Yoga Teacher Training with Eileen Muir
Many people at Karuna have a sensitivity to perfumes and scented products and some are allergic to the chemicals in these products, which can set off a severe reaction. As Director I would like to make the space welcoming to everyone. I invite you to refrain from using these unnaturally scented products while practicing at Karuna.

Dear Yoga Friends:

I am very happy to offer both 200 hour and 300 hour teacher-training programs for 2007-2008.

The 200-hour course qualifies you to become a yoga teacher and is in compliance with the standards of the nationally recognized Yoga Alliance. It is also recommended for any serious yoga student who wishes to deepen his or her practice through this intensive and supportive study, or to explore yoga as a life-transforming path.

The 300-hour course continues to complete the 500 hour Yoga Alliance certification.  It will mature your understanding and refine your teaching skills, allowing you to safely address the needs of students of varying age, body type and skill level.

Please call me at 413-584-5054 to schedule an interview for the program or if you have any questions or want feedback as to your eligibility for the course.

Warm Wishes,
Eileen Muir




200-HOUR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

Begins January 27 & 28, 2007


200 Hour Course Dates

2007 Teacher Training (there will be no meeting in August)
January 27th and 28th
February 24th and 25th
March 24th and 25th
April 28th and 29th
May 26th and 27th
June 23rd and 24th
July 28th and 29th
September 29th and 30th
October 27th and 28th
November 24th and 25th
December 15th and 16th

2008 Teacher Training (there will be no meeting in August)
January 26th & 27th
February 23rd and 24th
March 29th and 30th
May 3rd and 4th
May 24th and25th
June 28th and 29th
July 26th and 27th
September 27th and 28th
October 25th and 26th
November 22nd and 23rd
December 20th and 21st

2009 Teacher Training (there will be no meeting in August)
January 24, 25
February 28, March 1
March 28,29
April 25,26
May 23, 24
June 27, 28
July 25,26
September 26, 27
October 24, 25
November 21,22
December 19, 20

  • Yoga Philosophy
  • Experiential Anatomy
  • Teaching Methods
  • Teaching Practice
  • Pranayama
  • Yoga for Menstruation
  • Yoga for Pregnancy
  • Restorative Yoga
  • Bandhas, Krias and Cleansing Techniques
  • Observing and Assisting Class
  • Homework, Practical & Theoretical Exam
The 200 Hour course meets on the weekend, 10am-6pm on Saturdays, and 9am-5pm on Sundays. In addition, Anatomy classes are held from 7pm-9pm on four Saturday evenings, and you will assist 10 of Eileen's 2-hour classes throughout the year. There will be no meeting in August.

The cost of the 200 hour course is $2000. You may print and mail in the registration form or select one of the online payment options below.

Teacher 200 hr Training Registration Form

Online payment options:

$300 deposit

$500 installment

$200 Balance

$2000.00 full tuition

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300-HOUR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

Begins May 17-20, 2007

Dear Yoga Friends:

I am very happy to announce the upcoming 300-hour advanced level training.

This advanced 300-hour training continues from the 200-hour training to complete the 500-hour Yoga Alliance certification. This advanced study will mature your understanding and refine your teaching skills, allowing you to safely address the needs of students of varying age, body type, and skill level. It is recommended for teachers and advanced students who wish to learn more advanced asanas and techniques, refine the art of sequencing and linking, learn pranayama and more advanced pranayamas so you can safely teach it, and take your understanding of yogic philosophy and teaching to a deeper level. Many teachers find yoga therapeutics to be a challenging area - this training will deeply focus on treatment strategies and therapeutic applications for a variety of needs and conditions.
  • Learn more advanced poses.
  • Refine the art of linking and sequencing.
  • Integrate yogic philosophy more deeply.
  • Learn treatment strategies and therapeutic applications.
  • Discover how to alleviate suffering through the practice and teaching of yoga.
  • In-depth experiential anatomy and kinesiology as applied to yoga.
  • Practice and learn how to teach pranayama and meditation.

