1. YOGA
PED 108-01
Fall Semester 2014
M/W/F @ 3:00 – 4:15
AFC Dance Studio
Instructor: Jennifer Kobylski
Contact Information: jkobylski@chatham.edu (email) 412.225.2927 (phone)
Course Description: PED 108-01 Yoga provides an opportunity for students to learn the poses of vinyasa yoga and the importance
of their wellness.
Course Objectives: PED 108-01 Yoga is a one credit, pass/fail course designed to help students build a relationship with their
bodies through the posture and breathing practices of vinyasa yoga. Students will also develop an awareness of self through advanced
levels of perception and come to understand their own inner-workings through exploration of yogic philosophy.
Vital Flow yoga: the existential yogic practice that teaches students to:
- step into their own skin through the practice of Vinyasa Flow yoga
- perceive signals from the body
- recognize the significance of these personalized messages
- discover their authentic self
Paired with the process of safe experimentation and the desire to expand, Vital Flow Yoga allows the student to not only realize personal
truth, but live by it.
Requirements and Attendance Policy: Every PED course requires participation and expects you to be on time for every class.
Students may have (3) unexcused absences and on the 4th
will fail the course. Students may be given excused absences for a
documented University sponsored event, documented death in the family, or a documented medical excuse, but any combination of
excused or unexcused absences totaling (7) will result in failing the course.
Grading: Participation in each class results in a passing grade. Failing grades will be distributed to: students who have more than three
unexcused absences, a combined total of seven excused/unexcused absences, those who do not turn in required assignments or those
who do not participate in the class.
Chatham University Honor Code: Chatham University students pledge to maintain the Honor Code, which states in part:
“Honor is that principle by which we at Chatham form our code of living, working and studying together. The standards of honor at
Chatham require that all students act with intellectual independence, personal integrity, honesty in all relationships, and consideration
for the rights and well being of others.”
Information about the Honor Code is available in the student handbook.
Disability Statement: Chatham University is committed to providing an environment that ensures that no individual is
discriminated against on the basis of his/her disability. Students with disabilities, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA) and who need special academic accommodations, should notify the director of the Learning Center as soon as possible. The
Learning Center will work with students and the course instructor to coordinate and monitor the provision of reasonable academic
accommodations.
Cheating and Plagiarism: Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain aid and/or information by illicit
means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations. Plagiarism is defined as the use, without proper
acknowledgement, of the ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from another writer or speaker. In accordance with
University policy, only officially registered students may attend this class and all other classes offered at the University. Please confer with
your academic advisor if you need assistance with the registration process or need additional information.

2. Course Outline:
Monday 60-minute practice followed by 15-minute class meditation
Wednesday 45-minute practice followed by 30-minute class discussion and/or group activity
Friday 75-minute practice with music
Midterm Paper
Due Monday, October 13th
2014
One page research paper about yoga’s impact on one of the ten Body-Mind systems
Final Paper
Due Monday, December 8th
2014
One page reflection of each student’s personal experience of consistent yoga practice
Recommended Supplies: The following is a list of supplies that help maximize students’ experience of yoga and will be used
throughout the semester. Mats and blocks will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
* Mat
* Block
* Strap
* Hand towel
* Water bottle
* Healthy snack
* Coloring supplies
* Folder
* Journal
* Pen
Ray Long MD’s Practice Guidelines:
(1) Common Sense. Don’t force yourself into a pose. In many yoga postures, joints can be taken to the extremes of their
range of motion. Forcing the body into a position can injure the cartilage, ligaments, and muscles surrounding the joints. [Your
instructor] provides guidelines on how to use physiology to safely dissolve blockages and increase joint mobility. Use these
guidelines to design your practice. Applying your knowledge of physiology rather than forcing yourself into a pose is akin to the
ancient Chinese proverb, “If you have difficulty reaching your goal, keep the goal, but change your strategy.”
(2) Discipline. Yoga is about freedom – freedom of movement, thoughts, and energetic flow. Therefore, use discipline in
moderation. Balance intensity with consistency. Regular practices of shorter duration are superior to high-intensity binges.
Short and consistent practice integrates yoga into your life and produces long lasting shifts and openings of energetic channels.
Another way to apply discipline in your practice is to take a moment to reflect on your session immediately after Savasana, or
the final relaxation. Consider what went well and how you have improved; then leave it. This short reflection helps to
consolidate the training session into your neural circuitry. Remember that the unconscious mind integrates your hard work into
the body between sessions. Conscious reflection links your practice to the unconscious and multiplies this effect.
(3) Attention to detail. Art Historian Aby Warburg once said, “God is in the details.” When practicing, Hatha Yoga with
precise alignment, the body becomes a vehicle to union. As we breathe and move through the poses, chemical changes that
take place produce a feeling of well-being and relaxation. Our drishti, or focus, combines with these chemical changes to quiet
and calm the mind. If you concentrate your drishti on the muscles that position the joints, your postures and alignment will
improve and your state of mind will, too.
Long, Ray. "Practice Guidelines." Anatomy for Vinyasa Flow and Standing Poses. Plattsburgh, NY: Bandha Yoga Publications,
2010. 4. Print.