Help! One month yoga courses...

Soteria

Hello everyone!

I have only recently decided to include india in my asia trip and would ideally like to spend up to a month doing a yoga course and then travel around for another month.
The problem is that I don't have much time at all to plan any of this as I'm looking to go end of feb- end of april and so have joined this forum in search for help!

Basically I am looking for something along the lines of:
http://yoga.india.yogelements.com/Ab...Yoga_Study.php
or
http://www.mysoreyoga.org/#courses

I have also looked into the sivananda course. First off: has anyone done either of these and can offer some personal experiences?

I would like to especially learn the asanas and pranayama, and I think it's important to me to do it in a traditional style rather than some western centre in goa as I can have that experience back in London as well.

I am torn between whether I should do a live-in course like the sivananda ones or just a drop-in type thing like most others. On the one hand you get a more intensive yoga experience with the former, but on the other, does your "feel" for the real india as opposed to some yoga package suffer? And would you recommend staying in one place for a month or maybe doing 2 weeks at the start and 2 weeks at the end of my trip?

I'll be flying into india from bangkok, which city would be the cheapest one to fly into?

Lots of questions, most of them asked and answered already I know, but there's just so much information to trawl through I'm getting really confused!

Simplicity

You could visit the Art of Living Ashram,Bangalore,and do a
course there.
It should give you an experience of Live-in course,as well as,
Live-out course.

hawaiiyogagrl

What about the Sivananda center in Rishikesh?
I personally love doing yoga in Rishikesh, hanging out all day and participating in the evening aarti.
What I like is that there are so many places to do yoga there, that you can go to 3 classes a day if you want- all of them different. Some taught by westerners, some by Indians, some super hard asana classes, some super moving meditations...
I usually stay at Parmarth Niketan and depending on the teacher, take classes there or elsewhere.
To get to Rishikesh, fly to Delhi and take the train to Haridwar, then a cab to Rishikesh.
Good luck and have fun, where ever you go. Give us feedback too, it's always great to hear others experiences.

eternalpilgrim

Hi there,

try check www.yogainstitute.org,phone numbers are 9122 26110506,26122185, this is in Mumbai, Santacruz..could be a great option and also a serious one..they would be having all details in their site..they also have residential facilities for students from outside.You could have a word with them to get a feel.
One thing that you could definitely miss here is a more natural environment like Rishikesh with the Ganges flowing besides...but the institute has its own share of trees and shades and is as comfortable as it can get in a city like Mumbai.
Hope you have a great time in India and get an insight into Yoga.

cheers

abhay

Greetings..

I know one place in Banglore which might interest you..
Its called http://www.svyasa.org/
I just completed my yoga instructors course in there...
but in the non-residential one...

The offer one month courses during which they
go through all the basics and the certificate they
give is recognised by the Government of India.

Positives..
It is a full fledged yoga university
Qualified Teachers
Recognised certificate

Negatives
They charge foreigners more than they charge Indians
and I think that is unfair.. The myth in India is
that all white people are rich.. which I know is not
true...

Hope you like it... let me know if you join in there.

__________________
"The hands that work are better than the hands that pray ” - Zarathustra

smilingsnail

Hi, I think a month staying in course is quite an eye opener. It depends if you're ready or not. If you're looking for some sort like a retreat or short exprience then staying in for a month will not be a good choice. If you're looking for answers or something more in depth then go for it. Another place you can consider is Yoga Vidya Dham, I have not visited the school yet but has heard many good comments about them. Hope this helps.

alanrishikesh

I'm a huge fan of Rishikesh, so I'm biased...but for me if you're sort of feeling your way around, seeing what yoga might be best, no better place than Rishikesh.

I agree with Hawaiiyogagirl. So many places.

Everyday there are donation classes at Parmarth Niketan that you can take. Other great ones are at Yoga Niketan for 50 rupees per class. Sivananda classes are also free, they are conveniently in the late afternoon if you are female, otherwise early morning for males. You can just keep trying them at each place until you find a teacher/style you like, then just take that everyday.

