Q: With so many Yoga Teacher Trainings on offer today how would you describe the trainings Shantarasa offers and is there a difference?
A: When we trained way back in the late 1970’s and 80’s, which seems now to be a very long time ago, the training was drawn from a body of teachings shared by a lineage of Yoga Masters, Siddhas, or Adepts. There was, then, no break with the traditional roots. What was taught was accompanied and embedded with the deeper teachings that give greater meaning to the practice of asanas. The practices sat within a context that gave them immense transformational power. I would say that is the essential difference between trainings today. Some remain with roots of connection to tradition intact and some have been isolated from the cultural, traditional, and complete context and at the same time adapted, morphed, and combined with other modalities and traditions.
Today pharmaceutical practice is to take an active or useful element from a whole source and then develop a drug which can be patented, marketed, and profited by. An example is turmeric. Pharmaceutical companies tried to patent turmeric because it carries so many profound healing benefits. Turmeric in its wholeness gives many and varied uses for health and balance. Isolated components are more limited in benefit as they are no longer part of the whole. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful in patenting turmeric, a medicinal and culinary food that has been used in India and Asia for thousands of years. It remains accessible to all as do its benefits as a whole food and medicine.
In a sense this is like what has occurred with Yoga. In its wholeness many people find it difficult to relate to. Asana (postures) as an isolated element and physical practice can be taught, marketed and branded but as an isolate it loses its inherent and intrinsic transformational power.
Shantarasa teaches a complete yoga sadhana (path). In this way people gain knowledge of asana, as well as all other practices within the context of the knowledge base that informs, guides, and empowers the practices.
Many people have encouraged us to lose the traditional link, to deliver a more packaged and marketable form of training and to expand our influence and reputation. The whole thrust of such a focus is fame and fortune. This has never interested us. Keeping it simple, honest and respectful of the tradition that gave us this immense body of experiential knowledge has been our intention.
Q: So you are able to give this complete form of Yoga in a 200hour training?
A: It is a good beginning. It lays the foundation for the aspiring practitioner or teacher in training to begin. They gain a wholistic understanding of what Yoga is and how to practice and instruct yoga as part of the whole. Is it enough? No? Yoga is a life path. One becomes a student of Yoga in a sense for life.
In the 200 hours of training we are able to educate the purpose of asana as a practice, how to draw breath and prana (life force) into that practice while harnessing a presence that is innate. We train not so much to ‘do yoga’ but to allow the transformative power of essential YOGA to ‘do you’. The training gives hours of focus to the subtlety of practice as well as the foundational wisdom that addresses existence, mind, subtle anatomy, the power of breath, purpose of meditation and yoga Nidra and how to live as a conscious and loving presence in this world. Of course, the training also unpacks practical applied anatomy and physiology from a yogic perspective to better understand the body, its nature and finer layers and to apply skilful technical elements to the practice..
We do encourage people to assimilate the 200 hours and to extend their study to deepen their own practice and understanding.
Q: Do you find people enrol for training in yoga asana and are then overwhelmed by the depth and breadth of what they receive as part of the training.
A: Actually, it is interesting, the opposite often occurs. People who enrol with an expectation of focus purely on the physical aspect of training often share they are surprised by the wide-ranging relevance of the training to every aspect of living. They find what they learn is directly applied to their relationships with family, friends and work colleagues, they find they understand themselves, their nature and habits better, make choices from a different place within themselves and in general are better able to guide their lives forward in a more discerning and empowered way. They usually share that they are so thankful the course is so much more than they enrolled for.
Q: Do people taking the Shantarasa training go on to teach?
A: The majority do. But not necessarily by adding to the proliferation of yoga studios on every block. In the assessment process we ask trainees to deliver a practicum. They find a local community group to offer volunteer classes. The criteria is that they need to meet a special need within the community group. This gives a very palpable experience of instructing and guiding asana practice accompanied by breathwork, yoga Nidra and meditation in many and varied contexts within the community. They learn to share the benefits of practice to anybody, anywhere and in any context. Some have offered their practicum for the homeless, in age care facilities, care givers associations, workplace stress, schools, refugees etc. It is always so rewarding and educational to the trainees and many continue to offer yoga practice within these groups. This enlarges the vista away from the yoga studio, the predominantly fit and flexible and the Instagram yoga culture to the benefits in situ within the wider community. It encourages a view to service which is an integral aspect of living yoga.
