Online Courses
These 11 courses work together in our journey of Inner Yoga
43,000+ Students with 77,000+ Enrollments
43,000+ Students with 77,000+ Enrollments
Online Courses
Udemy is an online educational platform that is extremely user friendly. We have eleven courses on different aspects of Yoga, with each being part of the antar/inner journey. There are currently over 76,000 enrollments from more than 43,000 people in 172 countries.
Don't Work
Please don't "work" at these courses. Please watch the presentations leisurely, as you might watch a movie in the comfort of the living room in your home. You will gently "take in" the principles and practices. It need not be "work." These are not like school classes for which you need to pass an exam to get an "A" in the course. You "live" these principles and practices, not merely memorize them.
Review them all
Gradually move through all of these courses; they play together as if they are different instruments in an orchestra of your inner journey.
Yoga is a Whole Life process
While each of our courses has an individual emphasis, they are designed to complement the others as one process of Yoga, with the foundation principle that all manifestations of people and objects are of One ground reality of consciousness. Choose one course, and then gradually explore the others.
Preview the Videos
These are primarily video presentations, complemented by PDF and a few MP3 files. Preview videos can be seen without enrolling by clicking on any of the links below. Please use these previews. After you click on the course link, the page will display the first of the preview videos. Just click on that and you will see all of the preview videos. I have tried to choose several videos for each course that will give you some very practical understanding.
No Expiration
Once you enroll in a course, there is no expiration date. You may go through the course in your leisure. You may go back through the courses as many times as you wish, either individual presentations or whole courses.
Certificates of Completion
Udemy has set up all courses so that you can print out a Certificate of Completion for each course completed. On your curriculum page, you will see a trophy symbol show up on the right once you finish all the presentations. If you click on that it will create the certificate. You can download and print out the certificate. You will probably need to do this on a computer because phones do not seem to be able to connect to a printer
Yoga Teacher Training
Several people who guide Yoga Teacher Training programs are using our Udemy courses as part of their programs for students. Choose which courses you want to be part of your program. Ask your students to take the course, and then give you a copy of the Certificate of Completion. You can give your student credit for the hours of video in the course (which is shown below and in each course, the total of which is 48 hours), or that number of hours plus a few hours for study and Q&A with you.
Be Patient
Please be patient as you go through these courses. Imagine that we are just sitting together having a friendly conversation. Be gentle, and let it all just sink in gradually over time. Don't feel like you're racing. Most people I know have very busy lives with jobs and families. Take a break from time to time, and let's just sit together and have a pleasant conversation.
Feedback
Typical feedback averages 4.7 out of 5.0. Here are a few comments:
The content is fantastic, especially all of the additional resources they provide.
I like the guy; he knows what he's talking about.
Even if you've been "doing" yoga for ages, this adds depth and breathes new life into your practice.
This is one of the most comprehensive meditation courses I am aware of.
Quality content presented in an easy to understand way.
I love love love all of the teachings and exercises that are presented in this great course. There is much to take in, there is beauty in simplicity.
Extremely informative and useful! I am very grateful to have access to such knowledge and for those who have dedicated their lives to sharing it.
Because the course and the way the course is run is absolutely clear and helpful to understand
Clear and easy to understand. playful. Swami J articulates well, Comforting and nurturing as we study.
Swami J is very interesting. I like his use of metaphors to help you understand some deep philosophies.
Free Enrollments
I often post coupon links for free enrollment in our Facebook Satsang group. I'm happy for you to use these free coupons. Visit the group regularly and you'll easily see these, and over a few weeks you can have free enrollment in all 11 courses.
1) Transitioning to the Yoga of the Ancient Sages
This course is designed to be an aid to the millions of people who have been exposed to modern yoga, which has become predominantly focused on physical postures and exercises. Our journey in this course is to introduce ways of transitioning from those approaches into the more traditional principles and practices as systematized and promulgated by the ancient sages of Yoga, without being opposed to what you are already doing. This is a process of blending in with your current practices, not merely replacing yours with the ours.
We will extensively draw upon the yogic wisdom of the Yoga Sutras, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, as well as a few of the traditional Hatha Yoga texts. We will also review some of the more modern resources and teachers, which focus on these more traditional approaches. Please note that this is general information for everybody; we are not trying to recruit you into any particular tradition or lineage.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
7.5 Hours of Video; 64 Presentations
2) Yoga Nidra: Conscious Deep Sleep
Yoga Nidra means Yogic Sleep. It is a state of conscious Deep Sleep. In Meditation, you remain in the Waking state of consciousness, and gently focus the mind, while allowing thought patterns, emotions, sensations, and images to arise and go on. However, in Yoga Nidra, you leave the Waking state, go past the Dreaming state, and go to Deep Sleep, yet remain awake. While Yoga Nidra is a state that is very relaxing, it is also used by Yogis to purify the Samskaras, the deep impressions that are the driving force behind Karma.
