Spirit Rock

Mindfulness Yoga & Meditation Training Program (MYMT II)

Directed by Phillip Moffitt, Anne Cushman and Mark Coleman

Retreats
Retreat 1 (Spirit Rock): January 24 - February 3, 2011
Retreat 2 (Spirit Rock): September 12 - 22, 2011
Retreat 3 (Yucca Valley): May 6 - 16, 2012

Teachers (click on names for bios)
Vipassana Teachers: Jack Kornfield, Mark Coleman, Anna Douglas and Phillip Moffitt
Yoga teachers: Frank Jude Boccio, Anne Cushman, Janice Gates, Chip Hartranft, Tias Little, Richard Miller, Jill Satterfield and Patricia Sullivan

"The single most transformational experience I have had as a yoga teacher, meditation student and psychologist." - Robin Boudette, PhD

*Application forms are now available (click here). Get your application to us by June 15 and, if accepted into the program, you’ll qualify to receive a free daylong at Spirit Rock. You’ll also qualify for a special pre-program teleconference with program faculty, who will offer you some preliminary teachings and practices to get you started. (Note: To receive these benefits, you must be accepted into the program, and then we must receive your financial forms and deposit by July 15. (This offer excludes daylongs on 8/29/10 and 11/6/10, benefits and special events.)

Take your yoga practice off the mat and into your life in this intensive 18-month training program for experienced yoga students and teachers.

Integrate mindfulness and asana
Embody your dharma practice
Study with nationally renowned teachers of mindfulness and yoga
Cultivate physical, energetic, emotional and interpersonal awakening
Explore the philosophical, historical, and practical intersection of the yoga and Buddhist traditions

Prerequisites
To enroll in the Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program, participants must meet the following prerequisites: a minimum of five years of yoga practice, including a basic understanding and study of the 8-limbed path of classical yoga outlined by Patanjali; a minimum of at least one silent meditation retreat of five days or more in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana) tradition; and a commitment to a regular daily sitting and yoga practice. Priority will be given to yoga teachers.

Description
The Spirit Rock Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program is an intensive 18-month program for yoga teachers and experienced practitioners that offers an embodied integration of yogic and Buddhist teachings and practice, led by nationally renowned teachers in both traditions. For testimonials from previous graduates of this program, click here. The program consists of three 10-day retreats (and a between-retreat curriculum) that weave together into one seamless practice yoga asana and pranayama, insight meditation, the wisdom teachings of the Buddha, and the wisdom teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and other classic texts from the yoga tradition.

The core of the training is the cultivation of mindfulness, the capacity to meet life moment to moment with open-hearted presence. In the deep inner and outer silence of the retreat environment, participants cultivate an integrated body-mind practice that encourages awakening on every level of being, including the physical, energetic, emotional, and interpersonal dimensions.

Asana (postures) and pranayama (breath and energy work) open, ground, and enliven the body, mind, and heart - thereby both supporting and expressing the more subtle meditative limbs of yogic practice. The yoga poses are also used as a powerful vehicle for training in - and embodying - core dharma principles, such as compassion, joy and lovingkindness.

Flowing between movement and stillness, this unified practice gently unwinds the contractions that can block embodied presence, while cultivating access to the spacious and kind awareness that is our true nature.

MYMT II offers a solid, non-dogmatic understanding of the entwined history, philosophy, and techniques of both yoga and Buddhism. Participants leave with the skills and understanding necessary to practice and teach yoga in a way that supports mindfulness, compassion, and an understanding of core Buddhist principles such as impermanence and the interdependence of all life.

Please note that this is not in itself a comprehensive yoga teacher certification program. Rather, it is a training in Buddhist mindfulness and Insight Meditation - and the integration of these practices with classical yoga practice - for people who are already yoga teachers or experienced students. Each retreat combines vipassana meditation, asana, pranayama, private interviews with both yoga and vipassana teachers, dharma and yoga talks, interactive workshops and discussions, and explorations of the interface between yogic and Buddhist philosophies and practices. A good portion of the retreats will be spent in silence, following a full schedule of seated and walking meditation. The daily schedule will also include approximately 2.5 - 3 hours of yoga asana and pranayama.