Plus being Rishikesh they have intensive yoga courses happening all the time.

girlielf

Hi Abhay,
I'm interestd in taking up a 1 mth teacher teaching course in India, choosing between the uni in Nashik, Mumbai - Yoga Vidya Dham and SVYASA, Bangalore.
Would really appreciate if you can share with me your experience and thoughts about the course that you had in SVYASA. Was it a teacher training course? Do you know any about Yoga Vidya Dham?
Sorry lots of questions.
Thank you lots.
Regards

abhay

Hello Girlielf

I do not know anything about Yoga Vidya Dham so
can't help you about that.. regarding svyasa
I think it is a good place for a short stay.
The teachers are good but I think natives and
foreigners have different teachers.

The course I did was a teacher training course
and they taught everything from the fundamentals.
I remember we had several japanese men/women who
were doing long term residential courses.

And not sure but I think SVYASA has a center in
Singapore ? Try emailing them and asking them ?
Because I remember some of the teachers had
gone to singapore to conduct
short term courses over there.

And Mysore city which is near to Bangalore also has many
famous yoga centers incluing one founded by
B.K.S Iyengar.Have you heard about those ?

I would suggest you don't enroll in any course
but visit the yoga dham, svyasa and mysore and then
take your final decision..

Travelling from city to city is not that expensive
by railways and you could do some sight seeing too.

Let me know if you require any more information

All the best with course

Cheers

Abhay

shantigirl

I just completed the one month teacher training at Yoga Vidya Dham. The course was very intense; it was my first time living in an ashram so I got the full yogic experience. I would not recommend going during the rainy season as you will be miserable and wet all of the time. In terms of the classes: I was already a certified yoga teacher in the US so some of the stuff was review for me, but a lot of it was either new or we explored things in much more depth (pranayama, mantras, chanting). The teachers are terrific, the food is great and even though it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, I am so glad I did it.

I would also recommend KYM in Chennai. They offer one month classes. The downside is you have to find your own housing and pay for your own food. However, the schedule is much less punishing than it is at YVD.

lupi

hello abhay
I have seen that you have done a course at svyasa. I am also thinking about doing there the yoga teacher training. But I think there are many participants like 50 or so. Was it still possible to get personal advise of the teachers in such a big group? What was your experience with that? I think especially if someone has not so much yogaexperience, I guess it is important that somebody looks if you make the asanas correct.
still i would like to go there...so am curious what experience you made
thanks

girlielf

Hi Abhay,
Thank you so much for your info on SVYASA. May i ask if it is true that SVYASA teaches more on theory rather than practical as i've been talking to people, and most of them mentioned so and plus lots and lots of stage acts.
Do you feel confident enough to teach right aways after the course?

You mentioned there's a schl that's founded by B.K.S Iyengar in Mysore? May i ask what is the schl's name as i've found a couple of schls in Mysore but most of them are either too expensive or they do not provide accomodation.

I've enrolled myself into yoga dham, Yogapoint in Nasik before i read your mail; and i am due to attend the April 2010 intake. But because i have not pay the reg fee, i would think that i'm still free to choose other schl if there is a more suitable one.

Thank you lots for your info once again.

Best Regards

girlielf

Hi Shantygirl,

May i ask why are you always wet during the rainy season? Don't they practise in a proper hall/indoor area?
May i ask if it will benefit those who are interested in teaching? Do you think this course if sufficient/good enough for those who are interested to teach right after the course?

Why do you recommend KYM in Chennai rather than Yogapoint since you mentioned that it is good other than the weather?

Thank you lots

Best Regards

shantigirl

Yes, we did do our asana practice inside (although the roof had leaks) but just walking around the ashram, going to meals, going to the meditation hall, doing our karma yoga, we got wet. And since the washer/driver were not reliable, you wash your clothes in a bucket and hang them outside to dry . . . but they never really dry. And the rain, combined with the wind, makes you even wetter. But I don't want to sound like a spoiled American--you deal with it. Yes, the course is definitely suitable for those for want to teach immediately afterwards. In fact, some of my classmates have been teaching since they arrived back home.
The reason I recommend KYM is because I got a tremendous amount out of the course, and it's less intense. You learn a lot, but the program I did was NOT a teaching program. I believe they are now doing an international teacher training, but the course I did was a 4 week intensive.
Hope that answers your questions!

girlielf

Yep, thank you so much shantigirl. I'm scheduled for the april intake nex year, hopefully it'll not rain so much.
Thank you lots again

Best regards