In recent years it has become common to use the term "yoga nidra" to mean virtually any form of relaxation practice. However, Yoga Nidra is traditionally a profoundly deep practice that is refined over an extended period of time. In this course we will review this traditional perspective and teach you to patiently allow the amazing depth to be revealed over time.
Your presenter is Swami Jnaneshvara, whose famous Yoga Nidra CD has been the most popular in the world for over 15 years.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
2.55 Hours of Video; 35 Presentations
3) Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of Contemplation
Yoga is a whole life process. It is extremely common for meditators to have the problem of a noisy, chattering, or "monkey" mind. People often ask how to get the mind to "shut up" for meditation. The finer approach of Yoga is not to suppress the thinking process, but to direct the mind, training mind to be under conscious control. For meditation, this means letting go of the thoughts. However, there is an extremely important companion practice, that of wisely training the mind to be used for the positive aspects of contemplation, which has nothing to do with jabbering of a "monkey" mind.
The Contemplation of Jnana Yoga is one of the most advanced practices of traditional Yoga. The reflective process of contemplation utilizes the narrative habit of the mind in a directed way, so as to transcend not only body and breath, but most importantly, to go beyond the mind to the realization in direct experience the True Self, the Atman, or Center of Consciousness.
This course first outlines the preparatory practices, leading one to start the process of contemplation. The course then guides you in the preliminary practices of contemplation through the processes of positive inquiry of Internal Dialogue. Finally, you will be taught the traditional contemplations, the "great" contemplations known as Mahavakyas, which have traditionally been practiced primarily by those monks living lives of renunciation in remote places like the cave monasteries of the high Himalayas.
Om will become a most important companion on your journey of Yoga.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
5 Hours of Video; 42 Presentations
4) Om Mantra: The Heart of Traditional Yoga
Om Mantra is the very heart of Yoga. It is the centerpiece of the Yoga Sutras, the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads, and the soul of the Bhagavad Gita. Om Mantra outlines the entire schema of all levels of human consciousness, and the universal path of contemplation and meditation, leading to the realization of one’s unity (Yoga) with the one infinite, universal consciousness.
In this course we will thoroughly describe the symbolism of the seven levels of consciousness, and guide you through the traditional ways of practicing Om and related mantras. We will review how mantra is used as a means of purifying the mind, how it is used for meditation, and how it is used for contemplation. We will discuss how Om is at the heart of major yogic texts. We will also discuss how several other mantras rest on the foundation of Om, and expand upon its profound essence.
Om will become a most important companion on your journey of Yoga.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
4 Hours of Video; 26 Presentations
5) Basic Yoga Meditation
Traditional Yoga is about Self-realization, the realization in direct experience of one's union (Yoga) with the one, universal, nondual reality. This course is a beginning, although thorough introduction into this process of systematically receding attention inward through body, breath, and mind so as to have glimpses of the Center of Consciousness which is beyond, or interior to all of those levels. This course is ideal for those who have some exposure to any of the faces of Yoga, whether ancient or modern. This will set the stage for years of expansion into the greater breadth and depth of traditional Yoga. The course includes 4 guided meditations in MP3 so that you can download them and practice at your convenience.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
1.5 Hours of Video; 11 Presentations
6) Yoga as Meditation
An increasing number of postural yoga teachers and students are exploring the more traditional meaning of yoga practices as methods of meditation and contemplation intended to lead to Self-realization, or enlightenment, awakening to the ever peaceful, joyous center of consciousness which is one with the absolute reality. This course is designed to be an introduction to that process, to the fact that yoga really does mean "union" of the individual self with the universal Self.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
5 Hours of Video; 72 Presentations
7) Karma Yoga: Living In and Beyond Karma
The law of Karma is a universal process, whereby causes lead to effects. This is something that all of us are already familiar with, whether or not we use the word Karma to describe it. Newton's third law of motion, that every action leads to a reaction, is an application of the law of Karma. Whether we are talking about physics or daily life in the world, it is extremely useful to understand the law and process of Karma so that we may regulate or direct the process. Then, gradually, we can come to know, in direct experience, the Joy of Being that is Beyond the Karma. We can soften the impact of the playing out of our past Karmas, and can choose our own future Karma if we are willing to put in the effort to learn how to do it. This course offers both clear explanations of the traditional concepts of karma, and practical ways of living in and going beyond karma.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
