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Future of the Yoga Teacher

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April 15 @ 9:00 am 5:30 pm EDT

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LIVE April 15, 9 am – 5:30 pm ET. Summit Debrief Roundtable Discussion April 17, 7 – 8:30 pm ET. Convert your time here.

If you can’t attend this event live, all registrants will have access to the recordings (Available Monday, April 17 @ 5:30 pm ET).

If you are already a member sign in and add the course to your favorites.  You will need to be subscribed to be able to receive reminder emails from Embodied Philosophy including to receive the Zoom link for the live sessions. For support, please reply to your confirmation email or contact hello@embodiedphilosophy.com.


Description

In this one-day summit, Embodied Philosophy’s Jacob Kyle and Trish Tillman, along with guests Ava Taylor, Daniel Simpson, Gopi Kinnicutt, Mary Reilly Nichols, Oneika Mays, Alexandria Crow, Eddie Stern, Adrianne Du’sauzay, and Reggie Hubbard will explore the possible future/s of the yoga teacher, including questions of academic vs. realized knowledge, the role of studio spaces, incorporating yoga philosophy into asana classes, and the challenges of “finding a niche” and hyper-specialization. During the upheavals of the last several years, the role of the yoga teacher has undergone some trials, tribulations, and transformations, and the time is ripe to pause and take stock of our current moment. This online summit will be of interest to both new and experienced yoga teachers, as well as yoga students/ practitioners, scholars, and those interested in the evolution and unfolding of non-traditional spiritual spaces. 

Saturday, April 15th, 2023

9 am EDT – How to make the most of this summit – Opening Orientation

Lecture with Jacob Kyle and Trish Tillman

9:45 – 10:45 am EDT

Interview with Ava Taylor and Jacob Kyle

11 am EDT – Academic Knowledge, Realized Experience, and the Yoga Teacher

Interview with Daniel Simson and Jacob Kyle

Why go through the trouble of maintaining a physical yoga studio space in the present day, when such spaces are often costly, and online alternatives are readily available? Physical, “traditional” yoga studio spaces offer possibilities that the online option often does not, such as opportunities for spontaneous spiritual association, chance encounters that become friendships, and conducive environments for organization and activism. In this interview, Trish Tillman chats with Washington, D.C. yoga studio owner Gopi Kinnicutt, whose studio, Bhakti Yoga, survived COVID, while their community also engaged with Black Lives Matter protests and activism in DC. This conversation will strike chords with yoga teachers and yoga practitioners who seek to embody the traditions of yoga through the aftermath of 2020, and beyond.

12:15 pm EDT – The Brick-and-Mortar Studio Space through COVID and Beyond 

Interview with Gopi Kinnicutt and Trish Tillman

Why go through the trouble of maintaining a physical yoga studio space in the present day, when such spaces are often costly, and online alternatives are readily available? Physical, “traditional” yoga studio spaces offer possibilities that the online option often does not, such as opportunities for spontaneous spiritual association, chance encounters that become friendships, and conducive environments for organization and activism. In this interview, Trish Tillman chats with Washington, D.C. yoga studio owner Gopi Kinnicutt, whose studio, Bhakti Yoga, survived COVID, while their community also engaged with Black Lives Matter protests and activism in DC. This conversation will strike chords with yoga teachers and yoga practitioners who seek to embody the traditions of yoga through the aftermath of 2020, and beyond.

2:00 pm EDT – Asana: The Embodiment of Yoga Philosophy

Workshop with Mary Reilly Nichols

Learn to incorporate insights from Vedic, Tantric, Buddhist, and diverse Wisdom traditions into your Hatha Yoga asana practice. It is fair to say that the purpose of Hatha Yoga is to prepare the neural system for samadhi. In this session, we assimilate specific teachings with yoga postures to form the bio-physical foundation of the visceral ecstasy of realization. The session begins with an explanatory slide presentation, followed by a demonstration of integrative asana practice, and a welcoming interactive group discussion. 

3:45 pm EDT – Niche-making, Hyper-specialization, and Pressures on the Yoga  Teacher

Panel discussion w/ Alexandria Crow, Eddie Stern, Adrianne Du’sauzay, and Trish Tillman

In today’s yoga landscape, many yoga teachers are advised, even right out of the gate of teacher training, to “find their niche” and to figure out their angle as a teacher. Is this good advice, or could pressures to pick a specialization stunt new yoga teacher’s exploration, encounters with potential mentors, and self-discovery? Much has been written on the problems of hyper-specialization in academia: the shortcomings of a viewpoint that is extremely deep in one specific area, but also extremely narrow, as opposed to more broad or synthetic types of knowledge. Arguably, neither a fresh college graduate, nor a freshly minted YTT graduate, have very much of an idea of what they actually like to do, and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. How might the structures of yoga teacher trainings and continuing education, in the present model, contribute to teachers’ feelings of compunction around specialization, and how could we seek to adjust?