Format

You must complete all 6 modules in order to graduate, no exceptions!
The 300-hour advanced training will be offered in the form of modules, involving pre-reading assignments and other prep work - all of which will be clearly spelled out in advance of each module. In total, there will be 6 modules each comprising 50 hours. Each module will be composed of a workshop, pre-reading, assignment, homework, quiz, presentation, paper, feedback and critiques, or some combination thereof.

Each month you will be in regular contact with me via e-mail and have the opportunity to have a half-an-hour phone consultation. When you e-mail me, please be sure to put "300 hr" in the subject line of your e-mail. Also, my e-mail does not allow for attachments, so please put any additional information in the body of the e-mail - THANK YOU!!

Assignments
Upon signing up for each module, you will receive the pre-reading and assignment information. Also, there will be the possibility to participate in some of the modules even if you do not sign up for the 300-hour certification in its entirety. For example, you will have the option to do this with the Vedanta Intensive Workshop led by Edwin Bryant and Eileen Muir.

Payment and Cancellation
All modules are $500 each, with the exception of the first module, the Vedanta Intensive Workshop with Edwin Bryant and Eileen Muir, which is $475.

Payment schedule for 300 Hour Teacher Training

Module I: Philosophy
$475 due May 1st

Module II: Anatomy
$500 due June 1st for the entire anatomy module

Module III: Sequencing and Linking
$500 due July 1st

Module IV:Therapeutics $500 due October 1st

Module V: Pranayama and Meditation
$500 due January 1st, 2008

Module VI: Asana, Teaching, Assisting, & Adjusting
$500 due April 1st, 2008

Please call me at (413) 584-5054 if you have any questions or if you want feedback as to your eligibility for the 300-hour advanced teacher training course.

Cancellation
No refunds will be given. (If the course is full and we have received your deposit we will return it.)

Please find a description of the 300-hour advanced teacher training modules below.
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300-HOUR ADVANCED TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

Begins May 17-20, 2007

Module I: Philosophy

Vedanta Intensive Workshop with Edwin Bryant and Eileen Muir
May 17-20, 2007

Description:
This workshop will focus on the most influential stream of Hindu philosophy on the religious landscape of India, that of the Vedanta tradition. The philosophy portion of the workshop will have three components:
  1. a close reading of primary sections from the Upanisads, the earliest mystico-philosophical texts of ancient India, upon which the Vedanta tradition is based
  2. discussion on important verses from the Vedanta Sutras, which are later commentaries on the Upanisads
  3. the consideration of a more modern expression of Vedanta, the Vedantic teachings of Nisarga Datta.
The workshop will also include four meditative components: the chanting of select Vedic verses, pranayama, guided meditation, and japa meditation on the syllable om (the pranayama and guided meditation will be led by Eileen Muir).

This workshop requires 10 hours of pre-reading. E-mail or call us for reading assignments.

The Vedanta Workshop is a 50 hour module that can be taken as credit towards completion of 500 hour teacher training course. You do not have to be part of the Advanced Teacher Training to participate in this workshop.

All are welcome.

May 17 - 20, 2007
Thursday 10:30-7:30, Friday-Sunday 8-5pm
$200 deposit, $475 total

Edwin Bryant received his doctorate in Indic languages, philosophies and cultures from Columbia University. He taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently professor of Hindu religion and philosophy at Rutgers University. He has been a practitioner of bhakti yoga for twenty-five years, a number of them spent in India. He has published six books and numerous articles on Vedic culture, yoga and the Krishna tradition, and has just completed a translation of Patanjali's Yoga sutras with extracts from the traditional commentators.

