Alchemy of Yoga Teacher Training

Hello and Super Namaste!

Alchemy of Yoga Teacher Training is wholeheartedly dedicated to the art of self-discovery through SELF-study.

Consider this a soulful adventure! A Hero’s Journey that will both challenge and encourage you to embrace your potential and playfully awaken your inner power. This training will transform your doubts and ignite your passion. It is the ultimate Happiness Training!

Alchemy of Yoga in our sixteenth year as a Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga School, is unique from other teacher training programs in that it goes way beyond mastering yoga poses. While you will learn a great deal about asana, it is truly a journey in self-discovery. You will learn how to unblock the obstacles to your happiness by tapping into your greatest potential and living from your highest self.

Upon completion, you will be prepared to design and confidently lead intelligent alignment driven Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin and Restorative classes, all with your own signature style all while having the skill to adapt to varied fitness and experience levels of your students making yoga accessible to everyone. You will be ready to effectively inspire others and will graduate as a Happiness Ambassador joining 29 previous classes of graduates over the last 15 years.

The role of the Alchemy of Yoga team is to inspire you and provide loving support into self-inquiry. We kindly hold space for your growth in a way that stays true to your authenticity both during and after teacher training.

I know picking a Yoga School is hard. If my philosophy and approach resonates with you then complete your intention form today, book your spot and let’s talk more on whatsApp +1-206-886-5743. Call me ANYTIME. I’d love the opportunity to be part of your soul journey!

With peace in all ways,

~Silvia Mordini~ Founder of Alchemy of Yoga (My heart already loves your heart…)

With deep respect and honor: This program is enriched by many ancient teachings, not just yoga, it also draws from Joseph Campbell, Brene Brown, Thich Nhat Hahn, Don Miguel Ruiz, Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield, Wayne Dyer, Shamanism, Ayurvedic studies, Mythology, and energy systems like the Chakras.

As Founder of Alchemy of Yoga who am I to you?

My teaching intention is to serve you as a compassionate mentor who inspires honest SELF-inquiry and ultimate transformation. This goes way beyond just teaching: Mentoring means I have the opportunity to hold space for your growth now and forever. I do not follow an authoritarian model of teaching where I just tell you what to do. Instead, I want you to listen to yourself, tune into your heart, pay attention to your body and discern for yourself what supports your authenticity.

How does the Alchemy of Yoga work?

It transforms us on three levels: Physical Alchemy, Spiritual Alchemy, and Mental Alchemy. Our laboratory is our mat and the ingredients are our bodies, poses, breath, and most of all our thoughts and the mixing it all together changes your life. Based upon our thoughts we create potions that cause chemicals to be neurologically released in our bodies. We are empowered to create elixers that heal our soul. Happiness again becomes our natural alchemy. You are transformed into a Peace Leader, leading a Happiness Revolution and changing the world!

What Does Alchemy of Yoga Offer You? How to Live an INSPIRED Life

HOW TO LIFE A LIFE INSPIRED

Alchemy of Yoga Program is about wholeness, health, and vital living. It is about a life inspired in body, mind, and spirit. Through movement, meditation, mantra, discussion, journaling, ceremonies and cultural excursions, we will explore the vast resources related to How to Live an INSPIRED Life by focusing on the last three Niyamas or personal practices that comprise the Alchemy of Yoga (Mental, Spiritual, Physical Alchemy). These are necessary for bringing about real, lasting change and cultivating inner happiness and spiritual bliss. We promise sustainable transformation.

WHAT DOES ALCHEMY OF YOGA OFFER STUDENTS?

In completing Alchemy of Yoga’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program, you will be empowered to:

Embrace your potential and live from your highest self
Awaken your inner power to be more self-confident
Ignite your passion to love your life as you live your dharma
Embark upon the life-long path of self-study + self-discovery
Commit to allowing your most authentic self to shine out both on and off the mat
Tune into your own intuition while listening to both your body wisdom and your heart
Honor Both the Sacred Masculine and Sacred Feminine
Master the physical aspects of asana practice through an approach rooted in safety and alignment
Develop a personal yoga, meditation, and pranayama practice
Explore all eight limbs of yoga philosophy in addition to the chakras, elements, and other energetic healing systems
Believe in magic
Design and confidently lead intelligent, alignment-driven, and theme-based Vinyasa, Hatha, and Restorative classes
Infuse your signature style into class sequencing and presentation
Adapt classes to varied fitness and experience levels of your students
Become part of an international world-wide Alchemy Kula (community of brothers and sisters)
Be kind all the time

Upon completion of the program you will be eligible for:

Registration through Yoga Alliance once you have completed practicum materials
Ongoing support, mentorship, and resources through the Alchemy of Yoga Alumni Program

Most of all, you will graduate as a Happiness Ambassador ready to authentically and effectively inspire others while carrying out Alchemy of Yoga’s ultimate mission to Teach Peace.

