-HFIT 196-003 Syllabus American University School of Education, Teaching and Health Spring 2009 – 2 Credits

Meets: Tues/Fri. 2:10 pm-3:25 pm in Jacobs Fitness Center Aerobics Room

Instructor: Danielle Brand-LeMond, M.A. American University, Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT)

Contact Information: Email: [email protected]; Phone: (714) 351-8689 Office Hours: Please feel free to talk to me before or after class, or e-mail me for an appointment. Please note: A valid AU ID is required for entry into Jacobs Fitness Center

Required Texts: Both books are available in the AU bookstore. 1) Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat by Richard Faulds, 2006 2) Bringing Yoga to Life, by Donna Farhi , 2004

I. Course Objective:

To develop an experiential and intellectual understanding of the tradition of in the Kripalu style.

II. Grading and Course Requirements:

Attendance, Punctuality, Participation : 35% Journal : 12.5% Mid-Term Exam : 15% Presentation: 10% Written Assignment : 12.5% Final Exam: 15%

Attendance, Punctuality and Participation : Attendance and punctuality are of utmost importance. If you miss more than two classes during the semester for any reason and/or if you are consistently late to class, your grade will be negatively affected. Please come to class everyday prepared to discuss the readings, take notes, and practice yoga. The readings assigned should be read by each Tuesday, unless otherwise noted. This class combines the experiential and the intellectual – please be prepared to engage the physical, mental, emotional, and even the spiritual aspects of yourself, and to share your personal experiences with yoga.

1 Journal: Please keep a typed journal to record your personal experience with yoga in and out of class. Write one thoughtful and thorough entry per week on the journal topic listed in the syllabus (this will range from one paragraph to one page). If there is no journal topic listed, you are not responsible for writing one for that week. You will turn it in to me once in the middle of the semester, and once at the end.

Mid-Term & Final Exams : The mid-term and the final will be written (definitions and essay questions) and physical (practicing the postures). To succeed at the written portion, you must take notes all semester during the discussion and lecture portion of class. For the physical portion, you will not be graded on your “perfection” of the postures. Instead, you will be graded on your effort and memory of the form and correct actions within the postures.

Presentation: You will work with a partner or small group to present one of the ethical principles of yoga, called the yamas and niyamas. Please be prepared on your assigned day to define, provide real-life examples, and involve the class in a short discussion of your yama/niyama.

Written Assignment: Please attend a yoga class in another style in the community, then write a two-page compare and contrast paper discussing the similarities and differences between Kripalu Yoga and the other class. You can add to your understanding by doing some reading about the style of your choice and by talking to the instructor of that class.

III. Course Schedule:

Week 1 – 1/13 & 1/16

• Introductions, history of yoga; buy your books. • Reading: Introduction to Yoga’s Background, Benefits, and Philosophy by Danielle Brand-LeMond (handout or Blackboard) • Journal: What is my motivation for taking a yoga class? What do I hope to learn this semester?

Week 2 – 1/23 Only – No Class on Inauguration Day

• Identifying your two areas to focus on: leg flexibility, leg strength, hip flexibility, core strength, shoulder flexibility, spinal flexibility, upper body strength, breathing, being fully present. • Dirgha breath • Reading: 2 web articles: “Yoga’s Trip to America,” by Holly Hammond, http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/467 and “The Eight Limbs” by Mara Carrico: http://www.yjevents.com/newtoyoga/158_1.cfm • Journal: Which two areas of the practice do I want to focus on this semester, and why?

2 Week 3 – 1/27 & 1/30 • Definitions: Kripalu, Hatha, Raja; Strengthening the feet and legs • Ujjayi breath • Reading: Kripalu Yoga, pp.1-29 • Friday: Guest Teacher • Journal: What is my experience so far with non-competition, non-judgment, and honoring my own body – with all of its gifts and limitations – in yoga practice? • Week 4 – 2/3 & 2/6 • Stretching the hamstrings and calves; understanding the physiological benefits of yoga, alignment principles, finding your edge • Guest Teacher • Reading: Bringing Yoga to Life, pp. 3-106, and Kripalu Yoga, pp. 30-62 and 165- 180 • Journal: Respond to this quote from Farhi’s book, p. 33: “Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.”

