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 )
Hi Tina,
Being a student of the Sivananda lineage I can tell you that the cleaning of the bathrooms (washrooms) is in some cases a karmic issue, but in most it is to teach the student humility. When I started training with my own teacher I had to clean the bathrooms of our yoga centre every Wednesday morning as part of my cleaning duties at the centre. In the beginning I hated it, but later I loved it and then one morning the duty was taken away from me and given to someone else who needed the lesson more than me.
[QUOTE=anula;25006]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.[/QUOTE]
Hi anula,
Thank you so much for the info on SVYASA. I can’t thank you enough for the info. Thank you once again, it is extremely appreciated.
In this case i shall concentrate on Yogapoint and perhaps The Yoga Institute which yogafriend had recommended.
Best Regards
Row
The essence of karma yoga is becoming limited to selfless service rather than moving towards ‘inaction in action’ Simple explanations of yogic philosophies and its effective practice is the best outcome of doing the teacher training course in true gurukula samprathaya. I did my ttc at Tulasidalam a very small yoga center.
Hello,
I am looking at doing yoga ttc in rishikesh at the end of january. Has anyone heard of bharat heritage services… website is w w w.atrishikesh.com
Any information would be greatly appreciated. I have also looked at siddhartha yoga, but seen much mixed feedback.
thank you
namaste
[QUOTE=vera;22423]I would like to make another question: does anyone know “Parmath Niketan” in Rishikesh?[/QUOTE]
It is a very good ashram and they have a yoga teachers training-I think it starts in March or April. It is recognised as a 200 hour TTC.
I am going to do the yoga ttc at Tulasidalam in Kerala in May. My friend Mirato did her’s there last month. Its a 200 hours alliance registered course. What I found interesting was the feedback I got from their facebook page as the ones I wrote to was all of one and the same opinion its very good. They say its a spiritual home.That sounds really special.
Hello
Below are listed some top Yoga schools in India, may be you should check them before enrolling,
[B]
Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai
Arhanta Yoga Ashram, Khajuraho ? Madhya Pradesh
Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune
Bihar School of Yoga, Munger -Bihar
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashram, Trivendrum
Yoga Institute, Mumbai
Kdham[/B]
So in nutshell if you are serious about Yoga teacher training course and becoming a Yoga teacher then you should look at points below rather than comparing the fees:
[B] Quality of teachers,
course curriculum / course content ,
teacher student ratio,
International validity of the certificate
feedback from the ex students
post course support
Course compliance with International standards[/B]
There are many Yoga ashrams / schools providing Yoga teacher training courses for cheap prices especially in Rishikesh and South India but most of them are not well managed, teachers are not well qualified, mostly just trying to get students by offering cheap prices. Always make sure to check the feedback from ex students before enrolling. best of luck!!
Hi… I did my Yoga teacher training in May at Tulasidalam in Kerala. And its the best experience of a life guidance course, a dream come true.I would really like to make the points I felt there in reference to the points noted in the above post. Thanks hathayogi, you really have the points in the nutshell.
[B]Quality of teachers:[/B] Its true the quality of the teachers makes the best out of the course and Sindu is great!
[B]course curriculum / course content:[/B] Amazing! pranic training and life guidance levels with the physiology levels beautifully incorporated to the practice and philosophies. How easily the present space technologies to the base concept of Newtons gravity fits into understanding.Gita is magic that’s all I will say, otherwise you will think I am exaggerating.
[B]teacher student ratio: [/B]With five students under two teachers … I got all the personal attention I needed.
[B]International validity of the certificate:[/B] Its a Yoga Alliance India registered course, but more important I felt is it is legally recognized institution under the local government and so felt really safe to go.
feedback from the ex students: I don’t need to elaborate! we are all one in what we have to say about Tulasidalam.
[B]post course support: [/B]the best ever offered in any schools or ashrams around the world… the yoga classes and guidance are free for life time after the 200hours attendance, like a mother-child relation, its never broken.
[B]Course compliance with International standards:[/B] The understanding of the teachings in accordance with the different culture values is most appreciated.
All in all it was good… really good, only caution!! go into this course with an open heart and never try reaching it from the factual intellectual level…cause its beyond… and really hard!!! on Pride!!!