2013 Advanced Studies & 200 Hour Certified Teacher Training Program offered by Laurie Gallagher and Suzanna Spring

Advanced Studies Program

February 16-April 14
Saturdays and Sundays, 12-8pm alternating weekends

$950 ($100 Discount applies if purchased before 1/16/2013)

This educational 56+ hour yoga immersion will deepen your knowledge and experience of asana, pranayama, meditation and philosophy to establish a strong foundation for your yoga practice. You will learn detailed alignment of individual asanas (poses) and how to blend this precision with breath and stable movement, mastering the practice of vinyasa flow yoga with intelligence and grace. In addition to in-depth asana study, we explore the eight limbs of yoga, including the following topics and practices: history of yoga, philosophy and sacred texts, anatomy, Sanskrit terminology, basic sequencing, nada yoga, pranayama (breath work) and methods of meditation. This series offers a chance to immerse yourself in yoga's deeper teachings, to experience a profound transformation in your yoga practice and your life.

*The ASP is a prerequisite for the 200-hour Teacher Training Program, and can also be taken separately.

Teacher Training Program (200 Hour Certificate Program)

February 16-June 16
Saturdays and Sundays, 12-8pm alternating weekends, plus additional hours, TBD

$2650 ($100 Discount applies if purchased before 1/16/2013)

Laurie Gallagher and Suzanna Spring are proud to offer a comprehensive 200-hour Teacher Training Program (TTP), registered with Yoga Alliance. Building on the bedrock of the Advanced Studies Program, teacher trainees will continue through regular asana, pranayama and meditation practice to embody the principles of yoga, while studying teaching methodology and beginning to explore their own teaching styles. Program participants learn how to offer asana instruction, the principles of vinyasa yoga and intelligent sequencing, verbal and hands-on adjustments, risk management, modifications for mixed-level classes, deeper anatomy, physiology, and philosophy, yoga as medicine, ayurveda, the business of yoga, and ethics for yoga instructors.

Our program combines the principles of traditional yoga with the needs of the modern yoga practitioner, to offer students a teaching method with integrity - one that is accessible and sustainable. Trainees will leave this program with confidence in their teaching abilities, ready to begin teaching from an authentic voice. You will find many of our graduates currently employed as yoga teachers around the East Bay.

Please contact Laurie Gallagher (barefoot.bhakti@yahoo.com), or Suzanna Spring (suzannaspring@comcast.net) to register for the program, or to obtain more information.

Advanced Studies FAQ:

I wouldn't describe myself as an advanced level student, but I want to learn more. How do I know if I'm ready for the Advanced Studies Program?
If you feel drawn to learn more about yoga and about yourself, and are dedicated to your practice, you are ready. It is exactly the program to help you to advance your practice, to break through plateaus both on and off the mat. Those enrolled in the program with less yoga experience will learn at different pace than those with more yoga experience, but there is no prerequisite for the ASP. Some students have taken this eight-week intensive more than once, to hone their practice within a supportive group. The Advanced Studies Program is a prerequisite for our Teacher Training Program, which begins in April 2013.

What topics are covered?
The eight weeks of Advanced Studies are designed to take you deeply inward. This program includes a thorough asana clinic – a deconstruction of the core postures and key transitions of traditional yoga asana. These asana clinics, supported by anatomy lessons and exercise physiology principles, will give you the knowledge you need, to know how and when to modify practice to best honor your body. In addition to asana practice, you will also learn key concepts of yoga philosophy and history, along with pranayama and meditation techniques. Through consistent practice, you will learn how to integrate yoga into your everyday life.

