Yoga International – Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist Training

Yoga International – Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist Training

Become an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist!

To study ayurveda is to learn how the mind, body, and spirit are interconnected to the world around us. Ayurveda is referred to as the “sister science” of yoga and focuses primarily on lifestyle practices that support health, balance, and self-transformation. Our unique 120-hour Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist certification program incorporates yoga as the foundation for studying ayurveda. The training is a combination of live and pre-recorded classes divided into four modules, each consisting of three days, that are available for playback at any time.

In our Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist training program, you will learn the core concepts of ayurveda, including the six tastes of ayurveda, psychological and emotional concepts, and the lifestyle and philosophical applications of this ancient wisdom. You’ll learn how simple implementations of ayurvedic diets and routines can create profound transformations in your life and the lives of others. You’ll experience firsthand the rejuvenating power that comes from balancing the doshas through aligning your actions with the seasons of the year, stages of your life, and phases of the day. Immerse yourself in ayurvedic study with an enthusiastic online community, add a new dimension to your yoga teaching and personal practice and become an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist!

When you enroll in this comprehensive ayurveda program, you will learn the knowledge and skills needed to:

• Design dosha-balancing asana sequences for different seasons, times of day, and specific age groups
• Use ayurvedic recipes and food and spice combinations to address imbalances and promote health and vitality
• Create a practical lifestyle plan for yourself and your students based upon specific needs and goals
• Offer one-on-one ayurvedic consultations with a nutrition and lifestyle focus
• Confidently teach ayurvedic wellness principles in the classroom
• Understand how an ayurvedic diet and ayurvedic lifestyle principles support the practices of yoga

The Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist training includes the following topics:

• How cultivating prana (life force) and ojas (deep vitality) can regulate and support agni (digestive fire) for optimal health
• An in-depth study of the doshas (ayurvedic constitutions), gunas (psychological tendencies), vayus (“winds” or movements of prana), and koshas (sheaths, or the layers of our being)
• How to teach asana and pranayama to kindle agni and circulate prana for optimal energy management
• The alchemy of yoga and ayurveda
• Diet and lifestyle adjustments to support daily, seasonal, and stage-of-life changes
• How to identify and address vikriti (constitutional imbalances) using asana, pranayama, deep relaxation, and meditation

Unit 1: The Macrocosm and Microcosm of Ayurveda and Yoga

Unit 1 is the foundation for all Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist modules, and it’s where you’ll begin your journey of using the tools of ayurveda and yoga. One of the oldest medical systems in the world, ayurveda is rich with simple methods to support your health. This session focuses on the foundations of ayurveda, its relation to yoga philosophy and practice, and how it can make you feel more at home within yourself. You will begin learning the basics of creating sustainable daily practices that support the balance of an individual’s constitution, including their physical body, mental body, and sense of purpose. Yoga teachers and practitioners alike will discover how to work with asana, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation practices to support balance and overall well-being from an ayurvedic perspective.

Using interactive group work, lecture, and practice, you’ll:

• Learn more about the philosophical and spiritual foundations of ayurveda
• Discover how yoga and ayurveda support and complement each other
• Become more familiar with ayurveda’s tridoshic theory (vata, pitta, kapha)
• Know the difference between prakriti (unique elemental nature) and vikriti (current state of imbalance)
• Begin to understand how to use the yogic practices of asana, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation to move toward greater wellness and balance
• Identify how your yoga practice supports your health and overall sense of well-being as you move through the different seasons of life
• Be able to practically implement ayurvedic and yogic concepts into daily routine, diet, and lifestyle management plans for clients and students or your personal use

Upon completion of Unit 1, you’ll understand the following concepts:

• Purusha (pure consciousness) and prakriti (universal nature)
• The elements that manifest in the body and mind (koshas and doshas)
• The three doshas (vata, pitta, kapha)
• How the ayurvedic clock relates to the time of day, the four seasons, and different stages of life
• How to determine your physical type (dosha prakriti) and your current imbalance (vikriti)
• The energetics of asana and how to structure yoga classes from an ayurvedic perspective

Homework for this module includes:

• Creating and implementing your own dinacharya, a daily practice of ayurvedic routines
• Answering 10 open-ended questions designed to help you integrate the material and prepare for Unit 2
• Outlining correlating chapters in your required books
• Designing yoga classes for the pacification of the doshas

Unit 2: The Psychology of Ayurveda and the Physiology of Yoga

In Unit 2 you’ll learn the technical aspects of the bio-psycho-spiritual connections in ayurveda. Our primary focus will be on the architecture of the mind, its energies (gunas), and the body-mind’s vital essences (prana, tejas, ojas). We’ll dig deep into asana, pranayama, and meditation from the sub-dosha perspective of ayurveda.

