AYS Raleigh Student Development Track

WHAT, WHO, WHy

Join Lorie Bird for this 4-month immersion into the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga practice. We’ll study in depth: Primary series asana, pranayama, vinyasa count, yoga sutras, and more. These foundational concepts carry through to advanced series asana, making this course appropriate for any level of student, from beginner to advanced, including those practicing beyond Primary series. Teachers will find the material helpful to round out their Ashtanga knowledge and enhance their classes.

As students of Ashtanga yoga, we all need a little help staying engaged with practice at times. This course offers in-depth material to work with in your daily practice and beyond, as well as a community to keep you inspired, help you past that plateau and lighten the monotony of daily practice. We’ll meet regularly for a weekend workshop, where we can check in on progress, answer questions and support each other’s journey. By the end of the course, you’ll have a better understanding of the practice as a whole, and how it can be a transformational daily devotion.

Fill Out an Application

What’s Included:

4 weekends of workshops focusing on all the key aspects of Ashtanga practice in the context of the Primary Series. Topics include:
- Breakdown of postures in the Primary Series
- Pranayama
- Sanskrit and Vinyasa Counting
- Transitions in Primary Series
- Backbends
- Led Practices
- Theory Discussion & Sutra Study
- (see Workshop Schedule below)
Unlimited class pass for the duration of the Program (students expected to practice Ashtanga at least 3x/week throughout the program)
Reading and Journal assignment suggestions

TUITION:

$1200; Early Bird: $1000 if paid in full before Jaunuary 1st, 2025; Installments: 4 Auto-draft payments of $300.
If cost is an issue, contact me directly to discuss options :-)

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: (Descriptions and Details on the Events page)

January 27-28 Weekend Workshop: Ashtanga Foundations

Saturday January 27th: 7:30-9:30am Led Half Primary & Talk; 10am-12pm Intro to Ashtanga/History (5 elements of Ashtanga); 1-3pm Breaking Down Sun Salutations
Sunday January 28ty: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 11am-12pm Sutra Talk; 1-3pm Breaking Down Standing Postures

March 9-10 Weekend Workshop: Primary Series Part I - Strength & Flexibility

Saturday March 9th: 7:30-9:30am Led Primary & Talk; 10am-12pm Sanskrit & Vinyasa Counting; 1-3pm 1st Half Seated Postures
Sunday March 10th: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 11am-12pm Sutra Talk; 1-3pm The Train Wreck

April 20-21 Weekend Workshop: Primary Series Part 2 - Testing Limits

Saturday April 20th: 7:30-9:30am Led Practice & Talk; 10am-12pm Pranayama; 1-3pm 2nd Half Seated Postures
Sunday April 21st: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 11am-12pm Sutra Talk; 1-3pm Transitions

June 1-2 Workshops: Beyond Primary - Closing Out and Moving on

Saturday June 1st: 7:30-9:30am Led Practice & Talk; 10am-12pm Alternate Sequences; 1-3pm Inversions & Closing Sequence
Sunday June 2nd: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 11am-12pm Sutra Talk; 1-3pm Backbends

READING LIST Suggestions:

One Simple Thing (Eddie Stern)
Secrets of Yogic Breathing: Vayu Siddhi (David Garrigues)
The Yoga Sutras; any translation you like. I recommend: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Chip Hartranft); Yoga: Discipline of Freedom (Barbara Stoller Miller); The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sri Swami Satchidananda); Yoga Sutras for Ashtanga Students Online Course (David Garrigues)
Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa (David Garrigues)

AYS RALEIGH Teacher Training Track

WHAT, WHO, WHY

Teaching Ashtanga yoga is a special experience. It is traditionally taught in a “mysore style” format, allowing each individual student to receive personalized instruction at their own pace in the same space as others that may be at different points in their journey. The teacher’s responsibility is to support and guide each person, meeting them where they are. This requires a strong knowledge of the Ashtanga vinyasa yoga system, but also a strong understanding of how it can be adapted to the individual. A lot of that knowledge and understanding comes from being a student first, which is a large part of the AYSR Teacher Training program.

This Teacher Training course is for those who are interested in an even deeper understanding of the Ashtanga yoga system, and those interested in teaching Ashtanga yoga in the mysore or led class format. This will be a fast paced course so a commitment to regular practice and full participation in the workshops is required, as well as completion of assignments as given. This course includes 200 hours of instruction, and participants will receive a certificate of completion upon meeting the requirements. Yoga Alliance accreditation is pending.

