TTC in US versus India

Yoga Teacher Training
#1

Hi, This is my first post to yoga forums. I apologize if this has been asked before, but my searching didn’t turn up a lot.

I’ve recently done a 200 hour TTC in India, and while I did gain insights from it, it’s not enough to teach with. So I’m looking into 500 hour TTCs to start with. I have gotten the impression that courses in India are heavy on philosophy, as my previous training was, and not so much on the technical side of asanas. A foundation in philosophy is important to me, but if I’m going to teach in the US, I need to know more about anatomy, asana sequencing, injuries, and general classroom nitty gritty. (Most studio-goers in the US don’t come for info on Patanjali’s sutras.)

So here’s the question: In your experiences, is there much difference between a TTC in the US and in India? I love the ambience of training in India, but I also want practical classroom training. I hope I’ve been clear enough.

Thank you!! (And please don’t mind me if post a few more common Qs on teacher training. :))

#2

Dear Trinley

Yoga has its origins in India and it makes sense to study yoga in India. And there is certainly lots of difference between a TTC in the US and in India. Most of the yoga schools and teachers in India teach traditional style of yoga and people from the west who have been practising yoga for years find it quite refreshing.

Learning yoga is a life long process and you shouldn’t expect to learn everything about yoga in 200 hour or 500 hour. You need to grow on your own on the path of yoga. TTC 200 or 500 hour will only show you the right directions to tread on.

It seems as if you are looking for a comprehensive training program. It’s better you contact a yoga school or teacher and discuss the training program before registering for their course. There are many professional yoga institutes in India which are offering what you’ve been looking for. A bit of googling might help you.

#3

Okay, I’ll state the question again because it may not have been clear:

I would like to know which would be a better place for me to get more experience in asanas, anatomy, and classroom skills. My training in India didn’t focus on this, so I am wondering if I should continue training in the US instead. I would like to decide a country before I start contacting schools.

Thanks for suggesting Google. I am familiar with it.

#4

[QUOTE=trinley;41932]Okay, I’ll state the question again because it may not have been clear:

I would like to know which would be a better place for me to get more experience in asanas, anatomy, and classroom skills. My training in India didn’t focus on this, so I am wondering if I should continue training in the US instead. I would like to decide a country before I start contacting schools.

Thanks for suggesting Google. I am familiar with it.[/QUOTE]

It’d be interesting and helpful for others to know - where did you train in India? Even the institute where you got training will have an opportunity to explain …

Anyway, I’d like to recommend -

  1. Bihar Yoga Bharati - Course in Yogic Studies - Four Months

  2. Yoga Point - Advance Yoga Training course (For Advance Yoga Practitioners & Yoga Teachers)

There are plenty of other good options…

#5

[B][/B][QUOTE=trinley;41932]Okay, I’ll state the question again because it may not have been clear:

I would like to know which would be a better place for me to get more experience in asanas, anatomy, and classroom skills. My training in India didn’t focus on this, so I am wondering if I should continue training in the US instead. I would like to decide a country before I start contacting schools.

Thanks for suggesting Google. I am familiar with it.[/QUOTE]

It’d be interesting and helpful for others to know - [B]where did you train in India?[/B] Even the institute where you got training will have an opportunity to explain …

Anyway, I’d like to recommend -

  1. [B]Bihar Yoga Bharati [/B]- Course in Yogic Studies - Four Months

  2. [B]Yoga Point [/B]- Advance Yoga Training course (For Advance Yoga Practitioners & Yoga Teachers)

There are plenty of other good options too.

#6

Trinley -

My first yoga instruction course was also in India, and I agree that it focused more on philosophy than anything else. I admit that it was a fantastic foundation for me to have which I wouldn’t change, but I as well could not take home what I had learnt and teach yoga to the west with just philosophy.

