HOMEWORK GUIDE
Home Study for Heart of Vinyasa Yoga School
Spring 2023
Dear Warriors—
Can you believe we are officially starting our home study portion of our time together? Are you ready to do your work? Remember, the effort you put into this program determines the benefits you will receive from it.
Helpful hints: set aside a few hours per day to read, take notes from your readings to prepare for your writing assignments, use index cards to make flash cards to learn the terminology, practice the flow- use cards to memorize the flow also…tackle this work on a daily basis. Embrace it, absorb it.
Reading Requirements:
Before our time together - Please Read:
White Fragility
Meditation with Intention
Heart of Yoga
1).See posted Philosophy Reading List and Suggestions from Sandhiya Ramaswamy- start your work with the sacred texts —begin to read some daily and approach them as Sandhiya suggests.
During Break (after our 9 day intensive) you can read :
Me and White Supremacy and do the journal prompts over the 30 days as suggested.
How to be Anti-racist: Kendi.
2).See posted Reading and Listening List and Suggestions from Dianne Bondy—this is Lifelong study and as you want to go deeper you can add these readings.
Other required books: REFERENCE
David Garrigues Verbal Cues of Primary Series- we sell this at the Shala $27.
Dianne Bondy’s Yoga for Everybody
Uploaded is recording of “Gratitude Flow”. You will need to memorize this flow before our time together in July. Hint: Make notes or drawings of the sequence! Practice to it, and practice teaching it out loud. Teach your friends, teach your pets, set up stuffed animals on your couch and teach them…really just get used to saying it out loud, use the script and/or use your words—again memorize the flow. There will be time in the future to create your own flow, but for now learn this. Break it out into 15 minute sections each week. Coming to Mysore Ashtanga will really help here also.
Daily Requirements: THIS WORKS STARTS June 7, 2023
1) Keep a gratitude journal starting June 7 through July 7, 2023. I will check it off for daily entries, but I will NOT be reading them, so feel free to let it all go on the pages, dig deeply and open the gates of gratitude.
2) Do a daily meditation practice. Start with 10 minutes and see if you can increase to 20 minutes before our time together. Feel free to journal about your meditation practice, and the exercises from the book.
3) STARTING June 7 ( or sooner) Do a 6 day per week asana (physical postures) practice—either in person, livestream or at home practice. Practicing to the “Gratitude Flow” counts! Please note —Mysore Ashtanga minimum of twice weekly. ( During the HOME STUDY PERIOD OF June 7-July 7)
4) Chant everyday. Required chants are uploaded in portal
5) Review your vocabulary/terminology uploaded in portal
6) You will be getting access to Sanskrit online classes in July—more to come here.
Written Assignments: Please note the word counts (adhere to them please), due dates and times. Properly cite the texts and use footnotes. PLEASE SEND in BODY OF EMAIL ONLY-WITH YOUR NAME AND WORD COUNT as the intro. NO attachments please.
You have the option to also do VLOG (send a video answering the questions) and submit.
We do have a small IPAD at the shala you can use to record your VLOG if you don’t have access to any equipment that records video.
We want to be accessible, and always learning, so if you have another suggestion for a way to complete these essays-please let us know! We want to hear from you…
Week 1: Due June 8 Midnight (300-500 words)
Please describe the 8 limbs of Yoga, and how you can incorporate them into your life and practice. What have your learned from these readings? Have you changed anything in your life as a result?
Week 2: Due June 15, Midnight (300-500 words-each)
A) Describe a time you were othered. How did it feel at the time? How did the experience impact you? How do you understand and/or feel about the experience now?
B) Describe a time you witnessed someone whose identity you don’t share being othered. What was your initial reaction? What did you do? How would you handle the situation differently today?
Week 3: Due June 22, Midnight (300-500 words)
Please write about your experience as a result of one of the exercises from the meditation book. What inspired you? Did anything surprise you?
Week 4: Due June 29, Midnight (25 words or less)
What is Yoga? In 25 words or less please describe Yoga using approachable language-nothing fancy, nothing ‘out there’. Simple-as if explaining to someone who has no concept of what this practice is.
I am here for you…take this one step at a time. There is no pass/fail here but a wonderful journey and lifelong practice. Organize your time, enjoy this! Don’t freak out—that won’t be helpful here, but breathing and focus will.
Please start to book your check in mentorship before our time together. Go to SandeeLawlessyoga.com—-go to bookings and book a 30 minute mentorship check in—-you get one of these meetings before we meet.
PLEASE JOIN THE SLACK GROUP. You all can get to know each other, discuss your journey, arrange for group zoom study sessions, etc. I will check in with you regularly here.
We will be posting your head shots at the studio with your permission, please let me know if you are ok with this. Please send me your head shot by June7, 2023 if you have not yet sent this .
In service, and with much gratitude,
Sandee
My pronouns are: She/Her/Ella