Hi everyone!
I?m thinking about taking a Yoga teachers training course in india next year. I talked with some people that advised me the “sivananda ashram”. However, first, I have seen the prices and for me it is too expensive; and second, classes seem to me to be too large with too many people… I would like a place more traditional and more closely…
Do you kow any places in india?
Thank you all!
light
Hello Vera, this is a popular topic on this forum, if you search you will find some great threads with recommendations.
To start you off, I would recommend looking to KYM.org for trainings and individual classes.
Cheers,
Nichole
hi there! i was also put off by Sivananda yoga TTC prices and the size of classes and had booked a place at Yogapoint in Nasik. However, having just come back from a “yoga vacation” at Sivananda ashram i feel i need look no further for my teaching and cancelled Yogapoint TTC!!! the teachers are superb at Sivananda and the style is wonderful. AS for the price i think it is actually value for money and it is internationally recognised and very comprehensive. Yogapoint was less than half price but i dont know how recognised that would be even within India its not very well known.
As for Sivananda class sizes, they are only huge at Neyyar Dam near Trivandrum, and you can book a place at Madurai where classes are about 80 people or UttarKashi where they are 30 people only. you would wait about 9 months for a place at UttarKashi but i have just booked at Madurai succesfully for Feb 2010. If you are able to i would recommend doing a yoga vacation at sivananda ashram before deciding. Sivananda is the only place with the vacation option so most other ashrams you really dont know what you are getting until you arrive as they dont allow stays other than for courses.
Aside from Yogapoint and Sivananda there is a 4 month Yoga Diploma Course each year from oct-jan at Bihar School of Yoga. this is not TTC but it will give you a qualification. it is about 1200 pounds for the four months so very reasonable, or there is the TTC option there, again for a month and im sure it is cheaper than Sivananda. These are the three places that i have heard to be the best for classical yoga. :lol: Personally i have fallen in love with Sivananda style yoga and think it is worth every penny!
Hi Vera
I trained at the SVYASA outside Bangalore. I too originally planned to do the Sivananda course but whilst travelling around India beforehand I met several people who had done both courses and they suggested that the SVYASA course was more authentic and “Indian”. It is cheaper but this is the reason that the Sivananda course students are mostly westerners - Indians cannot afford to pay such high fees. Sad really. I’m not exactly sure what the Sivananda organisation does with all that money either…
Anyway the course was FANTASTIC. The SVYASA is now a deemed university in India so no problems with recognition in India or abroad, plus they have a yoga therapy YogaHome on site in case you’re either (a) ill or (b) interested in Yoga Therapy.
I also met a couple more people at the SVYASA who had come straight from the Sivananda course. They said the teaching format was very similar but that the Sivananda ashram was “great for your social life”. I personally wasn’t looking for a YTTC to improve my social life but I guess that pretty much sums up the attitude of the place.
Wendy
Part of it funds absolutely amazing projects (from schools for impoverished communities to gardens for food projects) here in South Africa, not to mention the hospitals and leper colonies in India that benefit from that money. 
[QUOTE=Pandara;22317]Part of it funds absolutely amazing projects (from schools for impoverished communities to gardens for food projects) here in South Africa, not to mention the hospitals and leper colonies in India that benefit from that money. :)[/QUOTE]
Wow, thanks Pandara. I had huge problems a few years ago trying to find out that kind of information. Do you happen to know where these leper colonies (!) and hospitals are in India that benefit from Sivananda funding? I strike out searching for that info and it would be so useful 
indian nationals will be getting reduced rates at Sivananda ashram as with all ashrams. Whilst i know the general rule is that foreigners have more money and indians have less, i do find it somewhat unfair that the fees are made on those grounds alone. i am british but live in india for many years and live off very, very much less money that some of my indian friends who are able to study much cheaper than me at the ashrams.
Wendy, interesting that you think sivananda ashram being good for ones social life “sums up the place”. I found it to be a deeply spiritual and supportive enviroment with outstanding teachers and good solid foundation and principles. All of the people i met had similar opinions. i think it really gets a bad press because of the high fees and the amount of foreigners that go there.
Hi all!
Thanks for the help.
For now I?m trying to research the centres you recomended me to see.
