YOGA FOUNDATION COURSE:
Enhance your personal development, extend your Yoga practice and deepen
your understanding of Yoga theory and philosophy
To be tutored by Lina Mookerjee BSc, DMS, BWY: Dip/FCT/DCT
~ over 10 days between January and July 2011 ~
(See 'Applications' below for booking procedure)
 
 

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course is suitable both for individuals who are committed to furthering their knowledge and application of Yoga on a personal level and for those who wish to consider/prepare for training to become a Yoga Teacher.

INTRODUCTION:

This is a British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) Foundation Course - Level one and is intended for serious students of Yoga who are seeking a more substantial learning opportunity, and within a more stable learning group, which will enable further development of practice, knowledge of Yoga, and of themselves.  Some course members will have chosen to attend because they are contemplating - or have decided to embark on - the far greater commitment of a Yoga Teacher training course at some future date.  Others will have come simply because of their enthusiasm for and valuing of Yoga as a beneficial ingredient in their lives.  In either case, I welcome your interest and inquiry.

ELIGIBILITY:

There are two BWY requirements for entry to the course:

At least two years of class attendance (or equivalent) with a suitably qualified teacher - not necessarily immediately prior to the course, and

BWY membership, which can be taken up at the same time as paying the BWY course registration fee.
  
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The BWY has produced 13 of these for their Level one Foundation Course.  These are:
 
By the end of the course students should be able to:

Practise safely a range of Yoga asanas from the eight groups (forward, backward and side bends, twists, balances, inversions, seated and natural spine alignment postures).

Practise a range of basic breathing techniques, including the full Yoga Breath.

Practise a variety of Pranayama techniques using throat and/or glottis control, with or without the use of ratios.

Practise relaxation using a range of techniques.

Explain the place of relaxation within the Western Yoga tradition and differentiate between Eastern and Western techniques.

Use concentration/meditation techniques.

Chant mantra in a group led by the Course Tutor.

Plan simple personal asana practices to meet own needs, based on sound principles of body usage, balanced content, using modifications and counter-poses as appropriate.

Define commonly used Sanskrit terms relating to Yoga practices learned on the course.

Define the names of the Yoga Paths, Yoga traditions and Yoga teaching styles.

Define the "eight limbs of Yoga".

Observe, and record in journal form, the effects of personal practice of Yoga techniques during the course.

Explain the pre-requirements, syllabus outline, timescale and level of commitment needed to completethe BWY Teacher's Diploma successfully.
   
COURSE CONTENT:
   
The BWY core syllabus headings are as follows:
   
Preparation for practice

Asana Poses (a list of 26 from the eight groups defined in Learning Outcome 1, above)

Mudras (Gestures)

Kriyas (cleansing practice)

Breathing practices

Pranayama (Breath control)

Concentration

Relaxation

Chanting

Knowledge - including history, theory and philosophy.

The complete core syllabus will be provided on Day One.

Additionally, 15 hours of the course will be allocated to discretionary content related to self-exploration and course members' needs and interests.  In past courses topics have included Ayurveda, energy work and practice, work with energy blocks, and meditation.
  
METHODS:

A wide variety will be employed, mostly experiential, including: discussion, physical practice, reflection and journal writing, talks, meditations, pairs and small group work, observations, guided reading.
   
AWARD:
   
A BWY Foundation Course Certificate of Attendance will be awarded to course members who attend for a minimum of 80% of the course time. An additional Certificate will be issued by the Praxis School of Yoga (PSY) to those who choose to complete two assignments at a satisfactory level.

COURSE LENGTH AND DATES:

60 hours divided into four single days and three weekends.  Each day will be from 9.30am to 4.30pm.  Dates as follows:
Jan 8/9, Feb 5, Mar 5, April 2/3, May 7, June 11, July 9/10 2011.
   
COSTS:
   
Tuition fee: £385.00.  Selection interview fee: £35.00.  PSY Assessment fee (optional) £30.00.  BWY Course Registration fee: £45.00. BWY membership fee (currently) £25.00.
  
APPLICATIONS:

NB: This course cannot be booked online.  Please contact Lina directly, either by phone (0115 847 1758) or by e-mail Lina@Praxis-PPD.com to request a Foundation Course application form and Health Questionnaire.  Once these have been received you will be invited to a 'mutual selection' interview with Lina.
There is a maximum of 16 places on this course, and these will be offered to suitable candidates in the same order as applications are received.

    
ABOUT LINA MOOKERJEE:
   
Lina is gaining growing acclaim for her distinctive person-centred approach to teaching Yoga, utilising a fusion of her experiences within a Hindu Brahmin cultural upbringing with her current understanding of Western Humanistic philosophy.  After almost a decade of working in industry as an engineer, she gained her BWY Teaching Diploma in 2002.   Lina is now a BWY Diploma Course Tutor (DCT), and completed her first three-year Teachers' Diploma in August 2008.  Her next Diploma course is planned to commence in June 2011.
 
Lina's professional interests are many and varied; the Chakric energetic system and related concepts and applications (including the use of sound as a means of energy re-alignment and balancing) have fascinated her for many years; the somatic effects of psychological trauma have led her to undertake training in integrative bodywork therapy, which she practises with individual clients.

"Authentic living Yoga is", Lina maintains, "a life-long enabler of personal development - not an 'Indian keep-fit regime' as some may believe".