Week 5 – 2/10 & 2/13 • Hip-opening; introduction to yamas and niyamas; sign up for projects • Kapalabhati breath • Yama: Ahimsa • Reading: Skim through pictures on pp. 84-161 and 326-400, • Journal: Describe three differences and three similarities between postures in the book and postures done in class so far.

Week 6 – 2/17 & 2/20 • Body image and yoga, conscious eating; core exploration and strengthening • Yama: Satya • Reading: pp.181-195, and online article: “Forget Six Pack Abs” by Fernando Pages Ruiz http://www.yjevents.com/practice/168_1.cfm • Journal: Write your response to the reading, and ask yourself, how do I feel about my belly/abdominal area? What messages does society send about these parts?

Week 7 – 2/24 & 2/27 • Shoulder openers • Yama: Asteya • Hara Breath • Reading: Kripalu Yoga pp.196-211, and Bringing Yoga to Life: pp. 107-141 • Journal for Tuesday: Where do I habitually hold tension? What postures are helpful for relieving it? What tension-relieving practices do I want to incorporate into my life? Journal for Friday: What changes, if any, have I noticed in myself since beginning yoga? Please refer to the reading in Farhi’s book for possible examples.

3 Week 8 – 3 /3 & 3/6 • Reviewing postures and questions for Mid-Term; taking Mid-Term on 3/6

Week 9 – Spring Break: No Classes • Reading: Bringing Yoga to Life: pp. 142-236 • Journal (note that journals are due upon your return): How can I incorporate the principles of ahimsa, satya, and asteya more fully into my life?

Week 10 – 3/17 & 3/20 • Backbends; • Yama: Aparigraha • Reading: Kripalu Yoga pp. 215-243 • Journal: What is my experience with prana? When, if ever, can I feel prana moving in my body? What practices or disciplines help me cultivate prana? • Journal Due on 3/17

Week 11 – 3/24 & 3/27 • Kripalu Yoga Stage 2 • Nadhi Shodhana breath • Yama: Brahmacharya • Reading: Kripalu Yoga pp. 257-281 • Journal: Discuss your relationship to the “four aims of life,” as described in the reading on p.258.

Week 12 – 3/31 & 4/3 • , Yoga Nidra; benefits of stress relief and relaxation • Niyama: Saucha • Reading: Kripalu Yoga pp.63-72 • Journal: What are the sources of stress in my life? Which of them can I reduce, and how?

Week 13 – 4/7 & 4/10 • Meditation, Inversions • Niyama: • Reading: Kripalu Yoga pp.282-314

Week 14 – 4/14 & 4/17 • Kripalu Yoga Stage 3, compare and contrast different styles of Yoga • Niyama: Swadhyaya • Journal: What are my real needs in relation to yoga practice – stress relief, becoming happier, healthier and in balance, a physically intense practice, etc.? Can I meet those needs while honoring the totality of yoga?

4 • Assignment Due on 4/17

Week 15 – 4/21 & 4/24 • ; putting all the pieces together, adapting practice to fit your life • Niyama: Tapas • Journal: What have I learned from this class to take forward? • Journal Due on 4/24

Week 16 – 4/28 • Sharing experiences of yoga during the semester, next steps, developing a home practice • Niyama: Ishvara Pranidhana

5/5 Final Exam -- 2:10-4:40 pm

IV. Academic Integrity Code

Students are expected to conform to the regulations of the University in regard to academic integrity, especially in regard to plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, dishonest in examinations, dishonesty in papers, work for one course and submitted to another, deliberate falsification of data, interference with other students’ work, and copyright violation.

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