BWY Foundation Courses
Foundation Course Students are required to have practised Yoga for a minimum of 2 years with a BWY (or accredited ) teacher.
Foundation Course 1
This 60-hour course (usually one day a month) is designed to explore yoga in more depth than you would get in an average class. It will enable students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of all aspects of yoga from a basic level. It includes practical and theoretical work on the eight limbs of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras Chapters 1 and 2 e.g. asana, pranayama, concentration, and meditation as well as topics such as the history of Yoga, and the different paths and schools of yoga.
The course also includes the practice of different methods of relaxation, basic chanting, kriyas and mudras. No homework but students are expected to record their progress in the form of a diary/journal as well as the commitment to home practice and study.
This course is suitable for students who have a minimum of two years yoga experience and wish to take this opportunity to expand and develop their personal practice, broaden knowledge and understanding of the basic requirements of yoga in order to proceed to the BWY diploma course. Equally suitable for students who do not wish to teach but want to continue their personal development and deepen knowledge of yoga philosophy.
Students will be required to attend 80% of the course to obtain the relevant certificate.
Foundation Course 2
Foundation Course Level 2 is also of 60 hours' duration and is for students who have completed Foundation Course level 1 who would like to continue to broaden their depth of yoga knowledge but do not wish to train as a BWY Teacher.
The course is more in-depth. The content includes more asana, more pranayama, meditation, chanting, prana, nadis, kosas (pancamaya), mudras, bandhas, kriyas, further study of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras Chapter 1, and how to plan personal practices specifically designed for individual needs.
Future BWY Foundation Courses
Where applicable, this listing displays courses in adjacent counties of neighbouring BWY regions. You may find other courses listed on BWY West Midlands and South-West region websites, or on the BWY national website Foundation Course pages (links open new windows). Alternatively, contact the Foundation Course tutors (see above right).
BWY Foundation Course - Level 1 – Mid & West Glamorgan
Date: Starts September 2015 for 10 months
Venue: 5 Talbot Street, Maesteg, BRIDGEND
Tutor: Lynne Jones
For more information, contact
For more information, contact
If you have been practising yoga for 2 years or more, this is an opportunity to deepen your practice and understanding of yoga. Over a period of 10 months we will spend a whole day immersing ourselves in the practices and teachings of yoga. We will explore the true meaning of yoga and aim to integrate the practices of yoga into all three centres: head, heart and belly. Yoga then becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives.
Beginning with an introductory day in September 2015, we will meet one Saturday a month from 10 am - 5 pm at 5 Talbot Street, Maesteg CF34 9BT.
Our main text for the course will be the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or Classical yoga. This text takes us to the heart of yoga practice and the study of the eight limbs of yoga. Asana, pranayama, meditation, relaxation, chanting and inquiry will all be included in our time together, as well as group discussion and sharing sessions.
The Foundation course provides the ideal preparation and depth of study for those wishing to go on to teacher training. It is also for those who simply wish to deepen their own practice and become more immersed in the philosophy that underpins all yoga practice. If you have been practising yoga for 2 years or more on a regular basis you are welcome to apply for a place on the course.
I have been practising meditation since 1995 and have been attending meditation retreats on a regular basis since then at Spirit Rock in California and Gaia House in Devon. I have studied with many teachers over the years. I have been teaching yoga full time since 2002, qualifying in 2005. I have offered beginners' meditation courses since 2005 and I run a monthly meditation and philosophy group. I offered sessions on meditation at the Wales Yoga Festival in Abergavenny in 2008 and 2009, an early morning meditation session at National Congress in 2009, and again at Congress in 2012.
BWY Foundation Course - Level 1 – Gwent
Date: 5th December 2015 - 29th October 2016
Venue: Beechwood House, Beechwood Park, Christchurch Road, Newport
Tutor: Audrey Blow
For more information, contact
For more information, contact
Starting with an Induction day on 5th December 2015, and then meeting once a month on a Saturday for 10 full days until the 29th October 2016.
Aims of the Course:
• To widen and deepen practical and philosophical experience of yoga and encourage personal development.
• To offer a basic grounding for those who wish to prepare for teacher training.
The course is open to students who have a love of yoga and been practising regularly for 2 years or more. It is an opportunity to gain practical skills, develop your own practice and find an insightful, relevant understanding of the philosophy that underpins yoga. There will be in-depth study of the Eight Limbs and the Classical Yoga book The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This includes asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), relaxation techniques, meditation and working with mudra (hand gestures) and mantra (sound yoga). Home practice is expected and encouraged. We will also look at the history of yoga and how it has developed over the years. This is an ideal opportunity for self-development through insightful practice and integration of yoga philosophy into everyday life. It is also an excellent grounding if you would like to enrol on a teacher training course afterwards.
The cost of the course is £500. There is also a registration fee of £60 payable to the British Wheel of Yoga, in addition to the BWY membership fee of £36.
Audrey Blow is a BWY teacher and Diploma Course Tutor, and is currently fulfilling the role as Gwent County rep. Her approach to teaching is described as methodical with attention to detail. She endeavours to make each yoga practice an experience and an opportunity to bring about a deep understanding of what it is to be human physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. She is keen to use all yoga traditions, including the more traditional and those that have been more recently forged, in her teaching.
Audrey began her yoga journey as a teenager in the Iyengar tradition in Cape Town. This inspired a love for the practice and the lessons learned on the mat slowly crept into her daily life. In the United Kingdom, Audrey continued her exploration of yoga with Iyengar teachers. In 2005 she completed the BWY teaching diploma with Fay Beddowes and has been offering weekly classes and weekend retreats ever since. She has continued her yoga studies through the BWY meditation module with Kay Baxter, Pranayama course with Phillip Xerri and yoga retreats with Billy Doyle and other insightful teachers in the UK and in South Africa.
Audrey undertook Diploma Course Tutor training with Terri Hilder and Zoe Knott in 2011-13 and describes this as one of the most intensive and rewarding experiences of her yoga journey. She is currently co-tutoring with Lynne Jones, guiding their first group of students through their Diploma in Teaching. More recently she has attended courses at the Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales and found Swami Nishchalananda's kind and pragmatic wisdom inspiring.
Foundation Course Tutors
in Wales
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runs courses in the Newport area -
runs courses in the Vale of Glamorgan -
runs courses in the Wrexham area
