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800-Hour Distance Learning Course

The History and Philosophy of Yoga

SCROLLLeading to a YREC Certificate

A Course to Deepen and Broaden Your Knowledge of Yoga
and to Assist Your Personal Spiritual Practice and Inner Growth

YREC's first distance learning course is based on Georg Feuerstein's book The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice. If you have enjoyed Georg Feuerstein's writings, you also will enjoy this course and find it helpful. The course guides you step by step and enables you to set your own pace. It will stimulate your thinking about Yoga and the Big Questions without demanding an intellectual tour-de-force. It also will help you clarify your spiritual goals and/or motivate your daily spiritual practice.

Course Objective
The course is meant to make the Yoga tradition come alive AND help each student in his or her spiritual growth.

Curriculum
For a detailed outline of the curriculum, please click here.

Study Hours and Homework
This 800-hour course includes homework assignments, and we estimate it will take students on average two years to complete. The homework entails four short-to-mid-length essays, questionnaires, and a number of practical exercises. In addition, the course includes numerous questions for personal reflection designed to help students intensify their own spiritual process. As one student has commented, these questions alone are worth the cost of the course. It is NOT necessary to do the homework, and students can take the course simply for their edification and education (see the "No Homework Option" below).

Duration
The average duration is two years. The minimum course completion time is 18 months and the maximum is 30 months. All homework assignments must be received within this time frame.

Extension
We discourage extensions but an extension beyond two years is possible, with an annual continuation fee of $100 (plus the annual YREC membership fee from the final year on). The maximum extension period is 18 months beyond the initial maximum period of 30 months. Students who do not file for a formal extension with YREC will be considered withdrawals, and YREC assumes no further educational or financial obligation in this case.

No Homework Option
If a student knows up front that he or she will not be submitting any homework assignments, a lower course fee of $1600 applies.

Certificate
Successful students will be granted a certificate in Yoga philosophy and history at the conclusion of the course.

Credits
This distance learning course qualifies for academic credit with Sonoma State University, which is offering it as six separate courses as follows:

February 1 – May 31, 2004: Foundations
June 1 – August 31, 2004: Pre-Classical Yoga 1
September 1 – December 31, 2004: Pre-Classical Yoga 2
February 1 – May 31, 2005: Classical Yoga
June 1 – August 31, 2005: Post-Classical Yoga 1
September 1 – December 31, 2005: Post-Classical Yoga 2

(Similar dates apply to subsequent years!) Each course is valued at 3 credit units or 4.5 CEUs. Currently, SSU's fee per semester is $135 (for academic credits) and $60 (for CEUs), which is in addition to YREC's fee for the course. YREC also charges an additional one-time administration fee of $50. If you wish to take advantage of this academic program, we will be glad to provide more details. The per-unit fee levied by Sonoma State University is subject to change. IMPORTANT: It is NOT necessary to take this course for credits. You can still receive a certificate if the course is completed successfully.

Materials
The course materials include a comprehensive Study Guide, a copy of the new revised edition of The Yoga Tradition, a set of six audiotapes (or an equivalent set of CDs), four other books, questionnaires, questions for reflection, and many additional source materials, including new essays by Georg Feuerstein and further translations of Sanskrit texts. The Study Guide (which comes as a thick binder of c. 1,000 pages) helps make The Yoga Tradition more accessible and practical. It has taken over 3,000 hours to create this truly unique program.

Tutor
Currently the course is tutored exclusively by Georg Feuerstein, which is why we must limit the number of enrolled students.

Tutoring
Tutoring extends over 30 months (plus any agreed-on extension period) and covers feedback on the various homework assignments and related issues. It does not, however, extend to questions unrelated to the course nor to personal counseling.

Optional Teaching Intensives
YREC may offer periodic intensives in the future.

Course Fee
The basic fee for the distance learning course is $1820, and the full amount is due when signing up for the program. YREC membership for a two-year period is included. (Students who are granted an extension beyond 30 months must pay the regular membership fee when it comes due plus the annual continuation fee; see above under Extension.) If a student wishes to receive academic credit for this course, an additional fee is levied by Sonoma State University, as well as an extra administration fee by YREC (see above under Credits). See also the option above to acquire the course at a reduced rate of $1600 when a student does not wish to submit any homework assignment.

Foreign Surcharge
To ensure that our course materials, which are quite heavy, arrive safely, we send them by airmail to our foreign students (including Canada) and therefore must add a shipping surcharge of $80. Please add this amount to the course fee. We cannot assume responsibility for items lost in the mail for countries for which the U.S. postal service does not offer insurance.

Refund Policy
Starting in 2004, we will refund 90 percent of the fee prior to shipping the course materials. After the materials have been shipped, no refund can be made.

Foreign Students
The course contains technical material and involves homework, including writing four essays, which means that students need to have competence in English. Our tutoring does not include help with the English language. We ask overseas students to please carefully appraise their level of linguistic competence before signing up, as no refunds will be possible.

Commencement
We accept new students whenever there are openings.

 

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: The terms stated herein do not constitute a binding agreement until we have accepted your signed application and you have paid for the course.

 

This document is dated December 5, 2003

 


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