The History of Yoga: Comprehensive, Contemporary, Curious Teacher Training | Online

Training Overview

LIVE Opening Meet & Greet
This is our opening hour for introductions, to Firdose, each other and the subject matter. We'll keep it casual in this session, where the aim is to learn a bit more about the field of yoga studies.

Pre-Recorded Session 1: What Are We Studying When We Study Yoga?
It sounds so simple, but understanding our subject matter should be the first and most important step we take when we beginning to immerse ourselves in material. Say the word yoga and most people think they know what it means but do they really? In this session we will look at both the meanings of the word and the meanings of the practice as well as what it means to do yoga and to be yoga. We will also consider how these have changed over time so that once we begin or historical analysis, we know exactly where we are starting from.

Pre-Recorded Session 2: Textual Engagement & Key Ancient Practices
The earliest sources of yoga are limited to a small selection of texts (The Vedas, Upanisads, Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras) which are important but limit our understanding of the period. What else should we be considering and why? This sessions will look at sources, from languages to rituals, and ask what shaped yoga philosophy in its formative years.

LIVE Online Discussion: Links & Misunderstandings From the Early Period
The first two sessions would have a depth of historical material for us to explore when we want to link yoga back to a storied past. In this session we will draw comparisons between the ancient and modern time, picking out similarities and differences as well as understanding the nuances of referencing history. Bring your questions to this one. 

Pre-Recorded Session 3: Understanding Tantra
Accessing the subtle body, through metaphor, mapping and meaning-making, is one of yoga’s most magical tools but how was it developed? In this session, we will look at tantra as a collective group of lineage based practices and examine common features across sects. We will consider which tantric ideas have translated to a modern period, and which have been distorted. 

Pre-Recorded Session 4: Building the Physical Body
A deep dive into the earliest Asana which will include a close study of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Hatha Bhyasa Paddahati . This session includes physical practice. 

Pre-Recorded Session 5: Building the Modern Physical Body
Strength Training is at least a few hundred years old and was the preoccupation of those inside and out of  the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. We will look at why it was important, much was known about health markers, early scientific studies into the benefits of yoga and biomedical language is reframe for yoga audiences. This session includes physical practice. 

LIVE Online Discussion: How Has Asana Evolved?
How did yoga move from the static and then complex postures of the previous two sessions, to the flows we know today? This will be an interactive session which looks at the making of a modern class. Bring your curiosity and your questions. 

Pre-Recorded Session 6: Yoga On the Move
Yoga was both brought to and taken out of the Indian subcontinent by a diverse range of characters who moulded the practice to suit a new audience. We will consider how they created institutional schools and distinct lineages and what the impact of that was. We will also look at yoga both within and outside the Global North and consider how it moved through Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa as well as among the Indian diaspora. 

Pre-Recorded Session 7: Yoga as Ideology
Though modern yoga is primarily asana-based, there is something about it that makes it different to exercise and that comes from the ideology behind it. Yoga has been used to create awareness, build community, teach resilience and is often a place-holder for self-inquiry. We will consider how yoga shape-shifts across physical, mental, individual and social spheres. 

Pre-Recorded Session 8: Methods of Pedagogy: How Yoga Is Taught & Shared 
The Yoga Teacher Training is one of the most common personal investments students make to learn more about the practice and themselves but what do we really know about the most effective ways to teach yoga? In this session we will look at different schools of thought about the methods of learning and understand how yoga fits into these today. 

LIVE Closing Circle
We will finish with a session which celebrates all we have shared over the duration of the course, complete with final questions and reflections. 

For teachers dedicated to a higher standard of learning looking to deepen their knowledge.

This training is for curious practitioners who want to understand the origins and evolution of yoga both on and off the mat as well as yoga teachers seeking a layered historical and philosophical grounding to bring to their classes. As long as you’re curious, value critical thinking, are open to discussion and interested in interdisciplinary perspectives, this is for you.