TEACHING METHODOLOGY AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON FIRST MONTH INTENSIVE CERTIFICATE

Agama Yoga in Mexico has a simple goal and vision.  After a one month course, we want people to leave  empowered and prepared to continue their Yoga practice in their home countries.  And so day by day, we simply begin to unfold different aspects of this yoga vision and it´s sophisticated and charming technologies until by the end of the month, a fairly comprehensive map of the human potential and the Yogic path of reaching it is understood.  The beauty of the Yoga path is that it works upon all levels of the human structure and in Agama Yoga, we teach people how to work specifically on these different levels. If it is physical health people aspire for, we speak about food, cleansing techniques (kriyas), the physical healing of the hatha yoga practice itself, etc.  And in a similar way, the Yoga tradition does not leave out the energetic, emotional, mental and what can be called spiritual realms.  Ultimately the Yogic understanding is a holistic understanding which means that it recognizes the inter-connectedness of the different aspects of the being and of the being to the Universe itself.   Still, what is surprising to many is that the Yoga practices themselves have each been made with a very specific purpose and with the initiation into each technique (which in the first month includes the yogic categories of asana (postures), bandha (physical locks), (lower) mudras or special gestured movements, kriya/dhauti (purification techniques) and mantra, the student is given the full spectrum of reach of that technique according to the tradition and ancient and modern experts.

In the first week of the course 14 techniques are introduced along with  a special theoretical push which  looks in depth at the chakra system, the deeper potential of the asana, the importance of concentration in Yoga, the subtle laws which allow Yoga to work, the 5 bodies or pancha kosha, the 8 stages of the Yoga path according to Patanjali,  the receptive and emissive side of the being  (Ha and Tha) and it´s practical application, and more.  From the second week, we introduce daily 1 or 2 techniques, extend our classes to approximately 2 hours of practice each, begin the inspiring 10 part series on yama and niyama, which touches upon different subjects from non-violence (ahimasa), to the roll of sexuality in Yoga and alternatively Tantra (Brahmanchariya), to cultivating awareness and contentment (Santosha).  The course continues at a similar pace and moves through purification techniques, the Indian holistic science of Ayurveda, the question of Vegeterianism, Karma Yoga, the Yoga of consecrated and selfless action, Yoga Nidra, the Yoga of lucid sleep, Yin and Yang in Macrobiotics and others.  The final week is spent primarily practicing what has been learned including the final asana, shirsasana or the famed headstand, and is spent also going deeper into meditaion.  In most months, a special initation and introduction to an advanced mantra technqiue known in the tradition as Laya Yoga is also given.  Periodically, a 5.5 day silent retreat although not mandatory, is offered to first month students at an additional cost.  In this way, for those who complete the first month course, after close to 150 hours of class time and talks, students have been given enough practices and  confidence to move forward in  this ever thrilling and beautiful path of self-discovery.  The teaching itself is a vast compilation from many sources but the core of it can be found in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, some of the things being taught even being a bit rare and thus traditionally considered esoteric.

The emphasis is on cultivating concentration, aspiration, clarity on the whys and hows of what one is doing and ultimately a surrender and expanded awareness.  The Yoga itself, through the daily and repeated practices experience shows us develop and open these qualities in the aspirant.