Asana Apprenticeship: This advanced training is available for graduates from 7 Centers Yoga Arts 200-hour Teacher Training. To enhance and increase your teaching skills, we will be accepting two (2) students per training to assist and mentor under Shraddha during the morning asana class and the weekly Yoga Sutra class. Attendance is required the first two (2) weeks of the training.
Click here for the Asana Apprentice Application form
30 Day Healing Program in Yoga and Ayurveda while establishing a spiritual practice. Special arrangements would be made with the teachers to modify the yoga teaching requirements. (see Teacher Training schedule for details).
1 Week Healing Retreat: We allow a few people each yoga teacher training to participate in the first week while cleansings and yogic practices are established. We also offer personalized 1 Week Healing Retreats at any time of year.
For Prospective Students: Please Read or Print the Teacher Training packet for all details of our program. Scroll to the bottom for Scholarship possibilities
Click here for the Registration Form
TEACHER TRAINING PACKET
 Sedona, a magical landscape of natural beauty and powerful energies, is a high desert country of junipers, manzanita, yucca and cactus, surrounded by ancient red rock sculpture.
This immersion training is unique for its inclusion of the aspect of Ayurveda, where food becomes medicine and one of the ways for a practitioner to maintain balance. This program is all-encompassing foundational training for the body, mind and spirit in a holistic approach to yoga as a lifestyle. In the United States, asana practice is regarded as yoga; however this is a classical program, where all aspects of the 8 Limbs of Yoga are taught and the student is introduced to the sister sciences of Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology. Modeled after the ashram experience in India, a student is introduced to Sanskrit through chanting of planetary mantras and the accompanying deities. This training also includes some of the shatkarmas or yogic cleanses that were considered to be the original Hatha Yoga practices not typically taught in most training programs but so beneficial for maintenance of health for the yogic practitioner. The first two weeks focus on the student's personal process of cleansing and moving through multi-layers of blocks and tension in their bodies with the intent to develop teachers that know how to learn and practice in any environment, who develop skills in self-diagnosis and interpretation of symptoms, and who can teach from personal experience and knowledge. We emphasize the value of integration through abhyasa(dedicated practice) so that the teacher learns how to role model yogic principles.
The second two weeks emphasize teaching skills through internship in our Mom & Baby yoga class, and progressive teaching assignments in the Asana Lab culminating with each student presenting a half hour class. The core classes focus on language for different classes, teaching methodology, alignment and energetic principles of asana, sequencing a class, how and when to adjust and identifying an individual's teaching strengths.The Teacher Training comprises over 200 hours of course work and has four areas of focus that we regard as important to being a great yoga teacher. In addition, this program is unique in using Ayurveda as a foundation for creating a healthy and balanced body to support the all aspects of yogic practice. See the Ayurvedic Kitchen for more details.
Asana Studies
The morning Asana I/II work is an in-depth study of beginning/intermediate poses in Hatha Yoga, the basis for all yoga currently taught in the United States. Inspired by the style of Rama Jyoti Vernon, the hatha yoga is a slow and detailed study of asana with emphasis on integration through relaxation and equanimity.
In the evening classes you will take a variety of yoga classes, including Kundalini, Chakra Yoga, 5 Elements Yoga and Flow. Additionally, there will be classes on Sequencing and How to Create a Yoga Class. At the end of the course, each individual will teach a half hour yoga class for the teacher training group.
The first day will begin on Saturday at 9:00 am. Two days will be spent on orientation, ayurvedic assessments, learning about karma yoga, and general orientation to the program, which will begin the following Monday at 4:30 am. The last day of the course there will be a ceremony where each individual will receive a Certificate of Completion upon meeting all requirements.
Understanding the 8 Limbs of Yoga
A study of the building blocks of yoga: asana, pranayama, pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation) along with the study of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
Personal Sadhana
Learning Sun Salutations with mantra as a daily practice along with the classic spiritual practice that includes asana, pranayama, mudra and bandha. Developing the ability to concentrate and still the mind through meditative practices.
The Art of Communication
The power of language - how to relate to students and their framework for learning yoga. When to speak, when to listen, what to watch for, the methodology of teaching
Yoga as a Healing Art
Knowledge of how to use Yoga & Ayurveda for symptoms of "disease", chronic illness, injury as well as psychological states.
Walks in Nature
Exploring the earth temples of red sandstone in silent contemplation.
Sedona is a place of high spiritual energy and extraordinairy beauty. Through daily walks, learn to actively practice awareness.
Typical Day:
4:20am: Hatha Yoga Cleansings & Trataka
5:00 am: Surya Namaskara and/or Asana
6:00 am: Mantra & Pranayama
7:00am: Breakfast
7:45am: Karma Yoga
8:30am: Yoga Sutras
9:00am: Asana Lab Basics I /II & Teaching Methodology
12:00am: Lunch Break
1:00pm: Nature Walk
2:00: Yoga Nidra
2:30-4:00pm: Yoga Sutras, Ayurveda, Anatomy (Lecture class)
4-5:30: Break
5:30-7:30pm: Kundalini, Hatha, Chakra Yoga and 5 Elements Yoga - introducing different styles of yoga.
