“The solvent of pure awareness dissolves samskaras.”— Richard Freeman
“A gesture of our generosity is our ability to listen.”— Mary Taylor
Teacher's Intensive Training
World renowned teachers, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, have offered their teacher's intensive training for the past 25 years, every summer in the United States. The iconic program has attracted practitioners and teachers from throughout the world, to join together in Colorado for this month-long training. In November 2023, Richard and Mary for the first time outside of Colorado, will offer a month-long teacher's intensive modeled after the original course. This intensive – with Chinese translation to enhance students' learning experience – will be offered at Taipei's Space Yoga.
This program is designed for serious practitioners and teachers who want to deepen their practice and explore how different facets of yoga support both the practice and your depth of understanding so you can teach with strength and clarity.
The purpose of the month-long course is to facilitate an exploration of the internal principles and forms of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga at a level that will deepen one's practice and make teaching a natural outcome of practice. Always returning to our own personal experience, we will explore the practices and philosophies of yoga, their contexts, purposes, patterns, and limitations. We will examine the tradition from multiple viewpoints, to give depth and sophistication to the interconnected processes of yoga.
The course will flow through and include the following content: personal asana practice, teaching and assisting students, the biomechanics of posture and movement, anatomy and therapeutics of safe asana practice, the many and often contradictory philosophies of yoga including a comparative investigation of Buddhism and yoga, an introduction to Sanskrit, the study and application of pranayama, meditation, and chanting practices, and the hands-on world of relating to others.
You will learn:
- Foundations of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and how it is influenced by and interfaces with hatha yoga, Buddhism and everyday life.
- Asana study of Primary and Intermediate series of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga
- The importance of alignment and form in practicing and teaching asana safely
- The necessity of a basic understanding of anatomy when teaching asana
- How to adapt postures and practices to fit individual student needs
- Alternative and therapeutic postures and practices that will support students in deepening their practices and understanding of yoga
- The careful and appropriate art of assisting including manual adjusting
- An overview of Indian philosophy that supports a full spectrum yoga practice
- Basic pranayama practices
- How to begin and maintain a sitting meditation practice
- How to incorporate the rich and complimentary understandings from disciplines, sciences, and everyday life into the mystery of the yoga practice
Recognizing that most teachers and students will not find the traditional standards accessible, this course will provide a rich context for whatever level of practice is appropriate for each individual. The philosophical and contemplative background of the tradition and its intelligent application to real-world bodies and circumstances will be emphasized.
A comprehensive training manual will be provided to all training participants, as well as a required & recommended reading list. Students who complete all aspects of the training will receive a certificate of completion.
PHILOSOPHY
We will have a comparative look at important schools of Indian thought and how they influence each other. Among those we will study are Classical Samkhya, Yoga Samkhya, Vedanta (Advaita and other schools), Buddhism (including the Madhyamika or Middle Path School), Hatha/Tantra, and Bhakti. We will also examine contemporary trends of thought in both the West and the East that might influence our yoga practice. In the spirit of yoga, we will seek to be at home with, entangled in, and yet free of philosophy. We hope to awaken an intelligence that understands not only the doctrines of each school but their hidden presuppositions and interdependencies as well.
ASANA
We will detail the inner and outer techniques of vinyasa, traditional Ashtanga Vinyasa sequences, and the subtle alignment and precision that tie the poses together into a meditative experience. Asana will be treated as the context and base for meditation, the practical ground for making our yogic inquiry genuine and relevant to real life.
PRANAYAMA
The basic techniques of pranayama will be explored and practiced so that they are appropriate and beneficial to the individual. Bandha will be used as natural, integrated responses to the movement of internal breath. Particular attention will be given to the subtleties of inhaling, exhaling, and how they affect the mind and the body.
SANSKRIT & CHANTING
An introduction to the correct pronunciation of this polished language will be part of our practice, so that we can tune in, resonate, and taste its aesthetic pleasures. We will learn, memorize, and chant portions of traditional texts.
ANATOMY & KINESIOLOGY
We will explore and review anatomy and kinesiology as it relates to a yoga practice, which will enable us to understand what is happening biomechanically in each posture and movement.
THERAPEUTICS
We will learn how to address difficulties and injuries that students or we might encounter in yoga practice. Included will be the use of simple props. We will also learn to recognize imbalances in alignment or attitude that lead to injury.
