The program is designed for people who enjoy practicing yoga and are interested in developing as yogis, or becoming more integrated. The Sanskrit root of the word yoga (yuj) means to join together. What is being joined or integrated? The mind and the body, the person and the world he lives in. Our sense of separateness, a profound source of discontent can be healed, as we learn how to stay present with the moment we are living. 

Whatever can be said or written about yoga are just words, and yoga is the experience. Yoga is something that is done with the body, but also with the mind, the breath, and the intention of the practitioner. Yoga is a physical practice of asana-s (poses) that incorporates meditation on the sensations of the body and on the quality of the breath. Asana practice prepares the body to fit for sitting meditation while at the same time training the mind to become able to sustain attention during meditation. 

Yoga also offers an approach to everyday living, with a practical philosophy guiding care of ourselves, relationships with others, and ways to minimize and even eliminate the thoughts and emotions that cause us unhappiness. 

First recorded over 2000 years ago, the Yoga Sutra-s, define yoga as the ability to calm the chaotic activity of the mind and in that experience of stillness to experience the inner essence of who we are, which is peace itself. The program will incorporate study of the Yoga Sutra-s as a practical guide to both meditation and living. 

Asana and pranayama establish the basics of personal practice. The program will cover how to do yoga postures most effectively for you own body and to create personal asana practices that are effective and safe. Students will earn how asana practice can ease aches and pains, as well as strengthen, limber and stabilize the body, making the body a reliable friend. The program will also teach pranayama, the yogic science of regulating the breath and regulate our physiology and vital energy creating a wholesome balance. 

Personal practice also incorporates meditation, reflection, and personal ritual. These practices are seldom taught in yoga classes, yet they are the very heart of the yoga of transformation. 

There will no more than 20 people in the program. This sangha or study group will provide mutual support and good company as you engage in the journey of self-discovery. The teaching will be multi-dimensional: you will learn from listening, moving, reading, verbalizing, seeing and creating. For those interested in teaching yoga, the program provides the foundational studies and are a pre-requisite for the yoga teacher training program offered at Breathing Time Yoga. 

The Art of Personal Practice is an opportunity for students to engage in self-study, learning how to observe yourself with equanimity. Yoga presents a path for personal transformation. Begin where you are. Set a direction. Take one step at a time.