Surya Pranayama Training

Nine breathing practices for sunrise, sunset, and a steadier life.
This weekend certification training teaches Surya Pranayama, a system of nine breathing practices built for sunrise and sunset. Yoga teachers and dedicated practitioners will learn to use the breath to slow the heart, warm the body, and settle the mind into meditation, and will leave ready to share the practice in their own classes.
Slava Surya Kolpakov developed Surya Pranayama about fifteen years ago. It draws on classical yogic pranayama and kriya, and adds current research on how oxygen and carbon dioxide affect health, energy, and aging. The system includes breath retention, internal organ toning, and practices that lead into deep meditative states. Surya Pranayama is its own practice and lineage, taught at Yogaville as a complement to Integral Yoga pranayama. Slava first trained at Yogaville in 2002, calls it his spiritual home, and sees it as the right setting for a practice rooted in classical yoga.
What You'll Experience

Sunrise practice — the full sequence practiced as designed, each morning at dawn, with a sunset session Friday evening.
Breath retention — graded holds that build tolerance to carbon dioxide and calm the nervous system.
Internal organ toning — kriyas that massage the abdominal organs and strengthen the diaphragm.
Warming practices — techniques for raising body heat and energy through the breath.
Meditative breathing — practices that slow the heart rate and settle the mind into stillness.
The science of the breath — how oxygen and carbon dioxide shape health, energy, and aging.
Teaching methodology — how to sequence, cue, and adapt the practice for your own students.

You Will Leave With
A complete daily practice of nine breathing techniquesClear guidelines for safe breath retentionA working understanding of the oxygen–carbon dioxide balanceCertification to teach Surya Pranayama in your classes
Who This Is For
This training is for Yoga teachers who want to add a structured pranayama system to their classes, and for dedicated practitioners who want a daily breathing practice with a clear scientific basis. The practices have entry points at several levels, so you can sample the more demanding techniques before you master them.
Curriculum
The nine Surya Pranayama techniquesClassical pranayama and kriya foundationsBreath retention: method and safetyOxygen and carbon dioxide in human healthThe breath and the nervous systemInternal organ toningSunrise and sunset practice structureSequencing and cueing for group classesContraindications and adaptations
Prerequisites
No teacher training is required to attend, and some prior pranayama experience is helpful. Participants should be in good general health. Breath retention and hyperventilation practices are not advised during pregnancy, or with uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart conditions, or seizure disorders. If any of these apply to you, please consult your health care provider before registering.
Continuing Education
Yoga Alliance: approximately 8 contact hoursIYTA CE certificate: $10 fee (free for members), ce@iyta.orgCertification: participants learn the full sequence and teach it back before receiving their certificate
Meet the Presenter
Slava Surya Kolpakov grew up in Siberia with parents who practiced Yoga, and met his teachers, Sri Swami Satchidananda and Swami Asokananda, in New York City in 2000. He has taught Yoga since 2002, completed the 750-hour Structural Yoga Therapy training, and teaches Vedanta, the Yoga Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita for Yoga teacher trainings across the United States. He is the author of Threads of Light: A Yoga Tapestry. He also developed the Surya Thai Massage Method, which he teaches at Yogaville the following weekend.
What Past Participants Say
I can't say enough about not only the retreat experience but the retreat host. Slava Surya Kolpakov's profound knowledge of Yoga philosophy, movement, and just his kind and loving light is exactly what his name promises. Slava's ability to translate knowledge into practice is unmatched. ~Jonencia W.

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