Sadhana School

Over the course of three eight-week periods of study & virtual retreat held throughout the year, participants engage in an immersive study of yoga's diverse traditions, commit to daily practice, and join guided discussions that explore the application of ancient wisdom to modern life. The Sādhana School empowers individuals to develop skills of clarity, resilience, and meaning for a lifetime of wonder. Each period includes weekly sessions (lasting 2 hours) and extensive guidance and training to help you build and sustain your daily home practice.

Completing 4 Sādhanas (a full year of SS) will fufil a core curriculum requirement for those interested in both our Yoga Alliance-certified Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) Program and our more extensive Embodied Philosopher Formation Program (EPFP). The Sādhana School is therefore firstly a choice to pursue the most extensive investigation of the yoga tradition you'll find outside the university. This process will bear fruits that can be applied to various aspects of life. For those who feel a calling to share yoga's profound wisdom, the YTT and the EPFP offer skills training for teachers, facilitators, and educators who want to participate in building a new paradigm of contemplative education for a wiser world.

As traditional sources of meaning falter and crises of truth are seemingly everywhere, you'll seek to understand truth at a deeper philosophical level
As others turn to conspiracy theories for answers, you'll turn to theories that unite and heal rather than divide us
When spiritual practice feels flat, you'll study those traditions of knowledge which plumb the depths and provide pragmatic perspectives for some of life's greatest challenges
When moments of clarity feel fleeting, you'll harness tools that organize and sustain your capacity for insight
When so many spiritual seekers travel isolated and alone, you will have a sanctuary of kindred spirits to continuously derive support from

Yoga Philosophy provides an ocean of insight, but navigating its many schools and traditions can be an overwhelming endeavor. The emerging standards of teaching yogic thought have fallen into two camps: either an emphasis on historicizing abstractions and objective distance, or a limited focus on a reductive image of yoga that dissolves its elegant differences into a fundamentalist notion of the “true”, “authentic” yoga. In studying yoga philosophy, one should position oneself not as an objective observer nor as a blind follower, but as a scholar-practitioner. The great yogic thinkers, whether someone like Abhinavagupta for the Śaiva-Śākta Darśana or Śankarācārya for the Advaita Vedānta, were both devoted practitioners and rigorous thinkers. While they differed in philosophical conclusions, they were similar in their commitment to sādhana. Our method of approach, while exploring many texts and traditions of yoga, will be to avoid dogmatism by adopting a philosophically pluralistic attitude. This attitude is not alien to the tradition, but is perhaps best represented in the Jain principle of anekāntavāda – a principle of intellectual charity that seeks to experientially understand how many traditions can be equally true, even when they seem to teach contradictory conclusions. We will see how both dualism and non-dualism are true, how both permanence and impermanence are true, and how consciousness is both nothing at all and everything, everywhere, all at once. At the heart of this seeming incoherence is something deeply transformative – a yogic experience that reveals the unique synthesis of paradox.

The pratyabhijña is the glistening philosophical heart of Kashmir Shaivism. Its philosophers Somananda, Utpaladeva, and Abhinavagupta transformed the Śaiva-Śākta Tantra into a formidable opponent of Buddhist thinkers like Dignāga and Dharmakīrti. In arguing for a conception of consciousness as the foundation of everything, their philosophy remains incredibly poignant and relevant to this day. In our winter 2024 sādhana, we will explore selections from Somananda’s Śivadṛṣṭi, Utpaladeva’s Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā, and Abhinavagupta’s Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī. In exploring these texts, we will also be brought into one of the most fascinating philosophical debates in world history between the Śaivas and the Buddhists. As we engage with these illuminating arguments and counter-arguments, we will continue to practice and experiment with the ways that philosophical views inform and re-form our personal practice.

One of the most vibrant intellectual contributions of the Indian tradition is its theories of aesthetics. Initially a discourse concerned with the beauty of ornamentation, the theory of rasa transformed into an insightful adventure of aesthetic mysticism. Throughout this sādhana, we will explore the aesthetic works of key thinkers like Bhoja, Ānandavardhana, and Abhinavagupta. We will explore the 8 (and 9) different rasas and their connection to contemplative experience, and discover how theatre reflects a key aspect of contemplative insight. We will take a keen interest in the poetic genre known as stotra, and will chant a number of these poems as a core aspect of our yogic sādhana.