Pre-Recorded On-Demand – Commodification, Capitalism, and How To Be in the World

Interview Reggie Hubbard with Trish Tillman

Reggie Hubbard chats with Trish Tillman about the “elephant in the room” of commodification of one’s yoga practice. Yoga teachers today are under the constant pressure of late-stage capitalism to commodify themselves, their image, and the healing practices they share. At the same time, we all must partake in the material world, and just because the consumeristic landscape is set up in an unethical way, doesn’t give one permission to be unethical. Reggie and Trish discuss how to hold a balance between work and rest, between immanence and transcendence, and how to be of service to others while maintaining one’s own inner life.

Pre-Recorded On-Demand – Social Justice Solutions

Interview with Oneika Mays and Jacob Kyle

What are the opportunities for the yoga community in the wake of recent social movements? How do we both honor tradition as well as each other? These are profoundly important questions with complex answers, and Oneika has insights to share.

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023, 7 pm EDT

Musings & Integration: Post-Summit on the Future of the Yoga Teacher Community Conversation

Community Conversation with Stephanie Corigliano & Trish Tillman

Our one-day summit on the Future of the Yoga Teacher will doubtless leave many of you with more questions. Cultural tensions and debates are sometimes played out in a microcosm in the yoga classroom, including in the internal journey of both yoga teachers and yoga students. In this post-summit debrief and conversation, Stephanie Corigliano and Trish Tillman will talk more about what came up during the summit, what unexpected tensions were revealed, and which ideas were clarified. As well as a discussion between Stephanie and Trish, you will have an opportunity to share your own thoughts and questions on the summit.

Register now…


Jacob Kyle, MSc, MA, is a yoga asana teacher, writer, philosophy educator and the Founder/Director of Embodied Philosophy, an online educational platform for Eastern philosophies and contemplative practices. Kyle holds two Masters Degrees in Philosophy: an MSc in Political Philosophy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MA in the History of Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. His ongoing studies in Western and Eastern philosophies have included the study of the Yoga Sutras with Edwin Bryant and Tantrik philosophy with Christopher Wallis. He was initiated into Neelakhanta Meditation and has since then been enrolled in Blue Throat Yoga programs under the tutelage of esteemed Kashmir Shaivism scholar Paul Muller-Ortega, studying the texts and practices of the Trika Kula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism. In 2019, he commenced the SadaShivacharya meditation teacher training process with Blue Throat Yoga. To augment his yoga asana teaching practice, Kyle has completed over seven hundred hours of training and workshops with many master teachers.


Trish Tillman is a history professor and yoga teacher in the Washington, DC area. She holds a PhD in History from the Catholic University of America, and currently teaches at University of Maryland – Global Campus. She teaches yoga for, and helps to manage, District Flow Yoga in downtown DC near Capitol Hill. She is also the Wisdom Editor at Embodied Philosophy. Since completing her original yoga teacher training, Trish has been steadily involved in the study and practice of Bhakti yoga, via her teacher, Hari-kirtana das.


Oneika Mays, she/her, LMT, E-RYT, is a multi-hyphenate facilitator who leads with joy, passion, and wisdom. She is a grounded leader with lived experience that centers on mindfulness and transformation. As a Black, queer feminist she brings a poignant lens to building a world that is more compassionate and understanding. With deep roots and knowledge in Buddhist and yogic teachings, Oneika delivers practical application and authentic connection through her facilitation skills. With openness and vulnerability, she facilitates the space to talk about change and embrace every part of ourselves.

From mindfulness and movement classes to keynote addresses and board meetings, Oneika consistently delivers a practical application of transformative practices at the intersection of joy and disruption. Book Oneika as your next wellness speaker, yoga teacher trainer, or retreat guide at: www.OneikaMays.com. Join her movement to tap into joy and change the world by connecting with her on Instagram at @‌OneikaMays.


Daniel Simpson is the author of The Truth of Yoga, an accessible guide to yoga history and philosophy. His approach combines scholarly knowledge with humor and insight, informed by more than 20 years of practical experience. He holds a master’s degree in yoga studies (from SOAS at the University of London) and teaches courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, on yoga teacher trainings and via his website, truthofyoga.com. In a previous career, he was a foreign correspondent, working for Reuters and the New York Times.


