Teacher’s Training Programme - Abhyas Trust, New Delhi (INDIA)

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Teacher’s Training Programme

Yoga Asana - The BARPS Method: Teacher’s Training Programme
A practice methodology that embraces a rigorous critique of the ideas of yoga
A 300 hours programme at Studio Abhyas
Programme Facilitators - Navtej Johar (RYT 500 hours) &
Dr. Rishiraj Pathak

This programme will be conducted online

BARPS is a method to practice yoga asana; it includes the principles of asana, pranayama, dhyana (meditation) and dharana (visualization). More specifically, it is a secular approach that is designed to circumvent the ideas of yoga that have been imposed upon it over the last hundred or so years—ideas which might even not be friendly to the body or conducive to embodied practice.

For one, yoga has been conflated with religion and more recently with nationalism. BARPS is an attempt to extricate the practice from the corrective, moralistic, theistic and perfectionistic modes which have become synonymous with yoga today.

BARPS is an acronym for a sequence of methodically designed progressive processes: B stands for breath, bracing, balance and buoyancy; A for alignment, acceptance, availability and agency; R for the rotation of joints, rigor and reciprocity; P for pause, poise, preparation and permission; and finally, S for sound, slowness, suggestion, sensing, sensuously stretching, and spaciously experiencing sukha or pleasurable repose within the asana. Most distinctly, it is not a practice of “doing”, “producing” or “perfecting” the asana, as has become the norm today; but rather, “sensorially-seeing” the subtle engagement of the body from within, un-imposingly, finely and self-caringly to allow for an acceptive, absorptive and immersive experience. From the moment-go, this practice is designed to remain self-regulatory and foster autonomy or adhikara over one’s body and practice.

Apart from the year-long guided practice in the BARPS method, the course will include an in depth reading of ancient texts like Samkhyakarika, Yoga Sutras, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Vijnana Bhairava Tantra as well as scholarly works by historians of Modern Yoga, namely James Mallinson, Mark Singleton, Elizabet De Michelis, Jason Birch and others.

Evaluation & Selection Criteria

What do we offer?

Techniques & Training
Teaching Methodology
Yogic Physiology
Meditation/Visualization
Yoga Philosophy
History of modern yoga

Who can join?

The BARPS practice is decidedly body-centric. It will interest any one who wishes to enquire into both the transformative capacities as well as the politics of the body. Whereas, the practice component is designed to bring ease, acceptance and wellbeing within the body/mind; the theoretical readings will focus on India’s materialist, and God-neutral philosophies as well as the nationalistic histories which have informed embodied practice, morality and identity in Modern India.

The courses, workshops, retreats and weekly BARPS practice sessions can be attended independently of the teacher’s training programme by participants who have difficulty in attending the entire year long training programme. For more details, scroll below.

Complete Syllabus

Techniques & Training

Weekly practice session of The BARPS Method of Asana

Teaching Methodology

Fundamentals, adaptations, anatomy, and sequencing of asana routine as per the BAPRS method
The Heart of Yoga, TKV Desikachar

Yogic Physiology

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Meditation/Visualization

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

Yoga Philosophy

Samkhya Karika (4th CE)
Yoga Sutra (2nd CE)

History of Modern yoga

The Yoga Body by Mark Singleton
Roots of Yoga by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton
A History of Modern Yoga by Elizabet De Michelis

Calendar:

Module 1 – January till May, 2022
Course: Samkhya Philosophy Course taught by Dr Rishiraj Pathak
January 3rd to May 30th, 2022. Every Monday 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm IST

Samkhya is a foundational school of Indian thought that is “materialist” in nature and informs all embodied and material practices of the subcontinent. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali embody this philosophy and the text is often referred to as Samkhya Yoga. The course, taught by Dr Rishiraj Pathak (Sanskrit scholar) will include a first-hand reading of the Sāṁkhyakārikā with references to other related texts. The course will be taught in both Hindi & English.

Practice: Weekly BARPS practice sessions led by Navtej Johar

Tuesday (live class) 8 am – 9:30 am IST & Friday (pre recorded) 8 am – 9:30 am IST

Thursday (live class) 6:30 pm – 8 pm IST & Tuesday (pre-recorded) 6:30 pm – 8 pm IST

Please note, out of the two weekly classes mentioned above one will be pre-recorded.

Workshops:

Pranayama Workshop, February 12th & 13th: A variety of breathing techniques will be taught, practiced, observed, discussed and refined.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika Workshop, April 23rd & 24th: In this weekend workshop we will discuss the tools of practice: asana, pranayama, bandha and mudra as suggested by the 14th century text.

Module 2 – July till November, 2022
Courses:

Yoga Sutras taught by Navtej Johar

July 4th to September 26th, 2022. Every Monday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm IST

This course will offer a secular reading of the Yoga Sutras based on Samkhya philosophy with direct references to the Buddhist canon. Apart from discussing the eight limbs of Yoga that are traditionally evoked, we will also focus on exploring the without-iswara alternative that Patanjali offers in his seminal text.

