200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh

Hatha yoga is very vast subject and it is very difficult to explain this in brief. But still we will try to give a picture of what you will learn about Hatha Yoga in this course. Traditional Asana practice of Hatha Yoga, which is mostly based on the tradition of Shivananda Yoga and Satyananda Yoga. You will learn the two ways to perform the Asana practice: 

• Dynamic way of asana to loosen up the joint.
• Static way of asana to strengthen the body.

Week One: The first week of Hatha Yoga classes is focused on - Pawan Muktasana series which are divided into three sections:- joints movements which prepares the joints and bones for the advance yoga asana, Second section is dedicated to core strengthening asanas, digestive system related asana and the Third section is focused on the asana series which channelise the energy throughout the body and prepares the body for dynamic Asana series- once you complete the PAWANMUKTASANA SERIES then students learn the traditional way of doing Surya Namaskar. At our school you will also learn the variations of salutation in different yoga tradition.
Week Two: In the Second Week, we focus on vinyasa where students will learn the different types of flow and transitions between the Asana.
Week Three and Week Four: In these weeks, the focus is on static asana practice where students learn the modifications variations of the Advanced asana. Students in this weeks also learn to stay Longer in Asana in order to become flexible strong and sustainable asana practitioner.
Week Three and Week Four: In these weeks, the focus is on static asana practice where students learn the modifications variations of the Advanced asana. Students in this weeks also learn to stay Longer in Asana in order to become flexible strong and sustainable asana practitioner.
During this 200 hours of Hatha Yoga Training, a student will get skilled with Pawanmuktasana Series, Surya Namaskar, Chandra Namaskaram, Standing Asanas, Kneeling Asanas, Sitting Asanas, Prone Asanas, Supine Asanas and Inversions.
In these four weeks of Hatha Yoga, you will not only practice asana  but also practice its theory as:

• Why should you do these asanas
• What is the purpose of doing these sequence
• What are the Contra indications and benefits of the Asana practices
• Which time it’s good to do these sequences
• How to break down the advanced asanas in order to teach beginners
• How many times one Asana can be practiced

Ashtanga vinyasa is the dynamic form of doing asana. In this dynamic form of practice, achievements are attained by synchronising the body, mind and breath to a single rhythm. There are 6 series of this special practice.

• Ashtanga Primary Series
• Secondary Series
• Advance Series A,B,C and D

In our 200 hour yoga teacher training course students will learn the primary series of Ashtanga Vinyasa, which is called “YOG CHIKITSA,’ here Chikitsa means Therapy, so this series is also known as Yoga Therapy.

Why it is called Yoga Therapy?

Most of the asanas in the primary series of Ashtanga Vinyasa are forward bending poses which directly work the digestive system. A healthy digestive system means the whole body is diseases free.  Therefore it work as a therapy for entire body and thus makes this series as therapeutic yoga.The Ashtanga practice is divided in two parts in this yoga course. One is Led class by the lead teacher in which teacher will guide the students with instruction and students practice by following each instruction. Second is Mysur style practice which the students will do a traditional way of Ashtanga Vinyasa with their own pace while understanding the rhythm of the breath. 
First series is divided into three sections:

• Standing sequence which is the foundational part of Ashtanga vinyasa.
• Sitting sequence of Asana
• Inversions

In the First Week, A detailed study and practice on the standing foundational sequence of primary series with proper alignment is done. Once the students get familiar with foundational part of Ashtanga vinyasa teachers gradually leads them to the further sitting series and inversions. So by the end of the course students are able to perform whole series by their own with proper alignment and adjustment of each Asana.
Due to the creation of heat in the body, Ashtanga Yoga cleanses the body through sweating.  Body gets more clear and gradually get into a natural shape when we practice it continuously. This characteeristics of Ashtanga Vinyasa practice make it one of the greatest and most demanding. Breathing and eyesight are important part of this particular type of practice. The body moves with the rhythm of the breathing from one asana to another asana. And when this action is continuously moving it takes the form of Meditation, thats the reason ashtanga vinyasa practice is also called a “DYNAMIC MEDITATION” The rhythmic of the body and breathing, leading to a special kind of control in the body, making the body effortless and smooth, even in every difficult posture. The body starts to feel lightheaded.
Eyesight or Drishti also has special significance in Ashtanga Yoga. The practice of Sight (Drishti) brings focus and focus brings stability in mind, which is extremely important for yoga practice. A human body has nine openings (doors), one is eyes. And this door or opening is very near to brain.  Whatever disorders arise in the mind is because we do not have the control on our Eyes, due to which things from outside enter into our brain and the mind stores whatever it receives. The practice of Drishti controls this door, leading to a clear and stabilised mind. This practice is essential for the sadhaks whose body is rigid and  lacks of flexibility. Continuous effort of this practice makes the body open by Third Week and makes difficult or advanced yoga posture easier. During this process, the students learn the method and technique of control on the body, making him or her to perform the Flow and Float, Handstand, Headstand, Intense Back Bend and related movements with ease and confidence.

