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Rolf Gate’s Training Program

Rolf Gate’s describes his training program:

“This program is a 200-hour Vinyasa Teacher Training. As such it will be a mentally, physically and emotionally challenging process designed to enable serious students to become inspired teachers. You will practice asana, meditation, and pranayama to the point of proficiency and beyond. Your knowledge of yoga theory will deepen to the point that it will become an aspect of the fabric of your life and of everything you do and say as a yoga teacher. You will learn to teach classes that combine a consistent therapeutic vision with the inspired spontaneity that is the hallmark of Vinyasa Yoga. You will develop a thorough understanding of the elements of the therapeutic principles of yoga and be able to design a class or teach a pose in such a manner that your students will immediately embody those principles.”

Vinyasa Yoga expresses that part of us that celebrates the space between the notes. A typical class will move from simple to complex poses, from standing poses and balancing poses, to back-bends, inversions, and hip openers. The teacher and students take this simple formula and make it their own day by day. No two classes are ever alike yet the intention behind the class is always the same. The genius of Vinyasa Yoga is not found in its approach to alignment or sequencing, but rather in the rhythm with which alignment and sequencing unfold. Anchored in the unseen aspects of an asana class, Vinyasa Yoga is uniquely accommodating to the evolution of a teacher; allowing her to bring all that she has learned and all that she is into her classroom. The result is a class that is at once consistent and inspired.

I want to bring special attention to the interplay between the physical and the metaphysical: A yoga class is a three dimensional story that unfolds to the rhythm of the breath. The art of teaching is the art of telling that story. Each of us, always, has a song to sing, a story to tell. Of necessity much of what we will be working on will be technical in nature but all of what we do together will be dedicated to supporting you in singing your song.

You Will Learn

How to Design and Teach a Vinyasa Yoga Class

You will gain a thorough understanding of the principles which, when applied, create a class for all ages and body types. This will include a specific sequence and more importantly, the method for adapting that sequence to the infinity of opportunities implied by the word yoga. This method enables what and how you teach to grow as you and your students grow.

Being the Change

The first yoga teacher in the U.S. Swami Vivekananda wrote: “You yourselves are the being that you seek.” During this training you will have direct experience of the truth of that statement. When you leave this training you will know how it is people reach their potential and you will be able to apply that knowledge to accomplish your own goals. You will be the change you want to see in your life.

Time on the Mat and on the Cushion

One of the joys of being a teacher is that your yoga practice becomes part of your job description. During this training you will begin each day with asana, meditation, and pranayama instruction and practice. You will be taught the therapeutic principles that will allow you to practice safely with intensity. You will be able to sit comfortably for a 30-45 minute meditation session during which you will experience what it means to rest in stillness. You will be proficient in breathing techniques that awaken and build heat, preparing the mindbody for asana, and breathing techniques that are cooling and soothing preparing the mindbody for meditation. On your mat the implementation of therapeutic principles will be dramatic. You will experience a vibrant aliveness from which there is no going back.

The Teacher Training Curriculum will include:

Mastery of the basic techniques of Asana
Mastery of the basic techniques of Meditation
Mastery of the basic techniques Pranayama (Breathwork)
The therapeutic alignment principles of Yoga
Finding alignment within and without
The art of sequencing a class flow
The proper use of tempo in a class
How to use your voice and language for impact
Your class as a transformative space
The art of themeing in your classes
Teaching modifications for all class levels
Teaching to beginners
The art of hands-on assisting
The anatomy and physiology of Yoga
Nutrition as a support to practice
Study of The Yoga Sutras
Cultivation of the Eight Limb Path as a path of action
Integrating the three elements of spiritual practice into your life
The role of the teacher
The role of practice
The art of sustaining change
Moving from Source

Required Reading List:

Students will need to purchase the required books separately with the exception of Rolf’s two books which are included in the tuition as noted below. Please approach this list by beginning with The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and How Yoga Works

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates (Included in tuition cost)

Meditations on Intention and Being: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Mindfulness, and Compassion by Rolf Gates (Included in tuition cost)

Meditations on the Mat: Practices for Living from the Heart by Rolf Gates

How Yoga Works by Michael Roach and Christy McNally

Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation translation by Stephen Mitchell

The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary (Shambhala Classics) by Chip Hartranft

Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana by Judith Hanson Lasater