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Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
Orleans, France
Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
Rudraprayag, Himalayas, India
Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
Tyrol, Austria
Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
Lithuania
Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
Aluenda, Spain
Yoga teacher training in Europe and North India
London, UK

Yoga Teachers' Training Course (TTC)

"Yoga is a system of integral education, education not only of the body and the mind or the intellect, but also of the inner spirit.“ – Swami Sivananda

History

Swami Vishnudevananda was the first yoga master in the West to develop a training programme for yoga teachers. In 1969, he taught the first Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course (TTC) in Canada, continuing the training programmes offered by the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy of the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India. Since then, over 50,000 certified yoga teachers have completed the Teachers’ Training Course, with another 1,000 graduates each year.

The goal of this training programme is to produce qualified and inspiring yoga teachers who are able to draw on their own practice and personal discipline in imparting the yoga experience to others.

Swami Vishnudevananda retained India’s traditional Gurukula teaching system in which students and teachers live together in an ashram (centre for yoga and meditation). Through the direct contact with experienced teachers, the student’s day-to-day life during the course is transformed into a learning experience. Students advance both physically and mentally and enjoy a comprehensive yoga experience, which they can later transmit to their own students. In efforts to create the most favourable conditions possible, this training is offered as an intensive course in an ashram.

Certified by the worldwide Yoga Alliance for the 200 hours standard for Registered Yoga Schools (RYS).

The Sivananda Yoga approach

Yoga teachers are not just trained in the asanas. While asanas are an integral part of classical Hatha Yoga, it is the combination of the asanas with ethical values, pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation that enables a comprehensive experience of Hatha Yoga.

The Sivananda approach to training yoga teachers believes that students should understand and experience the four main systems of yoga: Besides the focus on Hatha Yoga, the Sivananda yoga teacher training programme introduces students to the theory and practice of Raja Yoga (control over the mind), Karma Yoga (selfless activity), Jnana Yoga (yoga philosophy) and Bhakti Yoga (transformation of emotions into devotion).

Yoga teacher training graduates

Upon successful completion of the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course, the yoga teacher receives a yoga certificate confirming that they have sufficient knowledge and practical experience to teach Hatha Yoga (asanas, pranayama and relaxation) to beginners and intermediate yoga students.

International yoga school

The Sivananda Yoga Teachers' Training Course is taught in countries all over the world, including the UK, France, Austria, Spain, Poland and Lithuania as well as India and North and South America.

 

In addition to the four-week basic training course, Swami Vishnudevananda developed the Advanced Teachers’ Training Course (also 4 weeks) and an advanced practice course (2 weeks). Weekend and week-long further training programmes for yoga teachers are also available. The further training programmes and the Advanced Teachers’ Training Course are useful for acquiring further yoga teacher certification.

Teachers' Training Course – TTC

401 training units (45 minutes per unit)

Curriculum (excerpt):

  • Practice, theory and philosophy of the four classical yoga paths
  • Yoga training, anatomy and diet
  • Teaching methods and practice in the basic yoga postures, breathing exercises and guided relaxation

Advanced Teachers' Training Course – ATTC

437 training units (45 minutes per unit)

Curriculum (excerpt):

  • Advanced asanas and pranayama practice
  • In-depth study of Raja Yoga and Vedanta
  • Introduction to Sanskrit; anatomy of the nervous and endocrine systems

Sadhana Intensive Course

Two weeks of intensive practice based on ancient Hatha Yoga scripts:

  • Asana and pranayama practice 2 to 3 times daily, increasing gradually
  • Explanation and practice of Mudras, Bandhas and Mantras
  • Study of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as well as excerpts from ancient Bhakti and Vedantic writings

Yoga Teacher Training Courses

50 years of experience & over 51,000 graduates


Rudraprayag, Himalayas, India

Yoga teacher training locations

Reith, Tyrol, Austria >>

20.05.24–17.06.24: EN, DE
23.06.24–21.07.24: EN, DE
27.07.24–25.08.24: EN, DE
01.09.24–29.09.24: EN, DE
21.12.24–19.01.25: EN, DE

Orleans, France >>

06.04.24–05.05.24: FR
11.05.24–09.06.24: FR
29.06.24–28.07.24: EN, FR
02.08.24–31.08.24: FR
21.09.24–20.10.24: FR
19.11.24–18.12.24: FR
04.01.25–02.02.25: FR

Rudraprayag, Himalayas, India >>

22.10.24–20.11.24: EN, DE, FR, ES
22.02.25–23.03.25: EN, DE, FR, ES
22.10.25–20.11.25: EN, DE, FR, ES

London, UK >>

 

Málaga, Spain >>

18.08.24–15.09.24: ES

Lithuania >>

22.05.24–20.06.24: EN, LT, RU, PL

Languages: EN = English, DE = German, FR = French, ES = Spanish, IT = Italian, NL = Dutch, PT = Portuguese, RU = Russian, LT = Lithuanian, PL = Polish, ET = Estonian

Schedule of courses >>

Historical images


Swami Vishnudevananda demonstrates the Skorpion pose in front of his teacher, Swami Sivananda, in Rishikesh, India.

Swami Sivananda (centre) and his students. Swami Vishnudevananda is standing to his left.

On his way to the West: Swami Vishnudevananda teaches a yoga class in southeast Asia.

Swami Vishnudevananda teaching at one of the first yoga teachers' training courses on the Bahamas.

Anatomy class with Swami Vishnudevananda

Swami Vishnudevananda hands a student the course manual.