Between retreats, the curriculum will consist of a commitment to a daily practice of sitting and yoga; regular homework assignments in both the Buddhist and yogic traditions, which include readings, recorded dharma talks, practices, and suggestions for journaling and reflection; regular discussions on dharma and yoga practice with a fellow program participant; and regular teleconferences with program faculty. Upon completion of the program, all participants will receive a certificate of completion from Spirit Rock.

Program Cost
$5,700 - $4,200 sliding scale, plus donations to teachers. Cost includes 30 days of retreat, instruction, room and board, and a comprehensive curriculum of study and practice between retreats. The Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program meets Yoga Alliance standards for Continuing Education (CE) units in the categories of yoga techniques and philosophy. Continuing Education units of approximately 350 hours will be available upon completion. A limited number of scholarships are available. For further information about the program, please email Rachel Lanzerotti at mindfulyogatraining@gmail.com.

Program FAQs (click here)

Testimonials from graduates of MYMT I

The Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Program at Spirit Rock changed the way that I experience yoga and also the way that I teach yoga. Since starting on the paths of Yoga and Mindfulness, more than 18 years ago, I have wanted to understand how these two life-enriching practices fit together for my own edification, and also so that I could more effectively teach my yoga students. This program transformed the way that I teach yoga. Now that I more clearly understand how the streams of yoga and mindfulness relate to each other, I am able to weave them together in my classes, and teach my students mindfulness through the practice of yoga asana. In addition, my own understanding of the path of yoga has grown, my yoga practice has matured in many ways, and I have experienced many fruits of the practice, such as more ease and happiness. The teachers in the MYMT program are the absolutely best that I have ever had in my many years on this path, and their dedication to their students is apparent in everything that they do. This is the best training I have ever been a part of, and I highly recommend it.
-Annie Mahon
yoga teacher, Washington, DC

The training pointed my hatha yoga teaching in the direction of stretching heart and mind as well as body. Now I offer contemplations drawn from both Yoga and Buddhist traditions to support my students' intentions and mindfulness while holding and while moving from one pose to another. We spend more time sitting and breathing at the beginning of the class and more time in savasana experiencing the stillness. Class size in the studio is increasing, and we all seem to feel closer as we move into a more integrated, comprehensive practice. All this brings great joy. Adding the contemplative piece in my yoga classes for high school seniors so helped them process the stress of study, rehearsals and performance that, because so many of them submitted my name, I received an honorary Mental Health Hero award.
-Kirtan Coan
yoga teacher, Winston Salem, NC

MIndfulness Yoga Training is a brilliantly conceived program that gives its students the benefit of masterful guidance in connecting meditation, yoga and life skills to a personal or professional practice. The teachers, surroundings and fellow students contributed to a vibrant and profound experience that will continue to yield benefits for years to come. I enjoyed learning from the leaders in this field and the devoted practitioners, who were my fellow students. As a result of this remarkable training I am able to communicate and share the language, wisdom and asana of Mindfulness Yoga.
-Claudia Ladensoh
yoga student, San Antonio, Texas

The Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga Teacher Training was the single most transformational experience I have had as a yoga teacher, meditation student and psychologist. The teachings and practices were deeply meaningful and have enhanced both my personal practice and my teaching. The teachers were incredibly accessible and truly embody the Buddhist and Yogic traditions. I continue to feel supported by and connected to our teacher training sangha. The program exceeded all expectations.
-Robin Boudette, PhD
yoga teacher and licensed psychologist, Skillman, NJ

This training completely changed my yoga practice and my meditation practice. What was two separate practices two years ago, is now seamlessly blended into one. The first foundation (mind in the body) is a core understanding in my yoga and my meditation that connects the two. I was continually amazed at the quality of the teaching. The guest teachers were well chosen for their specific area of instruction, and well known for their fine teaching. The faculty instructors were patient, kind, informative, cheerful, diligent and altogether human. They “walked their talk.” The complete experience of this training, the setting of Spirit Rock, the Retreat Staff, the facility and the blending of all resulted in a most memorable and life-changing experience.
-Judie Wilgress
yoga student, Waldron Island, Washington

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