Teacher Training & Personal Development (2011)
Now accepting applications for next session which begins Jan , 2011.
Please download APPLICATION form.
About Sananda Teacher Training
Sananda Yoga is a comprehensive style of classical Yoga incorporating a full spectrum of Yogic practices designed to enhance awareness and reveal our innate wholeness. Sananda Yoga embodies the non-dualistic essence of Yoga, encouraging us to see the Divine in everything and to live our lives to the fullest. It teaches us how to be of this world completely, while enhancing our innate connection to the Divine. The practice of Sananda Yoga supports one to see the joys and sorrows of everyone as your own. It opens the path to becoming emotionally integrated with all around you, revealing the true meaning of the word Yoga: Union with Self, Other, and Divinity.
This course supports the spiritual unfoldment of the individual as student and teacher. Enrolment numbers are kept low, a maximum of 15 people, to ensure personal and direct attention between teacher and student.
Students will also receive an Art of Life Core Pattern Reading as part of their tuition. Understanding and releasing the identification with our Core pattern or Samskara is one of the primary goals of Yoga practice. The Core Pattern is what our ego identifies with as reality and therefore keeps our life force energy in a state of limitation. This identification interferes with the true state of Yoga which is union between body, mind and spirit. Awareness of your Core Pattern will deeply enhance the effects of your Yoga practice.
The course is a registered 500 hour course with The Yoga Alliance. Time allocated for each category may vary according to need.
Curriculum - Category 1
Asana
Asana practice is exploration of the physical postures in yoga. By moving the body in specific positions combined with deep breathing, we are able to realign the energy flow in our body and mind. This new movement of energy can heal health conditions and change ways of thinking, (i.e. belief systems) to increase our life force energy in all ways and bring us into harmony with Self, Nature and the Mysteries of Life. As well as Classical Yoga postures, this section includes an Anti-Rheumatic Series, Digestive Series, Energy Block Release Series, Restorative Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Ayurvedic Yoga, Mudras, Bandhas, and Kriya Energy Medicines.
Pranayama
Pranayama is the science of breath and the direction of life force energy. We will explore the science of breath as life and learn how to use the breathing exercises of Yoga as a tool for change.
Meditation
Learn how to practice and teach meditation. Meditation is the culmination of all Yogic practices, it is the ability to be one-pointed, which brings great peace and allows us to access our innate inner wisdom.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a specialized form of guided relaxation, a tantric science of supine rejuvenation and meditation. It is one of the best antidotes to our busy times.
Anatomy and Physiology
This is the exploration of the physical functioning of the body during the practices of yoga as a tool to increase our level of awareness, move deeper into the poses and so that we may understand how to teach safely and assist students with injuries etc. We will be covering the basics of the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems.
Esoteric Anatomy
This is the study of the metaphysical body and how to access its wisdom to enhance the practice of yoga. This includes the study of Chakras, Nadis, and Prana.
Prescriptive Yoga
We will acquire a basic knowledge in designing healing programs for students suffering from illness, injury or emotional challenges that will assist them with whatever therapy they are engaged in.
Teaching Skills
Learn oral presentation skills, how to effectively demonstrate techniques in a class situation, how to structure a balanced class, and sequence postures. Learn how to teach privately and acquire special skills for assessing the client's specific needs.
Adjustments
Learn how to read bodies and adjust postures sensitively and safely to enhance the student’s awareness and comfort with their practice.
Curriculum - Category 2
Philosophy
The study and exploration of the ancient Yogic texts whose perennial wisdom continue to be a map for understanding life in its wholeness.
Mantra and Chanting
Mantra is sacred sound. It has been passed down by the Masters of Yoga as a method to realign our Ego (small sense of self) to its Divine Nature. All trauma is stored in the body as sound. By repetition of sound that is directly related to the Source Energy of our creation wecan heal and transform our limited understanding of the Nature of Self.
Sanskrit
An introduction to Sanskrit, the ancient language of Yoga.
Curriculum - Category 3
Jyotish
Jyotish is the Eastern form of Astrology. The practice of Yoga from a classical perspective is considered incomplete without the addition of conscious guidance of the planets. We will study an overview of the practice and begin to understand it's effect in our daily atmosphere and in the practice of Yoga.
