All sections include Mantra and Prānāyāma Practices.
$300.00 Early Bird discount
- $350.00 after one month ahead
- $400.00 after 2 weeks out
Hatha Yoga Prādipikā begins January 7
Our sister non-profit, Sanga, has partial scholarships available
for those needing assistance to pursue yoga training.
Taught by:
This Wisdom Series explores Classical Texts as the foundations of Yoga Therapy. Each section has sessions that start with chanting and a prānāyāma practice. After the first session, the practices will be led by students working together to learn chants and their therapeutic application. Integrated into each session, will be paper cases or role-playing sessions, exploring the applications of the philosophy and concepts explored over the weekend. Students will be able to bring in their own cases for discussion.
January 7 – February 4, 2025, weekly course – Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā.
Meets 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Becoming more separated from our connection to Spirit, Raja Yoga as outlined in the Yoga Sūtra, was used to reconnect. Now, the Hatha Pradipīkā guides us to use the body as a tool for reconnection. Important in understanding the impact of the tools outlined is the understanding of the subtle body as outlined in texts we have studied previously.
The Hatha Pradipīkā starts with a simple statement, “hatha yoga is the stair steps to raja yoga.” How do we use the philosophy tools outlined in the texts to “not just do yoga” but open self to the Self? How does the alignment allow prānavāyu to open the nadī? Why does it say the “the slower the breath, the slower the mind.” How does our yoga practices interplay with āyurveda? In, the fifth chapter, why does it say that if yoga practices are done incorrectly, we can injure ourself? Are we giving the best choice of tools to our students and yoga therapy clients?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: copy of Hatha Yoga Pradipīkā, see below
There are many versions of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. I have not read many recent versions, so this lists what I have read, in my order of preference.
Digambaraji, Swami, Hathapradipika of Svatmarama. 1970, Kaivalyadhama, Lonavla, Pune, India
Vishnu Devananda, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1987, Om Lotus Publication, New York, New York.
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda with Muktibodhananda, Swami. 1985. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India.
Sinh, Pancham, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. 1997, Munshiram Manoharlal, New Dehli, India.
Bhagavad Gīta
If all of the teachings are a cow, the Bhagavad Gīta is the milk. It is the condensation of the teachings. We can use many paths to live connected to our essence. Among them are the margā (path) of karma, releasing the expectation of results; bhakti, devotion to the Divine; and Jñana, understanding through learning. We often integrate or use these paths at different phases of life. When a client or student needs to be guided to understand their nature, how do we support their recognition of their guiding margā?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda
Required at least one version of the Mahābhārata, suggested versions follow.
Choice of:
Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
The Bhagavad Gita: A Walk Through for Westerners by Jack Hawley
The Living Gita: The Complete Bhagavad Gita by Sri Swami Satchidananda
Intro to Texts and a Review of the Upaniṣad
So many texts written over so many years… We begin the series with a review of the texts in context of the time, the yuga and the margā. We will explore the Vedic Upaniṣad to ground ourself in the premise essential to understanding in yoga and that the Divine lives within. Each upaniṣad emphasizes and teaches the same concept with different allegories plus an additional teaching.
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
Ramāyāṇa
What happens when we lose part of our self? Rama was so dedicated to following the teachings of the culture. He studied with a teacher, honored his father, gave up the throne and moved to the forest. There, he lost Sita, his “other part.” The balance of the book is the journey to reclaim Sita as he meets new support people like Hanuman, Sugriva, Jambhavan. He looks at each person for who they are rather than their family of origin. His mothers represent the three guṇa. His brothers represent the puruṣārtha. Sita and Rama are the essence of Śakti and Śiva. Can we remember our power? Can we reunite our masculine and feminine within? How do we support a client or student in reclaiming a part of their life that may have been given to someone else, to a belief, or…?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: Any version of the Ramāyāṇa, except Banker
Suggested versions: Ramayana by Krishna Dharma
Ramayana by Ramesh Menon
Mahābhārata
Reading this epic gives context to the Bhagavad Gīta. More than that, it is examples of how to live with daily life challenges. It demonstrates how karma plays out. We will follow the threads of karma played out in the text. The focus will be on the war. Knowing the essence of the main characters, as we follow the pattern of the Kaurava’s demise during the war, we will see the journey of reclaiming our wholeness. What are the obstacles to self awareness? How do we encounter each one, step by step to the final “battle” of reclaiming the illuminating light within? How do we use these same tools to be a guide for our clients and students?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda
Required at least one version of the Mahābhārata, suggested versions follow.
