Agama Yoga is a growing and expanding spiritual organization, offering its students greater opportunities for authentic Yoga studies, immersion workshops and retreats, and Teacher Training Courses. To organize ourselves more efficiently for the largest course attendance figures in our history thus far and larger student body generally, we have implemented new administrative policies at various points over the last several years.

For those who did not join us during the spring of 2008, these new guidelines are posted here so that you may be informed prior to your arrival and may arrange your travel to coordinate with the dates necessary for your studies. Please read carefully these new announcements!

Introduced or amended Spring, 2008

ATTENDANCE STANDARD

A minimum of 75 percent attendance is required in order to progress from one course level to the next in the curriculum. This applies to all course levels (2-24), with the exception of month 1. First month students may begin month 2 having completed just 13 of 24 days of the course, as long as they continue their month 1 studies in conjunction with month 2 classes. (However, to officially complete month 1 and receive the certificate of achievement, a student must have attended 18 of 24 days in full.)

This attendance standard applies fully to all course levels. However, an exemption is granted for Agama retreat participants. In order to encourage participation in our monthly 10-day meditation retreats, such students only are exceptionally extended a 62 percent attendance standard so that they may choose to participate in our retreats without sacrificing their standing in the curriculum. For students in months 2 and 3, this means attendance of 8 of 12 classes will qualify; for students in months 4 and up, attendance of 5 of 8 classes is acceptable. Students must recover missed course teachings or initiations when they are next offered during the curriculum.

As a result of this announcement, students wishing to join course levels 2 and up may not join courses once the first class of week 2 begins.

MAKING UP MISSED CLASSES AND INITIATIONS

No special classes or initiations will be held for individual students who elected to participate in a retreat and missed their regular course teachings. The same applies to students who missed classes or initiations due to visa runs, family visits, etc.

RECORDING POLICY

We regretfully announce that audio or other recording of any kind is no longer permitted, inclusive of course teachings, evening lectures, workshop presentations, etc., with the current exception of month 1 lectures. Unfortunately, the openness of our former recording policy was widely abused in very inappropriate ways. We would like to remind our students that materials and teachings provided to them with initiation and blessings at our teaching centers are for their own use only. They are not to be shared, copied, etc. with people outside of our courses or with students within our courses who have not yet reached the level required or who did not join the teachings in question. All students need to agree to respect this guideline when they join our courses.

Inspirational talks from retreats, however, may be recorded. In addition, Agama will strive to make available in our Shops recorded lectures from month 1, special lecture series, etc.

STRUCTURE OF ANNUAL TEACHING

Effective 1 January, 2009, the structure of annual teaching offered per student will be 7-8 months of curriculum teaching (according to course levels) and 4-5 months of supervised practice. Thus during one calendar year, a student may benefit from up to 8 course levels (the eighth only by personal application to the Secretarial Department and approval – make your requests well in advance in order that your travel plans are not disrupted), and 4-5 months of supervised practice, in which you are encouraged to digest the teachings and deepen your practice under the supervision of a competent teacher.

Agama Yoga is pleased to make available a teaching support system of “supervised practice” for students who either have completed all new course levels for the year, who did not manage to synchronize with the posted course schedule, or who simply wish to take a break from new studies to deepen their current practice. For these students, no new techniques will be presented, although we wish to emphasize that we intend for students to receive Yoga teachings and spiritual life teachings at this time. We will offer guidance intended to facilitate an intensified level of practice, hold sessions tailored to students’ individual course levels, answer questions about practice, and possibly - if there is sufficient demand in addition to adequate teaching resources - lead group practice sessions at this time.

Each month on Registration Day (the last Friday of the teaching cycle), a student must inform Registration which course type (regular courses or supervised practice) he or she will take in the upcoming month. In this way, students may study with Agama year-round, and of course are welcome to repeat course levels, join our monthly retreats, and participate in all other optional activities at the eligible course level: bhajans, film showings, special meditations, shakti groups, lecture series, etc.