 This will be the approximate daily schedule Monday- Friday. Saturday is set aside for workshops, special classes and/or an extended hike into one of Sedona's magical spots. Sunday is a free day to integrate the week's lessons and to take care of personal business.
Books & Supplies
We will be using a 350 page training manual based upon the course work (see curriculum) and additional handouts that we consider vital. The lessons will come from the book A Systematic Course in the Ancient Techniques of Yoga and Kriya by Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, India. You will also be given a textbook entitled Asana, Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
Tuition
The donation for the course is $3,295.00. It includes the tuition for the course, an Ayurvedic breakfast and lunch five days a week, the Teachers Manual, a 500-page yogic resource book - Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha by Swami Satyananda and other supplies. In addition, there are classes on Ayurveda, learning about your constitution, Yoga and Anatomy, and The Enneagram of Personality. With 100% attendance, you will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course.
A deposit of $750 reserves your place. You may pay by cash, check or by credit card. Once you are accepted for the course, the deposit becomes non-refundable. The full fee is due 30 days before the start of the course and once the course starts, there is no refund. In case of an emergency, you may apply the fee to another course within one year of the course for which you originally registered. The fee is not transferrable to another person. The course has a limited number of participants, so please reserve early. The training is sponsored by Mystis, a nonprofit educational organization founded in 2000. Your donation furthers the work of Mystis and promotes all aspects of the teachings of Yoga to create healthier and more holistic living in our communities. All or part of your donation may be tax-deductible - please discuss this with your accountant.
Housing
We will help arrange housing with friends and families of 7 Centers that have been hosting students for the past year. You can expect to pay between $550 - $650 for the month, including utilities for a room and bathroom with access to kitchen facilities for evening meals. Upon receiving your registration form we will send you the names and contact numbers for potential housing situations. All financial agreements will be made directly with them.
What to Bring
Sedona is high desert- the early mornings are cool, midday is hot and after the sun goes down the evenings are cool once again. Please check weather for the time of year you are coming for cooler temperatures in the fall and winter. See www.sedonaweather.com. Bring towels for swimming, a bathing suit, running shoes and sandals, shorts, long pants, a light jacket and sweater for evenings, clothes for yoga, meditation pillow and/or shawl, timer, alarm clock, hat, sunglasses, fanny pack and/or day pack, yoga mat (also available for sale), and a journal.
Course Leader
 Ruth Hartung, (Shraddhasagar) co-founded 7 Centers Yoga Arts with Gary Majchrzak in Sedona in 1998. Prior to that, she taught yoga for 7 years in studios in Los Angeles and Seattle. Trained in Kundalini Yoga in LA, she initiated with the Bihar School of Yoga under Swami Niranjanananda in Mungyr, India in 1994. She is the Director of 7 Centers Yoga Arts, and has served as President of the International Yoga College, founded by Rama Jyoti Vernon, her mentor and teacher. Ruth is a practitioner of Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka, and has taught yoga for 16 years.
Faculty Members
Zac Occhiline has been studying and practicing yoga for over 10 years and teaching for the past 8. He teaches Kundalini Yoga, Hatha Yoga and has extensive knowledge and experience in teaching many of the basic Shatkarmas (yogic cleanses). Zac has studied Ayurveda, including Ayurvedic cuisine and Ayurvedic herbal healing for over a decade. Growing up in Sedona, Arizona, Zac developed a deep appreciation and love of the wilderness, and the natural beauty of plants, animals and environs widespread throughout the state.
 Avani Sukhadia
Growing up in a family of physicians and healers, at an early age I developed a natural instinct to care for the health of those around me. My family's deep spirituality and celebration of our Indian heritage, ingrained in me a deep respect and understanding of Hindu/Vedic traditions." Avani has been studying and practicing Ayurveda for the past eight years. She is a graduate of New York University, The School of Healing Arts and the American School of Ayurveda.
 Mira Murphy is the Ayurvedic Chef for yoga teachers in training at 7 Centers Yoga and has studied yoga and Ayurveda in India. She has been practicing yoga since the womb (her mother being a yoga teacher) and asana for 5 years. Her Ayurvedic cooking is healthy, creative and delicious. Mira completed her yoga teacher training at 7 Centers Yoga Arts in September 2005 and has yoga teaching experience in Sedona, Seattle and San Jose, California. She also studied Thai massage in Thailand.