Q: Do most of the people who train with Shantarasa go on to train further than the 200hour base line certificate?
A: In every group there are a few who dedicate to ongoing study. Sometimes they flow on into the 300 hour to complete the full 500hours of training. Some wait a while to gain some experience in instructing first. Some take additional training in the specialized areas such as Pre-Post-Natal Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Applied Ayurveda or other trainings. Some wise folk revisit and study the 200 and 300 hours a second or several times aware that there is much to assimilate- far more is gained by revisiting the depth of the study that is offered. Those who revisit tend to become both genuine practitioners of the yoga path and excellent instructors and guides for others.
Q: I see you offer the training in many countries?
A: Well that was the case. The dramatic changes in our world over the last year have put a stop to the oversees courses for now. We have adapted the trainings as much as possible into online forums. This has been a large change for us. We love the interface and in person style of teaching. But our current circumstance made it necessary so we could continue to engage with those we have met and trained in other countries. It has actually been a useful tradeoff. The courses have become more defined. Teaching materials have been developed to meet the online format. Students have access to the content for an extended period of time to review and revisit as they need. Online meetings have become a lovely way to all come together and delve deeper into the subject matter. The meetings have been so beneficial when people have been isolated in lockdown situations. I have to say we have been resistant to offering our courses online but have been hugely and pleasantly surprised by the many unexpected benefits. We have discovered community is as possible in this format as it is in person and so there are now no boundaries to who we can sit with.
India has been our most favourite place to visit and offer the trainings. In association with Shanti Mandir in the beautiful ashram in Magod, Gujarat we have loved offering the trainings to folks from many countries including local people. The beauty of this is manyfold: we enjoy the pilgrimage to the place of our teachers, we love deepening our own sadhana living within an ashram daily schedule, we love exposing others to this very real context of yogic living and learning, and we get to support the ashram and all of its many charitable works through the returns from the trainings. We do hope the world situation will allow us to return to India and Magod in the not-too-distant future.
Q: Do you see yourselves continuing this work for a long time? I only ask as most people retire at your stage of life.
A: Now that is an interesting question. We are both definitely now in our senior years. While yoga practice and living has enabled us to enjoy a youthfulness that is in contrast to our age, we do feel the need over the next years to change things but not necessarily or solely because of age.
We will offer the 200hour, 300hour and 500hour trainings for another couple of years. However we are developing a different way of teaching under the umbrella of Yoga Kaya Chikitsa training. You could think of this as a therapeutic or remedial form of practice. We have noticed over the decades that people are more and more in need of yoga as a therapy to first balance the imbalance that exists in their bodies, lifestyles, and minds. We intend to bring all the training back to this baseline. To first inspire healing and balance and then to extend to deeper practice and instruction. If there is imbalance, illness or disease of body or mind the pathway begins from a different footing. It is beautiful to slow the whole process down and to take smaller conscious steps forward while implementing change across all aspects of day to day living internally and externally. We now feel the importance of guiding this deeper form of training and of course it will extend over a longer period of time.
Q: How long will this training extend?
A: at least two years. The many subject components may be studied as a whole or independently to gradually build the whole body of Yoga Chikitsa Training. This will enable people to travel at their own pace according to their other life commitments and circumstances. Eventually all the various forms of training we offer will come under this one training. We see this as a way of completing our work, leaving people with a deeper knowledge and skill base embedded in a wholistic appreciation of the totality of Yoga that is directly and meaningfully applied in moment to moment living. There is no healing without a shift in tendencies of mind while gaining self-knowledge that extends beyond personality. There is still so much to share. We have barely turned the pages. The 500-hour training does not give us the scope to open the deeper chapters of practice and understanding. Our teachers gave us so much it is important to pass it on before leaving this world so this will be the next phase and offering.
Sadhana Pezet
Co-Founder Shantarasa Yoga Darshana
Level 2: 300-hour course, completing the 500-hour certificate.
Both are recognised by Yoga Alliance, giving international teaching membership.