Highlights

	1 Minute From The Beach
	Become an Internationally Certified Yoga Teacher SchoolYoga is Registered with Yoga Alliance and you can register as RYT-200 upon completion of the program.
	Learn to teach Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga

Join us for this increadible training on the Sun Island, Bolivia

This Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Course (AYTTC) offers participants a precious opportunity to learn from the wisdom and gifts of several spiritually adept individuals in a small, intimate study environment. The individuals we will work with have been inspired to channel and share their profound connection with the creative energy of the universe. Vedantin has visited this magical place is eager to share this mystical and sacred indigenous Aymara location with you.

The journey to the Sun Island in Bolivia will take us deep into the lives of Aymaya indigenous people in the biggest and the highest lake in South America, Lago Titicaca. According to ancient medicine elders, Lago Titicaca will be the energy center of the earth for the next 13,000 years. Here we will live in a village where Aymara families still practice their traditional way of life and healing along the shore of the pristine lake with a stunning view of the snow-capped, sacred Cordillera mountain range. We will work with Aymara medicine elders who will share their wisdom of the earth and teach us how to create harmony with our world and how to heal ourselves and others.

Although we are calling this program Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, we could just as accurately call it Mystical Yoga Teacher Training. In this month-long intensive course, we will deepen our personal practice and share our connection to yoga and the energy of the universal through an experiential and spiritually-rich curriculum, including:

• Provoking cosmic wisdom seminars
• Topic-specific yoga workshops
• Guided self-practices
• Energetic healing arts practice
• Silent and fasting personal retreats

There are many great wisdom teachers joining us for this special course, including local mystical and metaphysical teacher, Roger, and local shamanic healing elder, Angel. Although these teachers will be invaluable to us, the most important aspect of this AYTTC will be connecting to the wisdom of your own inner guru through deep self-practice and inquiry. The community of teachers and learners that we create together will help us facilitate this process of channeling the universal wisdom of the creative self.

The Soul of SchoolYoga Institute

SchoolYoga Institute is an extended family of yoga teachers and practitioners who have deeply experienced the wisdom of yoga and who feel inspired to share that wisdom with others. We believe yoga transcends physical practice and is ultimately a vehicle for spiritual insight. Our contemporary and eclectic approach brings to life the ancient teachings of yoga through accessible spiritual lessons drawing from many traditions.

A Registered Yoga School with Yoga Alliance at the 200-hour and 500-hour levels, SchoolYoga Institute offers month-long intensive Yoga Teacher Training Courses (YTTCs) at sacred sites around the globe and semester-long YTTCs in California and New Hampshire. The soul of SYI is our mission to spread the beauty and wisdom of yoga as a spiritual and energetic, as well as physical, practice.

Intended Audience

This AYTTC is designed for prospective participants who fit any of the following criteria:

• Individuals who have earned their RYT-200 or 500 through SchoolYoga Institute.
• Individuals who have earned their RYT-200 or 500 through other traditions (please provide a copy of your RYT card or certification via email).
• Individuals who have a long-standing yoga practice and who are interested in exploring the deeper practice of yoga incorporated with healing arts.
• Individuals who are interested in becoming yoga teacher training facilitators through SchoolYoga Institute (SYI 800 or 1000).

Maximum number of participants: 10

Content

AYTTC Guatemala curriculum consists of the following five elements:

1) Topic-Specific Yoga Workshops

• Sadhana Yoga (Sadhana Hatha Flow, Sadhana Vinyasa Flow, Shamanic Healing yoga, Restorative yoga, Gentle yoga, and Element Yoga) – modifications, variations, and integration into personal practice.
• Art of Touching (adjustments)
• Art of Teaching
• Pranayama
• Meditation
• Kriyas

2) Ancient Wisdom Semimar–We will discuss the following texts and topics:

• Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of Discrimination
• Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra
• Bhagavadgita
• Upanishads
• Shamanic Healing
• Tantric yoga philosophy
• Mayan Prophecy 2012
• Ayuveda

3) Shamanic Healing Arts–We will learn about and synthesize practices from the shamanic practices of the Andes:

• Ceremonies with local shamans at sacred site
• Coca leaf divination
• Shamanic journeying
• Medicine bundle work
• Energetic healing

4) Guided Self-Sadhana–Every morning we will engage in the following practices:

• Pranayama
• Meditation
• Self-energy healing
• Self-guided Asana practice (choose your favorite location along the lake to deepen your own practice while connecting to the Mayan prophecy).

