Curious about bhakti? The philosophy of yoga? The history of Kirtan? The meaning of mantras? The teachings of Krishna? The Vedic gods and goddesses? Gain a deep and systematic understanding of these topics and everything Bhakti yoga, through this 6 week foundations of bhakti course.
Session 1: Epistemology: Sacred Knowledge, Lineage and Ancient texts
Session 2: Ontology: Nature, Soul and God
Session 3: Existence: Karma, Samsara, and Gunas
Session 4: Telos: Human Purpose and Divine Love
Session 5: Praxis: Kirtan, Sanga, and the 9 limbs of devotion
Session 6: Immersion: Temple visit, Sacred Images, Blessed food and A life of bhakti
All participants will receive a copy of the Bhagavad Gita as well as Tulasi meditation beads and a bead bag.
Instructors: This series will be co-led by Prema and Ananda Manjari who each have 200 hours of yoga teacher training and over two decades of bhakti practice and study between them. Both have spent many years studying yoga philosophy from traditional ancient texts and Vaishnava teachers in ashrams in India and the US.
This module can be taken as a standalone immersion or as credit toward BYDC’s 300HR certification. RYS300 - 50 Hours.
At the heart of every yoga practice is the breath—our link between body, mind, and spirit. In this 50-hour immersion, you’ll explore the breath as a powerful tool for transformation, using ancient pranayama techniques to regulate your nervous system, move emotional energy, and awaken your inner vitality.
This training is both practical and profound. You’ll learn breathwork techniques that support digestion, clear emotional blockages, calm anxiety, and expand lung capacity. We’ll study the relationship between breath and asana, introduce kriyas, explore breath adaptations for different bodies, and harness the healing potential of mantra and sound.
Whether you're a yoga teacher, therapist, energy healer, or dedicated practitioner, this module will deepen your relationship with the subtle body and offer tools to integrate breath-based practices into classes, workshops, and daily life.
Topics include:
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The science and soul of deep belly breathing
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Ujjayi for grounding and vagal tone
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Breath thresholds and the subtle art of conscious breath retention
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Cleansing techniques like Bhastrika and Kapalabhati
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Nervous system balancing: segmentation of inhale and exhale
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Energizing flows like Breath of Joy
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Nadi Shodhana and alternate nostril practices for inner harmony
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Cooling pranayama and kriyas for inflammation and emotion
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Mantra and breath: how sacred sound empowers breathwork
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Emotional release through sound, breath, and movement
This module is a doorway into the energetics of healing and a call to awaken the breath as your most loyal and immediate teacher.
Foundational Key Concepts of Yoga
- In-depth study of the anatomy of the spine
- Yoga breathing and how breath stimulates and creates space in the spine
- Accessing the autonomic nervous system (ANS) using the breath, creating an energizing or calming effect. overview of the energy body
- The 5 directional flows of breath, their function and purpose in the body (Pancha Vayu)
- The 5 layers (koshas) of the body
- How the laws of compensation and dual action work in yoga and how to effect positive change with conscious awareness
- fundamental principles of safe movement
- Evening discussion on Yama and Niyama from The Yoga Sutras
- Summary of Biomechanics of forward bends, backbends, twist, hips openers, inversions, and arm balances and their correct alignment, function and purpose based on the individual
- How to adapt postures to maximize their full potential according to individuals' needs
This module can be taken as a standalone immersion or as credit toward BYDC’s 300HR certification. RYS300 - 25 Hours.
Journey Within: Mindfulness & Meditation Practices
Mindfulness is a practice that brings awareness to the sensations, emotions, and thoughts that arise within the body. It creates a sacred pause between stimulus and response.
Learning foundational mindfulness techniques becomes a powerful tool for healing and reprogramming the nervous system to respond differently to triggers and challenging situations. By understanding the wisdom behind a basic body scan and recognizing where emotional stress is mapped in the physical body, we gain insight into how our body receives and processes information—and how it develops protective mechanisms. With this understanding, we begin to rewire our responses from the inside out.
In this training, we will explore how to witness the layers of the self—using breath awareness, body scans, and meditation—as a means of inner transformation.
You will learn the
mindfulness method known as R.A.I.N.S.:
R:
Recognize
A:
Acknowledge/Accept
I:
Investigate
N:
Nurture
S: Surrender
We will also explore the meditative and healing wisdom of sound healing and mantra—how sacred sound helps shift stagnant energy held in the body, and the mysticism behind vibration, frequency, and chanting.
You’ll deepen your understanding of Yoga Nidra—its healing function and subtle power—and learn how to skillfully guide others through this practice. By working through the koshas, the layers of the self, you'll gain the tools to help others access deep rest, release trauma, and connect with the innermost self through spacious awareness.
This module can be taken as a standalone immersion or as credit toward BYDC’s 300HR certification. RYS300 - 25 Hours.
Art of Sequencing: Creating Dynamic, Fluid Mandala Flows
Mandalas are circular, fluid, dynamic sequences that help break down old neurological patterns in both the mind and body. These sequences use repetition and directionality to re-pattern movement, develop new coordination, and build communication between the right and left sides of the brain by requiring practitioners to cross the midline.
This 25-hour advanced sequencing module explores the healing potential of circular movement. When we don’t regularly cross the midline, the left and right hemispheres of the brain tend to work in isolation. Mandala flows engage both hemispheres through midline crossing, stimulating the cerebral cortex and strengthening neural pathways that coordinate movement, balance, and learning.
We live in a linear society—but circular movement shifts our perspective. It helps us experience the body and space not from a straight path, but from a 360-degree awareness.
As you train your body and mind in these new movement patterns and learn to guide others through circular sequencing, you’ll discover a powerful, transformative breakthrough—one that is just as playful as it is profound.