Bound to Flourish
100hr Yoga Immersion Study Programme
Yoga Philosophy Syllabus
with Maitreya Larios
Module 1
Module 2/3
Module 4/5
Module 6
- What is Yoga? – The Yoga Kaleidoscope an Introduction to Yoga History, Theory, and Practice
- Common (mis)conceptions – Overview of definitions from different scriptures and time periods
- Yoga beyond āsana
- What is yoga for you? Developing studentship (brahmācarya and svādhyāya)
- Sensible issues around the practice of yoga, and how can we all be more self-reflective and conscious of our practice and honor the teachings
Module 2/3
- The Early History of Yoga / Part 1
- Origins of Haṭha Yoga
- Chronology in broad strokes: Vedas, Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, ascetic practices and Tantra/Śaivism
- Tantra and Medieval Haṭhayoga / Nāth Yogīs and other ascetic traditions
- Householder yogīs and yoginīs
- An ocean of wisdom: overview of the textual traditions of yoga including the basics on major yogic texts Yogasūtras, Bhagavadgītā, Upaniṣads, Haṭhapradīpikā,
- How do we read, study and practice scriptural texts. (Yogasūtras of Patañjali and Jñāneśvar's Gītā as our texts) Self-Reflection Tools on assimilating the teachings on texts and relationship/embodiment of Haṭha Yoga Practice
Module 4/5
- The Yogasūtra of Patañjali / The Stilling of the Mind
- Overview of the the text: a brief history of the text and its prominence in the Yoga world today
- Who was the Yogasūtra written for? Who was Patañjali? Historical figure? Semi-divine serpent? Recent debates over the authorship of the Yogasūtra
- The relationship between Yoga and Sāṅkhya philosophy (tattvas and three guṇas)
- The Yogasūtra relation to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism
- Philosophical dualism vs non-dualism
- The nature and cause of human suffering
- The nature and psychology of the human mind
- Aṣṭāṅgayoga, the “The Eight Auxiliaries of Yoga”
- Yoga ethics: the Yamas and Niyamas
- The role of Āsana or Posture within Classical Yoga
- The function of Prāṇāyāma
- The centrality of meditation and concentration practice: Samādhi and Kaivalya
- How does the Yogasūtra relate to modern yoga practice?
- How can I study this scripture further and incorporate it into my practice?
Module 6
- The Bhagavadgītā and the Jñāneśvarī / The Soundtrack of our lives
- Overview of the the text: a brief history of the text and its importance as a spiritual text
- The context: The Bhagavadgītā within the Mahābhārata
- The conversation: saṃvāda The meaning of Dharma, Karma and Saṃsāra The different yogas in the Bhagavadgītā
- The commentaries and different traditions of interpretation
- Karmayoga, the Yoga of Action, Jñānayoga, Yoga of Knowledge, Bhaktiyoga, the Devotion
- The Jñāneśvarī and his author in medieval Maharashtra
- The relationship between Sāṅkhya, Yoga, and Vedānta
- Kṛṣna and the nature of God