teacher training india...help

[momo]

I have been practicing yoga for a little over a year and I want to focus on it more intensely. I've been looking at yoga retreats online, but they all seem to be more like vacations where you also do some yoga. I'm hoping to find a place to practice and study yoga that is more serious - for a month or two. Does anyone know of anything like this?

[Pandara]

Hi Momo,

It would have helped if you stated in your Public Profile in which country you are, this will help us to give you the best advice. So perhaps you can share where you from and perhaps do you also have an extensive budget, for example will you be able to afford to go to India if I make a suggestion to that? In other words what is your budget like?

[momo]

I am from the U.S., but I'm willing and able to travel anywhere. I was planning on staying in the country, but only because I don't really know where to go. I'm open to any suggestions.

[Pandara]

Hi Momo,

Thanks for the info. I can't recommend any retreats in the US, but in India I can. I just did 'n wonderful retreat at the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh India over December 2007 and it is for the serious practitioner. They have a daily programme which starts starts at 05:00 am and continues with a variety of activities until 21:30 pm. They are fairly strict and expect attendees to participate and attend as much as possible. You are actually frowned upon if you try to skip some of the activities. For more info you can visit their website at The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India on the opening page click on Enter New Site and then click on the left scroll bar on Visiting the Ashram where you will find all the necessary information you need. In terms of cost, very affordable, your most expensive aspect will be your air ticket to India, the stay at the Ashram is really affordable. The dormitories is not 5 star, very frugal but then again you are there for spiritual nourishment not physical holiday.


Good luck and hope you'll find other recommendations as well.

[yogaroads]

There are so many amazing places to go for yoga. What are you looking for? Do you have any idea of where you might want to go and what kind of experience you want to have?
I have found that what people are looking for in a yoga trip varies tremendously. So do your options.

Think about a place, what kind of yoga you want to do, how much of it you want to do everyday, etc.

If you are interested in California you can check out: http:Yoga Roads: Yoga Retreats in Santa Barbara, Ca; Mexico & Europe

If other places-let me know. I can recommend websites.

[karina]

hello!
I interested in recieving my yoga certificate aboad. Any suggestions? I am thinking about India or Nepal- no more than $3,500.00. I would liket attend a school that is well rounded, and is at least three months long. Any trainings suggestions, or ideas?
Namaste

Karina

[hooly]

Hi
I have been practising various types yoga for a number of years and have finally made the decision to complete a teacher training course in India. I have chosen India both because it is the birthplace of yoga and it offers intensive teacher training classes. Can anyone recommend an intensive teacher training program. I am open to styles and locations. I would just like to hear some personal experiences.
Thanks

[Prascina]

Hi
I have been practising yoga for the last 10 years.2007 I did my yoga teachers in India in a very small ashram in Kerala.The number of seats are very limited.The classes are rather intensive on the 4 internal stages,so if you are looking for the spiritual depths of yoga ..like my guru says..only an experiencing yogi can be a good teacher!

[hooly]

Can you give me more detatileson this please

[hooly]

Hi

I have a Degree in Religious Studies with a focus on Hinduism so I long have been interested in the history and the philosophy behind the yogic traditions. I practiced yoga about ten years ago quite regularly until was lured into the business world and completely forgot what it all meant to me. In the past few years I have come back to it, first as recreation and relaxation but now want to take it further and complete a teacher training program. Being the birth place of yoga and being relatively cheap, naturally my first choice is India. I would like to attend a one month teacher training program. Now I know there is a lot of criticism and doubt that one can learn to be a yoga teacher in just one month and on a whole I agree with this. But i see this as a starting point for me and don’t intend to teach professionally for quite some time. I would love to hear your personal experiences, can anyone recommend any good teacher training programs.

Thanks Hooly

[Pandara]

Hi All,

I would like to add a few thoughts with regard to doing a teacher training course:

First of all, as Westerners we must remember that we are Westerners with a western body and inherently a western mindset as well. This means that our bodies cannot do all of the asanas that the Eastern body can do. Further more we see the spiritual aspects of our lives much different from Easterners as well. During the past December I did a yoga retreat in India and altough it was a great retreat and I learned much from it, I couldn't help to realise that there wasn't much appreciation for the Western body and its limitations in terms of build and secondly for Western thinking on many of the spiritual topics we covered during the retreat. This was also my experience in 2005 when I was in India as well for a yoga workshop. However, these retreats/workshops are great and as a teacher has given me other insights as well, which I have modified to suit my western yogis. Living in Africa, I have Africans as yogis as well and they again need a completely different approach due to their strong tribal heritage and their body build is again very different from whites and easterners.

