Online Learning Philosophy Statement

Thank you so much for your interest in learning with us at the ShivaShakti School of Yoga and Healing Arts. We want to share with you our philosophy for our approach to online learning. It is important for us as we transition some of our teaching to online and blended modalities to maintain the integrity of the learnings as well as the meaningful nature in which we work to build community in our beloved Sangha. When we think about online learning and blended learning, we are committed to offering meaningful experiences in our yoga courses and are dedicated to the following characteristics:

Active | We provide opportunities for active learning. There is a focus on learning by doing, a practice-based, apprentice-like approach to our learning/teaching style no matter the modality or delivery method.

Constructive and Reflective | Our learning activities build on your prior knowledge and promote reflection on your learning growth.

Intentional | Learning in our courses is naturally goal-directed; you will be able to set your own goals and monitor your own progress.

Authentic | Learning occurs in a contextual way. You will find personal meaning in every learning opportunity that will help foster more connections to real-life situations as well as transfer your learning to new situations.

Cooperative | Learning will not occur in a silo; instead, it will occur in an actively collaborative and conversational community-based setting. You will actively seek ideas and assistance from other learners. The cooperative and collaborative nature of our learning environments establishes the platform for sharing of multiple perspectives of ways to view the world as well as understand how there can exist a variety of solutions to any challenge.

We also want to ensure that you as the learner feel supported, so if there is anything that you’re struggling with or have questions about, please don’t hesitate to reach out. In online learning, there is sometimes a perceived distance between learner and teachers, and we do our best in our courses to make that feel less so. In order to do this, we concentrate on lessening this by providing multiple opportunities for interaction including the following:

Learner to content

Learner to instructor

Learner to learners

Learner to other experts

Also, if you have a need for greater interaction, you can feel free to reach out and let us know what you need in addition to what is laid out in the course. While not required in the courses, you can also meet up virtually or physically with other learners on a more regular basis during the course and beyond.

We also try to be very clear about the structure of the program and courses and provide clarity within our instruction. We do this by communicating clear goals, objectives, and expectations, including what you can expect from us as instructors as well as what we expect from you as a learner.

In our courses, there is also incorporation of your autonomy so that you can have voice and choice in your learning options. Included in this are your engagement needs as a learner, the representation preferences of how you incorporate existing knowledge and new knowledge, as well as the way in which you express your learning with the rest of the community.

We encourage you to provide us feedback as you learn with us in these various ways so that we can make your experience better. We greatly appreciate your input. Please share your input by emailing us.