JOIN THE LINEAGE
LADY NIGUMA
L E V E LÂ 1
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NEXT COURSES:
FOUNDATION 1:
Coming Soon
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REGISTERÂ WITH A DISTRIBUTOR
IN YOUR LANGUAGE:
Level 1 is a three course modular YTT with an authentic & effective yoga tradition.
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R O A D M A P :
1. Foundation Course: Heart of Gold
2. Master Course: Build Your Fire
3. Teacher Training: Shine Like a Diamond
*350+ hours of authentic training
BONUS: Complete all three and qualify to register as a
200RYT Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher
EXPLORE INNER & OUTER WORLDS
Is there more to my human experience than just my physical body?
Learn to achieve a deep, peaceful sense of love that pervades your daily life.
FEEL AMAZING AND HELP OTHERS
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Level 1 is specifically designed to reduce negative emotions and help us create a new world.
REDUCE STRESS
Why do things work sometimes and other times they donât?
Gain mental clarity on the nature of reality; create the world you believe is possible.
Who is Lady Niguma?
Yogini
Lady Niguma is considered one of the most important and influential yoginis of 10-11th century India.
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Physician
The woodblock prints of her asana system were recently rediscovered, and are now considered to be the oldest known recorded yoga asana sequences.
Lineage Holder
This tradition has descended through an unbroken line from Lady Niguma herself over 1,000 years - but this is the first time her wisdom has been made available this way.
Teacher
By pouring over decades of study and practice, with years and years of silent retreat, our team has poured their experience and wisdom into these courses for you.
WHY STUDY HER SYSTEM?
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Mastery of Lady Nigumaâs yoga has the ability to radically transform a practitionerâs experience of the world in a very short period of time.
By combining the outer methods of the physical elements of yoga with the inner practices of the traditional and ancient systems, results manifest more quickly.
This is how we get answers to life's biggest questions.
It's like walking around in a dark room searching for a light switch. YSI is here to show you where the switch is and how to flip itâso the mysteries of the subtle body become manifest.
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LADY NIGUMA LEVELÂ 1 is a series of three courses designed to be taken in sequence:Â
1. Foundation
Begin with the Foundation Course to learn the essential principles of developing a Heart of Gold. This course centers around Lady Nigumaâs 5 Goals and 4 Movements which make up the underlying theory of the Series 1 asana sequence.
2. Master
For practitioners who want to masterfully integrate these principles and methods, the Master Course was designed to dig deeper into the system taught in the Foundation Course. Here you will learn new variations of the Foundation practices in a retreat setting to Build Your Fire.
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3. Teacher Training
Finally, for those interested in honing their asana practice and who desire to share this teaching with others, the Teacher Training will elaborate on biomechanics, general asana sequencing theory, and other essentials; this will prepare them to pass the tradition to the next generation and Shine Like a Diamond.
The three modules were designed to completely prepare a student to become a professional yoga teacher. It's up to you to live these teachings and know them within yourself. These courses are a thorough beginning to that journey.
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There are 3 Levels that complete Lady Nigumaâs Yoga system. For students seeking to embody and live this practice deeply, it is recommended they complete the entire Level 1 course before progressing to Level 2..
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COURSE DATES:
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To be announced.
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Lady Niguma accomplished the highest goals of yoga because of her infinite compassion and mastery of her subtle body. This course explores the fundamentals around Lady Nigumaâs 5 Goals and 4 Movements, which make up the underlying theory of the Series 1 asana sequence; ultimately, these concepts together help us to overcome our negative emotions and live a purpose-driven life.
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Navanga Yoga
This class teaches the traditional 8-part method of yoga with an additional 9th part, compassionate wisdom. These 9 methods together accelerate us rapidly toward the ultimate goal of yoga.
Mapping the Inner Body
Learn how to navigate your inner world to create a more joyful mind and a healthier body. Understand how to work with the five layers of reality, and how the inner and outer methods of yoga align the entire framework of your being.
Building Blocks of Reality
Every tree once started as a seed. Lady Niguma's yoga uses specific "seed" vibrations to connect us to the most basic building blocks of our physical body, the world around us, and the thoughts in our mind.
Channels & Emotions
As our mind moves, our inner energy moves, which in turn moves our breath, and finally moves our physical body. Learn about the three main energetic channels in our body, to which emotions and experiences they relate, and how to use this knowledge to live in a state of mindfulness, compassion, and health.
