Yandara Additional Training Programs
Empowering the Yoga Teacher!

Two additional 8 Day Programs offered at Yandara:

Yin Yoga Teacher Training

- Feb. 25th to Mar 3rd, 2012

Solo Meditation Time in Nature (Vision Quest)

- Feb. 25th to Mar 3rd, 2012

Receive a Yin Yoga Teacher Certification or a Certificate for Advanced Yoga & Meditation Training. Both programs qualify as “Yoga Alliance” Continuing Education Credits (CEC).

Both trainings are held Feb. 25th through Mar. 3rd, 2012 at Yandara, Baja Mexico (please schedule to arrive Feb. 24th and depart Mar. 4th). Cost $680.00, includes: training, meals, and accommodation. Airport ground transportation is $35 each way. See registration page for payment information details.

Program Overview

Each training follows three stages:

A. Introduction and Orientation: Feb. 25th through to the afternoon of Feb. 28th is a preparation time which will be the same curriculum for both trainings, all will be in one group. This includes morning yoga classes, communication skills workshop, community meals, hiking, swimming, satsang music and kirtan (see specific daily schedule below).

B. Deepening into the Journey: Feb. 28th participants will divide into two groups:

1. Those choosing the Yin Yoga Training and Certification will stay at Yandara and receive 2 ½ days of yin yoga training classes (see details below).
2. Those choosing the Solo Meditation Time in Nature will be taken to the foothills of the mountains near Yandara and hike to secluded pristine camping area with small pools nearby. Each person will determine their solo site and be with self for 3 days. Guides will remain close by in the base camp during this time, holding the sacred space spiritually and to be nearby for support if needed. Questers will return to base camp on Friday at noon Mar 1st (see details below).

C. Integration: Mar. 2nd through Mar. 3rd the two groups will come back together on the afternoon of the 2nd and each participant will share their experience and the highlights of what they have learned. The next day we will continue to be in community and learn integration practices for our return home. The morning of Mar. 3rd we will pack up and return to the rest of our lives! Ongoing support is made available by us through correspondence or personal consultation. We want to know how your continued journey goes for you!

Sample of Daily Schedule

Yin Yoga Teacher Training

Yin Yoga, so named because of its correspondence to the Taoist concept of yin, is a very distinct style that stretches the connective tissue (joints). Experientially, the practice is characterized by passive asanas held for several minutes each. Some believe that yin yoga is the oldest form of Hatha yoga, since it is the ideal method of physical conditioning for prolonged meditation, which is the principal concern of the ancient Hindu practice of Raja Yoga.

Practice

Yin yoga targets connective tissue, specifically ligaments and tendons in the joints and spine. Over time, practice of yin yoga can lengthen these tissues, increasing range of motion. To give an idea of the role that connective tissue plays in determining range of motion: muscles account for about forty percent of the resistance against the body's flexibility, while connective tissue accounts for about fifty percent. The intensity and physical benefits of the practice depend on two variables: duration of the asana, and the temperature of the muscle.

Duration of Asana

In order to lengthen the connective tissue, the practitioner holds an asana, engaging in static stretching. This applies stress, in the form of tension, to the muscle and connective tissue in the targeted region. The muscle, more elastic than the connective tissue, responds immediately, lengthening to its limit. When the muscle is fully stretched, the stress reaches the connective tissue, which is not elastic and does not immediately lengthen. In order to affect the connective tissue, stress must be applied for several minutes at a time. In yin yoga, asanas are usually held for three to five minutes, but can be held for as long as twenty minutes. Because of the long duration of asanas, one of the key values cultivated in the practice of yin yoga is patience.

There are many books written on the subject of Yin Yoga. Among some of the popular publications are:

• Yin Yoga by Paul Grilley
• Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers
• Yinsights: A Journey into the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga by Bernie Clark.
  

Solo Meditation Time in Nature (Vision Quest)

Solo Meditation in Nature (also known as “Nature Quest”, “Vision Quest”, “Sacred Passage” and “Rites of Passage”) is a spiritual adventure, a process of going out into nature, with clear intention, away from the distractions of everyday life, and being with the wonders of nature. It is sacred time of change, a passage into a new and often deeper level of one's spirituality. Rite of Passage - that of purpose, healing, discovery, joy, and a sense of connectedness.