Ayurveda
This is the sister medicine to yoga and the Impulse of Ayurveda is one of the foundations of this practice. We will explore how to use the principles of the five elements and their unique manifestation within each of us, as a tool for insight and healing. This will assist you in understanding how to create a Yoga program that really fits the individual.
Practicum
Opportunity to assist in a class setting.
Course Instructors
Karusia Wroblewski (Anatomy and Physiology)
Karusia holds a dance degree from York University and is currently completing a post-graduate course in yoga therapy through the Rocky Mountain School of Yoga and Ayurveda in Boulder, Colorado. These studies include kinesiology, anatomy (both applied and experiential), as well as injury prevention and rehabilitation. She has been practising yoga for over thirty years and teaching for fifteen. She performs and teaches dance prayer, and is a devoted student of Baba Hari Dass.
Marla Meenakshi Joy (Sanskrit)
Meenakshi first travelled to India in 1988 to study meditation and the philosophy of the Vedas with Swami Shyam, as well as other learned scholars in the Himalayas. She is a Certified Meditation and Yoga Philosophy teacher from the International Meditation Institute in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, Himalayas. She currently teaches ashtanga yoga, swaha yoga, restorative yoga, yoga dance, meditation, and chanting in Canada and around the world. She has been teaching Sanskrit and yoga philosophy in teacher training courses since 1999.
Meenakshi is a practicing Shiatsu Therapist since 1993, and has a healing and informative touch. She also leads Kirtan (call-and-response chanting) with her band SWAHA, with inspired musical compositions with her partner & keyboardist, Ron Reid. She has produced four CDs of Sanskrit chanting— Prayers, Salutations, Vishnu's Dream, and the latest one entitled "Bolo". www.swaha.ca
Hali Schwartz (Sanskrit)
Hali's life-long study of yoga began with a strong focus on yogic philosophy where she was able to discover some of the worlds most ancient spiritual documents. These studies, through the International Meditation Institute, took her into the mysticism of the ‘Upanishads’ and into the most beloved of Indian scriptures - the ‘Bhagavad Gita’. She has had the great fortune to study with some of the great scholars on Patanjali’s ‘Yoga Sutra’ and to study the ‘sanskrit’ language as a mode of understanding these scriptures as they were originally composed.
Her love of yoga brought her back to Toronto where in 1999 yoga was swiftly becoming popular to so many seekers. It was there that she was introduced to Ron Reid of The Downward Dog yoga center and spent the next several years under his expert and compassionate guidance studying the ’Ashtanga Yoga vinyasa’ practice. She also had the chance to travel to Kerala in South India in 2001 and 2002 where she began two one month long internships with a great teacher from the Bihar School of yoga, and Sivananda lineages.
Hali presently lives and teaches in Toronto where she specializes in teaching restorative yoga; hatha yoga; meditation; sanskrit and yoga philosophy at several yoga centers and continues to train and mentor teachers all over the city. www.haliyog.com
Susan McNaughton (Jyotish)
Susan began the study of vedic astrology in 1987 with Hart de Fouw. In 1987 she met her guru and deepened her studies with the study of Indian philosophy, spiritual practices, and Sanskrit. She has an international clientele and has lectured on this topic both in the US and Canada. She holds an M.A. in Fine Arts from York University with a research focus on the culture of India. Susan’s insight and warm personality are a guide and inspiration to many people.
Andrea Olivera (Ayurveda)
Andrea is an Ayurveda Specialist in downtown Toronto and the founder of The Andrea Olivera Centre for Ayurveda: The Mother of Healing. Her vision embodies the most current scientific information in the fields of Vedic medicine, cellular psychology and molecular nutrition.
As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Andrea has studied extensively in India. Some of her titles and qualifications include; Certified Aromatherapist, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Neurotherapist, Ayurvedic Marma Therapy, New Decision Therapist and Educator, Reiki Master, Living Foods Health Educator, and Professional Beauty Esthetician. www.ayurvedictouch.com
Anandashakti (Xenia Splawinski)
(Primary Instructor)
Since attending her first yoga class in 1978, Xenia has had a passion for self exploration and the facilitation of others on their path to wholeness. She took her first initiation in a Vedic Lineage in 1980 and has been honoured to receive many blessings, initiations, and teachings from numerous masterful teachers over time. The richness of these opportunities has brought a depth to her approach to life and “something extra” that people comment on after attending a class taught by her, or after a healing session. The energy that she embodies inspires one to remember their true nature that is beyond duality.