I was extremely fortunate to have both a yoga teacher and teacher trainer who could assimilate the eastern philosophy and thinking and dish it up to suit western mind, body and soul. In the West we have different challenges from the East, our society is much more driven and stressful and as such we as teachers need to bring much more relaxation into our practice rather than to add more stress via strange philosophical ideas and too difficult asanas to all ready highly stressed people.

Last point, I know there is a variety of two week to two months teacher training courses available. I simply don't belief that any course that is so short can really teach you all the intricacies of human anatomy for example. Yoga training is not a McDonalds Drive-thru and I think personally we are going to see huge problems, even lawsuits against poorly trained teachers in a couple of years, because these short courses simply cannot train you well enough to be a competent teacher.

Personally I did the Satyananda Yoga Training course, which strecthes over two years with intensive training in all the aspects of yoga and regular contact with your trainer as well as a strong focus on practical training and building expereince.

In conclusion consider training in the west, where you are properly prepared to handle the needs of westerners in a western way, which they can understand and assimilate. You can add the eastern influence later through workshops and retreats in the east.

[sqcloud]

Originally Posted by momo

I have been practicing yoga for a little over a year and I want to focus on it more intensely. I've been looking at yoga retreats online, but they all seem to be more like vacations where you also do some yoga. I'm hoping to find a place to practice and study yoga that is more serious - for a month or two. Does anyone know of anything like this?

Can you recommend some yoga retreats online?

[singeanna]

A friend of mine just finished a mont long yoga teacher training in Costa Rico. She loved it. I believe it is called "Heart Yoga" and the couple that teaches it are from Canada.

[madeline_sweet]

It would be my DREAM to study Yoga in India. However, I would really like to learn and study yoga from an Ashram that has Lead Instructors, both Male and Female. Or even just all Female instructors. It seems that Yoga is very Male Dominated in India? Am I wrong in this Impression?

I believe that YogaFit is beginning to offer training in Mysore, India. I am beginning to look into this. I am mainly interested in a Vinyasa Flow sort of Yoga - less traditional, more progressive.

[Prascina]

There is a yoga place in Kerala,India which is run by a woman. As from their web it seems a progressive yet traditional place.

[Prascina]

A good yoga teacher always finds a balanced combination of yogic philosopies and body structures for each student.Teacher is more than a loving parent guiding each aspirant knowing exactly what more they may need to become an other teacher.West or East.. a teacher dedicated to the cause..is what one needs. Peace, love and calmness are beyond the limits of philosophies ..body..time and place.So when planning to go deeper into yoga..or trying to take atleast a TTC pray that you reach good ,safe hands.

[Salomi]

hello to everyone!! I myself have the same thoughts about studying in India. It seems however, that I have been very optimistic up until now, since I havent been practising yoga for quite some time, plus I havent had nough lessons.
I see the training as an answer to myself and my beliefs, since all my life I am trying to improve and correct my disadvantages as a personality.
I have no patience, no limit in pleasures (as far as it concern food, cigarretes, everything lol) and i want to discover my spiritual side. Would be great if I was good enough to teach, but i would be satisfied anyway, if I experienced an other point of view (of life that is!!)
Found some courses that almost cost 500 euros but i must say I have some doubts for the services and security so I'd like to hear what you think. I would also like to know, if the hygeine is in a good state in those places. I am not looking for aluxury resort if you are asking this, but I cannot imagine myself in a place that is dirty. Hope i didnt sound picturesque!
I forgot to mention I come from Greece!
Looking forward to your answers!

[Light_Of_Life]

Originally Posted by Prascina

A good yoga teacher always finds a balanced combination of yogic philosopies and body structures for each student.Teacher is more than a loving parent guiding each aspirant knowing exactly what more they may need to become an other teacher.West or East.. a teacher dedicated to the cause..is what one needs. Peace, love and calmness are beyond the limits of philosophies ..body..time and place.So when planning to go deeper into yoga..or trying to take atleast a TTC pray that you reach good ,safe hands.

Very true statement.

[tina]

Yoga is originated from India so at some stage we should go back there to find the root.

no matter how much one have to spend it's really worth the million times of that.

Few years ago I was there to receive teacher training , the peacefulness and tranquil is seeping into my core till few years later now.

