Preliminary information

About the program

The InSync Institute's Yoga Teacher Training program has been designed to maximise personal growth as a platform for developing the competency to effectively share this wisdom for the benefit of others.

As Lao Tse said "The way to do is to be".

Students will receive a huge boost in their personal practice of meditation and yoga. A defining feature of this program is the importance it places on 'grounding' the student in understanding and experience. Students will be given a thorough exposure to each of the eight limbs of yoga, including meditation which lies at its heart.

Participants will learn an extensive range of techniques, evaluate them through personal and team experience and develop the skills to teach them appropriately. Team and peer support and coaching will be an important part of the program. The course is structured to enable participants with busy, contemporary lives to gain the benefits of a retreat-like learning environment.

Program objectives

The program will enable participants to:

• become more deeply grounded in themselves and their yoga and practice.
• gain a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the science of yoga and its related disciplines, and
• develop the communication, facilitation, learning and teaching skills to effectively share this wisdom. This includes the skill and sensitivity to tune into the varying needs of different people and adapt the approach accordingly.

At the completion of this program students will be able to teach a range of yoga classes, from beginner through to intermediate level and able to teach a range of eneregising and relaxation meditation techniques in an individual and group environment.

Main focus areas of the Teacher Training Program

• Personal development, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical
• Exposure to a diverse range of viewpoints and presenters
• An integrated blend of ancient wisdom and contemporary insight
• Utilising ayurveda and yoga to understand the whole person
• Creating satisfying and meaningful yoga classes
• Yoga postures in depth
• Pranayama, bandhas, mudras and yoga nidra
• Understanding the body's energy and information fields
• Health, illness and stress from the perspective of yoga and ayurveda
• Communication and leadership skills
• Team learning, peer and mentor support

Download a copy of the course dates here

Program Award

A Certificate of Completion in Yoga Teacher Training 1 will be issued on completion of the full program to a satisfactory standard. Those students who complete the program to a satisfactory standard with the exception of the practical teaching components will be eligible for a Certificate of Attainment.

Graduates of the Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training 1 course will be eligible for membership of the Yoga Australia, formerly called Yoga Teachers' Association of Australia.

Course duration and time commitment

The program comprises approximately 320 contact hours over 12 months as well as a home program of approximately 15 hours per week. This would typically consist of meditation and yoga practice for approximately one-and-a-half hours per day, and around 4.5 hours of other study or practice per week.

Students will be expected to attend all contact hours (for interstate and overseas participants, some of these hours can be online). Naturally, in the event of illness or emergency, arrangements can be made for make-up contact hours at additional cost to the student.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the InSync Transformative Wisdom Program (60% reduced fee for the program for Yoga Teacher Training Participants)

The following factors will be considered in selecting applicants for entrance to the Program: suitability as assessed at an entrance interview, established personal yoga and meditation practice, stable physical and psychological health, references from teachers with whom the applicant has studied, character references, demonstrated level of commitment to the program. A high level of proficiency in yoga postures is not a requirement for entrance to the program.

Program content

Program content includes:

• yoga in the framework of Vedic science
• origin, history and how yoga has influenced different wisdom traditions and its development in the West
• the different types of yoga
• understanding and experiencing the major styles of yoga, including Iyengar, Satyananda, Viniyoga
• the contemporary yoga and meditation landscape
• physiology, anatomy and bio-mechanics
• the body's energy system
• leadership and communication skills
• yoga and other contemporary mind/body modalities, including Feldenkrais, Pilates
• yoga and ayurveda
• yoga postures in depth
• first aid and occupational health and safety
• Sanskrit and its relevance to teaching
• creative preparation of classes
• teaching for special needs, including older/younger people, teenagers, those with back pain, and other special needs
• the mechanics of the meditation process
• tips for improving meditation practice
• meditation and mind/body techniques in Zen Buddhism, Vipassana, Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity and Judaism
• research and documented benefits of meditation and yoga
• how to establish yourself as a yoga teacher
• practice teaching
• giving and receiving feedback from peers and instructors
• counselling and coaching skills for teachers
• ethics/code for teachers
• dangers and pitfalls for meditation and yoga teachers
• source texts

Program Assessment

Assessment will be on-going and students will be required to demonstrate a satisfactory level of competency in each of the program components. Assessment will be based on attendance at contact sessions and a combination of practical classroom exercises, written and oral examinations, assignments, completion of the home journal, experience diary and fortnightly reports, assessment by the instructor, peer review, and completion of the required hours of yoga and meditation instruction.

Final decisions regarding whether a participant has satisfied all course requirements rests with the Course Coordinator, taking into account the standards of the InSync Institute Training Charter and Code of Ethics.

Number of participants

A maximum of 15 places will be offered on this foundation program. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Places will not be reserved without the payment of a deposit. A 'reserve' list will be kept and should places on the program become available they will be offered to those on this reserve list.

Venue:

Contact sessions will take place at the InSync Institute, 14 Barker Street, level 1, Griffith Shops. However we hope to have an extra treat of two days at beautiful Tuross Heads on the NSW South Coast at the end of our January block.

There will be a small extra cost of $160 for this component.

Text Books:

The current required texts are Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Structural Yoga Therapy by Mukunda Stiles, and an Anatomy text book

(InSync has been able to offer these at a wholesale price to students)

One of the recommended books is Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life.

Please note: As new and innovative quality books are released and become available, it is possible there could be some change in the required text up until the time of the start of the program

Course Meals

Meals provide an opportunity for participants to come together and share their insights, learnings and experiences about Yoga and Ayurveda. The cost of meals is not covered by the course fee. We have a food kitty to which participants contribute and food preparation is shared by the group, with specific individual needs being looked after where this is at all possible.

Course fee

Deposit

A deposit of $500.00 will secure your place on the program. Full payment is required 30 days before the start of the program unless you have opted for the instalment plan.

Payment options

• Full upfront payment (reduced course fee):

Payment of the reduced course fee of $5,645 (Early Bird $4,995 must be paid 2 months prior to the start of the course)

or

• Instalment option:

• $1,815.00, payable by Friday 29 June, 2012
• $1,815.00, payable by Friday 19 October, 2012
• $1,815.00 payable by Friday 18 January, 2013

The course fee does not include text books, meals on course days and the two nights on retreat at Tuross Heads in January. The cost will be $160 for the 2 nights.

Deposits will not be refunded for cancellations notified after less than 30 days before the commencement of the course. Refunds for withdrawals after course commencement will be in accordance with the InSync Institute's Refund Policy.