5) Satsang¬–Every evening we come together to reflect on our daily Sadhana practice and surrender to our lovely day.

Yoga Style– Sadhana Yoga

SchoolYoga Institute teaches Sadhana yoga, a spiritually grounded practice. We believe yoga transcends physical practice and is ultimately a vehicle for spiritual insight.

Sadhana yoga draws primarily from the following traditions:

• Ashtanga yoga
• Sivananda yoga
  

Sadhana yoga’s secondary influences include:

• Iyengar yoga
• Anasura yoga
• Integral yoga
• Kundalini yoga
• Shamanic healing
• Energetic healing arts such as Reiki, Tai Chi, and Chiqong.
  

Sadhana Yoga has three levels:

1. Foundation–Level I consists of learning a foundational Flow sequence (Sadhana Hatha Flow and/or Sadhana Vinaya Flow), including breath-connected transitions as well as the fundamental postures of the sequence.
2. Modification–Level II consists of modifying existing postures to more difficult or easier levels based on students’ individual experience of the postures.
3. Integration–At Level III, students start integrating their own personal practice into the foundational Flow. In this way, personal practice and teaching become meaningful pertinent to students’ understanding of yoga.

Shamanic Healing Yoga

Our daily yoga practice will focus on Shamanic Healing and teaching. Shamanic Healing Yoga is an integrative spiritual practice that brings the beauty and light of two ancient practices, Yoga and Shamanic Medicine, onto an experiential level for all to cherish. It uses the principles of Sadhana yoga as a foundation and vehicle to explore the teachings and healing practices of the medicine Shamans in the high Andes. Through Yoga, we bring our awareness into the body and from the body we experience the serenity and tranquility beyond the body. Through Shamanic healing, we channel our power to heal the past, shadows, and samskaras that keep haunting us.

In our Shamanic Healing Yoga practice, we will move through a Sadhana Yoga sequence integrated with Shamanic Healing tradition. The practice begins with an invocation of the power of energetic healing, followed by an asana series, and ends with journeying into the underworld to retrieve our lost souls. The series of poses is designed to help us experience the medicine wheel and its corresponding power animals in the following four directions:

• The Wind of the South, the Serpent, leads us to shed our shadows and the past.
• The Wind of the West, the Jaguar, shows us how to transform darkness into light.
• The Wind of the North, the Hummingbird, guides us on a journey of sweetness and joy.
• The Wind of the East, the Eagle, flies us above the mountains and clouds to teach us to see the world as it is.

Through this practice, we will explore the healing power of yoga and shamanic medicine.

After we practice Shamanic Healing Yoga, each component will be dissected and discussed so the principles and intricacies of this ancient healing art can be fully understood and experienced. The participants will not only experience the healing for themselves through the practice but will also learn many new tools that can be integrated into our yoga teaching and daily living.

Requirements beyond the program in Bolivia (100 hours self study)

In order to complete 300 hours of training, AYTTC Guatemala requires that you do an additional 100 hours (total) before and after the program.

Before the Program:

1. Asana–Practice Sadhana Hatha Flow and Sadhana Vinyasa Flow 10 times before starting the training (both sequences can be found on our online site). We will not do the basic instruction on the Flows, so it is important that you familiarize yourself with the sequences independently. Make sure to document your practice.
2. Yoga Anatomy/Physiology–Study Yoga Anatomy/Physiology from our recorded lectures and respond to the questions (video clips and questions can be found on our online site).
3. Yoga Sutras–Study the Yoga Sutras from our recorded lectures and respond to the questions (video clips and questions can be found on our online site).
4. Read the following texts and prepare outlines and questions for seminar discussions:
   • Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of Discrimination by Swami Prabhavanda and Christopher Isherwood
   • Tantric Yoga by Douglas Brook or other text
   • Bhagavadgita by Douglas Brooks
   • Upanishads
   • Serpent of Light Beyond 2012 –the Movement of Earth Kundalini Energy and the Rise of Female Energy by Drunvalo Melchizedek
   • Texts on Mayan Prophecy 2012
   • Texts on Ayurveda

All work should be submitted to us electronically before your arrival.

After the Program:

1. Teaching–Teach 10 yoga classes and write reflections of them after complete the course.
2. Spiritual Reflection–Read a spiritual book and write a written reflection on it.

All work should be submitted to us electronically after the program.