I will have your opinion into account.
Another question: do you think it is important the course is recognized by the Yoga Alliance? I found some places that aren?t recognized, and it is being difficult to find places with hatha yoga courses recognized…
namaste*
here is another option for yoga teachers training: NithyaYoga.org. i took that training in jan 07, simply amazing!
[QUOTE=anula;22347]i am british but live in india for many years and live off very, very much less money that some of my indian friends… [/QUOTE]
my plan is to eventually live in india too. would love to know how others do it financially. are foreigners allowed to work in india? how can one sustain oneself living there?
[QUOTE=anula;22347] Wendy, interesting that you think sivananda ashram being good for ones social life “sums up the place”. I found it to be a deeply spiritual and supportive enviroment with outstanding teachers and good solid foundation and principles. All of the people i met had similar opinions. i think it really gets a bad press because of the high fees and the amount of foreigners that go there.[/QUOTE]
Sorry Anula, I think I put what I was trying to say quite badly. I agree that the program at Sivananda is rigorous - it is almost identical to the YTTC at SVYASA, so I know it is also difficult.
I haven’t been there myself (Neyyar Dam ashram) but I imagine that of course it is a deeply spiritual place. My view was formed by meeting a lot of westerners who have been there or trained there and I got the impression that in most cases their motives for attending were not quite so serious or spiritual.
In fact the ones on my course, who had come straight from the Kerala ashram TTC, found the SVYASA course more difficult simply because we were 12 or so westerners in a group of 70 or so Indian students. They did not mix well, they were very disrespectful of Indian customs and of India in general, despite the fact the most of them had been in India for the best part of a year already.
I personally would prefer to study with people who were prepared to absorb everything that a TTC had to offer and in India (the best place IMO) that means also absorbing as much of the culture and understanding as much of the country as possible. I know that in the Sivananda ashrams the students are predominantly western (why is that when Indian nationals get discounted rates?) and although I am sure that not all westerners who go there are quite as superficial as the ones that I have met, I just don’t think that that kind of environment would provide this opportunity.
Wendy
hi wendy,
I do agree with what you are saying. i think alot of indian people may be put off going to Sivananda as it is perceived as a place for westerners, and maybe it seems strange for them to be learning yoga from foreign teachers and satsang with foreign swamis??!!. i am surprised myself at my sudden turn-around, having thought for years i only wanted to study from indians, in a predominantly indian enviroment such as VYASA. I went to Sivananda with no expectations at all and with no intentions of anything more than a yoga vacation there. The experience has really changed my life, without wanting to be overly dramatic and i am very commited to studying soley with them now.
I did encounter a few foreign tourists there whose behaviour was shockingly disrespectful towards the Swamis and exhibited insensitive behaviour like making movies and taking photos during satsang without permission. As Sivananda ashram do offer yoga vacations which most others dont i think it does attract a certain element of people who just go for “a laugh” as part of their backpacking trips. Maybe you encountered some of these people, but they are in the minority fortunately!:lol:
Udaysree,
Foreigners can work in india but it is a mine-field of bureacracy and bad advice is routinely given from lawyers in relation to setting up businesses or emplyoment and relevant visas. its all possible though. Financially it is possible to survive on money earnt in a couple of months each year in UK for me. I have tried setting up business here etc but in the end it was so problematic and the system so painfully slow/corrupt i gave up! Lots of people dont give up though!
if you have skills such as yoga teaching then im sure it is possible to make a good living here, plenty of people do.
I would like to make another question: does anyone know “Parmath Niketan” in Rishikesh?
Hello
I am practicing yoga for last 10 years and I wanted to do a good teacher training course for very long.
I wanted to go to India for the TTC as I wanted to have the knowledge directly from the roots. After long search
on internet and talking to many schools in India I did my TTC at Ananda Yoga Vedanta Ashram, North India.
It is beautiful ashram and a perfect place for those interested in Yoga and spirituality. The atmosphere is very peaceful, the teachers were very inspiring and caring. They are very traditional and dedivcated to yoga vedic principles, I appreciate that alot.
