Endeavours

On-Line Assignments

All course assignments may be completed on line at http://www.sixsenses.ca/elephant

Pass

To receive a PASS for the training your Certification is based on your integration of knowledge, personal growth, facts and effort. 90% of all assignments are expected to be completed.

Six Senses Yoga College ‘Pass’ Criteria for Course Assignments take into consideration: An Intellectual & Spiritual Understanding, Interpretations, Integration, Application, Communication, Life Application, Personal Journey, Desire and an Open Heart. This will vary from participant to participant. As there is much to learn, memorizing of facts are less important than the application and understanding, we realize that over the span of the course facts will easily be memorized.

What makes a good instructor? Sometimes the person with all the knowledge is not the one with wisdom. The one with wisdom may be shy and unable to communicate their intensions to the class.

SSY Tutors endeavours to give you assistance along the way, pointing out where you may gain knowledge, interpretations and experience. We are here to guide you, and we know that there are many paths to the same truth. Moreover, SSY is eager to learn from our participants.

Assignments with a ‘no pass’ can be redone. If SSY believes a participant will not meet the certification requirements to ‘Pass’, we will inform them well in advance, with extra help and giving each the opportunity to complete the course with a ‘pass’.

Asana & Pranayama

• The Viniyoga of Yoga
• An Illustrated guide to Asana & Pranayama
• Anatomy and Asana - Preventing Yoga Injuries by Susi Aldous
• Anatomy of Movement by Blandine C. Germain
• A Physiological Handbook for Teachers of Yogasana by Mel Robin
• Anatomy of Hatha Yoga
• Yoga Software - CD Software specify; pc or mac

Philosophy/Texts of Yoga

• Reflections on Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali
• Patanjalis Yoga Sutras CD
• Health, Healing & Beyond, Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharaya by T.K.V. Desikachar
• Upanishads Breath of the Eternal (Hardcover) by Prabhavananda
• Bhagavad Gita [Import] [Compilation] by Various Artists
• The Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Akers Brian Dana
• Nadhamuni Yoga Rahasya
• The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice by Georg Feuerstein
• The Heart of Yoga, Developing a Personal Practice by Desikachar
• Shiva Nataraj: Lord of the Dance and Om: Sound of the Sacred Lecture CD Vedic Chant Companion
• The Language of Yoga: Complete A to Y Guide to Asana Names, Sanskrit Terms, and Chants with CD (Audio) by Nicolai Bachman
• The Four Agreements - Audio or Book

Pre/Post-natal Yoga Course Materials

• Yoga Software Pregnancy - Yoga CD software; specify pc or mac
• Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by Pam England
• Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful by Kaur Khalsa Gurmukh

Chakra Yoga Course Materials

• Chakra & Kundalini Workbook by Jonn Mumford
• Chakra Breathing Meditations: Audio Book CD by Layne Redmond
• Chakra Mantras: How to Liberate Your Spiritual Genius Through Chanting by Thomas Ashlev-Farrand

Receiving Materials

Course materials are sent worldwide by SSY and our suppliers by Airmail, insured where possible for $500. Unfortunately, we cannot assume responsibility for items lost in the mail to countries for which our postal service does not offer insurance. Shipping of materials is included in the price of the course.

Canadian residents need pay no GST and/or PST on educational materials. For foreign shipments, we will appropriately mark the customs declaration as "educational materials" and insure the package for $500. Non-Canadian students may nevertheless have to pay a customs fee upon receipt.

Other Distance Courses – Coming Soon

For those that find they wish to learn through a distance study course, we are developing in-depth distance courses on yoga with differing specialties, voice and other holistic modules in 2007.

Pregnancy is a whole body-mind experience. It is a time in a woman�s life when it is particularly beneficial if the aspects of her being are in harmony, or at least that she is consciously working toward harmony. When a woman gifts herself with the regular practice of yoga, including breathing techniques, she is choosing to promote optimal health of body and mind, both for herself and for the unborn child she nurtures within her own body.

Yoga asanas (postures), together with breathing and relaxation techniques, provide a woman with physical strength, flexibility and subtle endurance.  Breathing techniques aid relaxation and a sense of well-being, bring vitality to her body and facilitates the essential process of oxygen & carbon dioxide exchange for both herself and her growing child.