5 Goals & 4 Movements
Learn the oldest recorded yoga asana sequence in the world. In Level 1, discover how specific 4 types of body movement help us attain the first 5 goals of Lady Niguma's yoga.
Ethics
The basis of all good results in yoga is good causes. Learn how to make sure your practice works through the joy of living kindly.
Foundation Course Details
What you'll get:
+ Philosophy Classes: in-depth virtual training, live & pre-recorded
+ Question & Answer Sessions
+ Small Group Discussions
+ Element Meditations: Contemplating the nature of reality
+ Story Time: Connie OâBrien tells the story of Lady Nigumaâs legend & lineage
+ Asana Series 1: Â physical yoga series to work at the level of the chakras.
+ Posture Chart & Manual for the entire series
+ Posture Clinic: pose-by-pose breakdown of the Asana Series
+ 30 Day Wisdom in Action Challenge: Integrate the teachings with challenges designed to help you live the teachings.
+ Level 1 Foundation Certification: Earn a certificate by completing the homework, quizzes, final exam, and the 30-day Wisdom in Action challenge.
Methods for Success
Learn the Inner & Outer Methods that make this Yoga system so unique. This is yoga that changes your world, not just your body:
- Asana Series
- Posture Clinics
- Meditations
- Story Time
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Live Classes & Group Discussions
You don't have to travel this path alone. Learn yoga in community with a experienced teachers and fellow students:
- Philosophy ClassesÂ
- Q&A Sessions
- Small Group Discussions
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Wisdom in Action Challenge
30 days of transformational knowledge in the manual for a Lady Niguma lifestyle.
Integrate the wisdom and change your life!
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Foundation Course Promotional Video
COURSE DATES:
To be announced.
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Expand your Foundation of Level 1 by immersing yourself in a 6-day online retreat. The objective of the Master Course is to prepare you for mastery through a guided retreat experience, personalized to your practice. In this context, you will tune into your subtle body and fix your mind to accomplish your lifeâs highest goals.
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Master Course Details
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What you'll get:
+ Philosophy Classes:Â in-depth virtual training, live & pre-recorded
+ Question & Answer Sessions
+ Small group discussions
+ Manual: Learn to master yourself
+ Daily meditation practice:Â Nadi Tong Len, Consuming Concentration MeditationsÂ
+ Pranayama: Learn the art of Breathing
+ Finding the Ney: How to find âlandmarksâ in your personal subtle body
+ LN Asanas and Principles of Alignment: Daily live asana practice with postural alignment
+ Yoga Sutras: Lady Nigumaâs connection to the most classic yogic text
+ Tristhana: Elevate your yoga asana from exercise to flow with Ujjayi, Bandha & Drshti
+ Circle Day: Learn how to structure mini-retreats called âcircle daysâ into normal life. Do a full-day silent retreat with a full-day Lady Niguma practice
+ Elements: Deeper explanation of the element practice
+ History of Yoga: Trace the lineage and connect to the teachers of Yogaâs ancient history
+ 30 Day Wisdom in Action Challenge: Each day of the course has a specific challenge designed to help you live the teachings. Lady Niguma isnât information; itâs a lifestyle.
+ Level 1 Master Certification: Earn a certificate by completing the homework, quizzes, a final exam, and the 30-Day Wisdom in Action challenge.
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COURSE DATES:
To be announced.
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This course is focused on understanding more about our bodies, and how we can develop the skills of a teacher, accommodating the many unique variations and needs of different people. YSI is concerned with safely and successfully assisting others in experiencing Lady Nigumaâs yoga. You will learn about leading classes, designing sequences, cueing, and the essentials of a successful yoga teacher.
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Teacher Training Course Details
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What you'll get:
+ Philosophy Classes:Â In-depth virtual training, live & pre-recorded
+ Question & Answer Sessions
+ Small Group Discussions
+ Manual:Â Learn to teach the planting of seeds to experience mastery of Yoga
+ History of Yoga: The 6 heads of yogic literature
+ Anatomy: Explore the inner world specifically through the lens of the elements
+ Cueing:Â The dos and donâts of cueing. In-depth materials for variations and modifications
+ Sequencing: Utilize the secrets of a flowing sequence and create consistent outcomes for your classes.
+ Pace, Environment & Class Management: Foster the conditions for awakening the hearts and minds of your students
+ Integrated Assisting and Adjusting:Â Every body is unique; learn how to cater to each individualâs need in their practice.
+ A Yogiâs Code of Conduct: What we commit to do and commit NOT to do, that IS our practice.
+ Yogi Diet with recipes; Nourish yourself and others through food & drink
+ Community: Spend quality time with dedicated and experienced Lady Niguma practitioners
What you get in Level 1:
1. Foundation
OBTAIN THE KNOWLEDGE
+ Wisdom in Action Challenge
+ Learn the asana series
+ Introduction to the inner body
+Â Integrate the elements and bija syllables
+Â Learn the legend and lineage holders
+Â Study and experience Lady Nigumaâs unique 5 Goals and 4 Movements
 + Expand your compassion and live whole-heartedly
2. Master
HONE YOUR PRACTICE
+ 6-Day online retreat
+ 3- Day Wisdom in Action Challenge
+ Learn the Universal Principles of Alignment
+ Experience your inner body through breath
+ Deeper explanation of the elements and how to use them
+ Learn the art of Circle Days
+ Build your motivation to serve the world and attain your life goals
3. Teacher Training
BECOME A PROFESSIONAL
+ 6-Day Online Intensive
+ Live Online Classes
+ In-depth anatomy through the lens of the elements
+ Pre-Recorded Classes with Geshe Michael Roach
+ Many guided peer teaching opportunities
+ Learn the essentials of crafting a place and a class
+ The basics of being a yoga teaching professional
+Â Significant hands-on time with qualified instructors
+Â Connect with a community of committed Lady Niguma professionals
Foundation 1 ONLY
START YOUR YOGA JOURNEY
Complete Level 1
GET ALL THREE COURSES
Foundation, Master & Teacher Training
GET PRICING FROMÂ AN
OFFICIAL YSI DISTRIBUTOR
Distributors connect YSI Instructors to students like you, in your language.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Earle Birney
New York, USA
Earle has studied with the Yoga Studies Institute (YSI) since 2006; he completed the five-year curriculum covering the essential texts of yoga philosophy including the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita as well as the Lady Niguma and Heart Yoga systems. He has studied with many great teachers in the Ashtanga, Bikram, Anusara, and Sivananda systems and is a 500-hour E-RYT. He has produced and taught at international retreats as well as completed a three-year, three-month and three-day silent meditation retreat.
Constance O'Brien
Arizona, USA
Constance OâBrienâs love for yoga started in the late 1970âs when the first Sivananda Yoga studio appeared in her local town. Thirty years later, she encountered Heart Yoga and fell in love with the practice all over again. She studied the deeper knowledge of yogaâs inner practice from 2003 through 2010 with Geshe Michael Roach in Tucson, Arizona. Following a three-year meditation retreat in 2014, she became a certified 200-hour Yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance in the Hatha Yoga Anusara style. Since 2014, she has travelled throughout Asia as a teacher for the Diamond Cutter Institute, teaching yoga, meditation and Diamond Cutter principles for business. In 2019, she revived the Yoga Studies Institute and serves as its current director.
Bob Cirino
Pennsylvania, USA
Bob Cirino has spent most of his life playing music, gardening, studying science, and starting businesses designed to harmonize man with nature. His drive for business success led him to Michael Roach's book, The Diamond Cutter. It was here that he was empowered to pursue his passion for philosophy and yoga in greater depth.
Since then, he has developed a yoga and meditation practice that help him bring joyful focus into his daily activities.
He now serves the Yoga Studies Institute and resides in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, USA, with his wife and two cats.
Teresa Pirosanto
Madrid, Spain
Teresa currently teaches Ashtanga, Yoga Flow, Vinyasa and Niguma yoga. She studied the Iyengar method at the age of 25 in Argentina and Chile with Ramanand Pattel. She also studied many different methods while in Miami, even through three pregnancies. In 2007, she discovered the Ashtanga method and trained with Manju Jois in Chile. Back in Miami, in 2008, she trained with Tim Miller and practiced with Kino Mac Gregor. In 2009, she received her Ashtanga Yoga certificate from Ashtangabaires Argentina and also traveled to Chicago to do teacher training with Richard Freeman. In 2010, she began studying philosophy and meditation with Michael Roach during many courses and retreats. She also studied Transcendental Meditation, Pranic Healing and Yoga for Children.
