Every posture we practice today has a story…
A story which finds its roots in the magnificent accounts found in yoga’s vast and fascinating mythology. Stories of divinity and humanity and the rich and complex relationship they share, stories of personal struggle and emancipation, stories of the crucial lessons offered to us by nature, stories of love and loss, knowledge and survival…and so much more!
Many of these stories and the profound lessons they impart, through the passage of time, found their way into the practice of yoga – especially hatha yoga āsana. This has given us a storehouse of rare and precious gems to investigate, and then apply in our own lives as yogis.
This course will take us on a journey that traverses the ages of yoga’s vast mythology, in order to better understand the inner significance of practices we cherish today.
Course objectives
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Course objectives 〰️
Deeply understand the inner significance of practices we cherish today
Learn to practice, and teach, yoga honouring the roots of the asanas, and thus, honouring the roots of yoga
Take the profound lessons in built in to asanas and bring them to our classes and our practice
Traverse the ages of yoga’s vast mythology
Understand how to construct yoga āsana sequences and classes with deep meaning at the heart of them
Explore the hidden meaning of the āsanas we practice regularly, gaining a more profound understanding of their original purpose
Learn about the merging of yoga and creative expression, to see how art, dance, music and poetry inform yoga āsana
Discover how storytelling was, and can be, a way of explaining yoga philosophies’ deepest and most fundamental teachings
Use āsana as a way of releasing our own inner story; seeing the universality of the themes behind the postures.
The details
Dates
Saturday 25th – Monday 27th May 2024
08:30 – 16:30
Investment
The price for the course is £400
Yoga Hero teacher trainees and graduates get 20% off!
A payment plan is available.
Get updates about Yoga Mythology & the Deeper Significance of the Āsanas Training
“Hali is an incredibly warm, generous & skilful teacher, with an amazing ability to convey information in a way that makes it accessible & relatable. The extent of her knowledge around yoga philosophy, Sanskrit & chanting is phenomenal, testament to her immersion in yoga throughout her life. The workshop time flew in & I was left only wanting more. I am very much looking forward to study with Hali again.”
-Ellie M
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What is polytheism? What is pantheism?
The Vedic God of the Sun - Sūrya: its relationship to Hatha Yoga’s sūrya namaskār
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The Lord of Preservation and the Goddess of Beauty & Abundance
The Churning of the Ocean: the 'birth’ of Lakshmi, and the nectar of immortality
The Nine Avatars of Vishnu: symbolism, philosophy, and relationship to bhakti and hatha yoga.
The Krishna Avatār: the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, and it’s relationship to the
great epic of The Mahabhārat, and The Bhagavad Gītā.
The theme of Preservation: the second aspect of the trinity of Creation, Preservation, and Destruction, and how it applies to our lives, and our hatha yoga practice.
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The Lord of Destruction and the Goddess of Life. The birth of Tantra
The significance of Śakti & Her many aspects: Exploring the history of Goddess worship, and the stories which emerge from Her life with her consort Śiva
The Kāli & Durgā Aspects of Śakti: Goddess as fierce protectress of Her devotees and vanquisher of those who would threaten them
The birth of Ganesh - the remover of obstacles and the God of wisdom and scholarship
The theme of Destruction: the third aspect of the trinity of Creation, Preservation, and Destruction, and how it applies to our lives, and our hatha yoga practice.
Your course leader
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Your course leader 〰️
About Hali Schwartz:
I have been immersed in the world of yoga since I was a young girl. My very first yoga teacher was my mother. I have such a clear and distinct memory of being 8 years old and asking my mother: “What is Yoga?”
Her answer mystified me, being so young. She answered: “Yoga means ‘balance.’”
In those days I didn’t quite understand what that meant. At that time it had already been a few years that she had been studying and practicing yoga and meditation with great devotion. I went with her to all the classes and sessions she was taking with an Indian guru who was touring Canada and the US. It was the 1970’s and there was a growing group of people who were truly pioneers in exploring the world of yoga and finding out how its teachings can transform lives. Every day they would come to my house for their yoga meetings and I would sit and listen and laugh and absorb the energy of it, even though I didn’t really know what they were talking about.
Years later, in 1988 I traveled to India for the first time to the ash ram where my mother had decided to devote her life. I have traveled there every year since, delving into all aspects of the yoga tradition at the International Meditation Institute (I.M.I. ) in Kullu, in the North Western Himalayas where my mother still lives nearly 40 years later! It was at the institute that I was introduced to yoga philosophy in all its glory. I studied the Sanskrit language, several yoga and vedantic scriptures such as the Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (to name but a few) as well as chanting, meditation, hatha, kriya and restorative yoga.
In 1999 I started teaching yoga in Toronto, while continuing my studies in Ashtanga Yoga with the incomparable Ron Reid at the Downward Dog. In 2001, I began teaching yoga philosophy, Sanskrit, chanting and meditation in various teacher training programs around the city, and have trained hundreds of teachers since then at Yoga Space, Octopus Garden, IAM Yoga and Sananda Yoga. I love mentoring new teachers as well as introducing new students in the amazing benefits of this awesome tradition.
In 2002 I took my first group of yoga students with me to India, and have since lead several pilgrimage voyages to the Himalayas, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Varanasi, Rajasthan, New Delhi and Mumbai. I am so passionate about this subject. It is my life’s joy to share this knowledge and this practice with anyone and everyone who has the interest to dive into it!
“Hali has such an expansive wealth of knowledge and direct experience with the roots and traditions of yoga, the way in which she embodies this is so inspiring. In just the short time we had at the workshop, she brought such a fun and fresh perspective to deep and complex subjects. As a yoga teacher (and always student!) I left feeling like I’d just come across yoga for the first time again!”
-Anja P
Accreditation
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Accreditation 〰️
This training is certified and accredited by the Yoga Alliance Professionals. Holly Mcfee holds Trainer Pro TM status with the Yoga Alliance Professionals - the highest standard of training possible.
300 HOUR ADVANCED TRAINING
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300 HOUR ADVANCED TRAINING 〰️
This course forms part of Yoga Hero’s 300 Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, along all other For Yoga Teachers courses.
How it works:
Each module can be booked and attended individually, or attend 300 hours for the full 300 hour accreditation.
Courses will be re-run in 2024 and beyond, and new courses may be added at any point. All courses and their associated assessments must be completed within four calendar years in order to gain the accreditation.
Your discount:
Book on to one of our 300 hour course modules, and receive 10% any and ALL future 300 hour course modules!
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Boring, but important. Please read our T&Cs here