30 Day 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course in Woodbourne, New York

Certification

Students who complete the training are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®).

Founded in 1969 and launched here in Upstate New York in 1974, this Yoga Teachers Training Course is the oldest yoga teacher training in the West, educating over 40k teachers around the world to date. Join Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm for a unique and profoundly transforming month-long teachers' training course.

• Awaken and strengthen your yoga practice
• Build a firm foundation in classical yoga from which to teach others instinctively and confidently
• Model a peaceful yogic lifestyle, including participation in Karma yoga (selfless service), vegetarian diet, and daily spiritual practice
• Connect to a tradition and lineage passed down by masters
• Earn an internationally recognized certification which is accepted by the worldwide Yoga Alliance as the standard 200 hours required by Registered Yoga Schools (RYS)

Through hands-on learning and guidance, deepen your practice and gain the skills needed to teach yoga. The graduates receive an internationally recognized certification through the worldwide Yoga Alliance confirming they have the practical knowledge and experience to teach Hatha yoga (asanas, pranayama, and relaxation). The Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course includes the following:

Asana

Each day you will both study and engage in practical hands-on learning as the senior teachers guide you as to how to teach asanas and pranayama. The daily in-depth practice with individual corrections includes:

• Sun salutation
• 12 basic Yoga postures
• 100 Asana variations, from intermediate level to advanced
• Postural alignment
• Deep relaxation with autosuggestion
• Release of blocked energy

Pranayama

Pranayama, the science of breath control, consists of a series of exercises especially intended to keep the body and mind in vibrant health. In this study you will learn in detail about proper technique, its many benefits, and its advanced variations:

• Expands capacity of the lungs
• Relaxes the nervous system
• Balances the two hemispheres of the brain
• Purifies the nadis (subtle energy channels)
• Awakens the inner spiritual energy
• Kapalabhati (lung cleansing exercise)
• Anuloma Viloma (alternate nostril breathing)
• Introduction to advanced pranayamas

Meditation and mantras

Meditation is both the main tool and the ultimate destination of yoga. This course focuses on japa meditation, or mantra repetition, as well as the power of positive thinking.

Nutrition

Responsible for building your physical body, the foods you eat also profoundly affect your mind, senses, and environment. Course topics and details include:

• Vegetarianism for ethical, spiritual, and health reasons
• How diet affects the mind
• The proper balance of the main nutrients
• Ayurvedic principles of nutrition
• Healing effects of fasting

Kriyas

Yogic cleansing exercises, known as “kriyās” assist nature in removing waste products from our bodies. This cleansing is important as the Yogi regards their bodies as a vehicle in which to evolve toward higher consciousness. Learn and practice, with guidance, yoga kriyā exercises.

Anatomy and physiology

Yoga being mostly a system of self-experience, the purpose of this study is to improve the physical understanding of your own yoga practice and to apply it in your teaching practice as well.

• Introduction to the major body systems
• The effects of asanas and pranayama on the cardiovascular, respiration, digestion, skeletal muscular, and endocrine systems
• Yoga and physical culture

Yogic philosophy

In this section, you will be exploring the philosophy and aim of yoga. Look into the deeper dimensions of the mind, body, and spirit through the study of yogic philosophy and classical yoga text.

Kirtan

Kirtan is singing of God’s name, or the mantra, with devotion, love, and faith. Learn how it helps to calm the mind, purify the heart, and turn inward towards divine consciousness.

Study in an ancient tradition

The gurukula system

This 4-week course is styled after the ancient Gurukula system in which students live, study, and work with their teachers and fellow students in an ashram. For every idea the student understands, there will be a hundred that comes into the conscious mind only when the time is ready. The goal of the teacher's training program is to produce qualified and inspiring yoga teachers who are able to draw on their own practice and personal discipline while imparting the yoga experience to others.

The daily schedule

• 05:30 Wake up
• 06:00 Meditation, mantra chanting, lecture, or silent walk (satsang)
• 08:00 Asanas and pranayama
• 10:00 Brunch
• 11:00 Karma yoga
• 12:00 Bhagavad Gita or chanting class
• 14:00 Main lecture
• 16:00 Asanas and pranayama
• 18:00 Dinner
• 20:00 Meditation, mantra chanting, and lecture (satsang)
• 22:30 Lights out

Practical information

• Students enjoy special programs, festivals, concerts, and symposiums that are offered during evening Satsang. There is one weekly day off.
• During the day of students are only required to attend morning and evening satsangs and to perform their Karma yoga.
• Attendance at all activities is mandatory.
• Changes in the program may occur.

The four paths of yoga

As an integral component of this course, for one month you will immerse yourself in and study the lessons of the Four Paths of Yoga. Learning within the Gurukula system, students transform detailed Yogic theory into practical, on-the-ground understanding.

Karma yoga

The practice of selfless service helps to reduce selfishness and egoism and keeps you fit, healthy, and joyful. Learn the Karmic principles behind the law of action and Reaction and the wheel of birth and death.

Bhakti yoga

Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, teaches how to open the heart and purify the mind. Discover kirtan (chanting of classical Sanskrit mantras), Indian gods/goddesses and their energetic meaning, and other traditional Indian rituals.

Raja yoga

Also known as Ashtanga Yoga, this is the science of mental and physical control where meditation is the chief practice. Discover the effects and experiences of meditation, how to meditate, the use of mantras, and how to cultivate concentration.

Jnana yoga

Explore the Yoga of Knowledge and the concepts of Vedanta philosophy such as space, time, and causation, the difference between the physical and energetic bodies, and also the subconscious, conscious, and superconscious mind.

Note

The practice, and especially the teaching of yoga, demand a high degree of self-discipline and virtue. To ensure the success of the program, participants are required to attend all spiritual activities, meditation sessions, lectures, and asana classes.

Basic knowledge of yoga postures and philosophy is helpful but not essential. A sincere desire to learn and openness to the teachings of Yoga is all that is required. Meat, fish, eggs, black tea, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and nudity are prohibited during the course (and in the ashram) as they are counterproductive to yoga practice. Participants who do not comply with the ashram rules may be dismissed from the course.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to cater to personal dietary preferences beyond yogic-vegetarian meals.

Required materials (not included)

• The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Swami Vishnudevananda, Three Rivers Press
• Bhagavad Gita with a commentary by Swami Sivananda, the Divine Life Trust Society
• Yoga mat, cushion, blanket, Kriya set

Recommended reading for home study

• Yoga – Your Home Practice Companion by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Dorling Kindersley
• Sivananda Beginner’s Guide to Yoga by Sivananda Yoga Centre, Gaia Books
• Yoga Mind & Body by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Dorling Kindersley
• Meditation and Mantras by Swami Vishnudevananda, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers

All meals are included. Meat, fish, eggs, black tea, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and nudity are prohibited during the course (and in the ashram) as they are counterproductive to yoga practice. Participants who do not comply with the ashram rules may be dismissed from the course.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to cater to personal dietary preferences beyond the yogic-vegetarian meals.

• All your meals
• All classes
• 29 nights accommodation
• Training manual
• The use of the ashram grounds

• Training course textbooks (required materials which are available at the boutique)
• Any wellness center services

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 20 days before arrival.