Mindfulness Yoga & Meditation Training Program (MYMT II) - Retreat #2 - 2011

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Date: September 12, 12:00am - September 22, 12:00am

The Spirit Rock Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program is an intensive 18-month program for yoga teachers and experienced practitioners that offers an embodied integration of yogic and Buddhist teachings and practice, led by nationally renowned teachers in both traditions. For testimonials from previous graduates of this program, click here. The program consists of three 10-day retreats (and a between-retreat curriculum) that weave together into one seamless practice yoga asana and pranayama, insight meditation, the wisdom teachings of the Buddha, and the wisdom teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and other classic texts from the yoga tradition.

The core of the training is the cultivation of mindfulness, the capacity to meet life moment to moment with open-hearted presence. In the deep inner and outer silence of the retreat environment, participants cultivate an integrated body-mind practice that encourages awakening on every level of being, including the physical, energetic, emotional, and interpersonal dimensions.

Asana (postures) and pranayama (breath and energy work) open, ground, and enliven the body, mind, and heart - thereby both supporting and expressing the more subtle meditative limbs of yogic practice. The yoga poses are also used as a powerful vehicle for training in - and embodying - core dharma principles, such as compassion, joy and lovingkindness.

Flowing between movement and stillness, this unified practice gently unwinds the contractions that can block embodied presence, while cultivating access to the spacious and kind awareness that is our true nature.

MYMT II offers a solid, non-dogmatic understanding of the entwined history, philosophy, and techniques of both yoga and Buddhism. Participants leave with the skills and understanding necessary to practice and teach yoga in a way that supports mindfulness, compassion, and an understanding of core Buddhist principles such as impermanence and the interdependence of all life.

Please note that this is not in itself a comprehensive yoga teacher certification program. Rather, it is a training in Buddhist mindfulness and Insight Meditation - and the integration of these practices with classical yoga practice - for people who are already yoga teachers or experienced students. Each retreat combines vipassana meditation, asana, pranayama, private interviews with both yoga and vipassana teachers, dharma and yoga talks, interactive workshops and discussions, and explorations of the interface between yogic and Buddhist philosophies and practices. A good portion of the retreats will be spent in silence, following a full schedule of seated and walking meditation. The daily schedule will also include approximately 2.5 - 3 hours of yoga asana and pranayama.

Between retreats, the curriculum will consist of a commitment to a daily practice of sitting and yoga; regular homework assignments in both the Buddhist and yogic traditions, which include readings, recorded dharma talks, practices, and suggestions for journaling and reflection; regular discussions on dharma and yoga practice with a fellow program participant; and regular teleconferences with program faculty. Upon completion of the program, all participants will receive a certificate of completion from Spirit Rock.

Location:

Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Woodacre, CA 

Web site: www.spiritrock.org

Email: SRMC@spiritrock.org

Phone: (415) 488-0164