We can list hundreds of schools that would teach you what you are looking for now - but let’s narrow it down first: what lineage are you training in? Is there a particular style that you are trying to be certified in? What school did you attend, and are you interested in continuing that style or starting again with another type? Do you have a teacher or mentor who inspires you, that you could speak to have them recommend something?

#7

Hi Trinley,

I would’nt get too hung up on the 200 hour TTC and the 500 hour TTC. These, as I understand, come out of the Yoga Alliance in the US. I would not pay too much attention to this. Since you have already done a TTC, you are equipped for the yoga asanas part of it. What you need now is to understand the cultural ethos behind this. There is a two month course in sivananda ashram Rishikesh, or the four month course in Bihar school of yoga or the one month TTC in SVYASA Bangalore. Any of these would give you the background needed. You could go to Parmarth Rishikesh and spend a week or 10 days there. Seek an audience with Swamiji. The experience is incomparable. Please check with the Ashram about his presence before you land up there.
You need not go for any more courses. You will only end by enriching the coffers of the teachers. Yoga adeptness comes only with sadhana. and this comes over years of practice.
I suggest you put in an forty five min of yoga/kriya and one hour of meditation every day.

#8

Thanks for the replies! Suryadaya, thanks so much for the helpful reply. I appreciate that you answered my question directly. Did you happen to do training in the west later and find it was more technical?

In answer to your question, I did my training at Yoga Vidya Dham (Yoga Point). It was okay, but not very technical so I wouldn’t do the advanced course there. My prefered style is Hatha (or maybe Iyengar but I understand that takes many years for certification?) I’m not too into modern styles like power yoga and hot yoga. What I want is practice creating a variety of asana sequences to meet different goals that students have (eg workout, relaxation, hip-opening, relieving back pain etc). I want to know more specifically what asanas I should choose and what technical effects they have on the anatomy. (At Yoga Point the teachers would just say ‘this asana has nice benefits on the back’ – great, but I want to know what benefits? On what muscles? What other asanas should I pair it with? In what sequence?)

Reaswaran, thank you for your ideas, but actually I feel the opposite. I got a lot of info on the cultural/philosphical side of yoga, but I need more practical training in asanas, sequencing, and anatomy. That will more helpful if I teach in the US.

Thanks again for reading and replying! I’m getting the feeling that the course I’m looking for may not be in India.

#9

Trinley -
I took a few continuing education courses in the west, but actually ended up coming back to India a year later to do a 500 hour program through the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai.They have a better focus on anatomy, asana, and health benefits, while adding tremendous amounts of information on the philosophy aspect which I love so much. I feel that they adequately prepare me for teaching both in the east and west. It is part of the KHYF certification program, which has several teacher training programs that run in the US as well - so you could try khyf.net for that… but they are usually a 2-3 year program and quite expensive.

There aren’t many programs that span adequately from east to west over here in India in this respect, unless you are interested in pursuing tutelage under a particular teacher. If you enjoy Iyengar, I would say that you should find an iyengar based teacher’s training program somewhere near you. Even if it is not an actual ‘iyengar’ certification, it will be more in line with what you do, and therefore you will be teaching what you practice. No one can offer the anatomical aspects as well as that lineage can. And if you really love it, then I would say to go all out and start studying with some of the Iyengar schools that can certify you specifically to that. You may even end up in India.

In absence of this - I think that Erich Schiffman teaches great sequencing, based out of California. The Kripalu School of Yoga, the Jivamukti school, the Phoenix Institute, and courses under Shiva Rea are also good. You might also look into the KHYF courses like mine, or the American Viniyoga Institute - though these two are based more in vinyasa movements and designed more for individualized teaching and therapy based approach - however still applicable to group classes. Look into these and see if any of them vibe with you. I don’t know of iyengar style teacher training programs in the US, but i bet you could find some teachers he recommends on the website.