Sananda Yoga is the culmination of her life experiences, bringing together various teachings while remaining firmly rooted in a Himalayan classical yogic foundation. Xenia’s focus in life is to assist in healing the split between Self and Self, Self and Other, Self and the Divine. The Sanskrit phrase: Bhuktimuktikaranaka, which means Liberation and Enlightenment through Experience, sums up her approach.
A Certified Yoga Instructor and Intuitive Healer, she has been practicing Yoga since 1978. Since 1991 she has been actively involved in the Yoga community, helping to develop and teach educational programs for Yoga teachers. She is trained and certified in a Classical Himalayan Tantric approach to Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Ayurvedic Self-Care, and in various forms of Healing Modalities, such as Energy Medicines, Energy Balancing, Marma Therapy, Kinetic body-mind Therapy. She is Co-Founder and Director of The Art of Life, a system of intuitive healing that focuses on transforming core life patterns, and as well as an active practitioner of this healing modality, she leads training courses in intuitive healing.
Tuition
$3850.00 + 5% G.S.T. $192.50 (if you have already received your Core Pattern Reading this price will be adjusted accordingly)
$500.00 non refundable deposit upon registration.
Tuition includes unlimited class attendance during the length of the course.
Monthly payments calculated on the remainder of the tuition after the $500.00 deposit are available at a 2% administration fee. This would amount to 9 payments of $400.00. The first payment is due on the starting date of January 29th, at which time the remaining 8 post-dated cheques for the first of the month starting on February 1 are also due. For those paying the full amount in one payment after the deposit the payment is also due on January 29th.
Tuition payments can also be made through Paypal - Click Here
Text books are not included, please allow a budget of approximately $200.00.
Enrolment numbers are kept low, a maximum of 15 people, to ensure personal and direct attention between teacher and student. Students are expected to attend at least one class of yoga per week if living in the Toronto area.
Course Schedule
Times
Fridays 6:00 - 9:00 pm, Saturdays 10:00 am - 6:30 pm, Sundays 10:00 am - 6:30 pm
(May 28 & June 25 are 5:00 - 9:00 pm)
The first 6 months of the training will be focused on personal development, healing and transformation. The last three months on teaching skills.
During the months of July and August regular class attendance is mandatory (vacation time excepted of course) and projects from each teacher will be assigned.
Dates
2011
Jan
Feb
March
April
May
June
Sept
Oct
Nov
graduation Nov 2011
How To Apply
Applications for 2011 are now being accepted. Please download the APPLICATION FORM.
Graduates Speak about their Experience
"When I started my yoga teacher training course, I thought I was going to learn how to teach yoga, but I got much more than that: more than I imagined possible. What I received was unconditional love and patience from my friends and teachers. I found the one thing I have been looking for all this time; myself. Every little step was scary to start with. And every little plateau I reached in my self-awareness ensured that I will never be able to live my life in that level of ignorance again. The course itself was not like the others in North America. Simply life changing.”
~ Kelly Mercer – Founder of Pura Luna Lifestyles.
(excerpt from her upcoming book “hunting for the navel”)
"I have studied under Xenia for two teacher trainings. The curriculum is abundant with ancient yogic techniques and practices. Xenia has a wealth of mystical experience and knowledge to share, and she is a highly skilled and dedicated teacher. For people on a spiritual journey, or those who wish to increase their yoga practice, Sananda Devi is invaluable for personal growth. Sananda Devi yoga teachers are considered unique, well-trained, possessing teaching skills of yogic knowledge that are not normally taught in North America."
~ Ron Walker. Graduate 2004/2005, 2nd level 2005/2006
"The immense gratitude I feel for having been guided to experience some of the most profound discoveries and transformations through the Sananda Devi Yoga Teacher Training Program, is surpassed only by the feeling of being truly blessed to have had Xenia Splawinski, Ananda Shakti, along the way as teacher, guide, and friend. You can quote me on that one."
~ Leigh Bowen