IYMTT resources page

Sukhita Yoga Teacher Training

Resources page:

Training Manual latest version

IYM Teacher training manual v30

Structure and Support from the Bandhas (illustrated)

Posture cueing sheets

Warm up sequences

Salute to the Sun A and B

Standing sequences

Sitting sequences

Backbends

Inversions

Embodying the teaching

A challenging aspect of becoming a teacher is finding the time to look after ourselves, our practice and to take responsibility for our mind states when we fall into self-criticism and self-doubt. If taking care of ourselves is always bottom of the list, it may actually be harder to find the place from which to teach as well as meet the demands of our busy lives and this can make us miserable. We need to balance attention to others with kindness to ourselves.

The approaches we seek to teach apply just as much for ourselves. In fact they are key to developing the capacity to teach from a place that reflects our own experience. So, when we are on automatic pilot or when mood is low these are the moments for us to notice how old patterns of thought stand in the way of experiencing life’s richness and to become familiar with the workings of our minds. We don’t need to do anything to change the patterns – our task is simply to become aware of their presence. Being aware for ourselves is our best teaching aid.

Here are some examples of common patterns.

Being too busy
When we are under pressure, it is all too easy to forget to take time to replenish our resources and do things that give us pleasure. When life is busy, we may feel we simply don’t have the time.

The busier our lives are, the more we need moments to refresh ourselves, moments when we come alive to the pleasure in small things. Pleasure does not have to be a major event – small things can make all the difference (e.g. noticing the scent of our shampoo or shower gel, savouring a cup of coffee instead of hardly noticing we are drinking it, pausing to look around us as we walk from the car to the front door).

Not believing we deserve pleasure
High standards can get in the way of pleasure – for example, we have to complete all our tasks before we can take a moment to ourselves, or we have to look after everyone else before we can attend to our own needs.

Comparisons
Minds are quick to make comparisons between how things are and how they “should” be. We may find ourselves comparing how we feel now with times when we felt better, or comparing ourselves with other people who seem to be feeling better than we are, or comparing how we are feeling with how we want to feel. All of these comparisons undermine our capacity to be fully present with pleasant moments. Seeing them more clearly, we can choose to give them less weight.

Lost in our thoughts
As we practice meditation, we notice how quickly our minds turn to the past (memories, action-replays of things that have happened) and the future (planning the next thing and the next, worrying, anticipating). This wandering from the present moment can mean that we rush past experiences that might have been pleasant without even noticing them. Instead, we need to cultivate a sense of now – fully present with our experiences as they happen.

The confidence to be imperfect
It is important as a teacher as well as in the rest of our life to have a relationship to limitation so that it does not become an impediment to valuing what we can share. This sharing includes our own confidence to be imperfect. Part of this is the capacity to stay with the feeling of not knowing: the answer to a question; the benefit that clients are feeling; how to do a particular posture. Remember that the ‘less than perfect’ can still be valued by others, particularly if it is shared from a place of balance and authenticity.

Talk through of a demonstration class

Opening meditation

Warmups

Salutations

Standing Sequence part 1 (minus my head, but you get to see the postures)

Standing Sequence part 2

Sitting sequence and finishing

Mindfulness practices

Here's a very good short article interviewing a well known Tibetan mindfulness teacher

The Body Scan (Classic form not adapted for Yoga)

To download click here

The Weather in your mind click here

5 Min relaxation for the end of a Yoga Class

To download click here

Recommended Reading

You don’t need to buy any or all of these before the course. All will be available on the course for you to look through. They are a good selection of guides to refer to for any yoga teacher. They range in price from £6 - £25 each. Those in bold I believe you will find especially helpful.

Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes Mark Stephens

A very helpful guide to the relationships between postures, suitable sequences for different abilities and development sequences for postures.

Yoga: The Art of Adjusting 2nd Edition Brian Cooper. Based on the first series of Astanga Vinyasa, a useful perspective on passive. active and resistance adjustments.

Ashtanga Practice Manual – David Swenson. A classic guide to the first and second series with useful modifications. Clear photos and good descriptions

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: New Edition Sri Swami Satchidananda. An insightful commentary on this classic yoga text. A good introduction.

Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (Paperback) by Mark Singleton.

Helps rebalance the more ‘precious’ attitudes to yoga practice whilst still applauding its value.

Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar. The classic but now a little dated.

Yoga Anatomy - 2nd Edition by Leslie Kaminoff. Much recommended but I’m not familiar with it.

Moola Bandha. The Master Key Chela Buddhananda , Swami Satyananda Saraswati Bihar School of Yoga

Anatomy for Yoga [DVD] | Paul Grilley. A very helpful guide to the difference between bodies and how to work with them.

Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati . A great all round guide.

Breathing meditation
http://www.dhammasukha.org/beginner---breathing-meditation.html

For more adjustment videos please see here: (includes adjustment sessions form Module 2 2019 teacher training)