Nature Quest has three stages

1. Letting go of the old. Preparation for change. Moving from, head to heart, from fear to love, so as to be as receptive as possible to the messages of nature.

2. Solo time. Listening in solitude, beginning again with purpose, "knowing thyself", and the connection with the love within us.

3. Incorporation. Bringing your purpose or vision back to your life and community to make the world a better place.

Vision Quest is done with sacredness. One learns to hear from the heart the message that nature has for the individual quester. Each quester goes out for different purpose or intent such as: Why am I here? What is my purpose? How may I serve my people best? How can I find meaning in my life? I long to feel connected and loved and how do I achieve this? How do I find joy in my life? How do I hear God? How do I get rid of this pain in my heart?

Vision Quest is the process of finding the meaning of life in a supportive, loving way. There are many paths we can walk in life, but the path that leads us "home", the one that matters most is that of our spiritual path. This path of the Spiritual Warrior is where we live our purpose/passion in a "good" way; where we speak the divine truth, create love with our hearts and build sacred pathways with each footstep in joy and love for all. Vision Quest is and has been the pathway for all the masters - Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, to reconnect and come home to the Spirit that lives in all us.

Yandara Nature Quest Format - A brief overview

The format for the solo nature meditation covers a total of approximately 8 days. Your training will start Yandara beachfront facility (we provide the accommodations).

The first 4 days,Feb. 25th thru to the afternoon of Feb. 28th, we will cover safety, developing meditation, yoga, Chinese yoga Qi gong, and Tai Chi practice. You will enjoy hikes and swimming, creating a safe space through building community and bonding through satya,(group sharing).

We will go over the physical details of living in nature. All vegetarian meals will be provided during your entire 8 days. Packed meals will be provided for participants during the solo time. It is recommended that you eat less and/or fast during the solo time.

Late afternoon on 28th questers will be taken to the foothills of the mountains near Yandara and hike to secluded pristine camping spots with small pools nearby. Each person will determine their solo site and be with self for 3 days. Guides will remain close by in the base camp during this time holding the sacred space spiritually and to be nearby for support if needed. Questers will return to base camp Mar. 2nd at noon.That afternoon and evening each quester will have the time to tell the story of their passage experience. The guides and other questers will sit in council to hear and witness this story. The next morning we will continue to be in community and learn integration practices. The final morning we will pack up and return to the next part of our journey. Ongoing support to questers is made available through correspondence or personal consultation.

What to Bring:

• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad (Thermorest recommended)
• Small tent
• Watch
• Toiletries and towels
• Writing materials
• Headlamp/Flashlight
• Alarm clock
• Swimsuit
• Sun hat
• Layers of comfortable clothing.
• Comfortable shoes for walking

Note: The yoga school is a smoke free environment. No drugs or alcohol allowed for the entire duration of the program, including days off.

Recommended reading prior to taking a vision quest is:

Book Of Vision Quest by Steven Foster (1989)

The Vision: The Dramatic True Story of One Man's Search for Enlightenment (Religion and Spirituality) by Tom Brown Jr.  (1988)

What is a vision quest?

It is a period of solitude in which we seek an inner revelation -- a "vision" -- which grants profound meaning and direction to our life. This initiation leads to maturity and an understanding of our responsibility to ourselves, our society, our natural environment, and our soul.

The benefits from a vision quest:

1. The vision itself. It gives our life a new significance, course, and mission.
   
2. Confidence. If we emerge from the wilderness alive and healthy, we feel more certain of our abilities and our strength, because we have survived raw nature and our own imagined limitations. We did alone, but we also discovered additional sources of power from beyond us.
   
3. Stronger connections. We enhance our link to nature, humanity, and spirit.
   
4. Appreciation of life. We cherish it more intensely, after facing possible dangers and death in the wilderness. Our temporary deprivals also increase our appreciation of our friends, our food, and our material comforts.
   
5. The realization that we have our own source of wisdom. The vision comes to us directly, intimately -- without books, churches, or religious teachers.

The vision quest has been used for centuries. It is associated primarily with Native Americans, but it has been practiced throughout the world. As an expression of the archetypal "Heroic Journey," the vision quest has been enacted in religious pilgrimages, mythological tales (including the story of the search for the Holy Grail), and our own daily pursuit of truth and purpose. Today, there are companies which sponsor vision quests; they provide a wilderness area in which it is to occur, and they give instructions and guidance before and after the event.

