Heartwood's Philosophy 1 course explores the 196 yoga sutras that encompass the foundation of yoga philosophy. The Yoga Sutra, widely regarded as the authoritative text on yoga, is a collection of aphorisms, outlining the eight limbs of yoga. These “threads” (as sutra translates from Sanskrit) of wisdom offer guidelines for living a meaningful and purposeful life.

Designed for students who have a basic understanding of the yamas and niyamas and are ready to dive into the core teachings of yoga beyond the physical practice, our lessons include discussion, exercises and lectures to help students contemplate the meanings and deeper dimensions of yoga's powerful teachings. In this course we also work on an expressive art project to help process the teachings and reflect deeper upon the sutras and the many levels of application we can invite into our lives today.

This course is open to anyone interested in yoga philosophy, but does offer CEU's for yoga teachers seeking ongoing studies. Philosophy 1 is a required unit for the Heartwood RYT-300 program and it is a prerequisite for our upcoming IAYT yoga therapy 800 hour program. This course is a prerequisite for sequential yoga philosophy studies. Philosophy 2 will be offered in the spring and includes 20 hours focused on the Bhagavad Gita. Philosophy 3 is devoted to the Upanishads and the Dhammapada. These three courses combine to establish a foundation of understanding of yoga as a system of integration of mind, body and spirit.