Gopi Kinnicutt (ERYT 500) is a dynamic, Bhakti-infused yoga teacher who has developed her own unique teaching style. She organically creates and designs dynamic fluid yoga sequences, infused with deep spirituality. In her classes she incorporates mantras, breath work and Kriyas to release untouched energy and Prana. She bridges the philosophy of Yoga and the authentic traditions coming from India, making them accessible to the modern 21st century Yogi. She is the owner of Bhakti Yoga DC and founder of Yoga Mandali in Saratoga Springs, New York. Gopi leads National and International yoga retreats. She has been the head of RYT 200 hour and 300 hour teacher trainings since 2008. gopi is also trained in trauma-sensitive yoga. Gopi also lived in a Bhakti Yoga ashram for 10 years, where she studied and taught Indian philosophy and mantra meditation.


Mary Reilly Nichols, Director of Nalanda Institute’s Yoga, Mind & Spirit teacher training program has been teaching yoga for over 30 years. She teaches yoga from the perspective of non-duality offered in the Upanishads, Advaita Vedanta, as well as in the Tantric methods of Kashmiri Shaivism and Kundalini Yoga. She holds a BA in anthropology from Harvard University, is a devoted student of Muktananda, and completed five years of residency in meditation ashrams in both India and the US. Currently, Nichols teaches stress management in psychiatric settings and is involved in ongoing research on the mind/body benefits of yoga and meditation.


Eddie Stern is a yoga instructor, author, and current candidate for a master of science degree in yoga research. He has been teaching yoga for over thirty years, and is the founder of Ashtanga Yoga New York, the Broome Street Ganesha Temple, Namarupa Magazine, the Breathing App, and Yoga Education Collective. Eddie is a board member of LIFE Camp, a gun violence reduction non-profit in Queens, NY, which uses therapeutic wellness to heal violence related trauma and the Black Yoga Teacher Alliance, which supports training and education of Black yoga teachers. He is actively engaged in publishing research in yoga, and his latest book, One Simple Thing, A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it Can Change Your Life, was a bestselling look at the underlying mechanisms that make yoga such an effective, healing practice. He lives and teaches in NYC.


Adrianne Du’sauzay started the physical practice of yoga over 20 years ago. She continued to practice during graduate school at George Washington University – MS: Exercise Science & Nutrition, and while she was a personal trainer.  In 2015 Adrianne completed 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training with CorePower Yoga. This led to full time teaching, management, and facilitating Yoga Teacher Training programs. In 2020 she became a Master Trainer supporting CPY’s yoga quality and trainings. Adrianne also began teaching virtually and leading virtual trainings for students across the world!  She has taught over 1,000 yoga classes and led countless training programs over the years. Adrianne currently lives and teaches in the DC area for various fitness companies and studios and continues her yoga studies through workshops, such as, Pranayama (breath), Meditation, and Integrative Yoga (Kriya) workshops.  As a yoga practitioner she is forever studying and sharing yoga (beyond asana)!  Adrianne is committed to inspiring curiosity to explore your authentic self through the practice of yoga.


Alexandria Crow is an internationally respected teachers’ teacher who leads teacher trainings and workshops around the world. Through her Yoga Physics methodology she aims to clearly explain the what, why’s and how’s of asana, meditation and yogic philosophy making the practice approachable for everyone, of every level and of every walk of life. She shares this knowledge with her students and other teachers so they can practice and teach wisely, sustainably and mindfully. Her in-person continuing education workshops and online DeConstruct to ReConstruct Course, as well as her 300 hour teacher intensive train teachers to be better informed on yogic philosophy and history, the physical mechanics of the body and how to apply that knowledge to asana, as well as how to ethically lead group classes that are accessible and sensitive to all. Her Yoga Physics mentorship program is helping teachers build on their strengths, while discovering their own unique voices.


Stephanie Corigliano is the editor for Tarka at Embodied Philosophy and co-director of the Yoga Philosophy certificate program. She also works as a lecturer in the Religious Studies department at Cal Poly, Humboldt. Stephanie holds a PhD in Comparative Theology from Boston College University and an MA in Theology from Loyola Marymount University.


Reggie Hubbard is the founder/chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga.   His yoga and meditation practice have served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a black man in the world, serving in pressure-filled jobs at the height of politics and have helped him navigate complicated emotions (anger, grief, disappointment) to find and nurture peace of mind and ease of spirit.

Reggie’s life work sits at the intersection of bringing more peace and balance to activists; guiding the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens; and, enhancing the well-being of all walks of life.   Achieving this balance is how we catalyze transformative change in our society, which we are desperately in need of at this moment.

He received a B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and an MBA in international strategy from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium.

You can find out more at www.activepeaceyoga.com.