"Journey into the Heart of Yoga"

Deepening your practice and theory of yoga

Suitable for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of yoga, regardless if they want to follow the full professional vocation of 200 hours which leads to the internationally recognized certificate of Yoga Alliance RYT 200.

The Module '10 Days in the Heart of Yoga' is a teacher training programme offered by Maja Zilih twice a year in Vienna-Austria & Athens - Greece

Morning sessions  8:00-11:00am

3 hour sessions of asana, pranayama and meditation, with themes such as:

From physical stability and stamina, towards trust in the new beginnings.
Poses that help you generate a sense of vitality and support.
Uncovering the layers of the self to reach the truth of your heart. Let this truth guide all of your choices.
"You are That". Anava Mala and the concept of Purnatva
Free yourself from that which holds you back. Share your courage with the world that needs you.
Explore and play with your edge. Use the challenge to experience transformation.
The heat-increasing flow and the cooling restorative poses, to bring you into a perfectly balanced state of mind.
Grace comes in when we are open to it. Surrender to receive.
The five acts of consciousness. Understand the game of life though acts of concealment and revelation.

Asana categories

Standing poses
Sun Salutations
Hip Opening poses
Back Bends
Arm Balances
Inversions
Twists
Forward Folds
Restorative poses
Pranayama

Abdominal breathing

3-part Yogic breathing
Brahmari Pranayama
Ujjayi Pranayama
Bastrika Pranayama from beginner to advanced stages
Kapalabhati Pranayama from beginner to advanced stages
Viloma Pranayama from beginner to advanced stages
Nadi Shodhana Pranayama from beginner to advanced stages
Sitali and Sitkari Pranayama

Meditation

Concentrative meditation techniques
Integrative meditation techniques

Afternoon sessions 13:00-16:00pm

1. Asana lab

Analysing the sequences, the asanas and the pranayama techniques practiced previously in the morning session
The importance of the posture's foundations
Muscular and organic energies
Loops and Spirals of Anusara Yoga
Anatomy, healing alignment and yoga therapy of the neck, shoulders and wrists, lower back, pelvis, knees, and ankles
Modifications of poses for beginner students and the use of props (wall, blocks, blankets, straps, chairs)

2. Prana and subtle anatomy:

Pranamayakosha, Chakras, Nadis and Vayus
Bandhas and Kumbaka

3. Yoga History and Philosophy

The Bhagavad Gita
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Wisdom from the Tantras

• The Bhagavad Gita
• Maja draws inspiration from various scholars and commentators (Carlos Pomeda, Eknath Easwaran, Boris Majranovic – Abhinavagupta's Commentary, Douglas Brooks) to bring forth the relevance of this ancient text to our modern lives. Together we create a rich and creative learning atmosphere in which teachers and students explore major life questions:
• - What is this battle really about?
• - What is my true calling? What are the highest human goals?
• - What forces are at work in my own inner field of opposites?
• - How can I access my inner wisdom to make wise choices?
• - How do I deepen in awareness through the engagement with the outer world instead of refraining from it?
• - How do I use knowledge of the three gunas to navigate through life’s difficulties?
• - What kind of action is life asking me to take?
• - How can I live in the present moment, unattached to the results of my actions, and still perform them wholeheartedly?
• Unlike a purely intellectual debates, the conversations between Krishna and Arjuna are leading the mind into state of meditation. They give you direct empirical insights into your real nature, helping you discover who you are and what the path of your heart is.

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• In this training, the first two chapters of the yoga sutras are covered.
• In the first, "Meditative Absorption", Patanjali explains what is required for ultimate liberation and why it is so.
• In the second, "Practice", he lays out the path, which involves ethics and behavior guidelines, asana, pranayama,
• meditation and other practices, until one can reach the ultimate complete liberation or Samadhi.
• We will explore the possibilities of increasing our spiritual potential,
• of bringing the mind to a place of stillness, and most importantly, of
• increasing the level of awareness in all our relationships. In other words, our main concern is how to become
• more sensitive and compassionate human beings, and how to lead a more conscious and meaningful life.

• Wisdom from the Tantras
• According to the Tantras, we are already free, full, perfect the way we are, at all times.
• Yet for most of us the day-to-day today reality feels quite different than that.
• In this session we are exploring what Tantras have to
• offer to us as an explanation. Namely we will be studying the three veils that are blurring our sight
• and making us perceive reality in a limited way.
• 1.       Anava Mala – The veil of individuality  that makes us feel limited, powerless, unworthy,
• cut-off from the divine consciousness
• 2.       Maiya Mala – Perceiving only the duality, but not the underlying unity.
• 3.       Karma Mala – Driven by our mind’s attachments and aversions, the misconception
• arises that we are the only “doer” in our lives.
• Understanding these three forces and how they interact and feed on one another will make you
• more skillful in navigating through them.
• You will learn to recognise them, and to decrease the sense of fear and insecurity they cause in you,
• which ultimately changes your relationship with yourself and with the world.