Meditation techniques, practiced regularly, promote a calm mind and ease anxieties that may be created by fear of childbirth or unresolved conflict.  Cultivating a serene demeanour will increase a woman�s enjoyment of her pregnancy, enhance her connection and communication with her unborn child and bring about a relaxed and open-minded approach toward the childbirth experience. When a woman�s body and mind are relaxed and her attitude is one of enjoyment, the beneficial hormonal responses of her body systems will support the healthy development of her pregnancy and facilitate the natural process of childbirth.

Mantra or vocalizations can also be of great benefit. The repetition of certain sounds has been shown to calm one�s mind, releasing �feel-good� hormones that bring about a sense of well being, facilitate a sense of bonding, and enhance the neural development of the unborn child.  Modern perinatal psychology research suggests that the emotional and spiritual state of the mother strongly influences the neural pathways in the developing fetus, and the emotional development and later disposition of her child.

If possible, regular yoga practice should begin preconception to prepare a woman�s body and mind for conception, pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood.  However, yoga will benefit a woman and her fetus at any point in her pregnancy.

The practice of yoga by both parents is ideal.  Yoga facilitates self-awareness, physical fitness and calm disposition.  Becoming parents is a life-long undertaking that will make great demands on both a mother and father. The practice of yoga will help the parents to prepare for this journey and to provide a loving, conscious environment of health and well being for the fetus and child.

Yoga in pregnancy focuses on the abdominal and back muscles, spine and pelvis. Strength in the abdominal muscles assist a woman to maintain excellent posture, avoid back ache, aid development of the fetus and facilitate optimal fetal position for childbirth. During labour, a strong abdomen aids the woman to work in harmony with the expulsive contractions of her uterus and effectively bring her child into the world.

A strong, supple spine is essential for general flexibility and toning, aids the healthy functioning of the woman�s nervous and digestive systems, and facilitates the healthy blood supply to the placenta, essential for its optimal functioning and vital role in the development of a healthy infant. A resilient spine will prevent the shoulders from dropping, which often occurs during pregnancy, owing to the extra weight the woman is carrying. This extra weight can put a great strain on the muscles of the back. Regular yoga practice will definitely strengthen this area, alleviating the discomfort of backache and reducing the risk of misalignment of the spine or pelvis late in pregnancy.

Deep yogic breathing is particularly useful in both pregnancy and childbirth. The growth of the baby requires greater and greater amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide exhange through the woman�s body.  Pregnancy and the growing womb affect a change in the physical orientation of a woman�s diaphragm, pushing it upwards and the two lungs expand outwards.  Shortness of breath is a common discomfort of pregnancy. There are specific breathing techniques in yoga that will ease this natural change in a woman�s body and facilitate the optimal exchange of vital oxygen and nutrients to her unborn child.

Yoga can also aid in relieving the discomforts of nausea, lethargy and loss of appetite.  After the birth of the baby, certain yoga practices can aid the transition of a woman�s body, facilitating the natural changes that occur within the endocrine system, help to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, and decrease the risk of postpartum depression.

Yoga nidra, a progressive system of deep relaxation using visualization techniques, is one of the most powerful practices used during pregnancy.  Through visualization, the woman can increase her sense of connection and bonding with her child, imagining a healthy strong body and a good and loving character.  Our growing knowledge of DNA suggests that thought forms of the mother can change and enhance the DNA structure of her unborn child.  Visualizations and positive affirmations are used in yoga nidra to assist the growth of a physical and emotionally healthy child, as well as preparing the mother and child for an empowering and positive birth experience.

~ Yemaya (inspired by the works of Swami Sivamurti Saraswati).

Sources

Practice, Observation, Training with Qualified Facilitators in all aspects of Yoga and Teaching Practice: SSY Manual, SSY Source Materials, Practicum & Personal input from participants, yoga classes each attends in their home area and from/with other participants.

Techniques of Yoga

Asana

• Western/global bodies, therapeutic, specifics for individuals/groups, male/female bodies, pregnancy, three stages of life: young, middle, aged.
• Structure of a class, moving through beginner to advanced & modified asanas, sequencing, private tutoring, pregnancy, relaxation & set up of a class.

Sanskrit

• pronunciation of words, chants, alphabet, asanas.

