Primary Series & the Philosophy of Yoga

AYB’s Yoga Teacher Training Weekend Workshop Series

Weekend 1: Primary Series & the Philosophy of Yoga

October 14-18, 2026

Five-Day Intensive (35 CEUs):  7:30am - 6:30pm daily

This intensive is part of AYB's Yoga Teacher Training Weekend Series, and it's open to everyone — you don't need to be enrolled in the full 200-Hour program to join. Come as a practice intensive to deepen your own study, or attend for 35 continuing education hours (Yoga Alliance CEUs) to support your existing certification. Teacher trainees, CEU-seeking teachers, and dedicated practitioners will all be learning side by side.

The Ashtanga Primary Series is more than a sequence of postures—it is a system for exploring the relationship between body, breath, mind, and awareness. Over five days, we’ll take a thoughtful journey through the first half of the series (standing & seated postures) while examining the philosophical foundations that give yoga its deeper purpose.

Daily Mysore-style practice will allow each student to work at an appropriate pace, with individual guidance and support. Afternoon sessions will draw from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras and other foundational teachings to explore essential yogic ideas, including practice and nonattachment, the causes of suffering, concentration, meditation, and liberation.

Together, we’ll consider how philosophy can move beyond intellectual study and become something we experience directly—on the mat and in our daily lives. Open to practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of both the outer and inner path of yoga.

Each day follows a balanced rhythm of personal practice, study, and practical application. Kicking off at 7:30am with meditation followed by Mysore, prāṇāyāma and then chanting study of the Yoga Sūtras, with our first break at 10:15am. After the break, we’ll have a focused session on āsana technique and practice and then a one-hour lunch break. Afternoon study expands into philosophy, ethics, the humanities, and the subtle body, placing the physical practice within the wider traditions of yoga. The day concludes with teaching methodology and practicum, including Sanskrit āsana names, traditional vinyāsa counts, pacing, observation, verbal instruction, hands-on assisting, and round-robin teaching based on the postures studied that day. 

Investment $350