Workshops and Modules for Yoga Teacher Trainings

Yoga Philosophy

courses and workshops for enthusiasts, teachers, and yoga teacher training programs

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HOW TO DELIVER A GREAT DHARMA TALK

An easy to follow guide that will show you how to

    • Teach real yoga philosophy with confidence even if you're not a walking encyclopedia of yogic knowledge
    • Connect what's going on in your life to yoga's wisdom tradition - and connect with your friends and students in the process
    • Use a simple structure to keep your talks short, sweet, and totally authentic
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Hari-kirtana das is a registered E-RYT 500 yoga teacher and Continuing Education Provider with Yoga Alliance, an 800-Hour certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher, and the author of In Search of the Highest Truth - Adventures in Yoga Philosophy. He's been a guest faculty member for numerous 200 and 300-hour yoga teacher training programs over the last 10 years and leads his own 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training program.

“Hari-kirtana is a totally grounded, down-to-earth, and well-organized teacher who really knows how to introduce students to new ways of thinking in a thoroughly enjoyable way. If you’re looking for someone who can fully connect yoga philosophy to real life, Hari’s the best.”

Faith Hunter, Founder/Creative Director - Spiritually Fly Yoga Teacher Training
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All of the workshops and training modules listed below can be customized to meet the learning objectives for any given YTT program and can be configured to fit into various time slots ranging from 3-hours to weekend immersions up to 30-hour short courses.

FOUNDATIONAL STUDY

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Simplified Sanskrit for Yoga Teachers

Sanskrit is the sacred language of yoga. In this workshop we will focus our attention on transliterated Sanskrit: Sanskrit as it is written using the Roman alphabet and pronunciation cues called 'diacritics'. Participants will gain proficiency in pronunciation, explore word constructions and meanings of the names of yoga postures, learn about common terms of yoga philosophy, and learn the difference between mantras, sutras, and slokas. This training will be of particular interest to yoga teachers who want to develop confidence in their chanting and instructional use of Sanskrit in classes and workshops.

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Introduction To Yoga Philosophy

Is ‘reality’ really an illusion? What does ‘karma’ actually mean? Are there ‘correct’ interpretations of Sanskrit scriptures? In this workshop we’ll look the origin and historical development of yoga philosophy, de-mystify its terminology, and explore some of classical yoga’s more challenging propositions. Participants will gain a frame of reference to identify and understand different schools of yoga philosophy, learn techniques for accessing the essential messages of classical yoga wisdom texts, and have the opportunity to consider whether traditional conceptions of yoga philosophy are still relevant to life in the 21st century.

ADVANCED STUDY

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Integrating Yoga Philosophy Into Classes and Workshops

This workshop is designed for yoga teachers and graduates of Yoga Teacher Training programs who want to elevate their ability to integrate authentic yoga wisdom along with their personal realizations into their asana classes. Consisting of lecture/discussions, experiential learning exercises, theme design projects, and practice. The workshop will include:

  • Defining 'authentic' yoga wisdom
  • The difference between personal realization and personal truth
  • How to choose a theme or philosophical focus
  • Elements of theme-based classes
  • Keys to an effective 'Dharma Talk'
  • Design considerations for a theme-based asana sequence

We'll also work on developing a clear and concise vocabulary for injecting 'sound bites' that recall and reinforce your philosophical theme during the practice and learn what not to do in order to ensure a positive reception of your theme. You'll come away from this workshop with practical tools and confidence in your ability to comprehensively and coherently share your realization of yoga's universal truths with your students.

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Yoga-sutras of Patanjali

The Yoga-sutras offer us a definition of yoga as a science of self-realization, describe a moral philosophy upon which a lifestyle of yoga is based, and provide the aspiring yogi with a psychosomatic process by which the elevation of consciousness can be achieved. In this workshop we’ll focus on the “8 Limbs of Yoga” as a means to understand the fundamental topics of the Yoga-sutras including yoga psychology, the ethics of yoga, yogic mysticism, the qualities of material nature, and the intersection of yoga and religion.

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8 Keys to Understanding the Bhagavad Gita

An indispensable guide for the serious yogi, the Bhagavad Gita illuminates the nature of spiritual experience, describes the various systems of yoga, and guides us through a transformational journey of self-discovery. In this workshop we’ll look at the organization of the text, explore the Gita’s hierarchical structure of reality, discuss distinctions between eastern and western conceptions of God, examine the Gita’s ethical dilemmas, and see why the text places an emphasis on bhakti; the yoga of devotion.

OTHER FUN STUFF

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Cosmic Flow

Cosmic Consciousness is awareness of the unity of the living cosmos and the interconnectedness of all beings within that unity. In the state of cosmic consciousness, unity and diversity co-exist in harmony with cosmic order as we become aware of our eternal spiritual nature. The intention of this transformative practice is to combine flowing asana sequences with guided meditations to bring about conscious movement toward the awakening of our nitya svarupa, our eternal spiritual nature.

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Floydasana

Pink Floyd’s musical themes are consistently concerned with our need for compassionate connections with others and of how the alienation that results from the absence of connection – the absence of yoga – drives us crazy. In the absence of compassionate connections walls get built, dogs help pigs take over the world, and the moon turns to the dark side, which is just how ancient yoga wisdom texts describe the season of time we live in. In fact, our race against time, a feature of forgetfulness of our eternal spiritual nature, features prominently Floyd’s repertoire. This workshop will feature a vigorous asana sequence set to a complete Floyd soundtrack that includes vintage songs from their early albums, live recordings and classic favorites.

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The Workshop of Death

The process of yoga is one of overcoming five specific obstacles to self-realization: illusion, attachments, aversions, egoism, and fear. All of our fears ultimately roll up to one basic fear: the fear of death. To retreat from death is to retreat from life, to miss out on the full potential that our life offers us. In this special workshop we’ll learn how we can face life and death in a truthful, yogic way. Our on-the-mat practice will be followed by a guided meditation that will help us to see our lives through the lens of death and, by doing so, examine our lives as they are and as they have the potential to be.

Hkd with PYR 2017 810
Hari-kirtana das with Faith Hunter and more
Hkd with Ruah YTT 810

To learn more about how I can be a part of your Yoga Teacher Training program just use the form below to give me a shout. 

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