I'm a dedicated yoga student - why do I need Advanced Studies? What will I gain from the ASP that I won't get from continued public classes?
Many students invest years into their yoga mat practices and still feel that the topic of yoga is elusive, or continue to struggle with some of the basic postures, breath patterns, and sequences of yoga.The Advanced Studies Program teaches yoga alignment from the ground up, including musculoskeletal and energetic alignment of each posture. Arm balances, inversions, backbends are approached in a workshop format, allowing students to explore and refine the more challenging asanas.This training allows ample time for you to dive deep enough to master new concepts and fully integrate the principles learned. You will discover new information about your physical body, mind, and energy, and how use that information to practice wisely. If you want to experience more of your human potential and move past habitual patterns-- to transform your life, this is the program for you.

Teacher Training:

What makes this teacher training program different from other programs?
We specialize in vinyasa flow yoga and this this program is uniquely a Vinyasa Flow Teacher Training Program. The program offers an intelligent approach to teaching individual postures based on anatomical principles, while also teaching the biomechanics of the many intricate transitions of Vinyasa Flow yoga. Our aim is to prepare teachers to teach Vinyasa Flow Yoga with mindfulness, clean alignment and intelligent sequencing, to fully utilize the energetic and spiritual principles that make this evolving practice of Vinyasa Flow Yoga so powerful.

I'm not sure I want to be a yoga teacher, but I feel continually drawn to learn more about yoga. Will the Teacher Training Program support that goal, or will I feel lost if teaching yoga isn't my ultimate goal?
We believe that good yoga teaching comes from direct personal experience, and have designed the Teacher Training Program to be a time for self-exploration within the practices of yoga. You will continue to dive deeper into pranayama, meditation and philosophy – to support your growth as a yogi/yogini. Participating in the program is a great way to take time to hone your strengths in all areas of your life: embodying your life, finding your voice, living your truth, and growing as a leader. Consistently, graduates of the program come away amazed at the amount of personal growth and insight they gain through the process of learning to teach yoga.

Will I be ready to teach yoga when I'm finished with the program? Our 200-hour program is packed full of teaching techniques, sequencing principles, and practice sessions for students to feel confidence and clarity with how and what to teach. Many graduates of our program at Cosmic Dog are now employed as yoga instructors in the East Bay area.

We describe this program as being insightful, supportive, and transformational. We strive to teach from a place of authenticity and to bring as much as we can into each program. Please feel free to contact us with any more questions.

Namaste, Laurie and Suzanna

Program Requirements:
*Class attendance
*Three 1-hour feedback sessions with trainee partner
*Required reading: see reading list
*Class assignments, reports and tests
*8 class observations
*3 classroom assists
*Completion of all 200 hours

*Please note that receiving a Teacher Training Certificate is contingent on meeting all of the program requirements, including all 200 contact hours

Laurie Gallagher's experience as a teacher began in 1992 as a Group Exercise Instructor and Personal Trainer. She expanded into the yoga world, completing her 200-hour Teacher Training Program with Clayton Horton--approved teacher of Pattabhi Jois, within the Ashtanga Lineage of yoga. Over the last decade, she has explored many traditional yoga disciplines and methodologies and has had the honor of studying with some brilliant and revered yoga teachers, including Rusty Wells and Mynx Inatsugu. As a previous co-owner of the studio, Laurie continues to build the Cosmic Dog Yoga Teacher Training Program, educating upcoming yoga teachers in the art and science of Vinyasa Flow Yoga.

Suzanna Spring is a Yoga Alliance certified E-RYT (Experience Registered Yoga Teacher) and currently teaches yoga and meditation at yoga studios in the east Bay, for private clients, in the Polytrauma unit at the VA-PAHCS, and at the Veterans Center Las Positas College. Her background includes study of Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga, and she holds a certification in PranaFlow yoga from Shiva Rea's Samudra School, in addition to certification in yin yoga. Suzanna has completed initiation into Neelakantha meditation with tantric scholar Paul Muller Ortega, and continues to study with instructors Shiva Rea and with Tias Little. Her yin and restorative classes are informed by the work of Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers and Dina Amsterdam. Suzanna is a member of IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists), trains yoga instructors in a 200-hour program in Livermore, and leads retreats nationally and internationally.

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