Over seven days, you will engage with some of the core texts that explore the kuṇḍalinī-śakti – the creative power of spiritual awakening, while engaging with a unique adaptation of "kuṇḍạlinī-informed" haṭha-yoga practice. The concept of “Kuṇḍalinī Awakening” is very well known in the modern spiritual world, but very few people understand the mechanisms of consciousness by means of which this experience can arise. By becoming more familiar with the teachings and theories of the kuṇḍalinī-śakti, you will have a context and vocabulary through which to recognize experiences that might arise for you in the context of your sādhana, as well as develop the tools to build a unique home haṭha-yoga practice unknown to the modern postural yoga world.

Our students want to remember who they truly are. They want to live their lives fully and completely, while savouring the entire spectrum of possibilities in both their inner landscapes and their relational lives. There is perhaps no form of healing more necessary than this. Through contemplative studies and practices, our students’ lives metamorphize in ways beyond which they could have previously imagined, as they engage with their natural human potential for joy, expansion, wisdom, connection and fulfillment.

Embody the transformative power of yoga in your relationships and communities
Expand the conception of the "yoga teacher" into the "embodied philosopher"
Contribute to a growing movement to apply wisdom to the world's challenges
Discover your unique role in fostering a more compassionate, mindful, and interconnected society
Nourish and empower your contemplative practice with subtle techniques from ancient traditions
Join an evolving community of kindred spirits at the grassroots
Discover opportunities to forge the future of yoga and contemplative education today

Unlike other individualized self-help programs or yoga teacher trainings that provide superficial or limited solutions, Embodied Philosophy uses scholar-practitioner Jacob Kyle’s deep understanding of original yogic source materials – some of which are many centuries old – as he makes available to the wise and the curious, in easily digestible bites, that which until now have been relatively unknown teachings of the yogic wisdom universe. In addition, students learn from other famous yogic scholar-practitioners from around the world in a thriving and vibrant online community, where compelling discussions are had, connections are made, and friendships are formed.

Since Embodied Philosophy first opened its virtual doors, our editorial emphasis has been on developing a comprehensive library of contemplative traditions, teachings, and practices. After nearly 10 years of programming and having served over 100,000 students and seekers, our next phase involves a greater commitment to a core community of students who wish to dedicate themselves to sustained study and practice.

The Sādhana School is designed for those seeking a community of practice in a context of deep study. We will meet throughout the year in three different eight-week sādhanas and an annual virtual seven-day retreat. We will combine a rigorous study of yoga’s diverse textual history with a commitment to daily practice. During periods of sādhana, we will meet once per week, and during each period of sādhana we will be anchored to a text or series of texts that represent a different facet of the yoga tradition.

Contemplative learning is a lifelong process, because a meaningful life is one that should be actively cultivated. In a world that suggests education ends at age eighteen (or perhaps sometime after university or graduate school), the traditions of esoteric wisdom suggest that when you no longer take an interest in contemplative education, the personality can begin to harden and ossify. The lack of flexibility in one’s heart and mind easily leads to rigidity and dogmatism. One needs merely to notice the social challenges of today to observe the effects of individuals who think they know all there is to know. Our contemporary crisis of cultural divisiveness is a case study in ignorance and limiting beliefs. At the same time, the decline in organized religion has triggered a pandemic of cosmic meaninglessness, and what currently seeks to fill the gap is either ideological conformity or new paradigms of political fundamentalism.

Creating a wiser, more contemplative world requires cultivating a new contemplative imagination, one that inspires the formation of new ideas, methodologies, and modes of relationship. Studying the contemplative texts of yoga is not a conservative turn to an idealized past; it is the harnessing of time-tested technologies that put us in a more direct relationship with the source of all creativity, insight, and meaningfulness.

What is the Sādhana School (SS)?

The Sādhana School (SS) is a comprehensive curriculum for those who are seeking wisdom and awakening. It is a learning laboratory that harnesses the deeper principles and philosophies of the yoga tradition for sustainable change at the personal, professional, and community levels.

The SS curriculum varies year to year. Attendees can elect to do a single 8-week sādhana, or sign up for the full-year’s curriculum. A full year includes three 8-week periods of study & the Summer virtual retreat. Participants engage in an immersive study of yoga's diverse traditions, commit to daily practice, and join guided discussions that explore the application of ancient wisdom to modern life.

Who should participate in the Sādhana School?

Is the Sādhana School live and is attendance mandatory?

Can I receive continuing education credits through the Sādhana School?

The Sādhana School will provide you with a deeply orientating encounter with yoga’s profound traditions of meaning and truth. Over the course of this experience, it is natural to feel inspired to become a vessel for the dissemination of yogic wisdom. Embodied Philosophy has until now hesitated to launch a Yoga Alliance-certified Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) program, but the state of affairs in the world and a newfound transformation of our cultural and spiritual awareness means that now is the time.

