SYLLABUS
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita

We are not currently accepting new students in the Ananda Yoga Therapy Training

Course Hours: Total: 41 (Residential)

Prerequisite

Graduate of Ananda Yoga Teacher Training (200-hour), or
Graduate of a Yoga Alliance approved 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training

Teaching Format

This is a 7-day residential course which includes a combination of lecture, discussion, and experiential advanced asana workshops.

Course Description

Students will learn how to unlock the secrets of this powerful scripture. Swami Kriyananda has called the Gita “the world’s greatest scripture” -- not that its teachings are “better” than other scriptures, but that those teachings are given in a way that is so direct, accessible, and doable. This full-immersion program will take participants into those teachings in a way that allows understanding not only intellectually, but intuitively and practically.

There are also several workshops in which participants explore the practice and teaching of a number of advanced asanas, and there is a class for those in the Yoga Therapy Training to explore the application of these teachings to the practice of yoga therapy.

Faculty: Ananda Ministers

Nayaswami Gyandev McCord, PhD, E-RYT 500, Director of Ananda Yoga
Nayaswami Diksha McCord, BSc, BFA, Level 2 Ananda Yoga Teacher, Director of Ananda Meditation Teacher Training
Nayaswami Mangala Loper-Powers, RN, MN, NP, E-RYT 500, Ananda Yoga Therapist, C-IAYT, Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Ananda Minister

Required Texts/Reading Materials

The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita. Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2006
A Concise Bhagavad Gita, Nayaswami Gyandev McCord, Ways to Freedom, 2013

Learning Objectives

At the completion of the course, students will know:

• How to recognize the inner battle of life and make the effort that will win it
• The interplay of Prakriti and Purusha, and how that affects a person’s life
• How the law of karma works, including the effects of vasanas and samskaras
• How to use the workings of karma to one’s advantage
• How to recognize and avoid a variety of psychological traps
• The nature of right action
• How to overcome desire, anger, and attachment
• A deeper understanding of the paths of Karma, Gyana, Bhakti, and Raja Yoga
• The three gunas: how they manifest in life and in people, and how they relate to improving one’s experience of life
• Recognizing caste tendencies in oneself, and what to do to move to the next higher caste
• How to get past attachment to experiencing pleasure and avoiding pain
• What one can do when he bogs down, spiritually
• How to deepen your relationship with God
• How a yoga therapist applies the above knowledge to serving clients best interest

Subject Matter/IAYT Competencies Covered

Section 1: Yoga Foundations

Category 1.1. Yoga Teachings & Philosophy
1.1.1 b. purusha/prakrti (consciousness/material world);
d. guna (fundamental forces of nature); and
e. duhkha (suffering/discomfort).

Category 1.2. Yoga and the Mind
1.2.1.4 artha (cognition), bhava (mood), svabhava (inborn nature), vasana
(residue of experience), samskara (conditioned pattern of thinking
and behavior);
1.2.2.2 lobha, krodha, and moha (greed, anger, attachment)
1.2.2.3 duhkha and daurmanasya (suffering/discomfort and negative attitude/thinking),
sarupyam (identification with the contents of the mind or seer taking the same
form as the mind)
1.2.2.4 antaraya (obstacles to progress in yoga).

Category 2.5. Body and Mind Integration
2.5.1 Knowledge of the interaction of the body, breath, mind, intellect, and emotions in health and well-being.

Course Completion Requirements

Students have demonstrated understanding of course learning objectives by attendance at all lectures, participation in all discussions and asana workshops. Completion of required reading assignments.