Choice of:
Mahabharata by William Buck
Mahabharata by Krishna Dharma (1999 or condensed version 2000)
Mahabharata by Chakravarthi Narasimhan
Yoga Yajñavalkya
Gargi, Yogi Yajñvalkya’s wife asks what it takes to become enlightened. Yoga Yajñavalkya teaches her. He begins with the basics, elucidating the ten yama and ten niyama: tools for purifying the body, along with descriptions of the subtle body are included. The most beautiful component of the text is the teaching on meditation. Variations of the deep-focused heart meditations are examples of supporting clients searching for their connection to Spirit. The book concludes with explaining tools for inner calm and freedom. Yoga therapy is unique because it does not just address the body, but adds the dimension of connecting with the sense of Self. When we practice it, it overflows into the therapy session and guides the student through your action and attitude, not just what you are doing.
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: Yogayajnavalkya Samhita: The Yoga Treatise of Yajnavalkya by T.K.V. Desikachar
or Yoga-Yajnavalkya by A.G. Mohan
Śiva Samhitā
When we approach our client or student as a Spirit rather than someone who needs to be fixed, we open the door to amazing insights. This text teaches the relationship and interconnectedness of Spirit and the human experience. The Śiva Samhitā reviews the subtle body, prānavāyu, prānāyāma and dhāranā. It teaches how to channel kuṇḍalinī using the ten basic mudrā. There is an explanation of the body’s response to the movement of prāna, so we don’t need to be afraid when strange body movements or sounds occur during meditation. Finally, there is a description of the cakra in their true essence. This text summarizes the relationship of the body and Spirit.
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook: The Shiva Samhita by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra
Yoga Sūtra part 1
Known as the classical yoga text, it is a summary of the yoga philosophy related to controlling the mind. The fourth chapter explains the difference between Spiritual guidance and the mind’s guidance. We will begin the weekend with a discussion on the premises Patañjali discusses about the vṛtti and the kleśa and then, discuss the mind as outlined in Chapter 4. How does the mind affect our students? Where are they ‘stuck’? How can we support them through the tools of yoga?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook, any copy of the Sutra: examples include
The Essence of Yoga by Bernard Bouanchaud
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by BKS Iyengar
Reflections on Yogasutra-s of Patanjali by TKV Desikachar
Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda
Gateway to Enlightenment: Book One by Rama Jyoti Vernon
Yoga Sūtra part 2 – part 1 is required
The sessions during the week will focus on specific topics: Why do we do yoga? What tools are outlined in the Sūtra that guide a yoga therapy session? What are the promises outlined in the Sūtra when you use the tools of the eight fold path? What is samādhi? What does it have to do with Yoga Therapy?
3-punch handouts provided. Bring your own notebook or folder.
Required textbook, any copy of the Sutra: examples include
The Essence of Yoga by Bernard Bouanchaud
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by BKS Iyengar
Reflections on Yogasutra-s of Patanjali by TKV Desikachar
Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda
Gateway to Enlightenment: Book Two by Rama Jyoti Vernon
Gheranda Samhitā
The Gheranda Samhitā is the most recent of the classical hatha yoga texts; it adds more tools. Hansa feels this is due to the continued movement away from a self-guided life to fulfilling ourselves from outside accomplishments and acquisitions. We will review the additional tools and adapt them to benefit students in the 21st rather than the 17th century. We will explore how we, even today, have matured yoga to the ever-changing population.