Two very different teacher training courses

Yoga Teacher Training
#1

Hullo everyone, there’s a bit of a blurb to start since I’m new here!

I’ve been practising yoga since I was 17 on a very superficial level (occasional lessons interspersed with home practice, working only on basic postures and breathing exercises) but lately I’ve been feeling that it’s high time to step out of the shallow waters and get stuck into yoga much more thoroughly :slight_smile: Right now I’m also going to graduate from University (I studied Fine Art) and move to live permanently with my partner, who lives in a small town in rural northern Sweden.

My partner knows that I’ve had an interest in yoga for some years now and that I want to broaden my practice, so he suggested I take a teaching course when I was ready because there are pretty much no registered yoga teachers in his region, especially during winter, and the few there are will only teach pre-booked groups and don’t cater to individuals wanting to attend open classes.

We looked into the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School teacher training, which seemed to cover just about everything, but required four years full-time training at one of their city centres in order to qualify as a teacher and they have a strict attitude on what they see as ‘compulsory’ yoga practices, which I’m not sure I like.

Instead I wondered if it would be better to learn the essentials outlined by the Yoga Alliance at the Sivananda Yoga Centre, and take a YA certified teacher training course? That way I could continue my personal practice and keep developing my own experience and knowledge whilst teaching.

I know from my own experience that even just having the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals can make a big difference in life, so I’m keen to be able to offer some regular classes in my new home! But I’m also wary of being dismissed by other teachers as just a fast-track learner, or receiving a very poor education and hurting people.

Any thoughts? :confused:

#2

[QUOTE=keeley;61016]Hullo everyone, there’s a bit of a blurb to start since I’m new here!

I’ve been practising yoga since I was 17 on a very superficial level (occasional lessons interspersed with home practice, working only on basic postures and breathing exercises) but lately I’ve been feeling that it’s high time to step out of the shallow waters and get stuck into yoga much more thoroughly :slight_smile: Right now I’m also going to graduate from University (I studied Fine Art) and move to live permanently with my partner, who lives in a small town in rural northern Sweden.

My partner knows that I’ve had an interest in yoga for some years now and that I want to broaden my practice, so he suggested I take a teaching course when I was ready because there are pretty much no registered yoga teachers in his region, especially during winter, and the few there are will only teach pre-booked groups and don’t cater to individuals wanting to attend open classes.

We looked into the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School teacher training, which seemed to cover just about everything, but required four years full-time training at one of their city centres in order to qualify as a teacher and they have a strict attitude on what they see as ‘compulsory’ yoga practices, which I’m not sure I like.

Instead I wondered if it would be better to learn the essentials outlined by the Yoga Alliance at the Sivananda Yoga Centre, and take a YA certified teacher training course? That way I could continue my personal practice and keep developing my own experience and knowledge whilst teaching.

I know from my own experience that even just having the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals can make a big difference in life, so I’m keen to be able to offer some regular classes in my new home! But I’m also wary of being dismissed by other teachers as just a fast-track learner, or receiving a very poor education and hurting people.

Any thoughts? :confused:[/QUOTE]

I am assuming that by Yoga you mean the physical postures and breathing only -Asana and Pranayama. If I am right , then Sivananda yoga centre is probably one of the best teaching schools you could get into. To really benefit from the TTC, however, I would suggest that you take two months off, and spend one month preceding the TTC learning the asanas using the beginners and intermediate classes. By doing this, you would be reasonably familiar with the asanas by the time the TTC begins and would not be overwhelmed by it. The Sivananda TTC is a very intensive course and you would be busy about 16 hours every day but you will love the experience. And by the end of the two months, you should be able to do your personal practices very well. If you can manage it I would recommend the TTC at Neyyar Dam Sivananda Ashram in Trivandrum , India. If you cant, one closer home would do.

If , however, you are looking for a more indepth exposure to the philosophy of yoga also, then in addition to Sivananda, a TTC at either SVYSYA Bangalore or Bihar School of Yoga, India would be an excellent idea.

