The Four Paths of Yoga

This past Monday (May 20) was the inauguration of Makata Living Yoga's unit in deeper yoga studies called The Four Paths. In this unit we will be exploring four different paths of yoga.

The Four Paths we will be taking a closer look at are:

Bhakti Yoga

Karma Yoga

Jnana Yoga

Raja Yoga

This unit is almost entirely experiential and is to be done with other people, creating a community of yogis and yoginis who are out to discover more about yoga, especially outside of a typical hatha yoga class.

The workshop is composed of 4 hours of workshop and 16 hours of exploration in the community - approximately 4 hours in each of the paths to start.

We watched a bit of Yoga Unveiled, which briefly introduced each path, and came up with some ideas of how each of those paths could be practised in Ottawa before the deadline of Tuesday, June 18 from 7-9 pm.

Some of the ideas of activities people have come up with so far include: attending a kirtan (Bhakti), volunteering at different events (Karma), attending a lecture on philosophy (Jnana), and going to a meditation centre to meditate (Raja). You don't have to be a part of the official Four Paths group to attend any of the events! But you would need to get on the email list if you were interested in joining.

There is no cost for this workshop as it's a trial run and we expect people will need to incur expenses as they go.

Current participants include students in our 200 and 500 yoga teacher training programs as well as members of the general public. Maybe you'd like join us! Send me an email in the contact info when you click on my name.

Mentorship Module for Yoga Teachers

We have put together our first mentorship module for yoga teachers. It can be taken as a part of Makata Living Yoga's 500-hour YTT program or on its own.

For years, Kat and I have been asked by yoga teachers for help on how to deal with a variety of issues including:

-how to teach specific groups (kids, teens, seniors)

-how to start up a new class where none has been offered before

-where to go for additional training

-what to charge new students

-how to get new students

-how to stay motivated after the intensity and connection of teacher training has worn off

-missing a connection with other yoga teachers

-lots and lots of other things.

This 40-hour program will be comprised of five 2-hour sessions on Tuesday afternoons from 2:30-4:30 on the following proposed dates:

May 28

June 18

July 23

August 27

September 24

In these sessions we will address a variety of topics including the ones mentioned above, as well we will also co-create with the participants to deal with the issues that are important to them.

In addition to working with a group of other yoga teachers once a month, there will be a time to talk to either Kat or myself for a half hour session either in person or by Skype as it works out in between the monthly meetings.

Sometimes yoga teachers need some feedback on their actual teaching. This unit will include an on-site visit by one of us to offer comments and feedback on your real-live class to support you in your teaching.

The mentorship homework will be customized to each participant as we learn more about who you already teach and what else you'd like to focus on.

The cost for this unit is $580 plus tax. Accommodation can be made to Skype in up to 2 participants if they can't be with us in person.

Please join us for the first meeting at least and if you think you'd like to join the group of teachers, we'd love to have you. If you come but you don't think it's for you at this time, there's absolutely no obligation to continue nor will their be a charge for the session. If you do choose to continue we expect that the group will be dynamic and a small community of teachers to connect with and help you connect more with your yoga teaching.

The first session will be held in Old Ottawa South near Carleton University. Let us know if you'd like to attend and we'll make sure you have the address.


(These are recent graduates of our Be The Teacher Module in the 200 hour stream.)