Training Article -Content

Practice and theory are equally important and ideally support one another because yoga is both the journey and the destination.  With that in mind we expose the students to different methods of practice including, pranayama, meditation, devotional and ritualistic practices, chanting, real life experiments, dietary changes, yantra painting and of course asana.

All of these techniques are taught in an approachable and integrated fashion, to reveal some fundamental themes found in yoga practice -in all of its forms of expression.    Nearly a dozen presenters play a part in the training, each with a specific emphasis.  I feel that this comprehensive approach is educationally rich, evocative and wholly unique.

Axis Yoga offers a 200hr teacher training program designed to support students in their personal enrichment and desire to teach.   We believe that personal practice and insight are the foundation for effective teaching and emphasize the importance of developing a home/personal practice.

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Training Article -Overview

The practice of yoga is ongoing and it has the potential to permeate every aspect of one’s life, both internal and external.  Yoga is a mind-set that can inform all of our relationships; to our peers, to our environment and to ones self.  It can infuse and inform each and every waking breath.

Inherent in this process is the expansion of awareness.  The practitioner moves from a more contracted sense of identity into a more universal understanding.  That process is called yoga, the union of individuality with universality.

Throughout the ages yogic masters have utilized different methods to explore the nature of this union.  They drew upon different philosophies, meditations, devotional practices, rituals and physical exercises to reveal that spiritual identity.

The training begins with an appreciation of this perspective and from there teaches students various methods of practice and realization.  I think this is one of the major distinguishing points of our training. The methods are there to support the greater process of discovery.  It is akin to putting the horse in front of the cart.

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Training Article

Recently I was asked, by a freelance writer, if I would be willing to have an article about the training written.  I liked the idea so it didn’t take long for me to say yes.  I’ve been working closely with the author and was asked to draft a response to a number of questions about the program.

It has been a real enjoyable process and one that I think anyone who is interested in Axis Yoga may be able to appreciate.  What follows is a series of excerpts that that I think illustrate the distinguishing features of our program.  I’ll be sure to let you know when the printed copy comes out!

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Donation Based Public Classes!

Dear Everyone,

DSC_0014It used to be that our program was all or nothing.  People would sign up for the program, with a good deal of faith, never having experienced the teachings first hand.  While many of the instructors and I offer some classes around town, it is not the same as attending an actual Axis Yoga oriented class.  What we offer is quite unique.

Another way we have tried to give people access to the program is through the web.  We have tailored our website to give as visceral a sense of the training as possible.  We’ve added this blog, a photo gallery, student testimonials and are in the process of creating a short video.

While the web is certainly more sophisticated than a flyer, it is not the same as attending an actual class.  Recognizing the need for students to have more access to our program, and as a general offering to the community ,we have come up with a solution!

We will now be offering ongoing classes available to past graduates and anyone else who is interested in an in depth workshop-style classes.  The classes are scheduled to meet from 9am-11am, once a month on the following dates:

January 30th
February 20th
March 13th
April 17th
May 15th

Classes will be conducted at the Consulate Healing Center on 750 E. 9th ave. That would be on 9th ave. between the cross streets of Washington and Clarkson.  What’s more, in keeping with our donation based philosophy; the classes will be offered entirely on a donation basis.  Contribute as you see fit.

This is exciting news for us at Axis Yoga Trainings!  We are thrilled to be able to expand our services in such a way that everyone benefits.

Namaste,
Derik

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Practicum Photos Two

Once Again a I wish to express deep gratitude to those who attended our final-final practicum this last Sunday.  The students were thrilled at the opportunity.

Over one hundred people attended the entire event.  While many of the classes were strenuous ultimately it was a great big celebaration.  Including the graduation as well! 

Comments

Comments

 

Side Angles

Side Angles

 

Preparing

Preparing

 

Standing Lung Pose

Standing Lung Pose

 

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Graduate Kitchen Crew

 

Opening Kirtan

Opening Kirtan

 

Graduation Dinner

Graduation Dinner

 

A moment of Friendship

A moment of Friendship

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Practicum Pictures

These are images from our Final Practicum presentations for the weekend of January 9th and 10th.  Congratulations to our student presenters for doing such an amazing job!  Over 50 people were present for their debut and they held the space magnificently.  Everyone is invited to come back again and bring your friends!

Peace,
Derik

Ganeshas Blessing

Ganesha's Blessing

 

Finding Peace in a Twist

Finding Peace in a Twist

 

A Field of Postures

A Field of Postures

 

Time Out

Time Out

 

Preparing for Natarajasana

Preparing for Natarajasana

 

Preparing to Teach

Preparing to Teach

 

Back Bend Prep

Back Bend Prep

 

~Bliss~

~Bliss~

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Final Practicum!

Dear Viewer,

I want to take just a simple moment to invite you to our final graduating practicum.  These classes mark the end of a long journey into the heart of yoga practice.  Our twenty graduating students have dedicated themselves tirelessly to study of the ancient tradition of yoga.  All of them have well exceeded the minimal two hundred hour commitment to graduate from Axis Yoga Trainings.

The practicum gives the students an opportunity to synthesise their studies of yogic theory, pranayama, meditation, subtle body, ayurveda, personal experimentation and of course asana.  Asana comprises about 65% of the program and students are taught from both a flowing and stationary perspective.

How the students have assimilated the information, we shall soon see.  Each of them will inevitable bring their previous studies to their classes.  Some will integrate music or sequences they’ve gathered from prior classes.  Others will present some of the more contemplative aspects they gleaned from this training.