 Jeff E. Masters is the founder and director of Thunder Mountain Wellness Center in Sedona, AZ. He is a teacher of anatomy & physiology, as well as Myotherapy, licensed massage therapist and personal trainer who specializes in Swedish massage, Deep Tissue massage, Craniosacral Therapy, Neuromuscular Therapy, Sports Therapy, advanced functional anatomy and assessment, and the treatment of chronic pain. He is an internationally published author, who was awarded an honorary Masters degree in Anatomy and Physiology, from the Open International University for Complimentary Medicine, Sri Lanka in 2006.
Debra Infante is a practicing Vedic astrologer certified by The American College of Vedic Astrology as an approved teacher (Level I) in September 1999. She has been studying Vedic astrology since 1995 and been a professional astrologer since 1999. She is the co-editor of the recently published Path of Light, Introduction to Vedic Astrology (Volume I) and Path of Light, The Domains of Life, Volume II, written by James Kelleher. She has been teaching Vedic astrology to the students in the yoga teacher trainings at 7 Centers for about 5 years.
 Rama Jyoti Vernon, is an internationally known yoga teacher, presenter and founder of the International Yoga College. She founded the B.K.S. Iyengar Association of Northern California, and Unity in Yoga, which served as the non-profit umbrella organization for the Yoga Alliance. Rama has organized more than 200 conferences, forums and exchanges between the US and the former USSR. Her writing, teaching and lecturing experience in Asian Philosophy and East-West Philosophy inspired her unique approach to Yoga, Dialogue and Conflict Resolution.
Hari Jap is the founder of the Center for Divine Awakening, and an Internationally Certified Kundalini yoga teacher who has been teaching yoga for 20+ years. In addition to yoga, Hari Jap has experience teaching Martial Arts, Tai Chi, Tantra, Taoist practices and Sat Nam Rasayan.
Lionheart is the Temple Cat at 7 Centers Yoga Arts. In addition to his official temple duties, he also writes a monthly column for our newsletter, and assists with gardening and landscaping through pest control and irradication. Lionheart enjoys practicing asana (especially savasana), researching, contemplating and teaching yogic philosophy and hiking in the red rocks of Sedona.
Certification
All who complete the course with 100% attendance will be given a certificate of completion of 200 hours from 7 Centers Yoga Arts. This training is registered with Yoga Alliance. You may register with Yoga Alliance at the completion of this training.
 Some Testimonials:
"Where do I start? As I drove into Sedona on the first day there was a huge rainbow over the city & I began to cry. On my presentation, there was a full moon where the sun normally was. Everything in between was just as magical. 'Doing the impossible' over & over & over again. Blowing my limits. The highlight would be the teachers.. I am honored to have been a part of this & to have shared this part of my life with you all." Brian, Los Angeles
"Shelley may have told you that both she and I are teaching now. I primarily teach hatha, (though never the ever-faddish astanga) and occasionally teach Kundalini when Shelley needs a sub or we do intensives together. No matter what I'm teaching, the wisdom and training that I was fortunate enough to experience with you is with me throughout. I cannot thank you both enough for all the wonderful healing and learning that I gained from you. It is really only now that I am teaching that I can fully appreciate it. Thank you." K. Seattle
"As I settle in and reflect on my 5 weeks in Sedona-which felt like a lifetime- I continue to feel deep gratitude for the opportunity you shared with me. It has enhanced my life on so many levels and will serve as a secure foundation for the work I aspire to do. I am enamored by your vision and daily devotion. It is astonishing, furthermore, the number of classes you offer, the number of people you touch; not to mention the quality of instruction one meets crossing the threshold of 7 Centers…" J., Portland
"What were some of the highlights of this program? "There were so many high points of this training. The feeling of love and fellowship with everyone (and the people of Sedona at large) was so honoring and supportive. This acceptance and friendship has been very healing for me." A. Austin
"The yoga is awesome; it's so NOT just about stretching, as most people assume. I'm really looking forward to some day in the coming year teaching it. But for now, I'd like to perfect what I've learnt and keep taking classes with this center."
"Each day was a highlight. Most comprehensive lesson in self love & self awareness. Taking me back to a clean state to my original blueprint." Deb , Sedona
"Thank you so much for my TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE there with you in Sedona. I certainly see things differently and my consciousness has changed and expanded. It seems that people are more transparent, as are places and situations. I am now aware when someone pushes my buttons, and maybe one of these days I will be able to just let it go past me. I can do that, but not with everyone. Patterns are more evident, both psychological and emotional. And I have just scratched the surface." Nanette, Alberta, Canada
Click here for the Registration Form
SCHOLARSHIPS offered through YOGA BASICS
Please note that a processing fee will be charged if a scholarship is awarded & a credit card has already been used when paying for registration.
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7 Centers Yoga Arts offers a 30 Day 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certificate in January, April, June and September. A registered school with Yoga Alliance, our program is unique for its combining both a teacher training program with a personal healing program through its integration of Yoga and Ayurveda. If you would like to participate in the 30 day course for your own personal growth we offer 3 other tracks: