2010 Yoga Study Program

Green Lotus

YA-Certified and Minnesota-Licensed

MAYS℠ Yoga Teacher Training & Advanced Yoga Studies

MAYS 9-Month & 3-Week Summer Immersion Programs

Here's the question we want you to ask: Why should I take teacher training and advanced yoga studies at Green Lotus?

Here's our answer: Ask our graduates. You will find them teaching throughout the Twin Cities area - in schools, businesses, yoga centers, parks, hospitals and clinics, homes, and at Green Lotus itself. And you will find them on their own mats, still exploring, still practicing, still curious.

Our graduates, like Patti Opsahl, at left, will tell you that the Green Lotus program is intimate, challenging, supportive, lively and fun, meaningful, and life-changing. They will talk of deep friendships woven among the other students, of goals met and exceeded, of support freely given and accepted, of being there for each other when life happens.

They will point to the changes in themselves: new-found self-confidence, deepened self-understanding, opened hearts, strengthened bodies, calmed minds, soaring spirits.

They will speak of laughter: the tears-streaming-down-faces, sore-belly, hard-to-catch-your-breath kind of laughter that speaks volumes about the sheer joy of learning yoga and how to teach it with people you like and trust.

And they, including Patricia Lowinske at right, will attest to our program's integrity and authenticity, how it prepares you to teach to the whole person in front of you - not just to their mind, or their body, or their spirit but to their whole integrated being.

Sign Up for a Life-Changing Event

Green Lotus utilizes a unique "life-friendly" advanced yoga studies and teacher training model. This program, in the form of three independent, complementary study modules, fulfills the requirements of the Yoga Alliance 200-Hour RYT certification and allows students to complete their training at their own pace. This ground-breaking approach enhances student learning by dividing teacher training into distinct and manageable sections, and allows each student to create a program that fits best with the commitments of their personal lifestyle.

Green Lotus acknowledges both students whose motivation is to further their personal study and deepen their yoga practice, and the student whose ultimate goal lies in yoga teacher certification. It is for this reason that Green Lotus has developed training options for both advanced yoga studies and yoga teacher training under the Modular Advanced Yoga Studies (MAYS℠) program. Take 1, 2 or all 3 modules - you choose what serves your objective and when it best fits your busy schedule.

Green Lotus' teacher training guarantees that you will receive personalized attention in a small-group setting where you will get to know the faculty well and form deep bonds with instructors and classmates alike. Our faculty includes both Green Lotus and visiting teachers and also integrates the knowledge of experienced healers who practice at our facility and elsewhere. Our curriculum includes study of Chinese medicine, ayurveda, anatomy, yoga philosophy and history, ethics, and business practices. When you complete this program, you will be equipped to teach multiple styles of yoga to multiple levels of students.

Green Lotus is committed to the success of every student, encouraging self-reflection, self-inquiry and self-discovery culminating in personal transformation. We look forward to taking the journey with you - download the brochure and print, complete and email this Application Form to info@greenlotusyogactr.com to take that first step:

Downloads: (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)

- Modular Advanced Yoga Studies (MAYS℠) Application Form

- Modular Advanced Yoga Studies (MAYS℠) Catalog

Created to fit each student's personal schedule, Green Lotus offers convenient modular advanced yoga study options:

Students motivated to deepen their personal study and practice may register for one, two or three modules
Students seeking to meet the requirements for Yoga Alliance 200-Hour RYT Certification will complete the full series of three modules
Students may choose when they wish to attend individual modules - however, Modules One and Two can be taken in reverse order but must be completed prior to taking Module Three.
In the spirit of life-friendliness, we have two paths for the MAYS Advanced Yoga Studies and Teacher Training Program:
- 9-Month MAYS Program
- 3-Week MAYS Summer Immersion Program

Upon completion of all three modules, students will have completed 240 hours of study -- this includes 180 hours of in-classroom training (contact hours) and 60 hours of out-of-class study (non-contact hours).

MAYS℠ Training Modules

Module One - The Beginning Foundation: Topics of Study

Basic evolution, history and philosophy of yoga
Pranayama & the use of breath as a transformative tool
Yoga lifestyle
Art of meditation - developing deeper levels of awareness

Module Two - The Asanas: Topics of Study

Knowledge of basic & advanced asanas (postures)
Basic human physical and energy-based anatomy & physiology
The asanas: alignment, healthy and safe movement patterns, benefits, contraindications
How to read bodies - physically & energetically
Verbal & physical adjustments

Module Three - The Teacher: Topics of Study

Development of a safe and respectful community in your class
Teaching techniques and learning styles
Verbal & physical adjustments
Development & communication of a balanced and well-sequenced class that teaches and inspires
Ethics of the yoga teacher
The Business of Yoga:
- What does it mean to earn a living as a yoga teacher? Open your own studio? Invest in a studio? marketing tools and models to assist you?
Practice Teaching:
- Apprenticeship - learn by watching and assisting certified teachers
- Peer Teaching - lots of teaching in a supportive environment

Schedules, Fees, and Other Information

Green Lotus MAYS℠ Training Faculty

Candy Bell (RYT, E-RYT) is the director of Green Lotus' teacher training programs and co-leader of the RYT 200-hour program. She has been practicing and studying yoga since 1996, and has been teaching yoga for 12 years. Training with Judith Lasater (restorative yoga), Elise Miller (breath work), Shiva Rea (asana flow), and most recently Sean Corn (vinyasa flow) have helped her discover her passion, which is helping students discover the importance of breath as it leads the body into the flow of the asanas. She is currently teaching in the Education Department of Normandale Community College in Bloomington. In all teaching settings, Candy values the educational journey and the individuality of her students, her goal being student success and personal transformation.

Gwen Linden-Bruzek (RYT, E-RYT) is an E-RYT 200 Yoga instructor and is co-leader the Green Lotus Teacher Training Program. She received her first certification in yoga from The White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, California, with Ganga White and Tracey Rich. She has been practicing yoga for 18 years and has been teaching yoga for eight years in homes, studios, gyms, and businesses around the metro area. In October 2009, she received her 300-hour certification as a Yoga and Ayurveda Health Educator from Dr. David Frawley, Director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies. Dr. Frawley, Pandit Vamadeva Shastri, is considered one of Americas’ foremost scholars and teachers of Vedic ways of knowledge (vidyas).

Jill Carey (RYT, E-RYT) has been practicing various types of yoga for ten years to improve her health and has been teaching yoga since 2007. She completed Level 1 Teacher Training with Baron Baptiste, received her 200-hour-level Registered Yoga Teacher Certification (RYT) with TeriLeigh Schmidt, completed an intensive 35-hour Yoga Anatomy, Yin Yoga: Practice & Theory Teacher Training with Paul Grilley, and has completed a Taoist (Yin & Yang) Teacher Training program with founder of Yin Yoga, Paulie Zink. Jill teaches a Yin Yoga Continuing Education Course at Green Lotus, and is also a regular teacher on its schedule.

Marcia Appel (RYT, E-RYT) has been practicing and studying yoga since 2000. Yoga deepens her connection to herself, to others, and to the world around her. She has trained with Baron Baptiste (Baptiste Power Vinyasa), TeriLeigh Schmidt (power vinyasa), Judith Lasater (restorative yoga), Janice Gates (founder of The Yoga Garden), Anna Cushman (contributing editor of Tricycle and Yoga Journal), Seane Corn (vinyasa flow), and Ana Forrest (power yoga). Marcia guides her students to try many kinds of classes and deeply believes that yoga asana (poses) are simply an extension and beautiful expression of breath and meditation. In January 2011, she began an 18-month study of the integration of yoga and meditation at Spirit Rock Retreat Center in California, which she will complete in May 2012. Marcia is the co-founder and a teacher at Green Lotus.

Erica Dolan: Erica Dolan is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and is board certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). She graduated Cum Laude from the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN where she earned her Master of Acupuncture degree. She launched her practice at Green Lotus in 2007. In addition to her growing practice, she also participates in yoga teacher training at Green Lotus, integrating her deep knowledge of Chinese medicine with yoga asana and philosophy. Before graduating, Erica treated many patients with a variety of health concerns at internships sites, including the Edith Davis Teaching Clinic and the Courage Center.

Policies

Notice of Disclaimer
Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC reserves the right to amend, add, or delete classes, programs, policies, tuition and /or facilities without prior notice. Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC also reserves the right to cancel classes due to insufficient numbers of students. Catalogs of this school are prepared for the purpose of furnishing prospective students and other interested persons with information about the school. Material contained within this catalog is subject to change without notice and may not be regarded in the same nature of binding obligations. Material in this catalog shall be made available in electronic or written formats to students and prospective students. Revisions made to this catalog shall be provided to the Office of Higher Education within 10 days of implementation.

Disclosure Statement
Green Lotus Yoga Center is licensed as a private career school with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 141.2 to 141.32. Licensure is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not transfer to all other institutions.

Statement of Non-Discrimination
No person shall be excluded participation, denied any benefits, or subjected to any form of discrimination based on sex, race, age, creed, religion, national origin, or physical disability.

Admissions Requirements
Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC considers an applicant to be enrolled as a student when the following criteria are met:
1. Completes an initial interview (either by phone, email or in person)
2. Submits a signed registration packet with deposit.
3. Provides proof of High School Diploma or GED (year and school of graduation)
4. Makes satisfactory arrangements for payment of tuition and other fees.

Dress Code
Students are to be properly attired to practice yoga at all times.

Attendance Policy
All participants are required to complete all three modules of study to graduate from the program. If a participant needs to miss all or part of a weekend he/she can make up a weekend upon the next offering of the Module weekend missed, within the next year.

Tardiness
Tardiness and leaving class early is subtracted from the total time of the program, and counts against the minimum required attendance.

Makeup Policy

Green Lotus and its instructors realize that students may face unexpected work or family issues that require them to miss a portion of their training. Students who miss a component may pick it up during the next module cycle at no additional cost.

Grading System
Our program is based on a pass/fail system. Once all of the monthly homework assignments are successfully completed and turned in and all three modules of training are attended a participant is considered to be a graduate of the program. Successful completion of the homework means: Monthly overview of readings and experiences (generally a one page typed overview) handed in to the program director.

Student Grievance Procedure

1) Complaints will be discussed with the individual staff member at a scheduled meeting involving both parties.

2) If satisfactory resolution is not attained as a result of the scheduled meeting, a written complaint will be submitted to the Program Director, Candy Bell

3) Program Director will schedule a meeting to discuss complaint and a written resolution will follow within 14 days.

4) If the Program Director cannot resolve the complaint to the student’s satisfaction in writing within fourteen days, the student may file a complaint with Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 1450 Energy Park Drive, #350, St. Paul, MN 55108-5227 or by phone at 651-259-3976

Transcripts
Current or former students may request one free copy of their official transcript by submitting a written request to the school with the name and address where the transcript will be mailed. A $10 fee will be charged for additional copies and must be paid in advance before they are processed. Transcripts sent directly to the student will be marked to indicate that they are unofficial copies. Official transcripts will not be released for students who may have a past due account with the school. Mail request to Green Lotus Yoga Center- 18480 Kenyon Avenue – Lakeville, MN 55044, Attn: Transcript Request

Academic Advising
A student’s educational objectives, attendance and conduct are reviewed on an on-going basis. If academic standing or conduct is unacceptable, the student will be advised. Students are encouraged to seek academic advising through their instructor.

Satisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory progress is defined as actively participating in all levels of the training program. In the event that a student does not achieve the established criteria for determining satisfactory progress, the student will be allowed to present justification or evidence of extenuating circumstances as to why he or she should be allowed to continue training. The student will be considered making satisfactory progress during any probation period. If the student has not achieved the criteria as set forth in this section at the end of the probationary period, he/she may be terminated from the Green Lotus Yoga Center Modular Advanced Yoga Studies program. If a student must repeat a section of study, he/she may be charged a repeat fee to be determined by Green Lotus Yoga Center. This repeat of the section of study may be due to academic failure or failure to meet attendance requirements. The maximum time allowed for repeats will be determined by the registration requirements of Yoga Alliance.

Student Conduct

Students must adhere to the rules and regulations of Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC. Students whose conduct reflects discredit upon themselves or the school may be subject to probation and/or termination. The Student must adhere to conduct that will not interfere with the learning process of any other students, the classroom presentation by the instructor, presentations by visitors, or the progress of the class or Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC in general. The Administration of Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC reserves the right of judgment, to place on probation and/or terminate a student on any of the following grounds:
1. Excessive absences or tardiness.
2. Non-conformity of rules and regulations of Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC.
3. Conduct that is unsatisfactory to Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC, its staff, faculty, and its students.
4. Falsifying school records.
5. Breach of Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC enrollment agreement.
6. Failure to pay fees when due and/or to make available required documents.
7. Theft

Termination Procedure
Students to be terminated from the program are notified in writing and may appeal to the director of Green Lotus Yoga Teacher Training within three (3) days of “Notice of Termination”.

Scholarships
There are currently Work Study Grants available for the Green Lotus Modular Advanced Yoga Studies Teacher Training program.

Credit for Previous Training
Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC does not accept credit for previous education, training, work experience (experiential learning) or other yogic knowledge as credit for this training program.

Student Services
Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC does not offer career planning assistance to graduates and does not guarantee job placement after completion of the Advanced Yoga Studies / Teacher Training program.

Necessary Technology and Texts needed for completion of studies
Green Lotus Yoga Center, LLC does not provide books and/or text books for this program, each participant is required to borrow, purchase, or share required texts for the program. A complete book list is as follows:

New 2011/2012 Book List

A Personal Journal of your choice to be used throughout our study

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Bhagavad Gita: A new Translation by Stephen Mitchell

Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope

Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit by Donna Fahri

The Breathing Book by Donna Fahri

Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff

Journey Into Power by Baron Baptiste

Cancellation Policy (Buyer's Right to Cancel)

Each student will be notified of acceptance/rejection in writing. In the event a student is rejected, all tuition, fees and other charges will be refunded. If a student gives written notice of cancellation within five business days day from when the student is accepted, then a complete refund is given regardless of whether the program has started.

If a student gives a written notice of cancellation after five business days of the execution from when the student is accepted, but before the start of the program by the school, then all tuition, fees and other charges, except 15 percent of the total cost of the program (15 percent not to exceed $50.00) shall be refunded to the student.
If a student gives written notice of cancellation after the start of the period of instruction for which the student has been charged, but before completion of 75 percent of the period of instruction, then student is assessed a pro rata portion of tuition, fees, and all other charges based on the number of days in the term plus 25 percent of the total program cost (25 percent not to exceed $100.00.)

Any notice of cancellation shall be acknowledged in writing within 10 business days of receipt of such notice and all refunds shall be forwarded to the student within 30 business days of receipt of such notice.

This refund policy is not linked to any student conduct policy and any promissory instrument shall not be negotiated prior to the completion of 50 percent of the course. Written notice of cancellation shall take place on the date the letter of cancellation is postmarked or, in the case where the notice is hand-carried, it shall occur on the date the notice is delivered to the school. The date of execution of the enrollment agreement shall be presumed to be the date of delivery of the notice of acceptance: and if delivered by mail, the postmark date of the letter of acceptance.

Disclosure

This agreement is a legally binding instrument upon written acceptance of the student unless cancelled pursuant to the Buyer’s Right to Cancel.

Testimonials

"Green Lotus Teacher Training Program offers much more than the mechanics of teaching yoga. It is very much about the business of living abundantly and mindfully. The content is rich, practical, and thorough. My own practice has grown deeper and I am excited about my abilities to share this wonderful information with others. The teachers were very encouraging and inspirational. I appreciate all the time and effort they put into helping us understand yoga as a whole, not just asana." 2008 participant

"Even if I decide to not pursue teaching yoga, the teacher training program at Green Lotus would still be worth the time and money spent. In fact, to just call it "teacher training" is a bit of an injustice. This program also encourages you to live and experience life in a unique way while taking your personal yoga practice to new levels. The teachers and fellow trainees offer valuable insight and support as you continue on your own journey of truth and spirit. I highly recommend it!" 2008 participant

I highly recommend this training. I was a certified Yoga Instructor and wanted to get my RYT200 certification. I was a bit hesitant with the length of training at first but it allowed me the time to digest all the knowledge I received. This training is like no other I have taking. The depth of knowledge of is unbelievable. I really like the fact that the class size is limited to only 10 people. This allowed sufficient one on one training. The people I met in training I consider to be life long friends. I feel we are all on our own journey, my path lead me to Green Lotus Healing and Yoga center and I am very grateful for that. This is the best Teacher Training I have ever taking. 2008 participant

"I've really enjoyed taking my practice to a much deeper level. I think the teachers are knowledgeable and capable. I enjoy having the opportunity to learn and grow with people from different backgrounds and experiences, but who have a love of yoga in common." 2008 participant

"I've been involved in physical fitness all my life. Football, weightlifting , running, tae kwon do, and kung fu. A good friend suggested I try yoga. Fifteen minutes into the class I realized yoga was my calling. Within a week I found the Green Lotus. I knew I was home. After two years of practice I decided to become a instructor. Green Lotus's MAYS program is Yoga Alliance certified, as are the instructors. It covers theology, asana, and the teaching of yoga. The instructors are very professional and give you the one on one support to help you become a true yogi. My yoga journey at the Green Lotus has fulfilled me physically, mentally, and spiritually. I highly recommend Green Lotus's teacher training course. Namaste." 2011 participant

Additional information

If you have any additional questions regarding the Green Lotus Modular Advanced Yoga Studies (MAYS℠) training and study program, please contact Gwen Linden-Bruzek or Candy Bell at the Center at 953.373.0055 or email them at info@greenlotusyogactr.com

(Serving Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Greater Twin Cities area and surrounding counties, Northfield, Mankato, Duluth, and Wisconsin and Iowa)