But the aged and knowlegeable teachers' English is one of the hard work for me, in theory course sometimes I didn't understand what they were saying. But it's luck that at Risheches with book stores we could get every type of yoga books in very low price
all essential informations thus obtained.

So get basic information at your local area then recharge it at India is highly recommanded. At web there are many India training informations please access to choose one mostly suit.

[Pious Yoga]

I think you should do Teach Training course from Sivananda Yoga Ashram. They have branches all over the world.

[tina]

Hope Hong Kong has one

[charliedharma]

good luck with your search

[yogiwebdesigns]

http://www.yogapoint.com/info/ttcourse.htm (Yoga Vidya Dham, Nasik, Maharashtra, India) They have one month Yoga Teacher Training Program which is very affordable and highly recommended. They also offer 10 day Yoga Retreat & Yoga Life Style Course. Visit http://www.yogapoint.com/info/intro_yoga_course.htm for more details. Though we always recommend Yoga Vidya Dham for teacher training in India but the following links are also worth checking:

http://www.svyasa.org (Swami Vivekananda Yoga University in Bangalore, India)

http://yogavision.net/byb/welcome.htm (Bihar School of Yoga, Swami Satyananda Order)

http://www.theyogainstitute.org (Mumbai, India. They claim themselves to be the oldest organized yoga center in the world)

http://www.kdham.com (Kavalyadhama Yoga Institute, Lonavala, India)

http://www.kym.org/ (Krishnamcharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai India)

http://www.sivananda.org/india/ (Sivananda Yoga Ashrams in India)

http://www.yogalife.org (Yoga Teacher Training in Delhi)

http://www.anandprakashashram.com/ (Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh)


We hope it helps.

Namaste!

[noa]

hello,
presently studying pranayama at the Kaivalyadhama yoga institute in Lonavla, i'm going to head to Rishikesh afterwards to hopefully keep on practicing studying.
having never been to Rishikesh, i was wondering if people would be willing to share their experiences of the various ashrams there and which ones they would generally recomend. today for example i heard several quite negative coments about one of the most renown ashrams, the Parmarth Niketan.
any comments and info would be greatly appreciated.
in truth,
noa

[Bentinho Massaro]

Hello Noa,

The Parmath Niketan is overall a bit noisy and schedules are a bit chaotic, especially when large groups arrive. It is positioned pretty decently though.

What is your most important purpose for the ashram you seek, is it the yoga/meditation? Is it the bedrooms? Is it...

Personally I did not sleep in the Sivananda Ashram but I heard it's pretty OK and that the yoga is very good there. Also most years Swami Muktananda gives his satsangs which I really enjoyed back then.

Then there are more smaller ashrams scattered here and there. I have not remembered all names so I cannot give you further details. But if you have questions feel free to ask them and I will see what I know about them. I lived in Rishikesh for a little over 3 months. We rented an apartment though for most of that time.

Love,
Bentinho.

[noa]

Hello Bentinho,
thank you very much for your reply. you are absolutely right that i shoulf be more clear as to what i am looking for. here are some of the things i would wish for :

a high quality yoga practice of asana and pranayama

lectures/teaching on subjects such as yamas/niyamas, the scriptures (upanishads, sutras, hatha pradipika...), yoga history

an quiet, serenne environment with a spiritual energy to it

an honest ashram that is run by people who follow their teachings themselves, rather that a big business mainly set up for financial profit

that is more or less what i would like to find in Rishikesh.
thank you for your kind help,
namaste

[daniel]

Hi,

Anyone here been to Kaivalydhama, Mumbai or Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh for TTC? Please share! Thinking of going for TTC in Feb 2010.

[noa]

Hello Daniel,
i'm presently in Kaivalyadhama mainly studying pranayama. i've been here since the end of October and will stay until begining of January. only the best words can descibe this institute. very serious learning can take place happen here for someone who is interested to progress. i would be happy to help with any specific questions.
all the best

[Raj]

I am considering going to Kaivalyadhama in May 2010 and expecting some serious traditional yoga study. I have heard lots of good things about them.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by noa

Hello Daniel,
i'm presently in Kaivalyadhama mainly studying pranayama. i've been here since the end of October and will stay until begining of January. only the best words can descibe this institute. very serious learning can take place happen here for someone who is interested to progress. i would be happy to help with any specific questions.
all the best

Hi Noa,
Thank you for your reply, but decided to go to The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai for TTC. Because it is cheaper & shorter time.