Pranayama

• learning to move energy through the body, full yogic breath, varied method therapeutic, advanced, spiritual and specific � to treat ailments, anuloma viloma

Meditation

• several styles, theories, and techniques of meditation will be taught: Zen Soto Reflective Meditation, Zazen Meditation, visual, spiritual, guided, mantra, more.

Chants

• Vocal Toning, Kriyas, Vedic Chants, Indian, Buddhist, and others.

Bundas

• Jalandhara, Moola, Uddiyana and more.

Instructing Methodology

• learn to impart your knowledge to others � personal &/or professional in nature
• gain knowledge from participants, colleagues, etc.
• learn various styles of yoga: Classical, Flow, Hatha, Ashtanga.

Communication, Exchange

• Develop communications skills: observations; aural ; visual; verbal and kinetic in your teaching; demonstration; and assisting/adjusting.
• Assess the learning styles of your students.
• Adaptation between students of learning styles and your specific and preferred learning: for example, you are visual and the student is aural. Adaptation, compromise and learning applications for the student.

Enhancement & Development of

• Physical Presence, Verbal Skills, Visual Cues, Intuition

Benefits of Touch

• Touch in Adjustments with yoga participants

Find your Voice

• Practical applications of the voice
• Spoken word, hearing, comprehension, seeing: diction, articulation
• Benefits of the Pause: valuing the pause and it�s applications

Anatomy and Physiology

• Chakras, Nadis, Elements, Humours, and more.
• Eight Body Systems
• Astral/Energy/Subtle
• Anatomy & Physiology

Philosophy, Ethics, and Yoga Psychology

• Scriptures: Patanjali�s Yoga Sutra, Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Nadhamuni Yoga Rahasya
• The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice
• Ashtanga/Raja Yoga: 8 Limbs of Yoga
• Ethics for Teachers/Participants
• Human Values/Morays
• Shiva Nataraj: Lord of the Dance and Om: Sound of the Sacred

Practicum & Contact

• The observation of yoga classes is an integral part of imparting knowledge to others and gaining knowledge for yourself. Learn to instruct and teach.
• Observing/Participating in Yoga classes attended in your area as well as at the Practicum.
• Instructing at Practicum.

Teaching Experience

Module Four comprises of 100 hours of teaching experience, outside of the 500 hours of training for the Yoga Teacher Training Certification of Honours, and 100 hours of Karmic generosity is given to achieve a Scholarly Certification of Honours.

• Keep a log/journal of classes/private hours taught or karmic gestures.
• When you have completed the 100 hours, SSY will issue you a letter verifying you have met these requirements & a SSY Certification of Honours.

SSY honours previous classes taught on an individual basis. Contact us for details.

Answers

1.  Do I have to be thin or flexible to practice or teach yoga? No, yoga is not only for the thin or flexible.

SSYS is based on Traditional or Classical Yoga which encapsulates yoga for the individual regardless of ones size or flexibility.  No, yoga is not only for the thin or flexible.  Developing a personal practice of Yoga or teaching is for all bodies types and all minds, and spirits.

Originally Yoga Asanas were developed to enable our bodies to sit and meditate in a comfortable manner.  When the body is healthy, the mind is free to become still through meditation. During a regular practice of yoga, your flexibility will increase and your body will reshape in a healthy manner.  There are many forms of the same Asana accommodating all body shapes, size and flexibility, because Yoga is developed for the individual.

2.  I am in my 40’s does my age matter in joining your SSYS yoga training?

Age is not a factor in practicing or teaching yoga.  The desire to learn and share your learning is more important to Six Senses Yoga than your age.  Many in your age take the yoga training for personal exploration.  Often as an older yoga student you bring valuable skills, insights and wisdoms that benefit your learning and your soon to be students.

3.  Why are the course materials in the 500 hr yoga teacher training books, cd’s and dvds?

SSYS training focuses on the individual who has Six Senses.  As humans we use all our senses all the time. It is so important to use as many senses as you can to learn, to be alive.  Some people learn easier by hearing, others by doing and some by touch.  By utilizing all the senses in learning, we become a more balanced human.

It is only in a modern worlds’ educational system that visual learning becomes the focus.  Take for example music, in European/Western based music schools you must learn to read music to learn and to play music.  The fact that you hear and feel music becomes a minor experience, it’s almost as though the hearing sense is ignored until you play for the audience. The audience hears, but again watches the player to hear.