I learnt alot about teaching, correcting, alignments apart from the right principles
They only accept 15 students in a course, the course was an eye opener, good value for money,I saw many differences in Yoga in Europe and Yoga in India, If you are serious about Yoga The I would highly recommend it, you can check them at anandayogashram.org
[QUOTE=KamalaYoga;22304]Hi Vera
I trained at the SVYASA outside Bangalore. I too originally planned to do the Sivananda course but whilst travelling around India beforehand I met several people who had done both courses and they suggested that the SVYASA course was more authentic and “Indian”. It is cheaper but this is the reason that the Sivananda course students are mostly westerners - Indians cannot afford to pay such high fees. Sad really. I’m not exactly sure what the Sivananda organisation does with all that money either…
Anyway the course was FANTASTIC. The SVYASA is now a deemed university in India so no problems with recognition in India or abroad, plus they have a yoga therapy YogaHome on site in case you’re either (a) ill or (b) interested in Yoga Therapy.
I also met a couple more people at the SVYASA who had come straight from the Sivananda course. They said the teaching format was very similar but that the Sivananda ashram was “great for your social life”. I personally wasn’t looking for a YTTC to improve my social life but I guess that pretty much sums up the attitude of the place.
Wendy[/QUOTE]
Hi KamalaYoga,
May i ask your experience with the TTC in SVYASA as i’m deciding between Yogapoint and SVYASA. I’ve heard SVYASA is a very much more theory based course, with very little practical teachings. Is this true? I’ve also heard that by attending just SVYASA TTC alone is not sufficient/gd enough for one to start teaching.
Also any one out there, pls share with me your experience in Yogapoint.
Thank you lots.
Best Regards
Row
I met a woman who had just finished SVYASA course recently. She enjoyed some parts but lost 5kg in one month due to what she called “extremely non sattvic food”. loaded with chilli and rice and daal day after day. She also said that there was no a and p teaching at all and that is quite a worry, although it does seem there is generally less focus on that in india. Finally she said she felt alot of what they were taught was not really necessary, like acting out yoga plays and dramas in groups etc. She felt that that time could have been better used studying or lectures etc.
hi. i know i am contributing late. but in case u are still looking for a good place to study, its ‘the yoga institute’ at mumbai. its a 90 year old reputed institution. reasonable fees. in the city, but a totally positive, peaceful, environment. more than 1 course option. regards.
[QUOTE=yogafriend;25007]hi. i know i am contributing late. but in case u are still looking for a good place to study, its ‘the yoga institute’ at mumbai. its a 90 year old reputed institution. reasonable fees. in the city, but a totally positive, peaceful, environment. more than 1 course option. regards.[/QUOTE]
Hi yogafriend,
thank you so much for your contribution. Nothing is ever too late as i believe it’ll benefit many others who uses this forum as well It is very much appreciated. I’ve looked through its website and i think it’s a pretty awesome place as it seem to be offering pretty good yoga teaching courses.
I may consider taking it up after i do my maths base on my savings
Thank you once again.
Best Regards
Row
hi Vera i have studied in Parmath Niketan for TTC few years back , that’s my first time to India I couldn’t get use to the Indian food in ashram so I always slipped out to restaurant for daily 3 meals and got sick during the training bacause of the severe cold weather ( i live in far east non cold place)
I hate the early morning bell ringing in ashram ( at 0530 ) to wake me up at sweet sleep , I hate the monkey jumping at the roof non stop every night, I dismay for the English accent of the teachers , i dismay for the fat teacher who teaching us asana, I surprised at all other students cried during the evening Ganga river side mantras chanting.
But when I need to return home i am terribily miss the morning bell , the India tea and naam , the hateful monkey become a lovely just naughty little pets , teachers are especially dear , already admire the fat teacher she was very flexible
and myself also cry without reason besides the holy river during night chanting ( at final day )
In the ashram we have regular life together ,wake up …> meditation …> asana …> breakfast …> lecture …> lunch …> afternoon rest …> lecture …> asana…> dinner…> river side chanting. Sat / Sunday rest teacher will lead the outing .
My friend told me in Sivanamda students need to clean washroom for the sake of karma but in Parmath no such arrangement ( don’t think cleaning washroom bad as not every body have chance to do it , students need to fight for the chance , too many students but too few washroom )