WHAT IS ALCHEMY OF YOGA NOT?

Authoritarian
Asana only
Dualistic
Masculine driven
Set sequence with one-size fits all approach
Un-fun

Options for Self-Study

Allowing space for individual growth, Alchemy of Yoga offers two paths of study:

Option 1 includes above aspects of self-study culminating in formal certification through Yoga Alliance with 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) status. Expectations of students following this immersion-based path include:

Interest in studying all aspects of yoga: asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, history and theory, arising from a wish to deepen your practice and engage in self-study.
Commitment to attending training sessions and completing additional contact hours including asana classes, observations, assistant teaching, and practice teaching.
Participation in group activities and contribute to discussions.
Completion of all homework and practicum requirements.
Support other students.

Option 2 includes Immersion for serious students looking to deepen their practice and knowledge of yoga asana, meditation, philosophy, and spirit who do not wish to pursue teaching yoga. As a self-study student, differences in your experience include:

You are not required to submit any homework although it is strongly advised that you complete the assigned readings in order to contribute to group discussions.
You will not be required to complete the practicum requirements.
You will not be graded or assessed in accordance with Yoga Alliance standards.
You will not beawarded a 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Certificate upon completion, however you will be given a certificate of program completion as a reference for future studies or trainings.

What is the Power of Alchemy of Yoga?

Ancient Alchemists, like their Yogi counterparts, saw all of creation as composed of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. Through their meditations and explorations of these five elements, they created healing and transformative potions that unlocked many of the mysteries of the universe and therein contributed to the evolution of humankind. This is the opportunity of a life time to profoundly change your life. And when you change your life, you change the world.

How do you want to change the world?

As Sri Swami Satchidananda says, “Yoga believes in transforming the individual before transforming the world. Whatever change we want to happen outside should happen within.

EARTH –Chakra 1 – Muladhara: To manifest our desires we must have strong roots within ourselves.

WATER – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana: We tap into our limitless potential to create our dreams and desires.

FIRE – Chakra 3 – Manipura: We ignite the fire of our burning desires and dreams through action.

AIR – Chakra 4 – Anahata: Our inner wisdom becomes available to us when we open the heart and surrender to love, gently releasing what is no longer in alignment with our hearts.

ETHER – Chakra 5 – Vishudha: Communicating to the universe our wisdom learned from the heart with clarity and truth. To open the heart and surrender to love we must have a strong knowing of our truth.

Chakra 6 – Ajna: We open the third eye in order to sink back as the observer of our being. As we observe with gentle awareness, all negative thoughts and egoistic tendencies dissolve and we return back to stillness, happiness, and love. We surrender to the guidance of our inner wisdom and know that all the answers we seek lie within us.

Chakra 7 – Sahasrara: The flow of grace exists all around and flows through us from an open crown chakra. We become the embodiment of the Divine, a unique expression of consciousness, dwelling in our natural alchemy of love and peace.

Alchemy of Yoga History

Through the Alchemy of Yoga we can create our own medicine, cure our self-created problems and live with the sense of bliss and contentment that all of us are born to experience.

Alchemy is a beautiful word and complex term. It reminds us of the genius of Isaac Newton who, as an alchemist, astronomer, naturalist, and physicist came to be known as one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians of all times while also understanding the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of reality.

Ancient alchemists, like their Yogi counterparts, saw all of creation as composed of earth, air, fire, water, and space. Through their meditations and explorations of these five elements they created healing and transformative potions that formed the base of much of modern pharmacology. In the process, they unlocked many of the mysteries of the universe and therein contributed to the evolution of humankind.

Alchemy as it relates to the realm of metaphysics is arguably the higher practice of this ancient art. Just as pure gold can be obtained by burning away its impurities and base metals, through Spiritual Alchemy one can move from an imperfect, diseased, ignorant and corrupted state towards wisdom, healing, self-transformation and enlightenment. This is the Alchemy of Yoga, and it is at the core of this sacred science.

Each and every one of us is an alchemist. Our laboratory is our brain. We concoct our potions and elixirs based upon our thoughts. These chemicals then course through our neurological systems and spread into our organs, muscles, bones and tissues. Depending upon the quality of our thoughts and our level of consciousness, we are either creating black magic that will only cause us pain, or we are creating miracle potions that can help us lead the lives we have always desired.

