basic teacher training

yogash citta vritti nirodahah.”
yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind.

At Boundless Yoga, our mission is to foster physical, mental, social, and spiritual transformation. As global consciousness continues to shift, yoga, a 5000-year-old spiritual science, has rooted itself into many lives — 16.5 million people in the United States alone say that they practice yoga, and many more contribute to what has become a multi-billion-dollar industry.  In the midst of this boom there remains a core, comprised of the teaching community responsible for passing on thousands of years of knowledge that has come from the deepest sources of the mind.

The one-year Boundless Yoga teacher training program, certified by the Yoga Alliance as a 200-hour Basic Yoga Teacher Training, seeks to honor the cultural shifts in modern yoga while maintaining its meditative origins. Much like Buddhism, to which the origins of yoga are closely tied, practicing yoga opens the mind, settles the body, and yolks individual identity to universal identity.

The Boundless Yoga program is crafted primarily in the spirit of Krishnamachariya, an Indian teacher whom many believe to be the father of modern yoga . His teachings suggest that the yoga asana class is the design of the individual, woven simultaneously into the community at large. It is the yoga teacher’s role to relate to each student one-on-one, not matter how small or large a yoga community or class; It is the yogi or yogini who takes the teachings of yoga into the world.

Our intention is to prepare advanced practitioners to teach a basic-level yoga class. The Boundless methodology relies heavily on the deepening of the trainee’s own practice and the trust, instinct, and knowledge of human anatomy and physiology that the faculty shares during the course of the program. These two modes of learning, external and internal, are the two essential halves that create a whole environment for becoming a Boundless Yoga certified teacher.

New teachers graduating from our one-year program (September 2010-July 2011) will also learn how to plan yoga lessons for session-based classes, respond to the different needs in drop-in yoga classes, how to modify basic poses and how to approach yoga therapeutically.

Our 200-hour training program satisfies the yoga alliance requirements for obtaining an RYT certification (Registered Yoga Teacher).  To this end we focus the program on a basically equal combination of the following:

• Anatomy and alignment: how the musculoskeletal, organs, and energetic bodies work in conjunction with one another.

• The philosophy, history, and spirit of yoga: the anchor of the program, enabling teacher trainees to examine themselves and their yoga practice more deeply and to learn to trust their own internal maps.

• How to teach: learning yoga more deeply does not necessarily make a good yoga teacher.  We will spend large amounts of time practicing teaching, giving each other feedback, and sharing in each others innate talents.

• The principle of karma yoga as taught by the Bhagavad Gita: we will explore the concept of action without attachment to the result.

For more information, or to ask any questions, please contact us.

general topics covered in the program

These topics may shift as the group grows through the program:

• Principles of the krishnamacharya yoga tradition
• Physical and energetic anatomy and physiology
• Meditation
• Yoga philosophy
• Level one postures (basics)
• Pranayama
• Ayurveda, naturopathy, and yoga
• Sanskrit of poses
• Assisting and adjusting
• Level one postures (modifications)
• Sequencing postures
• Teaching restoratives
• Teaching special groups and populations
• Planning for the first day
• Session-based classes versus drop-in classes

prerequisites

We prefer that the advanced student be currently practicing in a primarily Indian-based school of yoga (Iyengar, Anusara, Kripalu, Sivananda, Integral, Ashtanga, Kundalini, etc.), though we honor all traditions and are open to all schools and traditions.

Applicants must have practiced yoga twice a week for one full year or the equivalent (breaks in a longer practice are expected and are OK).

Meditation, Pranayama, and/or other spiritual/meditative endeavors are a plus. For more information, or to ask any questions, please contact us.

time commitment and schedule

We will spend one weekend a month for one year, beginning in september 2010 and meeting first september 24-26. While we have high expectations for the commitment teacher trainees will make to the program, we understand that yoga and family/work commitments can be challenging. If you know you will be away for one of the workshop weekends, we need you to let us know ASAP so that you can make other arrangements to study one-on-one with Kim or the other faculty.

2010-11 dates (times are fri 630-930 p, sat 10a-7 p, and sun 12-3 p)

• 2010: September 24-26, October 15-17, November 19-21, December 17-19
• 2011: January 14-16, February 18-20, March 18-20, April 15-17, May 20-22, June 17-19, July 15-17

cost and teacher-training discounts

The cost for the program can be paid in full or through monthly installments. If paid in installments, the total cost is $3400 with a deposit of $950 due september 1, and ten (10) monthly installments of $245 thereafter. The total cost of the program if paid in full by August 15 is $2999.

Price does not include books, the $30 non-refundable application fee, and $55/month for unlimited classes at boundless yoga.

Discounts for being a member of the program include: 10% off all workshops (excluding outside/international presenters), retail items, and books. Any questions, please contact us.

other requirements during the program

Teacher trainees are expected to fulfill these additional requirements:

• Maintain a practice of 5x/week for the duration of the program. This will consist of a combination of studio and home practice.

• Observe and take studio classes at Boundless and one other studio of the teacher trainee’s choice, for one session or the equivalent (approximately three months).  The studio must be Unity Woods, Sun and Moon Yoga Studio, Willow Street Yoga, or a studio approved by Kim Weeks.
• Teach one class to the boundless community on Sundays (observed by the faculty). Trainees may also choose to sub at Boundless during the last six months of the program.
• Complete and pass a final written paper (10-12 pages double-spaced), anatomy exam, philosophy exam and Sanskrit quiz. There will also be other written assignments during the program.

Program starts September 1. The application (available for download below) is due by August 15, 2010, along with a non-refundable, $30 application fee. Full payment or deposit due August 15, 2010 to guarantee your place in this year’s program. We will be limiting this year’s class to 25 trainees, so sign up early. Please send or bring your application to: Boundless Yoga, 1522 u street NW, Washington, DC 20009.

For more information, or to ask any questions, please contact us.

Download the application for the 2010-2011 program.