We prepare for a vision quest. We ready ourselves in the ways which are prescribed by tradition, texts on the subject, and the counseling which is given by a teacher. The vision quest will challenge us spiritually, psychologically, and physically:

1. Physical preparation includes fitness conditioning (for the hiking and other physiological stresses, lessons in first aid and camping skills, the procurement of gear (e.g., tent, sleeping bag, warm clothing).
   
2. Psychological preparation includes strengthening and balancing of ourselves in anticipation of the possible psychological shock and disorientation which could happen when the vision quest gives us a new direction and foundation in life, and new values, and a redefining of our identity, and a new connection to the mystical and mythological aspects of life. We review our past, and our reasons for wanting the vision quest, and our expectations for the changes which might transpire, and our plans and hopes for the future.
   
3. Spiritual preparation might include meditation, prayer, journaling the reading of inspirational books -- and a study of the vision quest's significance, archetypal undertones, and history.

We go into the wilderness to start our vision quest. During the two to four days of the vision quest, we encounter these experiences:

1. Solitude. We are separated from our usual environment, habits, social roles, mass media, technology, creature comforts, books, religious teachers, friends and foes, and other distractions. We are alone with our thoughts, our spirit, and our soul. However, because of the possible dangers in the wilderness, some participants work in a pair -- never seeing the other person during this time, but going to a common site once a day (synchronizing our visit so that we won't be there at the same time), to leave a marker which indicates that we are still alive and well.
   
2. A relationship with nature. We are immersed in nature -- not as a casual visitor but as an organic part of the process, no different from the countless other vision questers from ancient times, and little different from the other living beings around us. As the quest continues, we sense a deepening awareness of nature: we realize that nature has a numinous beauty which we notice only when we stop to contemplate with it; it is our home; it is breathtakingly honest in both its nurturing and its terrorizing; it is a holy cathedral; it lives and breathes (even through the rocks and the planet itself); it is our mother and father; it is vibrant with mysterious power, energies, rhythms, cycles, archetypes, and beings (e.g., "nature spirits").
   
3. Fasting. We fast to purify our body of its toxins, and to disengage from the earthbound heaviness which is engendered by a stuffed belly, and to disrupt our mindless habit of eating according to schedule and routine. Instead, we find a new understanding of the body's needs and patterns. During the fast, the belly's emptiness symbolizes the emptiness of a spirit which is waiting to be filled.
   
4. Spiritual practices. We can use meditation and prayer, singing and chanting, rituals and dancing, ceremonial bathing (to cleanse ourselves physically and spiritually), religious alters and fires and "power objects," dreams and visions, contemplation on the meaning of surrender and life, the search for a "power spot" where we will sit and sleep, and the inner search for a vision.

Death and rebirth. Spiritually we prepare ourselves for a symbolic death and rebirth; our old self dies, and we await renewal through the birth of a new self. As in physical death, we confront our fears, our self-concepts, and our attachments. The vision occurs. It does not have be a literal vision -- something which we would see with physical eyes or "inner eyes." It is more likely to be an intuitive revelation, perhaps triggered by a dream, or a thought, or simply an inexplicable gift of knowingness from spirit. The vision might occur when we are meditating, or walking, or listening to a bird's call, or watching clouds, or sitting in wordless observance of the living vitality which is flowing through us.

As a result of this vision, we discern our purpose, our life's work, our future, our deeper identity. In some cultures, the vision gives us a new name which expresses our new sense of self. We return to civilization. Despite the wonders which we have experienced in the wilderness, we cannot remain here. This has been only a "rite of passage," to prepare us for our larger duties, back in the world of people and service.

Indeed, our people expect us to bring back something to share with them; some of the vision is for us alone, but some is meant to enrich others. In traditional vision quests (and in those which are sponsored commercially), our solitude does not end abruptly with a return to civilization. Instead, we go to our base camp to meet counselors and fellow questers, with whom we discuss our experiences, our awakenings, and the ways in which we can incorporate our new wisdom into everyday life. We gradually re-adjust ourselves to "the real world" with conversation, a meal (to end our fast), and the long drive back to our homes.

In the subsequent days, we contemplate the memories and insights from our experience, and we try to express them as a part of this new person. Occasionally we can return to the wilderness, so that we can refresh our connection to nature, and to the sacred memories of our vision quest, and to a source of wisdom which will teach us even more.