Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
Encyclopedia
The Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course provides training in Sivananda Yoga
based on the yoga
of Swami Sivananda
. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda
, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969. He did this not only with the vision to develop yoga professionals, but also to give sincere aspirants the skills of personal discipline and to develop as messengers of peace.
The Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course bases itself on the ancient gurukula teaching system, integrating a student's daily life into the yoga training. It aims through an intensive four-week course to ready students to teach others, in addition to strengthening their own yoga practice with self-discipline and awareness of the nature of body, mind and spirit. Courses are held worldwide in the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams
and affiliated centres.
) Ashram, named the Vedanta Forest Academy. Swami Vishnu-devananda was one of the principal professors of the academy and as an extension of this educational program, the Sivananda teacher's training was developed.
The course is based on the traditional Indian system of Gurukula, in which the student lives with the teacher in an ashram
(yoga and meditation center). Closely supervised by the teacher, the student works physically and mentally and acquires the full experience of yoga, which he can later pass on to others, as his teachers did for him. In the efforts to create the most favorable conditions possible, this training is structured as an intensive, immersive course in the ashrams.
Graduates of the Advanced Teacher Training Course (A TTC) are given the title Yoga Acharya
, which means master of yoga. It is the title of the diploma for the advanced teacher's training.
The program has seen the graduation of more than twenty-five thousand students over the last forty years.
Sivananda Yoga
Sivananda Yoga, after teachings of Swami Sivananda, is a non-proprietary form of hatha yoga in which the training focuses on preserving the health and wellness of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga teachers are all graduates of the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course, and students widely range in...
based on the yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
of Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda
Swami Vishnu-devananda
Swami Vishnudevananda was a disciple of Swami Sivananda, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams...
, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969. He did this not only with the vision to develop yoga professionals, but also to give sincere aspirants the skills of personal discipline and to develop as messengers of peace.
The Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course bases itself on the ancient gurukula teaching system, integrating a student's daily life into the yoga training. It aims through an intensive four-week course to ready students to teach others, in addition to strengthening their own yoga practice with self-discipline and awareness of the nature of body, mind and spirit. Courses are held worldwide in the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres
The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is a non-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda and founded by his disciple Swami Vishnu-devananda...
and affiliated centres.
Origins and technique
Swami Sivananda founded an institute of education within his Rishikesh (IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) Ashram, named the Vedanta Forest Academy. Swami Vishnu-devananda was one of the principal professors of the academy and as an extension of this educational program, the Sivananda teacher's training was developed.
The course is based on the traditional Indian system of Gurukula, in which the student lives with the teacher in an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
(yoga and meditation center). Closely supervised by the teacher, the student works physically and mentally and acquires the full experience of yoga, which he can later pass on to others, as his teachers did for him. In the efforts to create the most favorable conditions possible, this training is structured as an intensive, immersive course in the ashrams.
Certification for teachers
Graduates of the Teacher Training Course (TTC) receive a diploma from the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy of Rishikesh (situated in the Himalayas), and the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and Ashrams, (headquartered in Val Morin, Quebec, Canada). The title given is Yoga Siromani which signifies jewel of the crown of yoga.Graduates of the Advanced Teacher Training Course (A TTC) are given the title Yoga Acharya
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
, which means master of yoga. It is the title of the diploma for the advanced teacher's training.
The program has seen the graduation of more than twenty-five thousand students over the last forty years.