4.  I practise the Ashtanga system of yoga; will this be alright to train in the SSYS traditional yoga?

All styles of yoga are based on traditional yoga and since we teach traditional yoga, your previous knowledge of Ashtanga will only be a benefit in this training.  Ashtanga Vinyasa is the sequencing of particular asanas with an approach of quickness which may suiting an individual better, but the yoga itself is based on traditional yoga.  It is through practice of differing styles of yoga that one finds their yoga path.  Which path we take is personal, though it is through yoga itself that one gains their truth.

5.  Why does SSYS encourage the practice and exploring different styles of yoga?

People are wonderfully complex and diverse having different ways to approach living, stress, and loving.  As a result our bodies, metabolism, minds are different and because all yoga styles are based on traditional yoga, the individual can learn which style or combination of styles are more to their liking enabling each to maintain a fruitful personal practice.

6.  Where I live in Canada when I hear about yoga or go to a yoga class, it’s primarily about the exercise postures yet your training is about more, why?

Much of yoga in the West leave the meditation, focus of the mind and spirit as a minor detail to practicing yoga; focusing primarily on the Asanas.  A personal practice of Asanas only creates an imbalance in the system of oneness of mind, body and spirit.  It is through the exercise of Asanas in a meditative, spiritual manner that is Yoga.  Otherwise, simply exercising the body is not yoga.

SSYS is about the classical foundations of yoga.  Yoga has eight limbs, it is with regular practice of these limbs of yoga, incorporating them into your life that one becomes enlightened, finds bliss.  Not everyone will find the same balance in the same way, but through practice you become balanced, rebalanced and move closer to ones’ personal nirvana (bliss).

7.  I want to join the training in 2009 but do not want to attend the Module Two Practicum until 2010, is this alright?

By all means with you may begin the Yoga Training in 2009 and then participate in the Practicum in 2010.  Six Senses Yoga trainings is an Open training where you practice and learn from home with the practical, hands-on aspect of the training in Module two.  As SSYS trainings are indepth, you may take your time to absorb and learn and work on gaining your class participation hours while you wait on the Practium of your choice.  Please note that as we only accept 25 participants per Practicum, you will need to secure your place with full payment.  SSYS will keep your payment secure and as a pre-payment you will be receive private sessions with Cilica the day following Practicum as our guest as a thank you.

8.  If I begin the 500 Hour training course and need some time off, with this stop me from getting my certification?

NOT at all, you take the time you need. SSYS will only ask that you proceed with your time off through mindfullness, as one week can turn into three or more.  We will keep in contact with you to offer our help any way we can to get you back to concluding the course in a timely manner.

SSY 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training is a comprehensive Dual Teacher Training: receive training including a foundational 200 hours plus an advance training in either Pregnancy Yoga or Chakra Yoga (exceeding 500 hours of training of most certification programmes).

No previous Yoga Teacher Training or Yoga Teaching necessary to apply - simply an open heart, and good knowledge of what yoga is.

Each year SSY offers a Karmic Yoga Scholarship for three participants to enroll in the training at a reduced fee. (Made possible by a grant from a benefactor.)

SSY’s strives to provide high quality yoga training, offered by the highest qualified instructors and facilitators. All who join SSY as facilitators offer their years of experience and knowledge freely in a nurturing, non-judgmental yogic manner.

At SSY we teach what we practice. Our facilitators have developed their practice to where they know it, understand and believe in teaching it, making each facilitator able to “Teach what they Practice.”

Each person has 6 senses, SSYS knows we learn using all senses: sight, hearing, speech, cosmic/intuitive, tastes, and touch. Uniquely to SSYS the yoga training utilizes all senses while instructing, learning, and accepting assignments in aural, audio and written formats, unlike most learning societies or institutes who foster only the written.

Yoga Training courses invite open dialogue, self-growth, experimentation, open hearts and an authentic voice in a solid foundation of Traditional Hatha Yoga.

Learn with people from different cultures and perspectives on yoga, and life; broadening your world view. Module Two enables an opportunity to learn yoga in a different country than your own.

A Teacher Training isn’t only for teaching, it can be for self exploration, benefits of family, your journey in life; prepare you for your own pregnancy, instructing pregnancy yoga.

SSY yoga training either in the advanced training of pregnancy or chakra yoga easily applies to learning or careers in other disciplines : midwifery, chiropractic, holistic fields, massage therapy, preventative therapies, nutritionist, more.

