Vajrayoga 300hr TT begins November 6, 2023!
Vajra Yoga 300hr Yoga Alliance Teacher Certification Course November 6, 2023-April 12th, 2024.
Deepen your understanding of Hatha & Classical Yoga, The 3 Vehicles of Buddhism & Comparative Indic Yoga Sciences, Hatha Yoga Asana, Pranayama, & Tibetan Healing Yoga Practices. Learn to teach yoga skillfully or just come to immerse yourself in your own practice and awakening.
Hosted in the combination of In-person gatherings and Online Teachings, both weekly livestreams/zoom & Pre-recorded on demand lectures, study material & quizzes to support your learning.
This is a Yoga Teacher Training that combines Hatha yoga & Vajrayana Buddhism and the Mahayana Path. Join us for this rare and wonderful offering.
Vajra Yoga explores the philosophical and experiential interface between Hatha Yoga and Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Vajra Yoga traditions. If you are looking for a Yoga Teacher Training course that is non-sectarian and brings in yoga & the meditative sciences from both traditions, this is the course. The journey is deeply educational and spiritually transformational while giving you the practical skills to support other students on their path.
Working with Vajrayana practices and Hatha yoga, we aim to support His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 4th aim to bring back the Indian Inner Sciences, “Adhyatma Vidya” and the teachings of yoga & Buddhism back to India supporting human beings’ inner awakening for happiness & freedom.
This course is a deeply contemplative & embodied investigation into the yogas of Vajrayana & Hatha Yoga practices with Michele Loew & professor Emeritus, Padma Shri Robert “Tenzin” Thurman. Tenzin Bob has curated this course and recorded extensive teachings for our students to study. He will be making guest appearances and Q&As during the course to clarify teachings.
The 300 hr course will run from November 6, 2023-April 12, 2024. Students can take the course entirely online, but attending the in-person course immersion events is highly recommended if your intention is to teach yoga or gather assistance in your personal practice.
This is a rare opportunity to study, in the context of a yoga training, with Professor Emeritus, Padma Shri Robert “Tenzin” Thurman—Vajracharya in the lineage of H. H. the Dalai Lama, world renowned scholar & authority on Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Science, Indic spirituality, and world philosophy. He will elucidate the Buddha’s teachings and offer inner scientific, philosophical, and spiritual inspiration for our yoga practices.
Michele Loew—in the Hatha yoga lineage of Krishnamacharya and a student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a Kalachakra and Tibetan Trulkhor yoga practitioner—has trained many yoga teachers in her long-established Yoga Alliance certification courses. Michele will utilize the deep investigation of yoga from a classical lineage perspective to build an intelligent foundation that can be applied to any style of yoga. The yoga practices will be built mindfully and progressively from the ground up with deep attention to physical and subtle body alignment. We will practice and learn to teach both the Hatha and Tibetan Yogas and learn to develop Intelligent Vajra Yoga Sequences grounded in a spirit of enlightenment.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
This course includes study and contemplation of traditional texts and practices from Indian and Tibetan traditions, including but not limited to:
The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali and selected Pali Suttas, such as the Samaññaphala.
Dr. Thurman will teach from the excellent Yoga Sutras translation by P.P. Gokhale supporting the connection between Buddhism and classical yoga.
The Mahasatipatthana, and the Aggañña Suttas
The Yoga Vasishta and the Vimalakirti and Flower Ornament Sutras
The Bhagavad Gita and the Lalitavistara Sutra
Shankaracharya’s Yogataravali and Shantideva’s Bodhisattvas Career
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Mañjushri-nama-samgiti
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Various works by Jey Tsong Khapa and the Dalai Lama on Deity Yoga and on the Inner Science of the Esoteric Community and the Kalachakra.
Learn alignment based Hatha yoga and Tibetan Yogas with Michele, and practice sharing these to deepen your understanding and gain the skills to teach if desired.
Upon successful completion of all videos, quizzes, & course assignments, students will receive a 300hr Yoga Alliance Certification, or if not currently holding a 200 hr, they will receive a 200 hr YA certification and 100 hrs of continuing education.
COURSE FORMAT
This Teacher Training program has 300 hrs of teachings combining two 7-day retreat intensives and 6 months of self-study, online material, complete with regular live-stream asana practices and live-stream Q+As with the teachers.
In Person Retreats at Menla:
November 6-13, 2023
March 21-27th, 2024
(in person at Menla room and board priced separately) This event will also be live-streamed, but in person attendance highly recommended.
Ongoing Weekly Zoom Philosophy sessions with on-demand replays with Robert Thurman Fridays 11am-1pm Eastern Standard time. Dates listed below.
Ongoing Weekly Vajra Yoga practice and meditations/ philosophy Sessions with Michele Loew 10am-11:45am and noon-1:30pm Eastern Standard Time. Dates listed below.