Lydia Gallagher
Arizona, USA
Lydia was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She developed a dedicated asana practice at Punto Yoga with Angie Flores, an Authorized Level 1 Ashtanga Yoga teacher. In line with the Ashtanga lineage, she visited Mysore, India, where she studied at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute.
In 2017, she met Michael Roach, who shared the foundations of Tibetan lineage philosophy and since then has developed a solid meditation practice as well as successfully completed an Applied Meditation Teacher Training in ancient Asian philosophy.
As she transformed her life using the teachings, her practice evolved as well. In 2020, she completed the Life of a Yogi Teacher Training with Sri Dharma Mittra and teaches Dharma yoga at the Yoga Studies Institute to a worldwide audience.
Paola Pimentel
Guadalajara, Mexico
Paola discovered yoga at an early age, but took her first Ashtanga yoga class at Punto Yoga studio in Guadalajara where she kept practicing and learning from Angie Flores Saiffe (L2 Authorized ) from 2007 to 2012. She certified as a Hatha an Vinyasa Yoga Instructor in 2014.
Under April Kuramotoâs (Bliss Yoga, Vancouver, Canada) wing, she studied both her Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga certifications in 2016; for the next three years, they both worked on different collaborations, teaching workshops and certifications to different students from all the country.
In late 2016, she opened her own Prenatal Yoga Studio, âYoga Prenatal GDL,â and focuses mainly on holding space for mothers during pregnancy and postpartum.
She loves to spend time with her two girls, teaching workshops, supporting her patients and serving others.
Alfonso Arzapalo
Montreal, Canada
Alfonso was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. In 2000, his interest in meditation led him to yoga which he started formally practicing and studying in 2001. Starting a journey of learning and discovery which took him to study yoga with many different teachers and traditions, including Kundalini, Sivananda, Ashtanga, Dharma Mittra and Iyengar. This journey included travel, learning and practicing Kundalini in New Mexico and France, Sivananda in Canada, Dharma Mittra in New York and then to the Hymalayan Iyengar centre in Dharamkot, Dharamshala, India. In the meantime, he continued to study and practice meditation mainly in the Vippassana tradition thought by S.N. Goenka.
Benji Bridges
North Carolina, USA
I have worked with YSI for 3 years, maturing alongside the organization - enjoying all of the courses with the community of practitioners and teachers. Before YSI, I studied many other traditions before making a commitment to practice these teachings to their highest conclusion.
In 2016, I traded a life of business for a new life as a farmer. With all of the physical exercise and spiritual work I was doing, Lady Nigumaâs yoga came into my life. I practiced it for years without ever meeting YSI. Little did they (and I) know, I was planting the seeds that would force them to hire me and to teach me!
With a Yogic Lifestyle and my love of creating a new world, I have created farms, medicinal gardens, developed an intentional community and a homestead with my family. Now, I am working to build a school that teaches yoga and stewardship. Years of yoga practice and adhering to codes of conduct are the only ways I could have made these dreams a reality!
Alex Rivas
Guadalajara, Mexico
Entrepreneur, yoga teacher, and translator: Alex also works as a volunteer doing voice-overs, subtitling, and translating for online and live events, helping spread the yoga teachings to the world. He loves to teach Lady Niguma Yoga & Heart Yoga, now working with the Yoga Studies Institute. He has worked with the Green Stretch Pen program to bring emptiness and seeds teachings, yoga, and healthy lifestyle to kids in Mexico.
In his entrepreneurial life, he took all these teachings to start a successful vegetarian and health store in Mexico, called âO-Mart Ecomarket,â working alongside his wife to protect life, bringing these stores all around Mexico.
In his personal life, he has two kids, 10 and 6 years old. They are already practicing Yoga! He loves to spend time with family and friends, singing and going out.
Shalamar Brown
USA
Shalamar Brown is a small town girl with a global vision and a huge heart. Originally from Ohio, now settled in Florida, Shalamar loves all things tech with experience as a Software Developer and in her current role as a Technical Analyst.
Shalamar loves to serve others. From volunteering at nursing homes since childhood, to opening her own affordable daycare center after the birth of her son, Shalamar demonstrates
her love for all and genuinely wants to see everyone live their best lives.
After attending classes at Three Jewels in NYC, she knew that meditation was the key to helping her help others. It wasnât long before she completed her 200-hr Meditation Teaching
Certification. Her capacity to care for others increases everyday!