This optional deepening of the Sādhana School will provide you with all the Yoga Alliance certified skills to launch (or expand) your yoga teaching practice. We will equip you with little-known practices, techniques, and technologies, and we will train you to teach not just the physical postures of yoga (āsana), but (perhaps more importantly) the subtle yogic practices of breath, meditation, chanting, and visualization. The yoga teacher as we understand it at Embodied Philosophy honors the present paradigm of modern postural yoga, but expands and deepens the possibilities of yogic teaching by grounding this teacher training process in the practices, traditions, and sacred texts that are very often either unknown or largely ignored by the majority of yoga teacher trainings available today.

Over six immersive weekends scheduled over six months (January - June 2025), you will learn how to teach foundational āsanas (postures), learn about functional anatomy and physiology, principles and approaches to teaching methodology, and develop skills to thrive in a modern yoga business climate – both online and offline.

How does the Sādhana School count toward my Yoga Teacher Training?

What does it mean to be Yoga Alliance certified?

Do I need previous yoga experience to enroll in the 200-hour YTT?

Will I be qualified to teach yoga after completing the 200-hour training?

What certification will I receive upon completion of the 200-hour YTT?

Many yoga teachers operate in a bubble, with very little expert advice or support to help make the most of their offerings. Is it time to take stock of your existing business and to reIMAGINE the path that your yoga business is on? Do you need to think in fresh & innovative ways based on the current market environment in order to move your platform forward, or keep your business afloat? Do you have pressing business concerns or difficult questions that need to be answered? Or important, exciting decisions to make about your yoga business? Are you negotiating contracts, offers or opportunities on your own? If so, yoga business coaching is for you.

By joining Ava Taylor, you'll tap into over 15 years of experience negotiating, vetting and creating opportunities as well as launching, maintaining, and leveling up over a 1000 yoga businesses worldwide.

Is the coaching tailored to my specific personal and professional goals?

Who is yoga business coaching for?

How long is a typical coaching package?

Jacob Kyle is a meditation teacher, writer, philosophy educator, and the Founding Director of Embodied Philosophy. His guiding mission is to re-imagine the modern function of the yoga teacher in alignment with the teachings, texts, and traditions of yoga's profound history. He believes that by building a network of teachers who share a commitment to disseminating the deeper teachings and practices of yoga, we can build a world based on wisdom rather than ideology and divisiveness.

Jacob is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, researching Abhinavagupta's Philosophy of Language and Meditation with advisor Diwakar Acharya. He holds an MPhil in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford (2023), an MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research (2017), and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics (2007). Jacob is a passionate advocate of Kashmir Śaivism and a devoted practitioner of the Śaiva-Śākta Darśana.

Integrating somatics, spirituality, and postural yoga in a unique multi-disciplinary offering
Becoming a therapeutic guide grounded and informed by philosophical wisdom teachings
Public speaking for community, corporate, or spiritual settings
Training future teachers to become embodied philosophers themselves
Developing curricula for use in childhood and adult contemplative education
Offering retreats that combine the rigours of philosophical knowledge with the depth of contemplative practices
Writing books and resources for the next generation of contemplative seekers and guides

Many yoga teacher trainings prepare you to facilitate a simple yoga class, but most will fail to help trainees craft a holistic vision for the future that extends beyond the modern yoga studio. The Sādhana School is where this journey begins, by transforming you into a vessel of yogic wisdom. By becoming intimate with yoga's diverse traditions and perspectives, you will locate and become knowledgeable about those niche areas of yogic truth that eventually will situate you to become an agent of contemplative change.

IAYT Approved Professional Development (APD) CREDIT You can easily submit the 36 CE credits for this certificate by locating the listing here and clicking on the course Verify Credits link. You will answer a few questions about your satisfaction with the course, upload your certificate of completion, and the CE credits will be posted to your profile. (Your course input is private. Any data shared with course leaders and Embodied Philosophy from IAYT will be de-identified and provided only in aggregate.)

Yoga Alliance This certificate program can be registered for continuing education credits with Yoga Alliance.

Students can expect around 4 - 6 hours per week of work throughout the program. Each week will have 2 courses, with 2 hours per session. Courses will include suggested & required readings, which will be provided ahead of time. In addition, there will be 3 separate, 90-minute Integration Sessions over the duration of the program. Integration Sessions will be a time to reconsider the material presented in the general lectures through conversation with a faculty member and through small group discussions with fellow students. Students are required to keep a private written journal of reflections (not submitted) responding to question on the course syllabi.