SASH EXAMS AS ADMISSION MARKERS IN THE CURRICULUM

Students are advised that, beginning in April of 2009, four years after their introduction, the sash exams will serve as admission markers to further advanced levels in the Agama curriculum. A student will have to successfully pass: the Red Sash Exam to enter month 4, the Orange Sash Exam to enter month 9, the Yellow Sash Exam to enter month 15, and the Green Sash Exam to begin the Chakra Tapas.

Teachers will facilitate this policy by challenging their classes to meet testing criteria in practice beginning with January 2009 classes.

Students who do not pass the sash exams will need to retake the exam at its next scheduled opportunity. Exceptional exams will not be arranged to accommodate students who did not pass their tests but do not want to lose their standing in the curriculum. Additionally, students who had registered for a course but then failed to pass the sash exam which serves as prerequisite for that course will have their registration fees returned.

Note: Exams must be taken sequentially and in full; students may not skip testing levels (for example, take the Yellow Sash Exam but skip the Orange Sash Exam) despite having reached that level of Yoga practice.

Exams will be offered during the weekend prior to the course level they serve as prerequisite for. For example, the Red Sash will be offered prior to each month 4 course. The Yellow Sash Exam will be offered prior to each month 15 course. Please make sure to synchronize your next trip for study on Koh Phangan with any exams needed. Beginning in April 2009, there will be no exceptions to this policy. The guidelines are presented here for the first time nine months in advance to allow for ample preparation.

WORKSHOP REATTENDANCE

A workshop reattendance fee of 50 percent was introduced effective 15 April, 2008. This means that a person attending, for example, Tantra 1 in Thailand may reattend this workshop on a future occasion for 50 percent of the full workshop fee. This fee applies to all Agama Yoga workshops, worldwide.

Reattending students do not receive the normal multiple-workshop discounts extended to those paying full course fees.

According to this policy, a participant who has attended a weekend version of a course anywhere in the world may also reattend the full five-day version at Koh Phangan for 50 percent of the full workshop fee.

PRIVATE TEACHINGS

Pending available staffing, private teachings may be offered for months 4 and up at a rate of 6,000 Baht per course level with compulsory group Hatha Yoga practice sessions, or 12,000 Baht per course level for entirely individual course teachings and classes. In either scenario, Hatha Yoga classes are mandatory in order to verify that asanas and techniques are being practiced and assimilated properly.

Pending available staffing, an option potentially exists to arrange private teachings on a per class basis (prorated according to the fees above, i.e., 750 / 1500 per class per individual) with the Teaching Department Manager. Such fees would be additional to any paid for regularly scheduled courses. This option may be offered, again pending adequate staffing, in order that a student who missed an important class or two due to unforeseen circumstances would have one option toward not losing his or her curriculum standing. Bija mantra initiations may be scheduled only with the availability of a level 5 or up teacher.

Permission for private teachings is granted solely by the Teaching Department Manager according to an overview of involved criteria including staff availability at the proper level of instruction required, hall availability or other arrangements, etc.

Introduced June 2007

REGISTRATION DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS MONTH 2 AND UP

Registration takes place on the last Friday of each teaching month for the following month’s courses; students planning to join the second month level course and up must attend. Late registrants (registering during the first week of classes) must pay a 300 Baht late fee; late fees are waived for students arriving directly from overseas, as well as for month 2 and 3 students, who tend to be more transient and may join classes on a per class or weekly basis, for example. Beginning with month 4, courses are paid on a monthly basis only; an exception is made for students leaving the island shortly and able to attend only 3 or fewer classes of the upcoming course level. Such a student may register only for those classes at a rate of 500 Baht per class.

Registration dates and times for the next month’s courses are highlighted in bold on the Calendar.

SKIPPING COURSE LEVELS / STUDYING MULTIPLE LEVELS NOT PERMITTED

No student may skip course levels or take multiple course levels simultaneously The only exception to this rule applies to First Month Intensive Course students who have attended a minimum of 13 days and may then complete the first month while concurrently studying the second month of the program.