Fill Out An Application

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

- Student Development Course (See Above)
- Unlimited class pass for the duration of the program (4 months)
- 3 additional weekend workshops dedicated to the art of teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Topics include: vinyasa count, anatomy, adjustments, the mysore method of teaching, and more
- 30 hour online anatomy course with David Keil
- Reading assignments
- Workbook assignments
- Opportunity to lead part of a Led Primary Series class
- Opportunity to observe/assist in a Mysore style class

TUITION:

$2100; Early Bird: $2000 if paid in full before Jaunuary 1st, 2024; Installments: 4 Auto-draft payments of $525.
If cost is an issue, contact me directly to discuss options :-)

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: (In addition to the SdC Workshops Above)

February 24-25 Teacher Training Weekend Workshops

Saturday February 24th: 8am-12pm Teacher Discussion & Practice
Sunday February 25th: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 10:30am-12:30pm Sutras Chapter 2; 1-4:30pm Anatomy Discussion

April 6-7 Teacher Training Weekend Workshops

Saturday April 6th: 8am-12pm Teacher Discussion & Practice

Sunday April 7th: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 10:30am-12:30pm Sutras Chapter 2; 1-4:30pm Anatomy Discussion

May 18-19 Teacher Training Weekend Workshops

Saturday May 8th: 8am-12pm Teacher Discussion & Practice

Sunday May 9th: 8:30-10:30am Mysore (Optional); 10:30am-12:30pm Sutras Chapter 2; 1-4:30pm Anatomy Discussion

Books Required to Purchase:

One Simple Thing (Eddie Stern)
Ashtanga Svadhyaya (Ross Stambaugh)
Functional Anatomy of Yoga (David Keil)
Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa (David Garrigues)
The Yoga Sutras; any translation you like. I recommend: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Chip Hartranft); Yoga: Discipline of Freedom (Barbara Stoller Miller); The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sri Swami Satchidananda); Yoga Sutras for Ashtanga Students Online Course (David Garrigues)
(Optional) Teaching Yoga with Verbal Cues (David Garrigues)
(Optional) Secrets of Yogic Breathing: Vayu Siddhi (David Garrigues)

Teacher Bios

Stacy Ingham - ERYT500

Stacy Ingham has been practicing Ashtanga since 1998, and teaching since 2004. She has found Ashtanga to be an anchor for her life, drawing inspiration and strength from the daily discipline and structure of practice. Taking on a practice like Ashtanga while raising a family and teaching has given Stacy a somewhat unique perspective on practice and life that she’s passionate about sharing with others. Striving to honor the traditions of the Ashtanga practice, and as a long-time “home practitioner”, Stacy has learned to be creative in how to balance practice with the challenges of finding inspiration, time and energy to get to her mat daily. She loves to share what her experience has taught her with others, in the hopes that they will benefit as much as she has from consistent, long term Ashtanga practice. Stacy has studied and practiced with many senior teachers in the Ashtanga tradition, including David Keil, Matthew Sweeney, David Williams, David Swenson, Annie Pace, and currently with David Garrigues (since 2011). She draws on all her 20+ years of experience to help each student achieve their highest potential, on and off the mat.

Lorie Bird - ERYT500/YACEP

Former Owner and Founder of New Bern Yoga, in New Bern, NC, Lorie has always been athletic, predominately running for the past 15 years. She initially added yoga as part of her marathon training. As her life shifted, so did her journey with yoga. A couple of years ago health issues turned her life upside down, but yoga was a constant that helped to keep her mind and body going.. She continued her practice and poured over everything yoga. As her passion continued to grow, she pursued studying Ashtanga Yoga in Thailand under Vari Morales through an intense immersive teacher training with All Yoga. There she learned all the history and philosophy associated with traditional Ashtanga.

She is passionate about Ashtanga-the quiet meditative movement, synchronized with the breath. Everyday her practice inspires her to be the best version of herself.

Lorie was also a teacher at Siva Om Global Yoga (https://sivaom.com) Aside from having a background in Physical Therapy, she is a Certified Running Coach with RRCA and has completed several additional trainings related to trauma.