Prajna Yoga - Programs

Minimum requirement for entry into the 200 hour program is 3 years of yoga practice and study. All applicants should complete the Prajna Yoga Training Application prior to registration. Each of the week long events counts for 48 hours applicable toward the 200 hour certification program. Sessions I, II and III together total 144 hours. Of the remaining 56 hours, 20 may be earned through independent study project called svadhyaya*, and 36 hours earned through any of the elective courses offered through Prajna Yoga. Students may apply classroom hours taken with Tias through any of his training courses or week-end immersions offered outside of Santa Fe. The elective courses are scheduled to coincide with the week-long trainings, giving students the opportunity to combine the workshop and training events in Santa Fe.

Elective Courses (12 hours each):

Folding Inward - Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Pranayama with Richard Rosen
Pre-Natal Teacher Training with Linda Spackman
Sutras and the Gita with Nicolai Bachman
Yoga Nidra with Elesa Commerce

Upon completion of the full 200 hours, students receive a certification of completion in Prajna Yoga with Tias Little. Tias Little and Prajna Yoga are both registered with Yoga Alliance and the total hours may be applied toward the Yoga Alliance 200 hour registered teacher program.

*Directly translated as "self-study," Svadhyaya is the non-contact portion of the Tias Little Teacher Training. In order to receive the full 200 hours of program credit, 20 may be completed in this format.
Each student may choose to either write a research paper on yoga and a specific subject, or document through first-hand experience an aspect of one's personal yoga practice. Subjects may have a spiritual, therapeutic, historical, artistic or anatomical focus. All projects will require a subsequent presentation of the material to the teacher training group or Tias individually. For example, a student may elect to write their paper on the topic of Yoga and Anorexia, The Effects of Yoga on Hypertension, Yoga and Osteoporosis, etc. Alternately, one might choose to document a specific process or event in their personal yoga practice such as a week long meditation retreat.

Before beginning his or her Svadhyaya each pupil, with the assistance of Tias, will create a well-defined outline of the project. At this time Tias will also suggest useful resources and where they may be obtained. This Outline needs to include the topic of study, the estimated hours of completion, and the format with which the student has decided to work.

Students should keep track of their hours in research and upon completion of Svadhyaya students can receive up to 20 maximum credit hours for the Tias Little Teacher Training.

Each of the week long events counts for 48 hours applicable toward the 200 hour certification program. The Session I, II and III trainings total 144 hours. Of the remaining 56 hours, 20 may be earned through 'svadhyaya', independent study/homework and 36 hours earned through any of the elective courses offered through Prajna Yoga. Most of the events are scheduled to coincide with Tias' week-long trainings, giving students the opportunity to combine the workshop and training events in Santa Fe.

Visiting instructors include Dr. David Frawley, Richard Rosen,Elesa Commerse, Paul Cabanis and Linda Spackman-Harrison.

Students receive a certification of completion. Tias Little's Teacher Training is registered with Yoga Alliance and the total hours may be applied toward Yoga Alliance 200 hour registered teacher program.

Intensives Offered: Asana, Vedanta Study, Pranayama, Sanskrit, Ayurveda, Yoga Nutrition, and Pre-Natal Teacher Training.

Tias' Recommended Reading > (PDF file)
A list of books about Anatomy, Philosophy, Poetry and Yoga

Prajna means wisdom or deep understanding and our aim of our school is to teach a yogic Way of being, both on and off the mat. Prajna Yoga's In Depth Yogic Studies and Practice is designed to offer the highest quality of continuing education to committed students on the yoga path.

We start with the premise that a dedicated yoga practice involves not only physical discipline, but involves a combination of scientific rigor, profound contemplation, developed sensitivity and penetrating practice. Our aim is not to set up a yoga system that churns out students in a specific style or methodology of practice. In this sense our continuing education program is akin to models of higher education, for our aim is to educate not indoctrinate, and to that extent, the Prajna Yoga In Depth Yogic Studies and Practice program offers an extremely rich and varied curricula.

The heart of our program is intelligent practice. We emphasize alignment and anatomy and structural integration throughout the asana practice. We devote time to educating our students on the fine details of the practice, for instance, positioning the therapeutic poses, articulating the chants, formulating the meditations, refining one's voice and touch. However, as we acknowledge that techniques are invaluable to heal and transform, they are only techniques. So we underscore the importance of mind/heart training, stemming from the teachings of the Buddha on wisdom and compassion. Central to this training is "mind training"—providing the insights and means to be free of mental confusion and clinging. To that end, through our readings and practices and discussions, we are devoted to an in depth investigation of what it means to awaken, and to realize our "original nature" or "Buddha nature" or "essential nature". In this sense, this in-depth studies course shares the aim of all yogis—to realize the infinite brightness of being within.

