The Inaugural 50-Hour DY LOAY TT
By Justine Hoang, 1000-Hour DYRT
I couldn’t have been more thrilled when they announced the inaugural 50-Hour DY LOAY TT program last year! Like all my fellow Dharma Yoga devotees, I am always interested in hearing about any new opportunity to learn from living yoga master Sri Dharma Mittra. Having just completed a blissful and deeply introspective internship for the 1000-Hour program last autumn, I was hungry for more time with Dharmaji and my spiritual family; this offering certainly delivered a veritable feast!
This 50-Hour TT provided the chance to learn another sequence from the Dharma Yoga lineage. In this case, it was Sri Dharma Mittra’s all-new easy combination flow – a highly versatile and efficient sequence that is accessible to entry level practitioners, but could be easily adjusted upwards to provide a longer practice with more advanced variations and lengthier holds in the postures to challenge seasoned practitioners. It comprises all the elements of a complete yoga practice including heat-building warmup exercises, postures, a soothing guided relaxation, concentration and breathing techniques, and meditation – and is meticulously put together to provide an all-encompassing blissful experience. I truly feel that I have been gifted a powerful tool, both for personal practice and for sharing with others, and have already started teaching this flow. As expected, it has been extremely well received thus far, and I look forward to continuing to propagate it.
The 50-Hour program enabled us to explore other classes on the Dharma Yoga Center weekly schedule, along with some special programming such as posture adjustment clinics, integrated sequence breakdown of the Easy Combination Sequence, LOAY lectures, a panel discussion, and even a vegan cooking class. This allowed us to discover the incredible diversity among the Dharma Yoga community and to gain a deep appreciation of all the amazingly gifted teachers among our family…it never ceases to amaze me how rich and fortunate we all are to be part of this beautiful sangha!
Naturally, no DY LOAY TT course would be complete without some precious time with Sri Dharma Mittra, who gives us the very best of the best knowledge and tips to help us in our quest for Self-Realization. His teachings, through the use of scripture readings, analogies and stories, are unparalleled, and his imparting of the material is invariably engaging, humble, light-hearted, and thoughtful. He has a unique gift for conveying information and presenting his perceptions without casting judgement or bias towards any particular group, and for relating it to the modern world. To this day, I am still in awe of all that I have learned from him, and all that he has yet to share with us; he truly is a well of knowledge that seems never to run dry!
The 50-Hour program is a great option for both current teachers and those who are considering enrolling in a teacher training program. The time commitment is relatively small, seeing as it runs only for a week, does not demand any prerequisite reading or writing assignments, and does not have any internship to undertake following the training. All of the work is accomplished through the scheduled online/in-person sessions, so in order to obtain the certificate of completion, one needs only to show that they have attended all the required classes, be it in real-time or through video playback of the sessions (which is yet another big advantage of all the DY teacher training programs – having access to the repository of all the recorded classes for up to a year after the course finish date). As such, teachers can still stay current with the latest yoga methods and practices offered by the Dharma Yoga Center and gain some continuing education credits, without having to plan for and invest in an extended practicum. For those who aspire to become yoga teachers, this training provides an exceptional opportunity to get a fully realistic view of the day-to-day plan of activities in a Life of a Yogi teacher training program, and, if they so choose, they could even get a chance to practice teaching the sequence to the other participants; such experience provides invaluable benefit for those who are trying to decide whether or not they feel ready to register for a full teacher certification program.
I genuinely cannot sing my praises enough about this program! This mini teacher training intensive was an ingenious idea, and the efficiency, care and quality with which it was carried out was, as to be expected, exemplary. I am always so grateful for any opportunity to reconnect with my beloved Dharma family members , and this experience most definitely delivered on this front, and much more. Time spent with these beautiful beings is so incredibly fulfilling, energizing and nourishing on every level. I am hoping very much that the Dharma Yoga Center will continue to create more programs of this format……soul food at its very best!
If you’re interested in experiencing the 50 hour Teacher Training for yourself, don’t miss our free Info Session with Program Director, Adam Frei, March 23rd from 2:30-3:15pm EDT. Register here>>>