$200 deposit
$275 balance
$475 full tuition
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Module II: Anatomy

Anatomy with Melinda Buckwalter
Sunday, July 1, Bones, 9:00- 12:30, 2:00-5:30
Sunday July 15, Muscles, 9:00- 12:30, 2:00-5:30

Anatomy with Genny Kapuler
Saturday September 15
10:00 am- 1:00 pm and 2:30-5:30pm
Sunday September 16
9:00am- 12:00pm

Anatomy with Matthew Sanford
November 30, 6-8pm, Lecture and Booksigning
Subtle Anatomy and asana
December 1, 10-1, 2:30-5:30
December 2, 9-12


The anatomy module will take place on two separate Sundays and two intensive weekends. The two separate Sundays will be taught by Melinda Buckwalter, and the intensive weekends will be taught by Genny Kapuler and Matthew Sanford. There will be an additional 15 hours of homework which will include quizzes.

Muscles and bones with Melinda Buckwalter

In these two workshops we will review the names and functions of the bones and muscles. To deepen our knowledge, we will work experientially with them in yoga asana in order to ground our knowledge in practice. We will analyze the yoga asanas in terms of the joint actions and which muscle groups work and stretch. The anatomy of yoga actions that take place will be explored. In addition to yoga asana, we will examine embodiment practices such as visualization, breath work, and developmental movement. Correlations will be made between Western anatomy and Eastern energetic anatomy models.

Intensive Weekend with Genny Kapuler

Class 1 (Saturday morning): Diaphragm, lungs, rib cage, breathing, pranayama
Class 2 (Saturday afternoon): Anatomy of the foot, ankle, and lower leg, standing poses
Class 3 (Sunday morning): Anatomy of the hand and shoulder girdle connection, shoulder stands and shoulder stand family

Anatomy with Matthew Sanford
The Subtle Anatomy of the Postures

In this weekend workshop Matthew Sanford shares his unique experience as a paraplegic yoga practitioner and teaches in the Iyengar method. Because of his paralysis Matthew has been forced to explore the subtle more energetic connections that exist between mind, body, and spirit, ones that are made more apparent by Iyengar yoga's heightened emphasis on alignment and precision. Students will be challenged to explore beyond the physical performance of asanas and delve into their underlying energetic experience. The weekend will include an introductory discussion of Matthew's story and three subsequent asana classes.

Matthew is a nationally recognized yoga teacher, an accomplished public speaker, and a paraplegic for the last twenty-eight years. He is the author of the critically acclaimed WAKING: A MEMOIR OF TRAUMA AND TRANSCENDENCE (Rodale: 2006). Matthew uses his unique experience to be a leading voice for the integration of a mind/body/spirit approach into our medical and rehabilitation practices. He is also a pioneer in adapting yoga for people living with disabilities and won a Karma Yoga Award from the Yoga Journal for this work in 2003. He is the founder of Mind Body Solutions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to the practical notion that minds and bodies work better together. For more information: please visit www.matthewsanford.com or www.mindbodysolutions-mn.org.

$500

Module III: Sequencing & Linking

Sequencing & Linking with Eileen Muir
August 9-12, 2007
Thursday 10:30-7:30, Friday-Sunday 8-5pm

Description:
Once you have signed up for the course you will receive the pre-readings as well as the syllabus of postures from which you will design sequences, one of which you will teach to the class. I will decide which one you will teach.

$500

Module IV: Therapeutics

Therapeutics with Eileen Muir
November 15-18, 2007
Thursday 10:30-7:30, Friday-Sunday 8-5pm

Description:
Asanas and sequences are recommended to students according to the ailment, challenge, or pathology that he or she is experiencing. These sequences have to be chosen with the utmost care and understanding of the effects and benefits, otherwise the treatment can actually harm or adversely effect his or her health. In this intensive workshop we will look at and learn sequences on knees, neck, shoulders, feet, hips, blood pressure, back pain, headaches, asthma, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and scoliosis.

$500

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Module V: Pranayama and Meditation

Pranayama with Eileen Muir
February 7-10, 2008
Thursday 10:30-7:30, Friday-Sunday 8-5pm

Description:
It is not often that pranayama is treated as an independent subject. However, most of the ancient texts in Yoga, beginning with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, treat it as an essential part of the yogic discipline. In this workshop, we will treat this as a separate discipline honoring its true depth and significance for those on their yogic path. We will learn how to teach and structure various pranayamas into a class format.

