Intensive Program

Return to the Source Yoga Satsang's Intensive Program offers yoga practitioners the opportunity for in-depth study in a week-long format while earning credit toward their 200hr Yoga Teacher Training certificate with our school.  Practitioners whose primary focus is on deepening their understanding and practice of Yoga are also most welcome to join our Intensive Program.

***

The Yoga Body Intensive will be offered
January 24-30, 2020 in Chiang Mai.

***

The Yoga Body Intensive & The Yoga Mind Intensive
are offered each July in Chiang Mai.

***

The Yoga Body Intensive

Picture
The Yoga Body begins with the breath.  We will investigate the way we breathe, and we will explore the breath as a bridge -  connecting both the body and mind, as well as the individual to the world around us.
Picture
Multiple meditation and pranayama (breath-work) techniques will be introduced throughout the course, guiding students deeper into themselves and inviting more harmony and balance into their moment to moment experience.  The practice of pranayama is a subtle bridge from the movement of asana to the stillness of meditation, and participants will experience the power of these techniques through daily practice.
Picture
The Annamaya Kosha, the first 'layer of experience', will provide us with a jumping off point for an exploration of kinesthetic awareness and experiential anatomy.  We will examine the the relationship of the respiratory system to the nervous system, the form and function of the spine, and then delve into the fascial matrix that is the framework of our movement apparatus.
Picture
In our 'Foundations & Alignment Principles' sessions, participants will study the major joint complexes, standing poses, sun salutations and inversions, and they will develop a better understanding of safe alignment for a healthy asana practice. Our daily morning asana classes will give students the opportunity to put these principles into practice and explore mindful movement within a supportive environment.
Picture
In a clear and comprehensive fashion, The Yoga Body will introduce several essential concepts in Yoga philosophy - such as the nature of AUM, the five kleshas or 'obstacles to liberation', the five koshas or 'layers of existence' and the law of Karma. 
Picture
Through The Yoga Body students will establish a solid understanding of asana, pranayama and meditation, expand their physical literacy and anatomical awareness, and begin to explore the nature of their existence.

Participants in The Yoga Body will earn 50 hours towards their 200hr Yoga Teacher Training certificate with RTTSYS.

The Yoga Body study topics include:

  • What is Yoga?
  • How we breathe
  • The Spine - form and function
  • Foundations & Alignment Principles: Sun Salutations & Inversions
  • Foundations & Alignment Principles: The Major Joint complexes
  • Foundations & Alignment Principles: Standing Poses
  • The fascial matrix
  • The symbology of AUM
  • The Koshas - 'layers of experience'
  • The Kleshas - 'obstacles to liberation'
  • The natural law of Karma

Testimonial

"The Yoga Body & Yoga Mind Intensives that I joined with Return to the source Yoga Satsang in Chiang Mai left me reinvigorated and inspired. Having practiced yoga for some time, the intensive encouraged me to go deeper into asanas and improve my alignment. By exploring both anatomy and prana in theory and practice, I learned to make better use of my body's natural resources and cut down unnecessary and obstructive straining. The interchanging sessions on body and mind allowed me to find more stillness within movement and better integrate my meditation and yoga practice. The strength of Return to the Source Yoga Satsang is the balance they strike between respect for tradition and acknowledgement that there is no yoga without movement and change. Its teachers, Gaelen and Neil, have their feet firmly placed in classical yoga lineages, but do not shy away from creativity and innovation. The occasional freewheeling led to some interesting insights and kept the atmosphere light and playful. "
                                                                                                                                  -Huibert, The Netherlands

The Yoga Mind Intensive

Picture
The Yoga Mind will trace the history and evolution of Yoga from the pre-classical through to the contemporary. Together, we will 'return to the source' with the study of traditional texts, The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, and The Yoga Sutras, and identify important insights in the flow of ideas that make up the story of Yoga.
Picture
With these reference points and others, we will discuss the different ways in which yogis have contemplated the nature of existence throughout the millennia, and we will contextualize the evolution of yoga by examining some of the different forces that it has come into contact with since its beginnings.
In studying the traditions of Tantra and Hatha yoga, students will learn about the principles of Prana and the subtle energy body and explore the powerful practices of mudras and bandhas, as well as be introduced to the cleansing practices of the shatkarmas.
Picture
A survey of modern Yoga will highlight some of the key figures in its rise in popularity over the past century and help put into context the current myriad of interpretations of this ancient form.  During The Yoga Mind, our daily asana, pranayama and meditation sessions will provide us with a rich and meaningful way to put theory into practice.
Picture
As a consequence of the journey through The Yoga Mind, students will have new reference points for their own practice and a better understanding of how it fits within the larger tradition of Yoga.  They will discover new ideas, deepen their understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of the form, and find fresh inspiration for the evolution of their own yoga.

Participants in The Yoga Mind will earn 50 hours towards their 200hr Yoga Teacher Training certificate with RTTSYS.

The Yoga Mind study topics include:

  • An overview of Yoga history
  • A comparative study of the different schools of Indian philosophy
  • The Upanishads
  • The Bhagavad Gita – the 4 paths of Yoga
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – 8 limbs of Yoga
  • Pratyahara & the importance of Savasana
  • Original Tantra and the emergence of Hatha Yoga
  • Prana, nadis & chakras
  • mudras
  • Vayus & bandhas
  • Contemporary Yoga from 19th century to the present day