FALL/WINTER SEMESTER
November 6-January 19 (break 12-23 to 1-4)
Weekend Live Streams with Robert Thurman on Friday, and Michele Loew on Sundays. Self-Study via Teachable:
Lam Rim Teachings
Yoga Asana including Standing Poses / Core / Forward Folds
Tibetan NeJang Yoga
Pranayama
Meditation
Introducing the Philosophies of Yoga
Dualist and Non-Dualist
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Book of the Dead
WINTER/SPRING
January 26-April 12, 2024
Weekend Live Streams with Robert Thurman on Friday, and Michele Loew on Sundays. Self-Study via Teachable:
The Bhagavad Gita
Mahayana teachings
Compassion
Bodhicitta
Shantideva
Mantras
Basic Pranayama
Yoga Asana
Mirroring Subtle Body Fluency
Back Bends
Hip Joint / Spine Twists
Tantric Tsalung Trulkhor Yogas
Moving Inner Energies within the Subtle Body
Expansion into the Perfect Stages
Inner Fire, Tummo, Vajra Yoga sequences
Pranayama Practices Deepened
Yoga Asana: Inversions, Shoulders / Head / Neck
Kalachakra Yoga & Anuttara Yoga introduced.
Tuition options
1. $3800 for full 300 hr course - includes 6 months of livestreams & recorded material & In-Person Tuition for the Menla Retreats.
2. $2500 for full 300 hr course Online only-does not include Menla retreats.
Payment Plans Available
Robert Thurman
A recognized worldwide authority on mind science and spirituality, Asian history, philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and H. H. the Dalai Lama, Robert Thurman is an advocate of the relevance of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist sciences, arts, and practices in our daily lives. He is a leading voice for the value of reason, wisdom, peace and compassion. He was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans and has been profiled by The New York Times and People Magazine. He recently has been awarded the Padma Shri Award, the President of India’s fourth highest civilian honor for achievement in enriching Indian education and literature.
An author and Jey Tsong Khapa Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhology at Columbia University, Thurman lectures internationally at universities, companies, conferences and think-tanks. His many books include Inner Revolution, a ground-breaking history of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism and a call for an enlightened ethics and politics; The Central Philosophy of Tibet, on Buddhist science; Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, on Buddhist art; Essential Tibetan Buddhism, an anthology of key works of Tibetan authors; Infinite Life, a yogic commentary on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Career; and The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a study of the Tibetan science and art of dying and navigating the rebirth process; Why the Dalai Lama Matters, a win-win plan to solve China’s Tibet catastrophe; Man of Peace, a 300 page fully-illustrated graphic novel of the XIV Dalai Lama’s life and the true story of the invasion of Tibet; The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp, a study and translation of Tsong Khapa’s masterwork on the most advanced yogas for mastering the process of conscious evolution; and his latest, forthcoming, The Esoteric Community Tantra with its Illuminating Lamp Commentary, an introduction with translations to the unexcelled yoga tantras; and Buddha Bliss, a study of the eightfold path as an evolutionary core curriculum.
At the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Thurman co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Philip Glass, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan civilization. It maintains a lively museum and cultural center in New York city, affiliates with Tibet Houses in New Delhi and other national capitals around the world. In 2002 he founded Menla Retreat & Dewa Healing Spa in the Catskill Mountains to advance the practical wisdom and healing arts of Tibetan medicine traditions.
Working with the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, an international network of universities, and Indian Buddhist partners, he is currently engaged in establishing the Dharmachakra Buddhist Classics Translation Center in Andhra Pradesh, to complete the multi-generational task of translating from the Tibetan Tengyur the 5000+ originally Sanskrit works from India’s long lost “Library of Alexandria,” the Ratnodadhi Library of Nalanda University, into English and other modern Indian and world languages, creating a necessary database for the 21st century collaboration of the Indian and Tibetan Inner Sciences (adhyatmavidya) with modern, “outer,” materialist sciences.
Inspired by H. H. the Dalai Lama, Thurman's public presentations take a stand on Buddhism's open ground and thence transport audiences into an expanded vision of the world—the sweep of history, the subtleties of the inner science of the psyche, or the depths of the life of the heart. They help clear away shrouds of confusion and tend to evoke the cheerfulness of an enriched present, with the realistic hope for a peaceful future. To find out more about Bob, please visit www.bobthurman.com.
Michele Loew
Michele Loew is an international yoga teacher and the founder and director of The Yoga Space in Portland, Oregon. She is known as a teacher’s teacher and is respected for her 200 Hr & 500 Hr. Yoga Schools and her ability to combine Western knowledge of the body (Anatomy & physiology and modern kinesiology techniques) with the Eastern tradition of yoga.
She has studied and taught avidly since 1998, having studied extensively in the Iyengar and Ashtanga traditions as well as the Sri Vidya lineage. She is known for her keen observation skills and her ability to guide a student towards aligning the physical and energetic body through the use of expert hands on assists and intelligent verbal cues. She brings to her teaching a warm and engaging style that reflects her own internal understanding of the practice.
Michele is an avid student of Eastern & Western Philosophy and continues to study with her principal yoga teacher Richard Freeman with whom she has practiced with since 2000. She has been Richard’s assistant in his teacher trainings and workshops, and has a close understanding of his brilliant middle path teaching. She practices Tibetan Buddhism, and received several Kalachakra initiations with HH The Dalai Lama and practices Vajrayana as guided by her beloved teacher in Buddhism, Dr. Robert Thurman. She practices and teaches Niguma Yoga, having studied intimately with His Eminence the 2nd Kalu Rinpoche
Michele teaches regular classes and trainings in Portland, as well as retreats and workshops internationally. For more information on Michele please visit her website www.micheleloew.com & please follow on Instagram and Facebook.
