Jewish Meditation Teacher Training
This program is a collaboration of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and the Awakened Heart Project. It is intended for lay or professionals in the Jewish community who have developed both a mindfulness practice and have been engaged in teaching mindfulness within a Jewish context. The program consists of 3 intensive retreats (16 days total over 16 months).
Each month features a theme for investigation through an integrated path of study and practice with monthly readings; practice instructions and guidance for integration of Jewish thought, language and mindfulness; and pedagogic instruction and practice. It is expected that each participant will have a daily meditation practice. Students share teachings and practice questions and insights with study partners and a monthly meeting with a mentor.
Other features of the program include: a focus on the application of mindfulness in a Jewish social justice context; yoga as a mindfulness practice in a Jewish context which is taught on retreat; assignments to share weekly reflections on the torah portion; and guest teachers in addition to the two primary teachers Rabbis Sheila Peltz Weinberg and Jeff Roth.
The focus of the program is the creation of a cadre of teachers in the Jewish community that are well versed in the practice of mindfulness, its applications, its value in a multitude of settings and its translation into an accessible and inspiring Jewish language and form.
Participants also network with each other on a variety of sub topics including teaching children, university teaching, establishing and running Jewish meditation centers, the role of mindfulness in synagogue life and in social change organizations.
Jewish Yoga Teacher Training
The Torah Yoga Teacher Training is a transformational, eighteen month program that will provide instruction and certification for those who want to deepen and integrate their own teaching of yoga and Judaism.
The course of study includes four one-week retreat programs which begins Winter 2013, and interim periods for home-based study, teaching and practice in consultation with program instructors.
For those who find that working through our bodies with yoga can help open the gates of spirituality within, and who seek to do so in a consciously Jewish way, this program will provide tools to integrate yoga and Jewish spirituality with depth and sustained focus.
Students will be guided throughout each facet of this program to grow as teachers of both Judaism and of yoga. Most importantly, graduates of this program will be able to teach a way for their students to access the depths of Jewish spirituality through the wisdom and power of the physical body and the practice of hatha yoga. In its primary focus on teaching a body-based approach to Jewish spirituality, this program offers a unique training for those called to become teachers of yoga and Jewish spirituality.
We focus on the aspects of Judaism that yoga teachers are most often called to explore when in Jewish settings:
- Jewish holy days
- the weekly Torah portion
- the Hebrew language
- Prayer
- Shabbat
- and more….
Each of these areas of study develops Jewish literacy, providing a strong basis for grounding yoga in a Jewish context. In addition, we spend significant time learning about middot, or inner qualities, that we will want to embody as we teach. We reflect on ourselves, understanding that cultivation of the inner life and self-awareness are necessary components of becoming a Jewish spiritual teacher and leader.
We will address essential aspects of yoga teaching and practice, and require regular and rigorous study and practice both in one’s own yoga practice, and in the art of teaching yoga.
For more information contact info@jewishspirituality.org
The dates are:
- February 10-15, 2013
- Aug 5-11, 2013
- February 23-28, 2014
- July 28-August 3, 2014