4 Hours of Video; 41 Presentations
8) Ashtanga Yoga: The Traditional Practice
This course provides a very practical, yet thorough overview of the systematic process of traditional Ashtanga Yoga, the eight (ashta) rungs (anga) as outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Our approach is essentially three-fold: First, the most essential foundation principles are introduced and explained. Second, the eight rungs (ashtanga) are each explained. Third, explanations are given on what to do with the eight rungs in conjunction with those foundation principles. This journey includes practical principles on the outcomes of the practices, and the levels of direct experience that come as a result of practicing traditional Ashtanga Yoga. The course is meant for a wide range of practitioners, including those who are new to Yoga, and those with years of experience who wish to explore the subtler, more interior aspects of Yoga. This course is a great introduction to the traditional principles and practices of Yoga before its traditional orientation was largely abandoned starting in the early 1900s.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
5.5 Hours of Video; 37 Presentations
9) The Blended Path of Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra
Rare is the aspirant who will not settle for the shallow waters sought by the ordinary person. The most dedicated of seekers want the principles and practices of the advanced sages and yogis of the various traditions of the Himalayan masters. Such exceptional aspirants want nothing less than a blending, a convergence of the highest of principles and practices. Emphasizing this pinnacle is the orientation of this course.
Yoga here refers to the systematic process of meditation as outlined in the Yoga Sutras; it is not the modern yoga of the gymnasiums. Vedanta here is primarily about contemplation as described in the subtlest aspects of the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita; it fathoms the depths of the knowledge of direct experience, not the mere dance of intellectual study. In our ashram and tradition, tantra refers to Samaya Tantra, which is a purely internal process of devotion to pursuing Shakti, the creative source of Consciousness, sometimes referred to symbolically as Divine Feminine.
Whether you are a student of Yoga or a teacher, or both, if you will settle for nothing less than the highest goals of the adepts, the sages, the masters, then this course will lead you toward a greater depth for which you have been longing. The course is presented in four major sections, one each for Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra, and then a section on Integrating the three.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here.
4.5 Hours of Video; 62 Presentations
10) Summary of Antar (Inner) Yoga Practices
This course is a Summary of traditional Yoga Meditation Practices, which explores a 1-page outline of the practices of our Abhyasa Ashram and Himalayan meditation tradition. Throughout this course we emphasize the Antar (Inner) Yoga principles and practices of the ancient sages of meditation and contemplation, particularly as transmitted to us through Swami Rama of the Himalayas, and the long lineage of predecessors. We use the word Yoga in its traditional meaning as an Inner (Antar) path of liberation or freedom from the bondage of attractions, aversions, and false identities, systematically revealing the eternal, unblemished Center of Consciousness and its Union with the One absolute, Nondual Reality.
This one page Summary is a brief, yet thorough outline of the central themes of the practices of our ashram and tradition; practices which lead you in the direction of Self-realization or Enlightenment. The course is a practical expansion of that one-page Summary that we have widely used in online meetings, at our ashram in the US, as well as in meditation retreats and classes around the world. Our immediate goal is to lead you to directly intuiting your true nature, as a center of pure consciousness, and then allowing the depth and breadth of meditation to naturally come over time.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
10.5 Hours of Video; 103 Presentations
11) Yoga Messages of Swami Rama: 25 Core Principles
In this course, over 25 core principles and practices of traditional Yoga are presented as described by the 20th century Yogi, Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Along with each of the 25 presentations, there are 25 (1 each) brief guided meditations/contemplations from Swami Jnaneshvara that bring added life and personal experience to the presentations.
This course is for those who already have some exposure to Yoga, and wish to explore the subtler principles. If you have ever heard of, or are interested in Yoga as expounded in the traditions of the Himalayas, you may quite enjoy this overview of the essence of Yoga through the eyes of Swami Rama of the Himalayas (1925-1996). Yet, the information and practices of this tradition are universal, and applicable to all people.
We hope this course gives you lots of 'food for thought' about Yoga and spiritual life. Please use these readings as contemplations, reflecting on the principles in your own words. Then, allow the insights to lead you to silent, wordless inner contemplative meditations. May your meditations bring you peace, happiness, and bliss.
PREVIEW and ENROLLMENT: Click Here
5.5 Hours of Video; 61 Presentations