I have great pleasure in presenting the website http://patanjaliyoga2.wix.com/frogpond containing the class information and the lectures by Dr. Bijoy Misra on Patanjali Yoga.  The comprehensive class for the yoga teachers is offered for the first time in North America.  We are grateful to Dr. Misra for initiating us to the details of the yoga philosophy and helping us to integrate the class into our Continuing Studies Program at Frog Pond Yoga Center, Princeton, MA.  Dr. Misra was a long-time Associate to Dr. V. S. Rao who helped build yoga training and activities in New England through his untiring efforts.
 
Patanjali Yoga, popularly known as Raja Yoga, is the culmination of the exploration of the knowledge of the inner self of life that began with philosophical and empirical discussion several thousand years ago in India.  The final text is credited to the Sage Patanjali, who possibly appeared around 3rd century BCE.  The scientific techniques of Raja Yoga were presented and taught to the American students by Swami Vivekananda at the end of nineteenth century when he came to address the Parliament of World Religions at Chicago in 1893.  The asana techniques of Raja Yoga are called Hatha Yoga and are popular among the American public for achieving health and recuperating from trauma and stress.  Raja Yoga is a composite method, sometimes referred to as Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs of Yoga.

I began my journey in yoga forty five years ago in Canada and continued to deepen my understanding through my practice.  I met my guru “Baba” Dr. V.S. Rao in Lowell, Ma, in 1982 and was fortunate to be in contact with many other yoga practitioners through his ministry.  In 1983, I met Dr. Bijoy Misra who was assisting Dr. Rao in helping interpret his lectures and explaining to the students the concepts of yoga.  Through the blessings of Dr. Rao, I founded the Frog Pond Yoga Centre as an institution to prepare teachers in yoga who may undertake yoga as a life-long undertaking.  The institution has been successful in graduating more than three hundred teachers in its 200 Hr program recognized by the Yoga Alliance, the premier yoga collaborative in the United States.   

Two sets of courses are conducted annually, one beginning in September and the other the following February.  The 200Hr program curriculum contains principles of yoga philosophy and yoga therapy and mostly exceeds the standard set by Yoga alliance.  Four years ago a 500HR study program (Continuing Studies Program) was added so the graduates could deepen their understanding of the concepts introduced at the 200HR level. Dr Misra’s classes are offered as a part of this Continuing Studies program.  This class meets once a month during the Fall and Autumn months on average eight times a year.  The students enjoy the classes in understanding the concepts and also learning the yogic recitation through Sanskrit.

The Frog Pond Yoga Centre is located in Princeton, a quaint little town at the foot of Mount Wachusett in central Massachusetts. The school uses a large classroom in the old school building in the center of town, appropriate to the pursuit of yoga and philosophy.  Please feel free to visit to witness our ongoing classes.  For further information on the classes offered and Dr Misra’s Patanjali classes, the prospective students can contact me by email at shantidiane@verizon.net or by phone at 978-464-5863.

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