Annual Retreat: The ashram style 2-week retreat presents all aspects of yoga and meditation in a spiritually inspiring context at a choice of retreat locations. Retreats are centered on satsanga (company of like-minded people) and meditation with Swami Veda, and include a comprehensive roster of classes in hatha yoga, pranayama, meditation and other facets of yoga science and philosophy with a highly qualified teaching staff.
Home Study and practical application in everyday life: Integrates yoga philosophy and practice into everyday life. The extensive home study and mentor system assists, guides and inspires students in their personal sadhana.
Web Support: The student's progression through the home study is managed interactively and supported by an active discussion board. The discussion board is utilized by students and mentors worldwide and monitored by senior teachers.
Student Library: An extensive library of Home Study assignments, Audio Lectures (MP3), transcripts of Swami Veda's Lectures, Booklets, and Articles is available to all registered students through the members-only web site.
Virtual Satsanga: Whether you are a student in Texas or Budapest, you are able to meet and connect with like-minded students, mentors, and teachers through our members-only
Practice teaching: Students work with mentors to develop and refine teaching skills. By the completion of the 600 Hour Level One and/or the completion of the 200 Hour program, students plan and teach classes locally.
Local Study: Credit hours are given for ongoing study with local teachers.
Mentoring: Each student chooses a yoga teacher for their mentor and keeps in touch with them for ongoing guidance, encouragement and inspiration.
Foundation: The lineages of Rishis and role of the teacher in the Himalayan Tradition.
Sadhana: The Five Pillars of Sadhana, sacredness of spiritual practice, influence of Eastern spirituality on the West, and spiritual integration: the highest purpose of life.
Asana: Asana as meditation, Joints and Glands Exercises, cleansing, anatomy and physiology, subtle body awareness.
Pranayama: The subtleties of breathing as the integrative link between body and mind, gross and subtle body. Underlying principles of pranayama in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as well as mudras and bandhas.
Meditation: Systems of meditation, science of mantra, chakra concentrations, purifying the personality, five koshas, advanced shavasana techniques, and yoga-nidra.
Yoga Anatomy & Physiology: The importance of the anatomy, physiology and biomechanics of the muscular-skeletal, respiratory, and other systems of the body as it relates to the energetic (pranic) component of the joints and glands exercises and asanas.
Holistic Health & Biofeedback: Awareness of habit patterns, the affect of meditation on one's well-being, journal-keeping, conscious eating, transition to a balanced lifestyle and the uses of modern science such as biofeedback in measuring associated states of body, mind and consciousness.
Psychology: Eastern and Western approaches to the mind and personality, purifying emotions, karma and reincarnation, and yoga psychology in daily life. Also discovering and applying Yoga as a therapeutic modality in one's life.
Philosophy: Patanjali's Yoga-sutras, philosophy of hatha yoga and Raja Yoga, developing a personal philosophy of life, the Bhagavad Gita and principle Upanishads.
Teaching Methodology: Practical applications of course planning, preparing the physical classroom environment, basic attitudes (e.g. ahimsa) in the teaching of yoga.
Student Progression: The program is designed to support the student's progress through three levels of deepening sadhana.