Many of us consider Pranayama as the science of breathing but reality is the Pranayama and the Science of Breath are two different subjects. Pranayama means regulation of Prana where prana is not the breath, It is the subtle energy that resides in every living being which makes them eminent in this world. Whereas breathing is a subtle power that helps keep the body alive, which is composed of five elements.
It is very important for every yoga student and yoga teacher to understand that the science of breathing is quite different from the practice of pranayama. The science of breathing and the practice of pranayama in our school is therefore explained in a very detailed way.

Week One- In this week practice of the course deals with the distinction and the relationship between science of breath and pranayama, in which the student understand what exactly he or she is practicing. In the subject of Pranayama, we cover this practice in three stages: In the first stage the body is developed for the regulation of the Prana which is carried through the purification of the body. In this practice teachers will teach the practice of some special breathing techniques that help the pranic body to purify.

Week Two- During this week, the second stage emphasises the practices that help to purify the Nadis (pranic channels) present in the body and flow the prana to the channel. This is very important part of the pranayama practice and is completed in the second week.

Week Three and Four- The third stage comes after the expansion of the life to keep prana steady.  This stage focus on the exercises which immobilise the prana by transmitting it to various parts of the body. Pranayama is not the new subject, it has been known in India for over 4000 years. Many Yoga scriptures talk about it. Also many texts written in the Pre-Buddhist period also referred to this techniques of Pranayam. It is not the simple subject to understand, proper guidance is needed in order to learn and understand these ancient techniques.
At Yoga Vidya School, we not only emphasises the exercises or techniques of the practice but also attempts to understand the history of those practices. This is very important, especially these days when people keep mixing informations on the internet without any serious research.

Anatomy is a medical term which is defined as the study of the structure of human body, covering the knowledge of external and internal organs. Knowing the Anatomy of human body is an added benefit to any health enthusiast, a yoga practitioner and a health or yoga professional. In the recent times, yoga practice has become very popular among all the age groups. Everyone wants do all kind of bends and twists to show off their advance asanas, but many of these do not understand their body in anatomical way. This  has increased the chance of injuring the body. Therefore it is very important to have some knowledge of the Anatomy to make our practice more safe and effective. After understanding the knowledge and mechanism of the internal organs and external organs present in the body, each yoga practitioner can derive maximum benefit from the practice of yoga. There are two types of Anatomy, one is focused on medical side and second is Yogic side. At our yoga centre,  we focus mainly on Yoga Anatomy which is focused in philosophy body, mental body, and energy body (subtle body). So here, you will explore not only the physiology of physical body, but also of the mental and the energy body.

• Physical body consists of Respiratory System, Circulatory System, Skeletal System, Muscular System, Digestive system, Joints and Bones etc.
• Mental body consists of Mind and Chitta
• Energy body consists Pancha Kosha

Having the right knowledge of the body allows you to reap the greatest advantage of the actions of yoga by understand the correct way. This will make any practitioner a good yoga teacher. In the yoga anatomy class, the students get opportunity to learn the right movements and ways of yoga posture and other processes such as breathing during Pranayama practice.

We strongly believe that one should know the Philosophy of Yoga before practising the yoga exercises. Especially if a yoga teacher is not aware of what the goal is, how can he or she explain the students the way to reach the goal. In olden times, yoga practice used to begin  after knowing the purpose of yoga. It is used to inspire a beginner to be on the spiritual path. After knowing the true aim of yoga, every yoga sadhaka (practitioner ) used to practise yoga in the right direction by working on all round development of body. It is very necessary to know the goal of the practice before doing it. One of the Meaning of Darshan is “direct knowledge of goal” These days as Yoga is in trend, people just start the practice  without knowing its purpose. That makes them unable to reach their goal even after years of hard work or practice. So in our course we first let the students learn their goal and purpose of practicing yoga which help them to achieve their goal. A brief study of important yoga texts, Patanjali Yoga Sutras is covered in this course. We cover all the philosophies, need to understand before and after yoga practice which is connected to yogic philosophy such as Shat Darshana, Sankya Yoga, Buddhist Philosophy, Vedanta Philosophy, Charvak Philosophy, Vaisheshik Philosophy, Mimansa Philosophy. During this training, we emphasise on Patanjali Yoga formula which is an important book of yoga.Week One is dedicated to Shath Darshan and the Purpose of Yoga and the next three weeks are dedicated to Yoga Sutras.

