Meditation and Pranayama

Total Hours: 270

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A Comprehensive Course in Meditation and Pranayama

This course has been designed to provide both the underpinning knowledge and the experience necessary for you to be able to effectively practice and/or teach pranayama and meditation, but more importantly for you to explore your inner potential.

This course starts at the very beginning and assumes no prior knowledge or experience. Over three modules, the practices are incrementally built up to an intermediate, and in some cases, an advanced level.

This course is the most comprehensive in its field available in Australia today. The course has been developed by David Burgess, longstanding IYTA Lecturer who lectures on these subjects in the IYTA Diploma of Yoga Teacher Training. David has been teaching and practicing yoga and meditation for over 40 years and is one of the most respected teachers in Australia.

Course Content:

This course starts at the very beginning and assumes no prior knowledge or experience. Over three modules, the practices are incrementally built up to an intermediate, and some cases, an advanced level.

In the first section of the course the emphasis is on breath control, breath expansion and sustained steadiness in meditation. This is 14 weeks and worth 28 CPD points.
In the second section the emphasis is on the classical balancing and tranquilising breathing practices and a number of meditation techniques: Mantra (various forms of Japa), Drishti (gazing) – Trataka and Akasha. This is 15 weeks and 30 CPD points.
In the final course, come the more advanced vitalising pranayamas such as Bhastrika and Kapalbhati and the more challenging meditation techniques of Ajapa Japa and Antar Mouna. This is 16 weeks and 32 CPD points.

For those of you who are already experienced practitioners going back to the beginning can be a wonderful thing, as it is surprising how over time we get stuck in a rut of old ways and have often lost our “beginners mind”. While many of you will be familiar with many of these practices, for one reason or another, few of you may have gone to the higher end of these practices in a systematic, informed and sustained way. To do so with the guidance of a highly experienced teacher is a rare and valuable opportunity.

Course structure:

This course is broken into 3 modules. It is delivered online through the IYTA training site and can be commenced at anytime throughout the year. For each tranche, there are four hours of quality video taken from the IYTA Diploma of Yoga Teaching that correspond with the practices. There are designated practices for each week, along with recommended related readings and online self-assessing quizzes.

Your commitment:

Every week there is a specific schedule of pranayama and meditation home practice to do and a sequential guide to instruction for each practice. There will also be some set readings on the underpinning theory.

Estimated time required: 30 mins a day of practice for 4 days a week (minimum) and no more than 2 hours of reading and writing each week.

Successful completion for the initial module is a pre-requisite for enrolment in the following module. You will be given reading relevant to that week’s practices and more often than not, a short online quiz, while not compulsory it is available for you there to complete. This will enable you to confirm your understanding of the purpose and technique of the designated practices.

To successfully complete each module, you will need to keep a practice journal showing evidence of your regular practice of the prescribed techniques for each week. This requires you to practice the designated practices for that particular week, a minimum of 4 times per week. Your journal will need to be submitted twice for the first module, and just once each for the subsequent modules.. This is so that you can receive detailed feedback from David.

Each module of this course takes 3 months to complete if you work through it on a weekly basis. As we understand that life issues can come up and disrupt your practice, or you may just need a break, you have 6 months in which to work through each module. After 6 months your access to Moodle will be suspended unless you have contacted David or the Course Manager to request an extension. We are here to help you work through the course and for it to be a positive addition to your life, we will endeavour to assist you in any way we can for the duration of your time on the course and are readily available to discuss any questions you have about your practice or the course.

For more detailed information about the course and to get an idea of the commitment required, please read this interview with David HERE

Details of Training Levels

Level 1 - Foundations of Meditation and Pranayama

Instructor: David Burgess

This 14 week Level 1 course starts at the very beginning and assumes no prior knowledge or experience. For the first part of the course the emphasis is on breath control, breath expansion and sustained steadiness in meditation.

Required textbooks are:

Prana and Pranayama by Swami Niranjananda
Meditations from the Tantras by Swami Satyananda

CPDs gained 28

Level 2 - Meditation and Pranayama

Instructor: David Burgess

Completion of Level 1 is required before commencing Level 2

This 15 week Level 2 of the course has an emphasis on the classical balancing and tranquilising breathing practices and a number of meditation techniques: Mantra (various forms of Japa), Drishti (gazing) – Trataka and Akasha.

CPD 30

Level 3 - Meditation and Pranayama

Instructor: David Burgess

Completion of both Level 1 and Level 2 is required before commencing Level 3

The 16 week Level 3 course has the more advanced vitalising pranayamas such as Bhastrika and Kapalbhati and the more challenging meditation techniques of Ajapa Japa and Antar Mouna.

CPD 32

As a Graduate you will:

Have the knowledge and experience to conduct dedicated meditation and pranayama classes.
Deepen your personal practice of meditation and pranayama, whether you are currently teaching yoga or not.
If you are currently a Yoga Teacher, it will help you to systematically teach these practices and integrate them into your yoga class appropriately.
If you are an existing Meditation teacher, it will help you to teach these practices from a significantly more informed and experienced position.
Have a greater sense of who you are and your purpose in life and the joy of enabling others to achieve this.

Note: If you would like to take this course with the intention of teaching meditation, we recommend that you should already have a yoga teaching qualification so that you have the knowledge and understanding of yogic philosophy, energy systems and asana that are covered in a yoga teacher training course in which to ground your teaching.

Testimonials:

“It was an excellent course. Other teaching training courses I have done have dabbled in pranayama and meditation but it has never been presented in such a systematic and thorough way so I felt my knowledge was quite limited and I didn’t feel very confident in teaching various techniques which is why I wanted to learn more and develop my own practice. I now feel way more confident and have a much better understanding of what works for me and feel excited about continuing with practice (albeit sad about finishing the course too!).

I also appreciate that David was so thorough and prompt with his feedback on the journals.”

Theresa – Completed all 3 modules

“I have finished module 1 and I find the course is wonderful. The pranayama techniques and meditation are explained well through the books and the video is detailed. It’s easy to follow the weekly activities and change perspective in life. Loved the course.

I would like to thank David Burgess for helping with queries and providing guidance and support when required.”

Kavita – Completed Module 1