pricing policy

$3150  paid before March 01, 2012
$3275  paid before start of program
$3400  payment plan

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit will hold your space after you are accepted

A second payment of $1,000 will be due on or before the first day of class, April 14 2012.

A payment plan is available for the remaining $1,400 balance after the start of the program. You can set this up to be paid monthly through Tejas Yoga. This can be paid at a monthly rate from April 2012 to March 2013. The monthly rate will be decided between the student and Tejas Yoga at time of acceptance.

questions

We've hosted an informative question and answer forum
on our Teacher Training and Mentorship.

See the videos below to view the discussion:

reading

Required Books: Required reading and resource material.

Recommended Books: Books that support the covered material within the training, but are not required.

Suggested Books: Supplementary books that may be of interest and deepen your understanding of a specific subject.

Required
Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice: T.K.V. Desikachar
Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha: Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide: Deepak Chopra, M.D.
Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: David H. Coulter and Timothy McCall
How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali: Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

Recommended
Light on Yoga: B.K.S Iyengar
Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Swami Muktibodhananda
The Language of Yoga: Complete A to Y Guide to Asana Names, Sanskrit Terms and Chants: Nicolai Bachman
The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies: Dr. Vasant Lad
Bhagavad Gita: Eknath Easwaran translation
Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy: Mukunda Stiles

Suggested
Ayurvedic Healing: David Frawley
Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness: Erich Schiffmann
The Four Desires: Rod Stryker
The Key Muscles of Yoga: Ray Long

instructors

James Tennant was exposed to yoga in 1996 through his first spiritual mentor Jeri Lucas, who continues to inspire him today. With a growing love for the practice, James participated in the 2001 Ana Forest teacher training. In 2003 he traveled to Kiev, Ukraine for a four-month intensive training in Universal Freestyle Yoga with Andrey Lappa. After a couple years of teaching and studying in Chicago, he took an 8-month sabbatical to study with the beloved Dharma Mittra in New York, NY. His interest in Ayurveda then took him to Albuquerque, NM. There he studied Ayurvedic Medicine at the Ayurvedic Institute with the renowned Dr. Vasant Lad, M.A. Sc. James is also an ordained reverend through Ron Brown Grayson, PhD in Universal Studies, co-founder of Source Legacy.

Jim Bennitt a former wrestler, massage therapist and clerk at the Chicago Board of Trade, began his studies in Yoga, Tantra and Ayurveda in 1997. Jim has completed teacher trainings with Daren Friesen of Moksha Yoga Center which draws heavily from the Krishnamacharya lineage, apprenticed with Gabriel Halpern of the Yoga Circle (a studio in the Iyengar tradition), spent two months in Kiev with Ukrainian Yoga master Andre Lappa for an intensive in Universal Yoga, and in 2002 began a close apprenticeship with Rod Stryker, founder of Para Yoga, in the Himalayan tradition which continues to this day. Jim has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, Chicago Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Breathe and Yoga Chicago. He's also a popular presenter at the Yoga Journal Grand Geneva Conference and the Midwest Yoga Conference and teaches workshops nationwide.

Elesa Commerse is a beloved meditation teacher, known for her ability to demystify the practice and facilitate breakthrough experiences on the journey to authenticity. She has been teaching since 1977 and has been meditating for as long as she can remember (even though she didn't call it that). Her root teacher is the Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh. A graduate of the Temple of Kriya Yoga Meditation Teacher Training Program, Elesa holds two certificates in Advanced Yoga Studies for completing Donna Farhi's yoga teacher training program. Elesa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude) from Smith College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Visit Elesa's website HERE.

Dianna Oles is a lay-monk (oblate) with the community of Shantivanam, an interreligious ashram in South India where she lived in 2004-2005. She began her formal study of yoga and Ayurveda in 2001 and has taught in ashrams & meditation centers in India & Sri Lanka as well as in the United States. She maintains asana, pranayama, chant and meditation as essential elements of her daily sadhana. Having completed her MA in Eastern classics in 2009, she reads Literary Chinese, Sanskrit and Tamil texts and is currently working on a comparison of the Tamil Kamban and Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana.

Wendy Doniger (O'Flaherty) graduated from Radcliffe College, June 1962 (summa cum laude) in Sanskrit and Indian Studies. She received her Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University in June 1968, and her D.Phil. in Oriental Studies from Oxford University in February 1973. She has been a full professor in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago since 1978 and, since 1986, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. She has published many translations of Sanskrit texts as well as books about Hindu mythology and cross-cultural mythology, particularly about illusion, animals, gender, and sex. She describes herself as "a Sanskritist, indeed a recovering Orientalist" and "an old-fashioned philologist". Visit Wendy's website HERE.