Mantra Chanting In Yoga Teacher Training Course

The shastras and ancient scriptures has many meanings of mantra, But what has been the most impressive one is, the “sound which purify the mind”

Mantra are the tools of mind

The first chanting Om is a mantra in itself, and it is believed that this is the first sound that is produced on earth. The literally means of mantra is thought or contemplation. Mantra is also a type of speech with the help of which we communicates with subtle powers. The mantra was therefore used to awaken subtle powers in antiquity or to please god and to establish contact with god. The mantra is not ordinary sound. this entire universe is pervaded by one wave self energy. That energy present in universe at Subtle form calls- naad.

In our 200 hour yoga ttc in rishikesh, we will focus on 8 mantra which we will learn to chant with musical instrument (Harmonium)

Day- 1
- Introduction of mantra, Philosophy amd purpose
- Mantra chanting OM

DAY-2
- Obstacles removal mantra ( ganesh mantra)
- Meaning and chanting

Day-3
- food mantra
- Meaning and chanting

Day- 4
- guru mantra
- Meaning of guru
- Importance and Quality of guru

Day-5
- teacher and student relationship mantra
- Meaning and chanting

Day- 6
- Patanjali mantra
- Meaning and chanting

Day-7
- mantra for knowledge
- Meaning and chanting

Day-8
- realisation mantra
- Meaning and chanting

Day-9 (Sanskrit)
- Origin of Sanskrit, and its purpose
- root letters of Sanskrit given by Shiva

Day-10, 11, 12
- chanting of root letters of sanskrit
- Sanskrit name of Asana and its meaning

Practicing meditation is the highest practice of yoga. No practice is complete without meditation. If we practice asans or practice pranayama, that too needs meditation. But meditation is also a practice in itself and needs to learn like other yogic practices. Meditation not only leads to mental development but also physical and spiritual growth , In the practice of meditation, the mind is used as a means and works on all other levels of the body, Which causes growth of physical mental and spiritual at the three levels. In fact, there are many ways to meditate, but in yoga vidya school we practice certain methods based on BIHAR SCHOOL OF YOGA which help the student to attain the higher stages of Concentration which helps one to lead in meditation .

The practices are :

 Day-1 (pratyahara)
- Practice of Yoga nidra
- Meaning, methods-and its purpose

Day-2
- yoga nidra step by step

Day-3
- tratak
- Meaning, methods and purpose

Day-4
- tratak/ yoga nidra

Day-5, 6
- kaya sthairyam ( conscious method of body stability)
- meaning and its purpose

Day-7,8
- ajapa japa

Day8,9
- antar moun

Day-10,11
- chidakash dharana

Day-12,13
- antar moun/ chidakash dharna

Day-14
- ajapa japa/ antar moun

Day-15
- questions and answers

Day-16,17,18
- exams

This Yogic and Spiritual process completes in three stages - the first step is the purification of the body. Energy can be transferred to the body only after it is purified. Because no practice is fruitful without the body is pure and clean. There are primary six functions of body purification in yoga which are called Shatkarma. In our courses every student will be provided with full attention and importance of these six yogic cleansing practices. These six cleansing practices are:

 This sutra is taken from important epic of yoga- GHERAND Samhita, According to it there are 6 major cleansing practises which helps to clean different part of the body in order to expand the energy. These 6 practices are :

• Dhouti
• Vasti
• Neti
• Looliki (Nooli)
• Tratak
• Kapalbhati

The 6 important activities mentioned above are essential to the purification of the body. The practice of these six prior to the practice of yoga were considered very important in the ancient time. So as per the tradition, these six practices are taught before further advanced yoga techniques at Yoga Vidya School. And this prepares the students for further practice. The process of purification is carried out mostly in the morning when the body is ready to receive new energy. These purification practices (shatkarma) are performed in the presence of the expert yoga teachers, ensuring each student gets proper guidance and attention. And if any mistake happen at the time of practice, can be rectified immediately. A teacher or guidance is needed in the beginning and later with constant practice, the students can practice by themselves. These activities can also be practiced daily at the time of the course or during off days.