Language and Definitions

8509 N. 29th Street, Tampa, FL 33604 Phone: (813) 932-5456

Definitions

The following definitions are from the Yoga Alliance. They are included to help you in categorizing your previous training hours.

Techniques – Includes asanas, pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, and meditation. Hours in this category include both training in the techniques and practice of them.

Teaching Methodology – Principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting, instruction, teaching styles, qualities of a teacher, and the student’s process of learning.

Anatomy and Physiology – Includes both physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, et cetera) and astral/energy/subtle anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, et cetera).

Philosophy/Ethics/Lifestyle – Study of yoga scriptures (Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, et cetera), ethics for yoga teachers, "living the life of the Yogi", et cetera.

Practicum – Includes student teaching as well as observing and assisting in classes taught by others. Hours are a combination of supervised and unsupervised.

Electives – Electives are drawn from the above categories. These hours do not necessarily represent student electives: the hours may be used according to a school’s own particular emphasis.

Contact Hours – The teacher trainer is physically in the presence of the student. Non-contact or independent study hours can include assigned reading or other homework, non-supervised study groups, observing yoga classes, et cetera.

About Language

Unlike most traditional yoga schools, we are committed to using English, not Sanskrit, for the poses and practices because we want to make it easy for students to follow and to remember the names of the poses they are doing. Learning to do the poses is hard enough without having to learn difficult foreign words. At the same time, people who become yoga teachers may choose to learn the Sanskrit names if they wish to, especially if the want to study with a traditional teacher or go to India to study. Our training is committed to teaching you to teach using English terminology. If you are an experienced teacher who consistently used the Sanskrit names, we ask that you begin using both the Sanskrit and English equivalent in your teaching because you will be expected to use both or English alone on your videotape.