Upon completion of Unit 2, you’ll understand the following concepts:

• The architecture of the mind and its energies or gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas)
• The subtle essences of the doshas (ojas, tejas, and prana) and how they manifest in the body
• How to create practices to help maintain balance during seasonal changes
• The key practices to address vata, pitta, and kapha imbalance
• The relationships between the sub-doshas and specific actions, organs, and emotional states

Homework for this module includes:

• Completing an open-ended questionnaire as your take-home test
• Completing additional assignments to help you sequence dosha-balancing yoga practices (individual dinacharya)
• Refine your daily routine with practices specific to your prakriti and vikriti
• Using online support, such as pre-recorded yoga classes, to practice techniques designed to help balance the doshas

Unit 3: Improving Our Digestion of Food, Thoughts, and Actions

In Unit 3 you’ll apply the historical and technical knowledge you gained from the previous units to physical, emotional, and mental practices. You’ll look closely at the factors that affect digestion and assimilation in the body and the mind, as well as the techniques that regulate your physical, mental, and spiritual digestive fires (agnis).

Upon completion of Unit 3, you’ll be able to:

• Use the six tastes to create a balanced diet
• Use internal and external practices to regulate agni (digestive fire)
• Develop clinical awareness of asana, pranayama, meditation, and diet/lifestyle as it relates to digestion and assimilation
• Make ghee, kitchari, seasonal veggies, churnas, and medicinal teas essential to ayurvedic practices.

Homework for this module includes:

• Considering how you would apply the principles from Units 1–3 to a client setting by taking yourself and your lifestyle through the process and then asking yourself how you would do the same for a client.
• Practicing preparing the staples of an ayurvedic lifestyle: ghee, kitchari, seasonal veggies, churna, and medicinal teas
• Reviewing your food sadhana: identifying how the six tastes and subtle essences of the doshas (ojas, tejas, and prana) can affect your body

Unit 4: Clinical Use of Ayurveda and

Yoga

In Unit 4 you will learn how to integrate the information from the first three units into the clinical application of working with private clients. We’ll review physiology, psychology, ayurvedic treatment plans, dinacharya, lifestyle, and subtle body practices of yoga. You’ll also learn about the uses of tongue and pulse diagnosis.

Upon completion of this module, you will graduate as a Certified Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist. This NAMA-recognized ayurvedic education can serve as a supplement to your existing business and an extension to teaching students in a one-on-one setting.

As a Certified Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, you’ll be able to:

• Design and implement ayurvedic yoga classes to address dosha imbalances
• Add ayurvedic practices to one-on-one sessions with yoga clients
• Offer ayurveda 101 educational programs
• Create individual treatment plans for clients
• Create seasonal ayurvedic cooking and cleansing programs
• Begin the Torchbearer program to support you as you implement ayurvedic tools into your work

Course Outline

Unit 1: The Macrocosm and Microcosm of Ayurveda and Yoga January 28, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EST. Smarana: Remembering Who We Really Are
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EST. The Six Philosophies of Life: Shad Darshan
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes

January 29, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EST. Awakening to Who We Are: Elements, Gunas, and Doshas
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EST. The Role of Daily Routine to Bring Balance: Dinacharya
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes

January 30, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EST. Energetics of Asana and Pranayama for Dosha Balance
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EST. Putting It All Together and Moving On
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes

Unit 2: The Psychology of Ayurveda and the Physiology of Yoga The content of this unit is pre-recorded and will be available to complete anytime between Units 1 and 4. Join Kathryn live in March for a live Q&A session.

Unit 3: Improving Our Digestion of Food, Thoughts, and Actions The content of this unit is pre-recorded and will be available to complete anytime between Units 1 and 4. Join Kathryn live in Summer 2022 for a live Q&A session.

Unit 4: Clinical Use of Ayurveda and Yoga

October 22, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EDT. Session 1: Ethics and Scope of Practice
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EDT. Session 2: How to Complete an Intake
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes

October 23, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EDT. Session 1: Live Treatment Intake Client 1
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EDT. Session 2: Intake Review and Q&A
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes

October 24, 2022

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EDT. Session 1: Live Treatment Recommendations Client 1 and Q&A
• 3:00–5:00 p.m. EDT. Session 2: Wrap Up, Clinical Applications, and Review
• Two On-Demand Yoga Classes