Karen Klutznick is an ayurvedic practitioner and educator with a private practice in Chicago, IL. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University and spent 22 years as a real-estate-development professional before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to study at The Ayurvedic Institute with world-renowned ayurvedic physician Dr. Vasant Lad. Visit Karen's website HERE.

curriculum

components and required hours

Technique: 105 hours: Analytical training, how to teach and practice the techniques and guided practice of the techniques themselves.

• Asana
• Pranayama
• Kriyas
• Chanting
• Mantra
• Meditation

Teaching Methodology: 25 hours. Learning and applying principles and skills.

• Apprenticeship
• Learning and applying teaching skills
• Principles of demonstrating and correcting
• Teaching styles and sequencing
• Class observation

Anatomy/Physiology: 21 hours. Study and application in relation to the practice of yoga.

• Human anatomy
• Bodily systems and functions
• Contraindications
• Energetic anatomy (chakras and nadis)

Yoga Philosophy/Lifestyle/Ethics: 28 hours. Study, discuss, apply, experience and contemplate.

Practicum: 10.5 hours. Practice teaching, receiving feedback, observation, assisting.

• Community class
• Assisting in a community class
• Review

Elective: 10.5 hours. Learn more of what you love from the components/workshops offered.

• Sanskrit
• Karma Yoga
• Women’s Health
• Ayurveda

overview

Our program is built around our Saturday workshops. It won’t be necessary to attend every workshop offered to meet the 200-credit hour accreditation but some will be required for all teacher trainees and others will be used to fulfill your elective credits.

Workshops begin at 2 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., depending on the workshop. Following the workshop, teacher trainees will stay on for further instruction lasting 1 to 2 hours. Workshops and training sessions are not all weighted equally in terms of credit hours.

No workshops or training sessions are scheduled on holiday weekends.

In addition to the time you’ll spend in workshops and training sessions, there will be assignments and other requirements of your time spent on activities such as journaling, short written assignments, group projects, quizzes, self-practice and group-practice hours, classroom observation and assisting hours. Practice teaching and review will also be mandatory.

Tejas Yoga Mentorship and Training includes:

• 1 year of training instruction and mentorship
• All Tejas Yoga-required events and workshops
• 1 year of classes at Tejas Yoga
• Use of Tejas Yoga facilities for personal practice
• Discounted rates for all recommended workshops and events outside of Tejas Yoga
• 15% off all retail purchases

• * Individual consultation with Jim Bennitt and James Tennant
• * Ayurvedic assessment with James Tennant

requirements and application

One year of consistent yoga practice is a prerequisite for this training.

To apply, please complete the online application HERE and email it back to us or print out the application and return it by mail or in person to:

Tejas Yoga
1133 S. Wabash, Suite 101
Chicago, IL 60605

We will then contact you to set up a consultation with Jim Bennitt and James Tennant. After the consultation and upon acceptance to the program, a non-refundable $1,000 deposit will reserve your space. Space is limited to 15 trainees.

Annual tuition includes:

• 1 year of training instruction and mentorship
• All Tejas Yoga-required events and workshops
• 1 year of classes at Tejas Yoga
• Use of Tejas Yoga facilities for personal practice
• Discounted rates for all recommended workshops and events outside of Tejas Yoga
• 15% off all retail purchases

• * Individual consultation with Jim Bennitt and James Tennant
• * Ayurvedic assessment with James Tennant

download application here

philosophy

Our program is more than just “a teacher training”.

Yoga is a vast subject and whether you’re training to become a teacher, studying to refine your teaching skills or participating to deepen your existing practice, time and guidance are invaluable. We also realize that going through any intensive study often brings about transformation on many levels. Our program is designed to support you as you absorb, digest and apply the lessons.

By limiting the number of students and lengthening the program to a full year, we are better prepared to give each individual the time and attention he or she requires. We’ve created a program that gives you the time and space to receive the information, ask questions, discuss, apply and experience the material being taught under the guidance of highly trained and seasoned teachers.

We are interested in your goals and vision. We believe this program will challenge you, inspire you and give you helpful tools for your daily life. But, most importantly, our desire is to assist you in unveiling a deeper knowledge of Self.