There are 2 required textbooks:

 

Anatomy and Asana – Preventing Yoga Injuries           
The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice           

 

Recommended reading:

 

Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope

 

Techniques:

 

  • Asana – history, philosophy, psychology and alignment

  • Pranayama – theory and practice of a number of different techniques

  • Meditation – theory and practice of a number of different techniques

  • Bandhas – application to pranayama and asana

  • Kriya – cleansing practices

 

Anatomy & Physiology:

 

  • Western approach – musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive, circulatory, and nervous systems

  • Eastern approach – chakras, nadis, 5 koshas, 3 bodies

 

Philosophy & Ethics:

 

  • History of Yoga

  • Benefits of Yoga

  • Paths of Yoga – bhakti, karma, jnana, raja, tantra

  • Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

  • The spiritual path

 

Other Topics:

 

  • Chanting/Mantra

  • Introduction to Sanskrit

  • Common injuries – treatment and prevention

  • Spiritual/Yogic texts – intro to the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Vedas, Puranas

by Susi Hately-Aldous

by T.K.V. Desikachar