SSY understands that Yoga is fundamentally different from Buddhism, and is able to merges the two philosophies while instructing and acknowledging each has a profound separate benefit on the world. Buddhism grew from Yoga; Yoga is about the here,now in relation to the past and future; while Yoga develops the past, present and future while being in the present here and now . . . .and Buddhism is a religion while Yoga is not.

Six Senses Yoga Society offers yoga training, knowing there are many paths that lead to the same truth.  Thus, we invite open dialogue, self-growth, experimentation, open hearts and an authentic voice in a solid foundation of Traditional Hatha Yoga with advanced study in Chakra Yoga.

“SSYS 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training is a dual Teacher Training, training includes: foundational yoga (200 hr) plus an advanced training of (300 hr) in Chakra Yoga.”

“No previous Yoga Teacher Training necessary to apply just a desire for personal growth and an understanding of what yoga is.”

Our training is influenced by the teachings of Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and his son TKV Desikachar.  Their philosophy of yoga is what defines yoga as we know it today; their influence is boundless on all styles of yoga.  Our premise is that yoga is taught, whether in a private or class setting, with the individual’s needs in mind.

Unique to the Six Senses Yoga Certificate

The approach to facilitating our Yoga Training is a combination of oral, aural, kinetic and written instruction and observation; for assignments submissions you have the choice of the same combinations.  SSYS encourages participants to use all their senses and to use the ones best suited to them for learning.  You receive all course materials in a combination of DVD, CD and books formats.  You have a generous amount of time to complete assignments.  The tutors are available via e-mail, chat and phone for help.

SSYS encourages you to join our journey into yoga for a deeper understanding of yourself and the Arts of Yoga exploring of the nature of yoga through the ears, heart, touch, eyes, smells, tastes and through the subconscious and consciousness mind.

Yoga Training Courses Two Streams - in Four Modules

Module One - Home Study / Self Practice
Module Two - Practicum of 25 day Residential Retreat
Module Three - Home Study / Self Practice
Module Four - Home Study / Self Practice / Teaching

“Yoga Teacher Certification” 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training

This certificate course prepares each participant in the foundations of Classical Yoga with advanced study in Chakra yoga.  Participants are well versed to pass on their yogic knowledge and experience in hatha yoga, pranayama and meditation by assisting or fully teaching yoga classes; group and private yoga in general hatha, chakra yoga - opening and balancing. 

In addition with the advanced training of Chakra Yoga, participants may wish to offer chakra balancing, cleansing and awakening, and instruct on the Chakras themselves.

Credit hours are granted towards your personal practice of a 70 hours by participating during this course, in a meditation, Buddhist &/or yoga retreat, modules on the anatomy/body, or other studies that evokes the participant to deepen their understanding of one or more aspects of yoga. 

“Certification of Yoga Studies” 500 hours Scholarly Path of Yoga

This certificate course acknowledges your yogic path without teaching yoga directly.  An intellectual pursuit of yoga, SSYS considers a scholarly mode of yoga benefiting personal growth, the life of others and the yoga community directly, indirectly.

The course uses the same materials and practicum as the Yoga Teachers Training with an emphasis on yoga as a study, with the addition of one specialty subject of your choice in the area of yoga general (preferably from the materials supplied), one in chakra yoga, and one in an aspect of yoga you have practiced or wish to practice to study more in-depth.

Credit hours are granted towards your personal practice of a 70 hours by participating during this course, in a meditation, Buddhist &/or yoga retreat, modules on the anatomy/body, or other studies that evokes the participant to deepen their understanding of one or more particular aspects of yoga. 

Advanced Study in Chakra Yoga

Given that the chakra system is an integral part of yoga, it is a natural progression to learn the Chakras in-depth with the SSYS Hatha training. 

The word “chakra” is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centres in the body. (Chakra is traditionally spelt “cakra” as c in Sanskrit is pronounced “ch”.) Each of these centres correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column.  Chakras correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and more.

Previous Training Credits

Applicants who obtain a 200-hour yoga certification or the equivalent (self-taught, mentor ships, teaching, etc.) can challenge aspects of this training, but are expected to attend the Practicum Retreat as this is the basis of the Advanced study and contact hours earned for the 500 hour training.  You may receive a reduction in fees: this will vary with each applicant and is at the discretion of Six Senses Yoga Society.