History of Modern Yoga taught by Navtej Johar

October 10th to November 28th, 2022. Every Monday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm IST

Over the last hundred-plus years the histories of embodied practices such as yoga and dance have been reconstructed, corrected and re-aligned to texts. With the result, the practices have become very self-conscious and burdened with the idea of “correctness” and “authenticity.” The eight-week course will trace the Reconstructionist history of yoga and its impact on the body and embodied practice.

Practice: Weekly BARPS practice sessions led by Navtej Johar

Tuesday (live class) 8 am – 9:30 am IST & Friday (pre recorded) 8 am – 9:30 am IST

Thursday (live class) 6 pm – 7:30 pm IST & Tuesday (pre-recorded) 6 pm – 7:30 pm IST

Please note, out of the two weekly classes mentioned above one will be pre-recorded.

Workshop:

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. August 13 & 14, 2022

The weekend workshop will focus on the reading and practice of dharanas or visualisations proposed by the 8th century Tantra. Various Tantra concepts, keywords, and principles will also be explained and discussed.

2. Chanting as a tool of practice: text, body, memory. October 8 & 9, 2022

The idea of a mantra is to serve as a guiding tool for practice, conduct and life-style. This weekend workshop will consist of a discussion, memorisation and chanting of select sutras, karikas, and slokas from the Yoga Sutra, Hatha Pradipika, Vedas, Upanishads and other texts. The aim is to equip the practitioners/teachers with quotes that can serve as reminders to guide their practice and teaching.

Retreat :

Review of BARPS Practice. November 16th to 20th, 2022

The practitioners will facilitated to create BARPS practice routines based on their review of the practice and teachings of the entire year.

The duration of the course will be one year; this will be divided into two five-month modules. The Weekly Lectures, Workshops and Retreats will be conducted in both online & offline modes depending on the availability of resources and the Covid 19 situation. The topics of the retreats and workshops are also subject to change.

Fee Breakdown

Fee – 1 lakh 50 thousand INR (₹ 1,50,000)

A small number of scholarships are available for regular students at Studio Abhyas. Please write to us regarding this.

The above courses and classes are also available independently for people who do not wish to enroll in the entire TTC:
Samkhya course (20 weeks): INR 30,000
Yoga Sutra (12 weeks): INR 20,000
Modern Yoga (8 weeks): INR 10,000
1 Weekend Workshop (9 hours): INR 10,000
1 Retreat (5 days): INR 25,000 (this does not include hospitality if you are attending offline)
Weekly BARPS Practice : INR 8,000/month

Requirements for a trainee for a semester
Attend 2 online/offline practice class per week (BARPS)
Attend 1 online/offline lecture per week (total 20 lectures)
Attend 2 online/offline workshops in a semester.
Attend 1 online/offline retreat.

Hourly Break-down of the course per semester -

Hourly Break-down of the course per semester –

Semester 1, Module 1 January till May, 2022

Weekly Lectures – 2 hours * 4 weeks * 5 months = 40 hours

Practice Class – 1.5 (hours) * 2 classes (per week) * 4 (weeks per month) * 5 (months) = hours = 60 hours

Weekend Workshops – 9 (hours)* 2(weekends) = 18 hours

Total hours Module 1 = 118 hours

Semester 2, Module 2 July till November, 2022

Weekly Lectures – 2 hours * 4 weeks * 5 months = 40 hours

Practice Class – 1.5 (hours) * 2 classes (per week) * 4 (weeks per month) * 5 (months) = hours = 60 hours

Retreat – 7 (hours)* 5 (days)* 1 (per semester) = 35 hours

Weekend Workshops – 9 (hours)* 2(weekends) = 18 hours

Total hours Module 2 = 153 hours

Total contact hours over the whole year = 118 (Module 1) + 153 (Module 2) = 271 hours

Non-contact practice and observation hours = 29 hours

Total of contact plus non-contact hours = 300 hours

Evaluation & Selection Criteria

Class participation (Attendance)
Observation – Students will be required to observe each other’s practice and teaching sessions, give feedback and have discussions..
Teaching Skills – pairing up, designing, sequencing and mock teaching
Mid-Term paper – Short reflective article
End-Term – Research Paper
Organize Webinars – Students will be paired/grouped together to organize webinars in related and relevant topics of the course.

The selection criteria of participants will depend on prior experience of embodied practice and their understanding of yoga.

Please note, the participants who are new to the BARPS practice will be accepted on probationary basis; their participation and engagement will be observed for a month before they are formally enrolled in the programme. The fee for the probation period will be 15,000/- INR, if admitted, they will be required to make the full payment by 7th February 2022.

Facilitator's Bio:

Dr. Rishiraj Pathak is a noted Sanskrit scholar, poet, musicologist and a dance litterateur. An authority in sāmaveda, Rhetorics (sāhityaśāstra), and Dramaturgy (nāṭyaśastra); he currently teaches at Shyama Prasad Mukherji College for Women, University of Delhi.

Navtej Johar is a dancer/choreographer, yoga exponent, scholar, and social activist. He was trained in Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra and studied yoga with Sri Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai. A long-time performer, practitioner, and teacher, he has devised two pedagogical methods of embodied practice, namely the BARPS method to practice āsana more effectively, and Abhyas Somatics that is inspired by the sukha and rasa components of yoga and Indian poetics respectively.