that accompany the task. The theory test is conducted this weekend.

7. Week for Practical Examinations, as well as Examination

During the week before our graduation weekend, all TT students make their practical tests that have been prepared for approximately two months starting immediately after the course weekend 6. During this period, the idea is that all the participants in the training practice their guided tours, assist and observe classes and work with their own internship. The education ends with formal exam and celebration!