MEDITATION
We will be introduced to traditional Buddhist Shamatha-Vipassana meditation. One afternoon per week will be reserved for group meditation instruction and practice. A nonresidential weekend retreat will deepen the practice. Attention will be given to how this practice fits with the methods of the Yoga Sutra and the Ashtanga Vinyasa practice.
TEACHING SKILLS
We will learn safe and beneficial hands-on adjustment techniques and will address how to be an effective teacher, based on practicing and putting humor and compassion into action.
Course Schedule
Dates: November 6th – Dec 1st, 2023
Time: 8:00 – 12:00, 14:00 – 17:00 (Monday – Friday)
The weekend of November 18-19, we will have a meditation weekend. All other weekends are off.
Location: Taipei Space Yoga Anho Studio
Daily Schedule
8:00 – 10:30 Asana, Pranayama & Sitting Practice
10:45 – 12:00 Chanting & Philosophy
12:00 – Lunch Break
14:00 – 17:00 Asana Study/Applied Anatomy/Special Themes
Qualifications
Students must apply and be accepted, in order to participate in this training. For acceptance into the course, students need to have:
- A solid grounding in the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga.
- A minimum of 3 years of practice and a strong desire to go more deeply into all of the limbs of yoga.
- An appreciation of subtlety and a sense of humor.
- Ability to participate in the full program.
Application
Applications are evaluated from a broad perspective, and we try to select a group of students with balanced interests and proficiencies: yoga, Buddhist studies, asana practice, philosophical study, life experience, and so on. Please be clear and specific about your interests, strengths, limitations, and other information you feel is important when completing the application.
Applications will be evaluated in the order in which they are received. We will try to let you know your status as soon as possible.
The course will be filled by accepted students in the order they have applied. (In other words, all else being equal, an application received earlier is accepted first.)
About Richard Freeman
Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968. He has spent nearly nine years in Asia studying various traditions which he incorporates into the Ashtanga yoga practice as taught by his principal teacher, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. Richard's background includes studying Sufism in Iran, Zen and Vipassana Buddhist practice, Bhakti and traditional Hatha yoga in India. Starting in 1974 he also began an in-depth study of Iyengar yoga, which eventually led him to Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. Richard is an avid student of both Western and Eastern philosophy, as well as Sanskrit. His ability to juxtapose various viewpoints, without losing the depth and integrity of each, has helped him develop a unique, metaphorical teaching style. Richard is the founder of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado which is his teaching home base. He has numerous practice DVD's and CD's, is the author of The Mirror of Yoga(2010) and travels throughout the world teaching courses, workshops and trainings.
About Mary Taylor
Mary Taylor began studying yoga in 1972, but it was not until 1988 and finding her primary teacher, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, and the Ashtanga Vinyasa system that she felt the profound and transformative impact that a dedicated and daily practice can have. She continues to study and practice yoga and Buddhist teachings with great enthusiasm and inquisitiveness, with an eye on how the residue that is produced on the mat (and cushion) through these teachings informs and supports all aspects of everyday life. She cofounded with Richard the Yoga Workshop and is the author of What Are You Hungry for? Women, Food and Spirituality, New Vegetarian Classics: Soups and New Vegetarian Classics: Entrees.
2023/11/6-12/1 Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor
Teacher's Intensive Training Program
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Early Bird Price Register Now till 2023/7/19
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Pre-Training Price Register Now till 2023/10/11
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Regular Price
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SPACE MEMBER / Workshop & Immersion attendants＊ / SPACE 200/500 TT Graduates
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NT$ 148,000
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NT$ 158,000
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NT$ 188,000
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NON-SPACE MEMBER
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NT$ 158,000
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NT$ 168,000
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＊workshop & Immersion attendants referred to students who attended Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor weekend workshop and 5-Day Immersion hosted by Space Academy in 2023 February.
Notes:
- Event Location: SPACE YOGA An-Ho studio
- Minimum number of registrations to hold the course: 25 students
- Depending on the teacher's discretion, students may sound record, take video or photos (no flash) for personal use as long as it is not distracting, but please do not post videos on public platforms (such as Facebook, YouTube, etc).
- The organizer reserves the right to modify the method, content and precautions of this event, and has the right to decide to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this event, and retain the right of final interpretation.
- SPACE YOGA will video record and photograph the training for our records and promotion purposes.
