6:30 Meditation/Pranayama
6:45 90 minute Asana Class
8:30 Breakfast
9:30 Lecture
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Lecture
2:15 1 hour Asana Class
4:00 Lecture
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Lecture

 

Pranayama practice
Jessica Robertson, one of the Moksha Yoga founders, began her practice and study of pranayama or breathing exercises over a decade ago with Baba Hari Das and his senior students. Bringing a love of the practice and an understanding of its complexities, she leads the pranayama sessions. Increasing breath awareness can then be easily transported into the asana classes.

Asana class
Each class will be led by various senior teachers and Moksha Yoga directors. Once a week a different yoga Asana traditions will be explored. All other classes will focus on growth and exploration through the Moksha Yoga series. Variety in teachers and teaching styles provides tools for interpretation within the series, and furthers the process of making teaching personal and authentic.

If you haven't tried the Moksha Yoga series, you can visit your local studio or purchase a class on CD and "The Little Moksha Yoga Book" by emailing us at info@Mokshayoga.ca.  

Practice teaching
We want trainees to leave the training confident that they are ready to walk into a room of students. Each student will have the opportunity to lead small groups of their fellow trainers through several consecutive postures. And there may be some practice teaching surprises (we can't give it all away!) All teaching is followed by feedback sessions. Practice teaching sessions are led by Ted Grand andJessica Robertson .

Teaching methodology
This is a chance to learn how to be comfortable and confident while teaching. We explore teaching techniques such as voice projection, utilizing key 'trigger' words, body language, and how to convey information. Further discussion will revolve around the different ways in which people learn, how to create a supportive environment for new students, and how to prepare oneself mentally before teaching a class. Jessica Robertson facilitates these sessions.

Posture clinics
Ted Grand, one of the Moksha Yoga founders and the creator of the Moksha Yoga series, has a background in yoga therapy and an extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Posture clinics move through each posture in the Moksha Yoga series with great detail. Posture alignment, entry and release will be covered and questions about postures will be covered in detail.

Modifications/Adjustments
These two sections revolve around one of the most important aspects of teaching: the safe and effective performance of yoga asanas. We will focus primarily on the entry, stasis and exit to and from poses, using both verbal and hands-on adjustments. There is also discussion around the issues of hands-on adjustments, recognizing limitations, and how to be most effective in directing students to self-adjust.

Structural anatomy
Dina Tsouluhas is a registered massage therapist, student of osteopathy and the director of Moksha Yoga London. Her appreciation for yoga and her passion for anatomy and physiology make what can be a dry topic interesting and fun.

Functional anatomy
Pierre Laurier Desjardins, Dina Tsouluhas or Kristy Butler all  carry a vast and ever evolving knowledge of anatomy and its application to yoga asana. This 15-hour segment covers each pose in the Moksha series in deep detail, so that the trainees can discover the biomechanics of each posture and hence the safest and most effective way to enter and exit each posture.    The phsiological benefits of yoga are also explored.

Breath awareness and Meditation seminar
Frank Jude will detail the importance and depth of breath awareness as it relates to asana practice and daily living.  Frank Jude’s discussion brings forth the idea that all yoga practice includes breath awareness and meditation, creating an integrated and comprehensive path that cultivates deep awareness and mindful living. In this way, we overcome our conditioned and reactive way of thinking and behaving, and begin to embody our optimal creative, spontaneous response to life experience. He brings forth the magic and importance of daily meditation practice, and discusses how it is essential to create a personal practice.  He draws upon his own experience as a Zen practitioner and as a student of the renowned author and Zen monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Ayurveda seminar
These lectures will explore the ancient healing practices of Ayurveda as an aspect of Mindfulness practice. Frank Jude, a trained Ayurvedic Practitioner will explain the ways in which Ayurveda, said to be the “sister science” to Yoga, can facilitate greater self-understanding and freedom. Special emphasis is placed on how even a basic understanding of Ayurveda can inform your yoga teaching.

Buddhist/mindfulness yoga
Considering that the Buddha himself was an enlightened yogi, Frank Jude Boccio introduces the Buddha’s teachings within the context of the Yoga Tradition.These lectures illustrate that the common aspiration of all practitioners is to overcome suffering and imbalance, and awaken to our inherent wholeness and union with all things.  The essential practice to accomplish this, Mindfulness (satipatthana), will be explained and undertaken. Frank Jude’s book Mindfulness Yoga further details these points.

An Evening Sangha Gathering
After a week devoted primarily to learning and discussion, Frank Jude ties up his week visit by offering a full evening of Mindfulness Practice as a “mini-retreat.” “Sangha” means “community of truth.” Practicing sitting, walking and eating meditation together in Noble Silence, Frank Jude offers a concluding Dharma Talk on some fundamental aspect of the Dharma, while providing insight and clarity on how teacher-trainees can deepen their own practice and understanding in order to share that understanding with their students. The healing and empowering practice of Deep Listening cultivates the hallowed space for sincere sharing of heart-truth.

What is spirituality?
Boccio delves into the reasons why spiritual seeking is a fundamental aspect within the human experience. In doing so he provides insight and clarity into how to better convey this concept to our students.

History of yoga
In exploring the roots of yoga, the student can gain a deeper understanding of where yoga is today. Frank Jude Boccio brings lightness, fun and creativity to the class. These lectures cover not only the chronology of yoga's evolution in the West, but the teachers and circumstance that guided this evolution.

Philosophy of yoga
Frank Jude Boccio and renowned teacher and author Michael Stone bring clarity to challenging concepts and ideas with spontaneous fitting metaphors and candid story telling.    These lectures will introduce the main yogic texts and their central themes and bring to light ideas on duality and non-duality; tantric yoga philosophy; and vedantic philosophy.

Journaling
This is a chance to document the physical, emotional and perhaps spiritual journey that students experience throughout the training. Journaling provides an opportunity to slow the mind and work through the challenges that arise in such an intensive training. Journaling also helps students assimilate the vast amount of learning that is taking place daily. In this way lessons can be carried from the mat back into the day-to-day life.

Bhagavad-Gita and the Yoga Sutra
Michael Stone awakens students to the deep relevance to every day living these texts present. Stone is a Toronto-area teacher who specializes in teaching the depth and beauty of yogic literature.

Presentations
Each trainee will be required to give a short presentation. Presentation topics will be provided, though trainers can choose to present a seminar on any topic that could benefit the group. This is an opportunity to put public speaking skills into practice in a setting that is more comfortable and varied than a standard yoga class.

Kirtan
Many people refer to Kirtan as yoga of the voice; it is a folk tradition originating from Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. Kirtan involves call and response singing in Sanskrit, no singing experience necessary. This is an optional evening in the training led by Lila, a kirtan collective made up of Jessica Robertson and her sister Deena.   Their CD Myth and Myrrh is  now available online and at Moksha studios.  Jessica  and Deena have studied with Jai Uttal and Daniel Paul.