This program is for students who have already completed a 200 hour teacher training program to date or for devoted practitioners who wish to deepen their practice and study. We find that many of the 200 hour training programs available today offer only a small window into the depth of yoga teachings. The Prajna Yoga In Depth Yogic Studies and Practice program offers comprehensive continuing education in the areas of yoga therapeutics, nutrition, the emotional body, the organ system, the chakras, the vayus, sutra study (from both Patanjali and the Buddhist canon), lymphatic yoga, sequencing, manual adjustments and more.

This program is a teacher training program, but unlike many of the corporate/big studio training programs available today, that train teachers to lead trainings, our program allows for students to work directly and personally with our directors, Tias and Surya Little. By getting to know each student individually, we are able to serve each of you in your yogic aspirations. Our class sizes are small and intimate as they are limited to 25 people. While offering a professional program designed for teachers to further their studies, it is also a program for students to deepen their own practice. We offer a great reservoir of teachings that students from all traditions can tap for years and years to come. And we believe that the best teachers are the ones who themselves have, as it is said in the Zen tradition, "seen clear down to the bottom of their being".

300 / 500 Hour Course Description and Requirements:

Candidates seeking a the 500 Hour Teacher Certificate are required to have completed a 200 Hour Teacher Training program from Prajna Yoga or any recognized Yoga Alliance school.

The additional 300 hours are obtained by taking three required courses: Asana, Wisdom, and Anatomy. These foundational courses are offered in 7 day training blocks and may be taken in any order.

Completion of the three required sessions: Asana, Wisdom and Anatomy will give the student 150 hours. The remaining hours needed to complete the 300 hour requirement can be accomplished:

With the completion of a project thesis and practicum – 50 Hours

Attending any of the various courses, teacher trainings, retreats and weekend intensives offered throughout the year and in many locations in the US, Europe

Attending workshops, courses, and retreats offered by other Prajna Yoga teachers including: Surya Little, Nicolai Bachman, Elesa Commerce, Linda Spackman and Richard Rosen.

Individual sessions are available for credit hours with either Tias or Surya.

(This program is designed for students who wish to gain a 500 Hour Teaching Certificate through Yoga Alliance or for those who aim to deepen their personal practice.)

Required Courses:

Asana: The Art of Teaching – 50 Hours

The aim of this intensive is to provide the student with the practical skills and creativity to teach an intelligent yoga class. We provide models for how to teach a class that embrace a mindful approach to yoga; integrating meditation, reflective study, asana (both dynamic and restorative), poetry and chant. We emphasize how to construct a class that is both physically rewarding and spiritually uplifting. We detail what it takes to command a class both through intensity and gentleness. Considerable time is spent on investigating what it means to have presence as a teacher in the classroom, what language to use/not use and how to teach through tone of voice. In this course we teach various approaches to sequencing postures and show how to create an effective practice using pacing, rhythm, demonstrations and posture combinations. A significant part of our program is hands on work. We detail how to manipulate the body to help adjust the student in a pose and how to become present in one's hand's through non-invasive touch.

Wisdom: The Middle Way – 50 Hours

The Middle Way is a place free from extremes, extremes that polarize and isolate and cause imbalance. The Middle Way path refers to a philosophy of living, as taught by the Buddha, and it suggests a physiological axis through the center of the body. One of the names for the mid line in the body is the Madhya Nadi or middle channel. This course aims to detail the "core" structures deep within the body along the spine from the coccyx to the crown of the head including the vertebrae, the vertebral discs, the spinal nerves and surrounding musculature. Through asana practice we focus on releasing the spine through forward bends, twists and backbends. Anatomically we investigate the heart and pericardium. We combine this somatic practice with an investigation of the essential teachings of the Middle Way. Our focus will be to read the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita) and via practice and discussion, explore the essential teachings on emptiness, Buddha-nature, and the union of the absolute and the relative.

Anatomy: Yoga Therapeutics – 50 Hours

This course is an in depth training on how to apply yoga techniques to heal the mind and the body. The heart of the training is the application of yoga posture in order to heal from injury, structural limitations and hormonal, circulatory and neurological imbalances. We review high and low blood pressure, chronic fatigue, migraines, insomnia, sciatica, lower back pain and more. In order to reduce physiological imbalances using yoga postures, we prop or support the body in various ways. Students will learn how to use props effectively in restorative postures, in order to redirect blood and lymph and achieve a "yin" effect. Another approach we take to healing through yoga practice is the use of sound and resonance. Our primary means of sounding will be chanting and additionally we use singing bowls to help generate healing vibration to different parts of the body. Central to this course on yoga chikitsa (yoga remedy) is the practice of specific meditations that help heal the emotional body and purify negative emotion.

Each of these three sections includes elements of Asana, Anatomy and Wisdom.

300 / 500 Hour Course Dates and Tuition:

Asana - 50 Hours
July 20-27, 2009
Tuition: $1395 + tax ($250.00 deposit will reserve your place)

Wisdom – 50 Hours
December 10-16, 2009
Tuition: $1,395 + tax ($250.00 deposit will reserve your place)

Anatomy – 50 Hours
March 20-26, 2010
Tuition: $1,395 + tax ($250.00 deposit will reserve your place)