Cheers. :slight_smile:

#10

I feel I should add a note to clarify for those who are coming from an Indian perspective on yoga as opposed to western. Of course yoga originated in India, and I have heaps of respect for that, but in most of the classes I’ve been to in the US, people are coming for exercise. Most of them don’t know what sadhana is, and they don’t want to pay to find out. They want a teacher to guide them through some asanas so they can leave feeling energized and relaxed. Even if that’s all they want, it’s a start, so I want to be trained to help them begin an asana practice. For some people that practice may progress to sadhana, and for others it will remain exercise. Depends on them and their karma, I think.

#11

I should also mention that it is worthwhile to take some anatomy and physiology courses at a college near you, and anything they offer in exercise science, kinesthesiology, even medical terminology. These types of courses have helped a lot, especially to understand when someone comes into my class with pre-existing conditions. Having a background in what is assuredly not OK to have someone due is invaluable, and you can better understand the experiences they tell you they are having also.

#12

Very helpful! Thanks so much for the guidance, Suryadaya. You have answered my questions entirely, and I appreciate the list of schools. :smile:

#13

:smiley: Good luck!

I should also at the quite expensive ‘Vibrant Living’ yoga school in Bali - because it’s in Bali. They have excellent teachers including one who wrote a great book on anatomy and physiology for yoga - and they also have 30 days of gourmet raw/vegan food. I would pay the money just to eat the food from the pictures I have seen.

#14

Yeah, good point. In fact, the best asana class I had recently was led by a woman who had just finished the same lowly 200 hour course as I had, but she had extensive background in physiology and anatomy. She had a great understanding of what should happen in the body to achieve each asana, and I loved the strength and stability that came with that acute awareness of the physical body. I want to know what she knows!!

#15

Hmm, vegan sounds great, cuz I am one, but I don’t want to sink too much in training costs right now, since it sounds like I won’t be able to make a full-time salary on yoga teaching. I’m hoping around 2 grand will be enough for a 500 hour TTC.

#16

In that case, if your certification is already valid for teaching most places in the US, you might better off registering for some cheaper workshops that will give you anatomy and physiology background, sequencing skills, and some other good class ideas. There are some schools/teachers which offer good workshops / CEU / etc --> KHYF, Esalen Center, Mount Madonna (i think?), Omega Institute, Kripalu, Phoenix Institute (I think they do this), Erich Schiffman, Shiva Rea. Shiva Rea also offers her 300/500 hour programs in modules, though they are slightly more expensive. Where do you live, by the way? You should also check Yoga Journal and Yoga + magazines/websites for workshops scheduled for your area. It shouldn’t be too hard to find ones which supplement where you think yours is lacking. ALSO - check with local yoga teacher training programs, and ask if they have a specific weekend of classes you could join that suits where you would like a refresher. Maybe they have some certain modules you could pay for separately without joining the whole course. I’ve seen people do this in the past.

#17

Wow, you a really rockin’ my question, and I love it! Workshops might be just what I need! Right now I’m moving around a lot, in Tokyo now, then in Bangalore for an undecided length of time, and then I’m thinking of moving to San Diego. I bet there are loads of workshops out there. And coincidentally, that’s where the instructor I mentioned lives. Clarity!! :smiley:

#18

books is how I learned to do yoga. I practiced an hour a day for the whole summer just from reading journey into power by baron baptiste

self teaching is the best way there are so many books out there just get busy reading and practicing

#19

If you want to learn teaching techniques, anatomy, physiology and the physical benefits of asana then US…
Also if you want to teach in the US…then you need a TTC that is recognized and insurable in the US.

#20

[QUOTE=yogacambodia;62831]If you want to learn teaching techniques, anatomy, physiology and the physical benefits of asana then US…
Also if you want to teach in the US…then you need a TTC that is recognized and insurable in the US.[/QUOTE]

This is a good point.
I think the Yoga Alliance 500 hour Ashtanga Vinyasa training at Brahmani Yoga in Goa might fit all of your needs. It’s worth checking out anyway.