"Prana means the breath, air, and life itself. But in yoga, prana is the very essence of the energizing principle of the animate and inanimate world. It pervades the whole universe." - BKS Iyengar.

We will learn to sit in meditation and this will be a strong component of the workshop. Mark Hart will lead the meditation component.

$500

Module VI: Asana, Teaching, Assisting, & Adjusting

Asana with Eileen Muir
May 8-11, 2008
Thursday 10:30-7:30, Friday-Sunday 8-5pm

Description:
We will study the advanced curriculum and learn how to teach each of the poses in the syllabus. You will learn how to teach for various different needs and body types so you know when and when not to use props, and when to use gentle, firm, subtle or complex assists and adjustments. You will be given ample feedback and critiques on your teaching and also further develop swadyaya.

$500
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Supporting Teachers for 2007-2008

Supporting teachers have been chosen for their dedication and passion for their subject. For the '06/'07 course they include Mark Hart, PhD, Megan Frazier, Edwin Bryant, and Qurban Khalsa.

Mark Hart (Insight Meditation)

Mark Hart has practiced insight meditation for 20 years, primarily studying with teachers from Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. He has taught meditations for 14 years and is the founder and guiding teacher of the Bodhisara Dharma Community. He holds a Masters degree in counseling and has a private psychotherapy practice in Amherst. Mark also holds a Ph.D. in theology and lectures on religious studies at Smith College, as well as other local colleges. His work reflects his experiences as a parent, scholar, and one who has lived with chronic illness.


Qurban Khalsa (Yoga philosophy)

Qurban Khalsa has been studying, practicing and teaching yoga for over 30 years. He spent 20 years living in an ashram, where he practiced Bhakti yoga, karma yoga, and Jnana yoga. He believes yoga asana is too often taught with no real understanding of the goal of yoga, and he is passionate about integrating the eight limbs of yoga as both an ancient mystical path and as a practical guide for modern living. Qurban has a degree in psychology, an MBA and has completed teacher training at Karuna.

Megan Frazier (Experiential anatomy)

Megan Frazier has always loved the exploration of the body, both as a dancer and as an anatomist. She holds an MFA in dance from Smith College and a BS in biology and dance from Denison University. Megan was first introduced to yoga in high school by her modern dance teacher, and the practice kept her sane during three years in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. She is a third-year master's student in physical therapy, and believes it is her calling to teach people about the human body.

Melinda Buckwalter (Anatomy)

Melinda Buckwalter holds a BA in physics from Cornell University and an MFA in dance from Bennington College. She studied experiential anatomy with movement education pioneer Nancy Topf and is a licensed massage therapist. She has taught anatomy and kinesiology to dancers at Wesleyan University and Bennington College, and to massage therapists at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Melinda grew up in a family that practiced yoga together and recently completed the Karuna Yoga Teacher Training.

Edwin Bryant (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali)

Edwin Bryant received his doctorate in Indic languages, philosophies and cultures from Columbia University. He taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently professor of Hindu religion and philosophy at Rutgers University. He has been a practitioner of bhakti yoga for twenty-five years, a number of them spent in India. He has published six books and numerous articles on Vedic culture, yoga and the Krishna tradition, and has just completed a translation of Patanjali's Yoga sutras with extracts from the traditional commentators.

Please click here for more information about Edwin Bryant.

Genny Kapuler (Anatomy)

Genny Kapuler started studying experiential anatomy, which is now called embodied anatomy, with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in 1975. She then became certified in Body-Mind Centering, and after that in the Alexander Technique. She has also been teaching yoga since 1983 at her own studio and the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York. She is a certified Intermediate Junior III Iyengar Yoga teacher. She has studied many times with the Iyengars both in India and in the United States, and is a student of Mary Dunn.

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