Sadhana, Samyama, Samskara, Siddhi
Upcoming Dates:
2 November - 30 November 2022 | Wednesday evenings 18:30 - 21:30 UK
Online via Zoom
All too often, yoga philosophy can feel just as inaccessible as some of the more complex and gymnastic asana.
If you’ve tried tackling yoga philosophy, and it’s ended up feeling like you’re attempting a mental handstand, then this is the course for you.
At Nourish, everything we do is underpinned by our values: it has to be joyful, inclusive & person-centered. And now we’re bringing those values and our signature approach to help make yoga philosophy more accessible, inclusive and joyful for you!
In this course, we’ll be exploring the four concepts of sadhana (practice), samyama (integration), samskara (mental impressions) and siddhi (special powers). We’ll use the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali as a jumping off point for discussing these concepts in detail, drawing on a wide variety of traditions, texts, and times.
This is a course firmly grounded in practice and experience — along with talking about ideas, we’ll also find ways to explore these concepts in an embodied and practical way. So yes, there’ll be lectures and discussion, but there’ll also be meditation, pranayama and even some movement thrown in.
We’re thrilled to be bringing this course to you, and hope that you’ll find solace, inspiration and joy in what will be uncovered.
Course Outline
1. Welcome, Introduction (Harriet): In our first session, we’ll establish a foundation for the rest of the course, reviewing the context for yoga philosophy and the ideas in the Yoga Sutra, before briefly introducing each of the four concepts.
2. Sadhana (Simran): We’ll explore the idea of sadhana (spiritual practice), including its expression in the YS (kriyayoga and the Eight Limbs).
3. Samyama (Harriet): Samyama (integration) is usually thought of as the joining together of the final three limbs of Patanjali’s system: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption). We’ll explore each of these concepts in turn, developing a sense of what it might mean to practice and embody samyama.
4. Samskara (Barbora): The habits or “grooves” of our mind (samskara) are a key preoccupation of the YS, with much of its ideas around practice centering on how to gain insight and overcome these patterns. This week we’ll also consider the obstacles (kleshas) which block our path to insight.
5. Siddhi (Venetia): In our final session, we’ll turn our attention to the siddhis (special powers/attainments) which are said to result from practice. What would it mean to fly? To speak to animals? To see the depth and space of the solar system?
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for anyone interested in deepening their knowledge and understanding of systems of yoga philosophy and thinking. We welcome interested students, teacher trainees, and yoga teachers.
This module is offered as part of Nourish’s 300 hour teacher training, but can be taken by any teacher wishing to improve their skills in this area as Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The module will run as five weekly sessions of three hours, and combine theory, practice and skills development.
Nourish Yoga Training’s 300 hour Advanced Teacher Training is registered with Yoga Alliance (International), and is completed as a series of standalone modules which can be taken over 3 years. There are limited spaces available. If you are taking this course as CPD or part of our 300 hours, you are able to miss one session and a recorded session can be provided for the missed module only at no further cost.
Course Materials
You will be provided with a manual via PDF, with a copy of Book One of the Yoga Sutra. You will receive a further reading list, which is recommended, rather than required reading.
Pricing
We believe in the importance and value of this training, and would like to offer a scaled pricing system, which enables attendees to pay which tier feels most appropriate for them. Please note there are NO further discounts available (i.e. no student discounts, etc).
Community price £169
Standard price £199
Supporter price £229
About the facilitators
Harriet McAtee
is the founder and lead trainer of Nourish Yoga Training. Movement, yoga, and our minds have always fascinated her. From a young age, Harriet has nearly always been involved in some form of dance, martial art, gymnastics or sport. She found yoga as a thirteen year-old and it firmly secured its place in her heart. Harriet’s teaching emphasises empowering students to embrace and nourish their bodies and minds, with a focus on embodied movement, cultivating intuition and fun. She relishes the opportunity to make practice matter in everyday life through social justice & making yoga accessible and inclusive. Harriet is currently registered with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT® 500, YACEP®).
Simran Uppal
(they/them) is a yoga teacher, organiser, poet and theatremaker. They’ve been recognised internationally for their education work on race, queerness, colonialism and radical community building in yoga, and are currently the secretary of the newly formed Yoga Teachers’ Union UK, a branch of the grassroots-focused Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain. They’re also the founding director of Coriander Theatre, the UK’s first theatre company made entirely of queer people of colour, and, since graduating from Oxford, live in Hackney where they work for a local anti-poverty charity.
Barbora Sojkova
is a yoga teacher and academic, originally from Prague, Czech Republic. She is currently finishing her DPhil in Sanskrit at the University of Oxford with a research focused on animals, plants, and human-animal relationships in Vedic India. She is deeply interested in nature, environmental activism, and climate crisis. Barbora has been practicing yoga since she was 19 and trained as a teacher with Nourish in 2021. Owing to her background in Sanskrit, Indology, and Religious Studies, Barbora has always been interested in yoga history. Since 2016, she has been teaching history and philosophy of yoga in a number of teacher trainings in Prague.
Venetia Adamson
is a teacher and trainer who is currently completing her MA in traditions of Yoga and Meditation. Learning, inquiry and subtlety have all informed Venetia’s teaching. She believes a practice doesn’t have to be forceful to be effective, and after years of Ashtanga and athletics she found the quiet practice of yin and it has guided her work and studies ever since. She has taken training and workshops with Bernie Clark. As well as advanced training in TCM and Meridian theory with Josh Summers. Venetia is currently registered with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT® 500).