Required Texts

• SchoolYoga Institute Yoga Teacher Training Manual (download here)
• Yoga Sutra by Dennis Hill
• Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of Discrimination by Swami Prabhavanda and Christopher Isherwood
• Tantric Yoga by Douglas Brook or other text
• Bhagavadgita by Douglas Brooks
• Upanishads
• Serpent of Light Beyond 2012 –the Movement of Earth Kundalini Energy and the Rise of Female Energy by Drunvalo Melchizedek
• Texts on Mayan Prophecy 2012
• Texts on Ayurveda

Daily schedule

6:00-9:00 Guided self-practice (Meditation, Pranayama, Energy healing, Asana)
9:00-10:00 Breakfast
10:00-11:00 Yoga and Spiritual Seminars
11:00-12:00 Energetic Healing and Practice
1:00-2:00 Lunch (keep to a light meal)
2:00-5:00 Yoga Topic Specific Workshops
5:00-6:30 Meditation and journeying
6:30-8:00 Dinner
8:00-9:00 Satsang (kirtan and reflection)

Instructors

Shankara

Additional teachings from local shamans, Angel and Roger.

Registration and Payment

Food and lodging

You will need $400 for the entire training. Lodging on the island is very basic and local food is simple, as well. If you want us to make arrangement for you, we will glad to do so. Vedantin and other facilitators will be staying at the Templo de la Yoga. It is the nicest and most convenient place to stay. If you would like to make meal arrangement through us, we would also be glad to help you.

How to Get to Yoga Training Site in Bolivia

Option 1:
Fly to Lima and then to Cuzco, Peru. From Cuzco, take the bus overnight to Copacabana, Bolivia. Take a boat to the north part of the Sun Island (Challabamba, Isla del Sol. If you do not speak Spanish, make sure to print out this direction). When you arrive at Challabamba, turn left after the dock and in a ½ block you will see Posada de Lucio (phone: (591) 719 48787) with a circular building in the front.

Option 2:
Fly to La Paz, Bolivia. From La Paz, take a bus to Copacabana. The rest is the same as the above. Flying to La Paz is a bit more expensive but the bus ride to Copacabana is shorter.

Bus
The overnight bus from Cuzco, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia (departs Cusco at 10 pm and arrives in Copa. at 9:30 am) costs 60-85 Soles ($20-30). Make sure to buy the first class ticket so you can stretch out and have a great sleep. Bring your sleeping bag with you–it’s cold at night. If you need us to buy your ticket and/or have someone pick you up at the airport, we may be able to arrange that for you. We will let you know how much it will cost. Otherwise, you can take a taxi direct to bus station from airport and buy a ticket right there or through a travel agency in town or at the airport.
The bus from Copacabana, Bolivia back to Cusco, Peru runs daily at 9:30 am and costs 120 Bolivianos ($20-$30).
The bus from Copacabana to La Paz (duration: 3-4 hours) leaves every ½ hour each day and costs 17-25 Bolivianos (approximately $3).

Boat
A public boat will take you from Copacabana across Lake Titicaca (Lago Titicaca)
to the North of the Sun Island (Challabamba, Isla del Sol) for 15 -20 Bolivianos ($2-$3). The boat runs at 8:30 am each day (duration: 2 hours). On Wednesday there is also a local boat at 1 pm. Boats return from the Sun Island to Copacobana at 1:30 pm each day (duration: 4 hours). On Wednesday the returning boat leaves at 8 am.

If you miss the public boat, you can hire a private boat to take you to the island for $20-$40 total. Make sure to negotiate with the boat driver and find other tourists wanting to make the same trip so you can split the boat fare with each other.

Money
ATM Access
You can access an ATM in Cuzco, Peru and La Paz, Bolivia. There are no ATMs in Copacabana, Bolivia, but if you have American dollars in cash, it is possible to exchange them for Bolivianos (Bolivian currency) in all three cities.

Debit cards
Make sure to contact your bank before you leave the country regarding your travel dates so you can access money from your bank. We do not recommend travelers checks, as they are not accepted everywhere in Peru and Bolivia.

Exchange rates
Approximate Exchange rates are as follows:
• $1 = 7 Bolivianos
• $1 = 3 Soles (Peru)

Wiring money
You can wire money to Cuzco using Western Union. The address is as follows:
Cuzco Calle Maruri 310, Cuzco, Peru
Telephone: 24-4972
Email: www.dineroaperu.com.pe

Questions and More Information

Email info@schoolyogainstitute.com   or call 888-964-2123

Please see our Reservatin and Cancelation Policy

Sun Island, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

Photos