A 30-day intensive program with study of asana, pranayama, applied yoga anatomy, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, Buddhism, meditation and personal transformation. This full-time, non-residential course will give you an opportunity to both deepen your engagement with yoga and to acquire the skills and confidence necessary to teach it.
By the end of the 30 days you will be able to incorporate postures, breath awareness, meditation, chanting, scriptural and self-studies, safe biomechanics and an attitude of service into creative, adaptive and inspiring teachings. This foundational training will emphasize deepening your personal practice, as getting to know yourself better is the source of inspiring teachings.
OUR APPROACH
In Sanskrit, "
ha" often represents the sun and "tha" (pronounced "ta") the moon. Hatha Yoga honors the dynamic interplay of masculine and feminine energies, both within our individual selves and between ourselves and the larger environment. When in balance, we shine and flow with present circumstances, comfortable in our own skin. For this, an adaptive and integrative practice is required; and this training program offers such an approach.
We honor and draw from the rich perspectives of Anusara Yoga, Viniyoga, Ashtanga-Vinyasa, Bihar School of Yoga, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, the Buddhist meditative tradition, and Ayurveda. We believe no one system, in and of itself, is complete.
We believe in awakening to our full potential. We honor personal practice as a means of self-inquiry and adapt yoga to serve individual needs and pursuits. We incorporate Western scientific perspectives while honoring and preserving ancient Asian traditions. The intellect, as well as the intuitive imagination, are our guides. We enjoy stillness and motion, solitude and community, innovation and tradition. We care for and study ourselves to better serve the world.
IS THIS TRAINING FOR YOU?
The hatha yoga teacher foundation course is both for those who wish to deepen their practice as well as for those who desire to teach yoga. It is also applicable for those who are already yoga teachers and wish to enhance their teaching skills.
Upon successful completion, teacher trainees will be qualified to register with the Yoga Alliance at the 200-hour level (RYT200).
PRE-REQUISITES
1. A minimum of two years of a regular personal yoga practice.
2. Two reference contacts: one must be from your yoga teacher, and another from a non-family member-e.g. a friend, employer, a second yoga teacher.
3. Completion of the application form.
N.B. Those who are already students of Jonas and/or Sara's need not supply recommendation contacts.
BOOKS TO READ
Reading List with required and recommended books
SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE
The schedule for the 30-day course includes 1 or 2 full days off each week (six full days off total) and a two-day, residential meditation retreat in the countryside.
07:30-09:00 asana, pranayama, meditation
10:00-1:00 program session #1
2:30-5:30 program session #2
7:00-9:00 evening session/film (once/week only)
Information about accommodations and other resources in Chiang Mai.
Please see the Application Form
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
- Full attendance at all program sessions and meditation retreat.
- Timeliness.
- Accordance with Ethics guidelines as presented by the Yoga Alliance.
- Homework completion.
- Daily personal practice and reflection journal.
- Participation in study groups.
- Practice teaching.
Instructors’ approval.
Following the completion of this course you will not necessarily be ready to teach yoga. Teaching yoga takes many years of passionate dedication, persistence and consistency of practice.
WHO ARE WE?
DIRECTORS
Jonas Westring, PT, E-RYT 500, is a licensed physiotherapist in his native Sweden and in the USA. He began his yoga studies in 1981 at the Scandinavian Yoga & Meditation School (branch of Bihar school of Yoga). A teacher of the Anusara Yoga system, Jonas has studied with John Friend since 1999. Other main styles practiced include Ashtanga-vinyasa, Viniyoga, Iyengar, Kripalu and the Integrative Yoga Therapy apporach where he was core faculty for five years. Jonas now teaches at venues worldwide. With one foot rooted in the timeless teachings of yoga and the other in clinical environments, his teaching transmits the essence of yoga through clarity, precision, mindfulness and joy.
