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Faculty Teachers 2012

Brigitte Longueville
(the Netherlands) Director of Solstice Yoga Center.
Her teachings focus on the opportunity to "restore" innate capacities to their optimal expression through "relaxation as practice" coupled with traditional yoga practice. Brigitte Longueville (RYT, E500 T500)Her teachings are a reflection of her long study with international teachers and yogis in the area of "traditional" South India yoga, pranayama, critical alignment, anapana meditation and continued work with vipassana meditation. She obtained her teaching certificate after completing a 3-year course at The Bharata Institute of Yoga, Amsterdam, Netherlands. The institute is world renowned for it's work in critical alignment. She is a certified Yoga Alliance teacher and teacher trainer. Brigitte's knowledge emanates from her past studies and other influences but her teachings and approach are her own, derived from those teachers and coupled with her own experience, exploration, study and practice. She has been doing pranayama for 23 years and has been practicing vipassana meditation for eight years. An international yoga teacher and member of that community, she teaches workshops around the world including: The United States; Netherlands; Belgium; India, Antigua (West Indies) and Mexico. Brigitte offers her teachings with profound gratitude to her teachers: Mr. Pattabi Jois, Clive Sheridan, and Gert Van Leeuwen. More info...

David McAmmond
(Canada) Member of the International Association of Yoga David McAmmondTherapists. Beginning as a student of Hilda Pezarro in the early 70s, he was soon encouraged to start teaching. Although he worked with many teachers, David feels that he was most influenced by Dr. Bruce and Maureen Carruthers, and Acharya Dr. S.V. Karandikar. In 1995, David traveled to Pune, India, to train under Acharya Dr. S.V. Karandikar, one of the world’s pioneers in Restorative Yoga. This relationship has been maintained for many years with workshops in Canada and India. Over the last 25 years, David has inspired more than 400 yoga teacher trainees through various Teacher Training programs in Canada and Mexico. His daily life is committed to continuing research on yoga therapy, the origins and development of yoga and meditation in order to refine his own practice and teaching. Participating in this training, you will not only have the opportunity to enjoy David’s practical wisdom, unique sense of humor and thought-provoking stories, but also his contagious warmth, enthusiasm and encouragement will bring you great satisfaction. David will cover important restorative techniques, and relevant anatomical knowledge which will greatly enhance your understanding, practice, and teaching.

Izaskun Casanova
(Euskadi/Basque Country) brings to her teaching of anatomy long experience in the many facets of therapeutic massage. She teaches the major anatomical structures as they relate to an understanding and experience of asanas. Her instruction bridges the gap between "theoretical" knowledge and practical understanding of the muscles at work. Izaskun Casanova - Anatomy TeacherIzaskun is a masseuse, translator and yoga teacher (RYT 200). She has always looked for the path of healing from a multidisciplinary perspective in way that incorporates all of her previous studies including: psychology, massage, Reiki, Feldenkrais, and even her experience as a teacher of English to adult learners. All of these aspects came together when she took her yoga teacher training at The Solstice Yoga Center. Her interest focuses on the therapeutic aspect of yoga based on the understanding of the organism and how it is used. She has been a student and a collaborator at different levels at the Solstice Yoga Center for almost a decade and her best inspiration during these growing years was, and still is, her teacher, Brigitte Longueville. She divides her work now between Zipolite and Mazunte where she combines her classes, massages and translation work.

Program Dates

2012 Summer Course
July 15 - 20, 23 - 27
July 30 - August 3
August 6 - 10, 13 - 17, 20 - 24
August 24 - Graduation Day

2012 Autumn Course
October 21 - 26
October 29 - November 2
November 5 - 9, 12 - 16, 19 - 23, 26 - 30
November 30 - Graduation Day

Eligibility

Yoga practitioners and teachers who have a strong regular asana practice including standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and inversions are welcome to apply. Familiarity with pranayama and mediation is valuable but not essential. While a desire to teach is not necessary to enroll in this course of study, an appreciation of teaching techniques as a tool for deepening one's own practice is key. We limit the number of students in this program each year to give each participant ample opportunity to interact individually with each faculty member as well as create real community among the students themselves.




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Hatha Yoga Teacher Training

July 22 - August 24, 2012 inscriptions open
October 28 - November 30, 2012 inscriptions open



 

Begin the adventure of a lifetime when you immerse yourself in the practice, study and teachings of yoga at the Solstice Yoga Center.

This highly acclaimed teacher training is a 200-hour Yoga Alliance certified course. It brings world-renowned teachers to Zipolite with students from around the world. It is designed for those that want to teach with confidence, enhance their teaching or simply deepen their personal practice.

Taught at the Solstice Retreat Center at La Loma Linda, you will have the opportunity to become absorbed without distraction in a perfect environment of community, study, sanctuary and practice.

Hatha Yoga Teacher Certification - Yoga Alliance

Graduating students can register as RYT 200 © (Registered Yoga Teachers) with the Yoga Alliance, the international certifying yoga authority. Teachers registered with the alliance are authorized to use the initials RYT © after their names. 2011-2012 Teacher Training Program - Adjusting Utkatasana

Brigitte is an E-RYT, E500 T500 (meaning experienced and certified to teach teachers) and the Solstice Retreat Center is a certified Yoga Alliance school (RYS200; see www.yogaalliance.org for more information).

Past graduates have found the Solstice Teacher Training course to be a great adventure that is life-changing, enlightening and energizing. It is an experience that empowers individuals to find and express their best self and true potential, in both their professional and personal life.


Teaching from the "Heart"

The Solstice Teacher Training emphasizes that in order to teach yoga one must develop a deep personal understanding of yoga.