For instance, a chronically agitated, fearful and angry person creates too much adrenaline and cortisol, the primary chemicals associated with our instinctive fight-or-flight response. Our fast-paced, stressed-out culture contributes to this alchemy and such a person finds themselves in increasingly toxic life situations. This pattern often leads to lowered immune function, mental or physical ailments, and ultimately serious disease.

The thoughts of a more positive alchemist create serotonin and interleukins. These chemicals boost the immune function, relax our adrenals, and promote healing. This pattern leads to a happier life in which greater health, greater achievements, and greater experiences seem to go hand-in-hand.

Simply put, as we all have heard, “You are what you think.” The hypochondriac becomes sick. The person who thinks negatively creates a reality in which things always seem to go wrong. Those who believe they cannot accomplish something have already seeded their own defeat. On the other hand, the positive person who takes a sugar pill in a blind test of a new medicine may actually experience benefits far beyond what the real drug has to offer. Those who are convinced of their potential are likely to realize it no matter what obstacles arise. Those who see the world filled with light and love often have this reflected back to them as their reality.

The groundbreaking work of Japanese Dr. Masaru Emoto has illuminated this phenomenon, and the crossover between the physical and metaphysical aspects of alchemy, in a unique and remarkable way. Through special photographic techniques, Dr. Emoto has been able to prove that water, in its frozen crystal form, actually responds to words and thoughts. When he exposed water to words of love, compassion, and peace, even if not spoken aloud, the water formed beautiful and intricate crystals no matter what language was used. When words of hate, anger and evil were used, no crystals formed and the water appeared muddied and toxic. Water responded similarly to peaceful, melodious music as opposed to heavy metal or rap. You can see these photos by looking up Dr. Masaru Emoto on the internet.

If our thoughts and words have the power to impact water, it makes sense that they also influence those around us and impact the patterns we create in our lives. In effect, as we respond to our circumstances, experiences and surroundings, we directly effect how they respond and reflect back to us. We are the alchemists not only of the chemicals coursing through our bodies; we are the creators of our individual worlds.

This is why Yoga, and its sister science of Ayurveda, teach us alchemical techniques that reconstruct the molecules of our being. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and Dharana (single-pointed concentration) help to bring us to deeper levels of inner awareness and balance. Mantra (the repetition of sacred words) actually allows us to access higher universal powers that are healing and transformative. Dhyana (meditation) ultimately crystallizes our consciousness and brings us to Self-realization.

As a practice, you can conduct your own scientific experiment on yourself, serving both as scientist and subject. Find a quiet place where you can lie down undisturbed for several minutes (this can be done after Yoga during Savasana or as a response to a stressful day). Once you are comfortable, note what your emotional state is as you begin. Try to feel the “taste” inside of your body, the current chemical atmosphere of your being. Bring your awareness to your brain, seeing it as your laboratory and your mind as the alchemist. Then, allow your breath to become deep and full. After a few breaths, begin placing the following words in your brain, repeating each one long enough that the emotion of the word begins to permeate your consciousness.

Contentment… Repeat this over and over with the breath remaining deep and full, really feeling it, breathing it in and exhaling it throughout your entire being. Do this for a few minutes, noticing the internal chemistry of your body and the subtle shifts that begin to take place.

Follow the same process with: Serenity… Peace… Gratitude… Compassion… Love… Ecstasy…

And so forth, spending a few minutes with each emotion. You do not have to memorize these words or this sequence. Choose the words that you know deeply in your heart are the most healing and transformative for you, even letting them arise naturally during the process. When you are done, spend some time noticing any shifts in your inner essence, any different “taste” of being you. Feel the relaxation and pleasure that arises from this practice in every cell of your body and every corner of your mind.

This alchemical process played a great role in my own self-healing. I moved from fear, anger and despondency to openness, compassion and a firm belief in my ability to self-heal. It did not happen overnight, and at times it felt like I was endlessly digging ditches, seeking to pierce the crust of my entrenched emotions and unearth a deeper place in my soul where my true nature was buried. Through faith, devotion, and dedication, the work paid off and I was fortunate enough to heal, both physically and emotionally.

Healing, I came to learn afterwards, did not stop there. It is a daily practice in a world where stressful challenges and negative emotions often prevail. We all have this power, to heal ourselves day in and day out. Through the Alchemy of Yoga we can create our own medicine, cure our self-created problems, and live with the sense of bliss and contentment that all hearts deeply desire.

– By Bhava Ram

Alchemy of Yoga How to Prepare for Teacher Training 2019