Sara Avant Stover is an Anusara-Inspired teacher and RYT 500 and teaches at venues in the United States, Asia and Europe. Her primary inspirations include leading teachers of the Anusara tradition, Richard Freeman (Ashtanga-Vinyasa), Sarah Powers (Yin/Yang Yoga), Sofia Diaz (Women's Yoga), Gary Kraftsow (Viniyoga), Buddhist insight meditation and The Wise Earth School of Ayurveda. Her teachings celebrate presence, self-acceptance and kindness. Also a freelance writer, Sara is a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga magazines. She lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
GUEST FACULTY
Emil Wendel, a native of Switzerland, has been living in Asia for the past thirty years. Having first studied Chinese classics, Taoism, Sanskrit and Indian philosophy throughout the region, he then made his home in Nepal in 1980. Today Emil travels around Asia as a renowned and respected teacher. Passionate about philosophy and especially its application in Yoga, Emil practices and teaches physical postures, breathing techniques and meditation in conjunction with discussions to deepen one's practice beyond the physical. During the training, Emil will teach a module on pranayama, meditation and philosophy. www.beyond-the-asana.com
Ouyporn Khuankaew is director of International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP) is a Buddhist feminist trainer who has been working for peace and justice in South and Southeast Asia since 1995. Aside from leading workshops, Ouyporn also writes and translates on the issues of women and Buddhism. In 2002 Ouyporn founded and currently directs IWP, an international organization that provides training to empower women’s groups in South and Southeast Asian communities to work for peace and justice.
Adam How, a native of England, serves as the director of the Yoga Studio in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has been studying yoga for more than 22 years and psychotherapy for over 12. Adam teaches Ethics in the training and offers voluntary one-on-one sessions in Hakomi, a mindfulness-based body-centered psychotherapy. He finds the subject of ethics to provide an important interface between self and other-- a place to inquire within, examine closely, and act with integrity in situations that may be anything but clear cut. Through his teachings, Adam brings right action, right speech and right livelihood from philosophical concepts into a basis for Being. www.yoga-chiangmai.com
Rebecca Andrist is a qualified nutritional advisor as well as a certified yoga teacher and massage therapist. She has worked in healing centres in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Europe and the U.S, including serving for four years as core faculty at the Dharma Healing Center, a fasting center on Koh Samui, Thailand. Rebecca now leads detoxification programs around the world. Rebecca will teach a module on nutrition and the yogic diet during the training. www.jivahealing.com
STAFF
Jennifer Cormier, course manager, is a graduate of the 2006 Teacher Training, a Pilates Instructor and Thai Yoga bodyworker. Jenn also cultivates boundless enthusiasm from dance, art, and Buddhist and Native American traditions. When she isn't traveling, Jenn can be found in her hometown of New Britain, CT, where she is a collaborator with Scapegoat Garden Contemporary Dance Co. and in New York City, where she has lived and taught for the past several years.
Kim Löfkvist, course assistant, is a graduate of the 2006 Teacher Training. She found herself interested in spiritual and philosophical realms at an early age. While in University, she studied history of religion; she has also studied Buddhism, meditation, Reiki, Ayurveda, and Thai massage; most especially, Kim experienced a sense of coming home with Anusara Yoga. Leaving her teaching venue in Sweden for a city she loves--Chiang Mai-Kim will assist the teacher training with great joy and love.
Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams is a graduate of the 2006 Teacher Training, after resigning from the UN to dedicate her life to sharing the beauty and many gifts yoga has to offer. She is also writing a book based on her dozen years living and working in war zones. As proud mommy to Kim Carter, she is also a certified prenatal and postnatal instructor bringing yoga to new mothers and moms-to-be. Inspired by the gleeful joy of Anusara yoga, she has studied with John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh and Amy Ippoliti.
Esther White, educator, wise woman, is also a gradute of the 2006 course. A long term yogini, she specializes in adaptive yoga for students in need of a mofidied approach to asana. Having made her home in Chiang Mai for quite a while, she is fluent in the Thai language and knowledable of Thai culture. During Thailand's rainy season she returns to her other home in high altitude, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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