This is accomplished by providing students with daily instruction and practice in the art and science of yoga designed so that students can have a profound personal experience of the teachings.

You will be invited, in Brigitte's terms, to come to see "relaxation as practice." This means the opportunity to stop "trying" to do yoga and therefore becoming tense.

Instead, students learn to calm the body, and then the mind, creating the optimal state to experience and realize the full dynamic energy of an asana.

With this knowledge, teachers can teach not only from the head (as a result of their studies) but also from the heart (as a result of a deeply felt practice).

Yoga Alliance certification course Mexico

It is the premise of Solstice Yoga Teaching Training that once a practitioner has realized this profound experience, they then have the insight to share it, and teach it, to others.
The teacher training has a proven track record in delivering this understanding to students coupled with the knowledge base through which to express their experience to others.
As a result graduates go out into the world with complete confidence prepared to teach classes that students will find to be engaging, challenging and energizing.

The Course Work

The heart of the program is daily instruction and practice of meditation, pranayama and asanas. This is complemented with in-depth teaching of ten integral aspects of yoga teaching:

Yoga Philosophy / Lifestyle & Ethics
You will have the opportunity to understand the ancient texts, the original teachers, yogic lifestyle choices, and ethical choices and appropriate conduct for yoga teachers.

Asana Practice
The complete spectrum of asanas will be explored in depth, including pose adaptations and the use of props. Both the classically, "held" positions associated with Iyengar yoga will be taught as well as Vinyasa Flow (breath synchronized movement) often associated with Ashtanga yoga.

Pranayama
You will learn the science of breathing: changing the rhythm of the breath, inhalation, retention, and exhalation. Ironically, pranayama is not a breathing exercise, but an exercise of awareness.

Meditation
You will practice the technique of "anapana": the development of tranquility through observing the breath entering and leaving the nostrils.

Anatomy
You will learn a functional understanding of the key anatomic structures as they relate to Hatha yoga. Knowledge of these structures can be used immediately to optimize practice, overcome blockages, avoid injuries and of course, communicate with your future students.

Brigitte Longueville teaching an Anatomy class
Brigitte teaching an anatomy class 

Kriyas                              
These cleansing exercises remove toxins from the body. There are six kriyas: Neti (nasal cleansing), Nauli (abdominal churning), Dhauti (upper digestive tract cleansing), Basti (colon cleansing), Kapalabhati (lung and bronchial tube cleansing) and Tratak (steady gazing).

Restorative and Therapeutic Yoga
"Restorative yoga" is defined as the opportunity to restore and rejuvenate the innate muscular and energetic capacity of the body prior to the practice of asana in order to optimize the practice of yoga. This will be taught using the BackMitra and various positions.

In the Therapeutic yoga part you will learn how to work with students that have physical issues and problems including: back pain, repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel, scoliosis, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, and strain due to bad posture or weight issues. Many people suffer from these issues and desire to practice yoga for relief. You will learn how to give them appropriate guidance and a safe practice.

For many years the therapeutic benefits of yoga have been recognized by a few. More recently, they have become much better known. Today many physicians are encouraging some of their patients to take up yoga for therapeutic reasons.
Unfortunately the healing benefits may be, to a great extent, hit and miss. The reason for these outcomes is that not all types of yoga address all types of problems equally well. What is needed for yoga as therapy to be consistently effective is an individualized approach based on the particular condition of the patient and a thorough understanding of anatomy, pathology and rehabilitation techniques.
In this portion of the course we will be looking at areas in which Yoga has been shown to be therapeutically beneficial. We will be focusing in particular on knees, addressing also how they affect and are effected by malfunctioning in the feet, legs, hips and spine. We will describe the physical structure and possible malfunctions which may cause problems for each of these components. Based on that background, we will then explore various yoga and related techniques which can be used to restore proper functioning to these parts of the body.

Teaching Methodology
You will learn how to plan and sequence a yoga class so that each student will have an optimal experience.

Personal Teaching Experience
Aquiring Teaching Experience You will learn how to teach by teaching classes and observing your fellow teachers as they teach. Each student will teach 5 hours of classes (traditional Hatha and one therapeutic class) under the guidance of Brigitte. You will work in small groups, prepare classes together, exchange ideas and learn how to teach and assist others as they teach.

Yoga as a Business
"How does one develop, organize and manage a successful yoga business?" This aspect of the course looks at yoga from a business perspective.

The emphasis throughout the training is on hands-on experience and constructive feedback that prepares you to teach with confidence and clarity.

Graduation Policy

Awarding of completion certificates is based on three criteria:
  1. Attendance; To successfully complete the program, a student may not miss more than 5 hours of classroom time.
  2. Completed homework assignments.
  3. Faculty assessment of skills learned.

Teacher Training Graduates
Graduation 2010


 

An impression of the 2010 Teacher Training by Maricarmen Chavez.

 

Location

The teacher training takes place at the Solstice Yoga Center at La Loma Linda, an eco-chic retreat and refuge overlooking the Pacific. It is tucked away on a large hillside in the middle of the charming beach town of Zipolite on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.

 

How to Register

To register for the course, continue here...

Yoga Alliance RYT200 Course on Tropical Zipolite Beach


Space in this program is limited. We encourage you to apply early!


"The Teachers Training at Solstice has been a determining experience in my life and in my yoga practice. The strong natural surroundings, Brigitte´s years of experience and the outstanding teachers that gathered together allow personal practice to develop with firmness, deep knowledge and multiple opinions. If I could, I would attend all the trainings at Solstice, it has been one of the happiest times in my life."
-- Pablo Quiroga, Mexico City