At the end of the day the practicum is an opportunity to celebrate a significant achievement, to participate in the process of yoga as it evolves in this country, and also an opportunity for Axis Yoga to give something back to the community.

As such, the entire event will be offered free of charge and sumptuous refreshments will be served at every session.  For those of you who are prospectively interested in the program this will obviously be an opportunity to meet with the current students first hand and experience the fruits of their efforts.

Namaste,
Derik

Dates & Times:
Sunday January 10th; 1-3pm & 3:30-5:30pm
Saturday January 16th; 1-3pm & 3:30-5:30pm
Sunday January 17th; 1-3pm
Location: Sixth Ave UCC. 3250 E. 6th Ave. (Sixth and Adams -7 blocks W. of Colorado Blvd.)

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Being Truth

That word “Satya” literally means “to be” and has existential connotations.  When one is truly being there is no qualification or rationalization required; one resides in the essential truth of their nature.

More commonly the term is translated to mean “truthfulness.”  When one is centered in a clear state of presence, truthfulness is an innate extension of who they fundamentally are.  It is a natural expression of being identified more with the present moment than agitated about the past or fantasizing about the future.

Conventionally, truthfulness has to do with how accurately we present information to others and how credible our word is.  While this is a very valid standard the practice of yoga requires that one take it a step further, to bridge the inner and outer worlds and examine the level of truth one presents to themselves.

This practice cuts right to the core of our identity as our mind’s perpetual tendency is to fabricate stories about who it thinks it is.  These stories can be very convincing and keep us more identified with our circumstances than our spiritual essence.

What the practice of truthfulness does is shine a light on the egos tendency to cling fiercely to its own identity.  From the yogic perspective this congested identity is a fundamental lie, held in place by ignorance.  We are not our possessions our circumstances, bodies or even our thoughts, though it is easy to mistake them for our who we are.

The practice of truthfulness gives us some standard by which we can release the fear of life and soften into our spiritual identity. Truthfulness requires self reflection and a relaxation of effort.  This quality of effort is the very substance of yogic practice.  Yoga allows us to rest in our essential nature, a state in which one is simple being.

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The End of Violence

The first limb of the 8-limbed Ashtanga Yoga vehicle is called Yama.  Yama is often translated as restraints.  It also has a mythological connotation as Lord Yama who is none other than the presiding deity of death.  What is being referred to hear is not death in the morbid sense that you might find in a B-grade horror flick or a sterile tucked away semitary.  Yama in this context is referring to the death of separate existence, the death of ego.

While the five-tenants of Yama practice have very practical applications, and are intended to harmonize our social lives, their ultimate intention is to transform us, to move us from a contracted identity into union with Spirit.

The first of these five-tenants is called ahimsa or non-harming.  Often it is translated as nonviolence, though I consider this to be a limited translation because of gratuitous connotations that often go along with the word violence.  Culturally we tend to think of violence just in physical terms; the most recent car bombing on the evening news or even reruns of Tom and Jerry, all of these are overt examples of violence.

The practice of ahimsa is much more subtle.  It is intended to be practiced on every level; physically, verbally and mentally.  From this perspective, passive aggressive behavior, setting someone up to fail or holding a grudge are all considered forms of violence.

As one begins to consciously take on the practice of non-harming one of the first realizations is how much violence plays a roll in one’s day to day life.  It gets reflected in one’s diet, relationships and image of oneself to name just a few breading grounds of aggression.

At the center of violence stands a sense of separation, a feeling of isolation from the object of disdain, weather it be another person or oneself.  The more our identity contracts the more resentment builds up.  Yoga is the reverse of this process, it promises and requires an expansion of our identity.

The potential for this expansion is boundless. The practice of ahimsa offers a kind of road sign to tell us when we’ve veered off into the ditch of pain and delusion.  Progress is measured one choice or action at a time.  Gradually the practitioner begins to disidentify with thoughts of harm and offers their contracted ego up to Yama, the Lord of Death, the death of the separate self.

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Before the Pose

We can engage in yoga practice long before we ever roll out our mat.  As I’ve mentioned in past entries asanas or postures are actually the third out of eight limbs of yoga practice.  So there are many other references points to be had as one travels deeper and deeper upon the path of yoga.

Despite the glossy images in the magazine and the tremendous feeling of integration that can arise through practice, everyone’s passage through life is marked with adversity.  In part, this is why there are so many limbs to yoga practice.  The limbs give us some reference points for how to best maneuver through life’s challenges and achievements and not be defeated in the process.

These core reference points are called Yama and Niyama (restraints and observances) and they are the foundation of yoga practice.  Without them, it does not matter how open our hamstrings are or if we can launch up into handstand.  These practices outline our basic moral instinct and encourage us to challenge our egocentric limitations.  This is how we can practice yoga “off the mat.”

The first rung of our eight-limb yoga latter is called yama or restraints.  Interestingly, the author of this system (a sage named Patanjali born around 200A.D.) begins not by telling us what to do but rather what we should refrain from doing, there by leaving it up to the aspirant to arrive at the appropriate course of action.

These restraints are to be practiced on a physical, verbal and even mental basis.  They offer the student of yoga the opportunity to practice in every aspect of their lives regardless of weather or not they can touch their toes.  The yamas are further broken down into five sub categories, each of them deeply interrelated. The first of these sub categories is called ahimsa or none-harming and it will be the subject of the next entry.

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