#3

[QUOTE=reaswaran;61020]The Sivananda TTC is a very intensive course and you would be busy about 16 hours every day but you will love the experience.[/QUOTE]

I’m very glad to hear that :smiley: I was slightly worried it would be like going on holiday with a bit of yoga and some paperwork.

Yes you’re right about my practice so far. I found the Neyyar Dam Ashram and found a course that starts in Nov. so I have between the time I graduate and then to thoroughly acquaint myself with beginner and intermediate asanas as you suggested. The ashram looks fantastic too, I was very surprised to see from the website that they have a boutique and laundry services available!

I’m going to go read up some more on the course. Thankyou so much for the suggestion! :smiley:

#4

[QUOTE=keeley;61021]I’m very glad to hear that :smiley: I was slightly worried it would be like going on holiday with a bit of yoga and some paperwork.

Yes you’re right about my practice so far. I found the Neyyar Dam Ashram and found a course that starts in Nov. so I have between the time I graduate and then to thoroughly acquaint myself with beginner and intermediate asanas as you suggested. The ashram looks fantastic too, I was very surprised to see from the website that they have a boutique and laundry services available!

I’m going to go read up some more on the course. Thankyou so much for the suggestion! :D[/QUOTE]

I have done my TTC there. I live in Trivandrum about 25 km from the Ashram. You can pm me in case you need any more details.

#5

Dear Keeley,

I did my TTC with the Sivananda Yoga Centres as well and can whole-heartedly recommend it. The great thing about it is that you can do it anywhere in the world - wherever is convenient for you or wherever you like best - as the curriculum is the same. I did mine in the Austrian Alps (Reith bei Kitzb?hel). I’ve also visited the ashram in Vrindavan, India, and can recommend the TTC there, too – they have wonderful teachers. All the best!

#6

Keeley,

“My partner knows that I’ve had an interest in yoga for some years now and that I want to broaden my practice, so he suggested I take a teaching course”

Earlier in your message you have stated that you would like to go deeper into your practice. And yet on the other hand, you have spoken of taking a teachers training course. The fact is that if you want to enter deeper into your practice - that is not something that can be done through merely taking a teachers training course for a month or two. On the contrary, most of these teacher training programs, both in the East and the West, are simply transmitting yoga for the marketplace, it is not a method for one’s enlightenment. Fundamentally, this is a science for the expansion of consciousness towards one’s liberation. And the teachers themselves are not awakened, and unless you yourself have come to a transformation, how is it even going to be possible to assist another towards one’s transformation ? It becomes a phenomenon of the blind assisting the blind, which has been the same thing which has created so much suffering on this Earth at an enormous cost. What the Western attitude has done to yoga is absolutely irresponsible. Nowadays, just about anybody who goes through a teachers training program can become “qualified” to teach yoga. And in the process, these institutes and teachers have done a tremendous disservice to the science, reducing it to a mere series of exercises.

If you are serious about exploring into this dimension - then you will either have to invest tremendous effort and energy into coming to know yourself, or seek the help of a master who can assist you in the process.

“That way I could continue my personal practice and keep developing my own experience and knowledge whilst teaching.”

Carrying a sickness, in an effort to assist another, you will only transmit the sickness. Settle your own condition first.

#7

Hey Keeley,
don t get dejected by Amir!
Probably he is right that you will not bring someone to enlightning (but you never can be sure :wink: But yoga tought by someone who is still on his way to go deeper into it can already help people a lot; on the physical as well as on a pranic and mental level!
Just be honest and don t pretend that you know things that you don t. If you are living in a region with only a few yoga teachers you might be soon the best chance for the people there to learn about this powerful methods! And you can improve every day! Just see the TTC as a starter kit and procceed with your own sadhana and going to workshops and so on on a regular base. If only the few enlightend people would teach yoga this world would be much worse!!

#8

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