The next Organizational Meeting will meet on Friday June 8, 2007 at 6:00pm, directly before Yoga  Study Group, at Mary Pritchard's Home.


Please contact the Center for directions.  All are welcome.  

 

In effort to enrich and improve the world in which we live, the de la Ferriere Center will be a vehicle through which people, based on their personal energy and experience, learn and serve others.  The de la Ferriere Center is an organization comprised of volunteers who promote balanced living through body conditioning, discipline, self study, and serivce.  It is committed to building personal and community understanding.
The de la Ferriere Center will organize itself representing the four paths of yoga: raja, bhakti, jnana, and karma.  The disciplines, organization and vision will represent raja yoga.  The practice of selfless service will represent karma yoga.  The practice of love will represent bhakti yoga.  The practice of study will represent jnana yoga.
The operation of the de la Ferriere Center will follow and promote these guiding principles:
Every individual is responsible for his or her own actions.
Every individual has a unique contribution to make to the world.
There is a connection among all living beings.
Understanding each other occurs through respect and tolerance of all beliefs.
A peaceful world will exist when all people choose to live a peaceful life.
A just world will exist when all people adopt a perspective of universal justice.
We pursue our goal through service at the local level therefore, we will make it our mission to:
Honor the wisdom in each person
Recognize the essential oneness of humanity within our diversity.
Empower ourselves through gathering for mutual support and study.
Create channels for service that correspond to individual talents, interest and local need.
Collaborate with individuals and organization that share our purposes.
Support and celebrate the family.

 

de la Ferriere Yoga Teachers Training School

The general purpose of de la Ferriere teachers training course is to educate the teacher in training so that s/he will be able to conduct yoga classes in accordance with the classical tradition of yoga and Initiation as represented by the Universal Great Brotherhood, Solar Line, led by Jose Manuel Estrada.  In other words, to assist the student teacher so that s/he can teach others the very ancient process of yoga through which they can realize their full potential as complete human beings.  

In order to accomplish this task, this training course consists of several units of study. Taken together, they enable the prospective teacher to accomplish four major objectives:

1)       to understand the essential, Initiatic foundation of Yoga 
2)       to know the yoga method well enough  to be capable of knowing how to assess student growth at each step of the process 
3)       to practice yoga regularly in order to  realize in one’s self the promise of yoga and the transformative quality of the de la Ferriere system of yoga and to be a living example of what one teaches and
4)       to fully participate in the de la Ferriere Center so as to enhance the community setting within which this process takes place.

These four objectives are interrelated so that one of these cannot be fully realized unless each of the other three is incorporated.

Based on the classic traditions of yoga, represented by Patanjali’s Yogasutras, this teachers training school is interested in assisting the personal practice of the student teacher.   We recognize that there are various paths, and we encourage our students to take other styles of yoga and take classes from various teachers to discover what is the best for them. We are teaching students to understand their own personal constitution and to develop and promote practices that support their personal development.

 Curriculum

Teacher training is the beginning of the educational process that is expected of teachers for the rest of their teaching life.  The de la Ferriere center is interested in the growth of its teachers as well as the positive influence the teachers have on the students. The requirements are strict and enforced. 

A pre-requisite of teachers training is that the prospective teacher be a student in the de la Ferriere system of yoga for at least six months. This is an important requirement: personal experience with what they are going to learn in greater detail and teach. After an applicant has expressed a desire to become a teacher and with the approval of their certified yoga teacher, s/he is accepted into teachers training. When there are at least 2 applicants, teacher training begins. The training takes approximately two years.
The teachers in training attend a one and one-half hour class approximately every other week. While in training, all teachers in training are required to attend a weekly de la Ferriere system of yoga class as well as continuing their personal practice at home. After 5 months, a teacher in training is assigned to a de la Ferriere system of yoga class as a teaching assistant. This provides them with the opportunity to observe a certified teacher and practice teaching parts of a class with supervision. After 5 months of being a teaching assistant, this certified teacher, with the agreement of the teacher in training, determine if the teacher in training is ready to teach a beginning class or needs more time as a teaching assistant.   After completing the teaching assistant portion, the teacher-in-training then is assigned to teach a de la Ferriere yoga class weekly for nine months. This teaching occurs under the supervision of the Director of Teacher Training as well as a supervising certified teacher or teachers. 
When the teacher in training satisfactorily completes all the study sessions, completes the practicum of teacher assisting, completes the teaching of his/her own class, takes a weekly yoga class, continues with their home personal practice, and receives the positive recommendations of her supervising certified teachers, the teacher in training earns a certificate of completion.   S/he is declared a certified teacher of the de la Ferriere system of yoga qualified to teach a series one and two de la Ferriere system of yoga class.   

Teachers in the de la Ferriere system of yoga teach as volunteers and receive no financial compensation for teaching.  Teachers sign and adhere to a code of ethics to support the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual welfare of their students, and to uphold the dignity and integrity of the yoga teachings.

The continuing preparation of a certified teacher occurs through teaching yoga classes, attending weekly yoga classes, attending conferences and workshops and reading the current yoga publications.  Certified teachers attend de la Ferriere Center Teachers School and also undergo peer review.
The de la Ferriere Teachers Training School is accredited by Yoga Alliance at the 200 hour level. 
For more information, contact the de la Ferriere Center.