• Course : RYT 200 – Online Yoga Teacher Training  Course
• Course Duration:3 Months
• Course start date : 01 June 2020
• Live Course timings:
  Classes will be streamed live at 5am Indian time, then they will be available to watch at your convenience within your own time zone afterwards.
  The live stream timings are below for India, US (Eastern) and UK for your information but it is not compulsory to watch live, particularly in particular time zones where that may be difficult. The classes will usually last between 2 and 3 hours but timings are flexible and some classes may be longer.
  •  5 AM to 7 AM IST (Monday thru Saturday)
  • 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EST (Sunday thru Friday)
  • 12:30 AM to 2:30 AM BST (Monday thru Saturday)

Course Outline

Course Format

Daily classes with Dr. Kumar will be streamed live Monday to Saturday from 1st June to 31st August daily, then be available online subsequently for those registered for the course to access at a time convenient to them. Those who for any reason have to join the course late, can catch up with the online classes.

The classes will each last approximately 2.5 hours and students would be expected to follow this with approximately 1 hour self-study per class in order to achieve RYT 200 certification.

It is recommended that where possible students stick to a daily routine and commit to three hours per day of learning. However, if this is not possible due to childcare or work commitments then you can access the materials at a time convenient for you.

Each day would involve:

Dhyaya: 2 to 3 hrs (approx.) class with Dr. Kumar.

Upadhyaya: 1 hour self-study including reading of class notes and relevant selected materials in order to understand the topics at a deeper level. The detail in the classes and complexity of some of the topics will also require re-watching as part of the self-study hour. At the end of the video class, there will be an online quiz with 5-10 multiple choice or true or false questions. It is mandatory to take this 5 minute test for each class in order to achieve certification.

Adhyaya: Self-practice and/ or teaching practice where appropriate. Please see assessment details under ‘Certification’ further down the page.

Eligibility and Suitability

Although the content will be advanced, it is suitable for all levels including beginners. At whatever stage you are on your journey in Yoga, this course will bring new levels of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. What you need is an open-mind and a hunger to learn. People at all levels of fitness are eligible to join and those with disabilities are welcome. As Dr. Kumar has said in his webcasts, this course is not for intellectuals but for those who are interested in applying the knowledge into their daily lives through practice.

“Yoga is a soul worshipping program not a body worshipping program”

The course is suitable for those who are motivated to learn from Dr. Kumar and value this rare opportunity to learn from a fully enlightened teacher with a lifetime of experience in traditional ashrams and schools across India and S.E. Asia. It is not suitable for those who are looking for a conventional yoga teacher training or are looking to simply attain a qualification in Yoga in order to teach. It will be unlike any other Yoga Teacher Training course currently offered. The information will ground participants in the fundamental principles of Yoga, including those that are often overlooked. It will offer insights into areas of learning that are extremely important yet difficult to find on Yoga training courses. For this reason, many teacher trainers with decades of experience choose to learn with Dr. Kumar because the knowledge he has to offer cannot be found elsewhere. “Dr Kumar has generously been sharing his knowledge with the world in daily free live lectures and practice on his YouTube channel since lockdown commenced.  Dr Kumar explains how yoga works from a scientific viewpoint with profound insight.  I feel fortunate to have been studying with Kumar for over 10 years;  he practices what he preaches, he is a true yogi; any opportunity to work with him is valuable.”- Rosemary Prema Bennett (A BWY Diploma Course Tutor and a well known and highly respected international teacher who has been teaching since 1985) Click here for Video Testimonials from Dr. Kumar’s meditation retreat, including 3 British Yoga teacher trainers who have studied with Dr. Kumar. The course requires you to be able to accept learning whatever Dr. Kumar chooses to teach based on his expert understanding of the topics that are most useful for Yoga teachers and wider society, with the needs of the present and future in mind. The course will be a wonderful and challenging  journey for those who are seeking authentic yogic knowledge. The challenge will not be due to workload, but because it will invite you to rethink your way of life and be open to making changes to your outlook and lifestyle in order to achieve the purpose of Yoga. We welcome you to join and recommend that you watch the current free webcasts as a foundation and to help you make the decision about whether you are suitable for this training. In particular please watch the following clips: Introduction to Yoga Teacher Training Yogi Training The six qualities necessary for a student of Yoga– given by Shankaracharya (8th Century Saint and Teacher) OBSERVANCE OF YAMA

For the duration of the course all students resolve to practice Yama, the code of conduct outlined by Patanjali. Yama involves maintaining Ahimsa (non-violence/abstaining from harming/abusing/using harsh words); Satya (speaking truth/abstaining from lies/divisive talk); Asteya (abstaining from stealing); Brahmacharya (abstaining from sexual misconduct); Aparigraha (abstaining from intoxicants including tobacco and alcohol).

Course Content and Ethos

Dr. Kumar’s lectures bring new perspectives to traditional teachings by drawing together contemporary science and ancient wisdom. The course offers us the opportunity to silence the intellect, the mind, the ego and absorb knowledge from an authentic Yogi, with a lifetime of experience, knowledge and insight to share. The course will cover the full spectrum of Yoga and its underlying science. From Yoga exercise physiology to diet and nutraceuticals covering both macro and micro nutrients; translation and analysis of classical yoga texts and progressive teaching of meditation techniques. There will be no published curriculum, modules or electives. The course teaches us adaptability, flexibility and responsiveness. In life we never know what each day will bring, similarly it is part of the training to approach each class without any preconceived notions or expectations of what will be covered. Dr. Kumar explain this approach in the 1^stMay webcast.  The course is not a commodity and students are not customers. The course will be taught in the ancient tradition of going to a Guru to choicelessly learn whatever that Guru teaches. We suggest watching these episodes and clips to get a sense of the teaching style and breadth of subject matter: Science behind muscles What is a scripture? Yoga Practice Guided meditation Brahma Viharas Five styles of Yoga as per Krishnamacharya The Path to Enlightenment Nutrition and food combinations Webcast that includes discussion of discriminatory wisdom, followed by asana practice The daily class will be between 2 to 3 hours, some days it may even be slightly longer so each student needs to have some degree of flexibility about time commitment. As Dr. Kumar says in the video clip, the teaching style will be very strict, in line with the culture of Traditional Ashrams. Dr. Kumar often shakes up our conditioning in order to bring transformation and turn our perceptions upside down. Be prepared to hear teachings that may challenge your previous understanding, or that you may not yet understand. Learning to surrender to the Guru is part of the training in Yoga. This means putting aside one’s expectations, preferences and perceptions, previous knowledge and intellectual conditioning. The last of the Niyama’s of Patanjali is Eeshwara Pranidhanaha, surrender to an enlightened teacher. The course will uphold this essential aspect of the Yoga tradition in order for students to gain maximum benefit. The teachings of Yoga do not exist without enlightened teachers to convey them and the voice and teaching of the guru is transformative if the student is completely open minded and ‘surrendered’, i.e. keeping one’s cup empty in order to fill it with new knowledge. There will be no reading list. Dr. Kumar may share research resources and other materials that are relevant to his classes because they provide a perspective on an issue that he wishes you to consider as part of a broader discourse on the topic. However books, especially translations of Sanskrit texts would usually not be recommended on the course. The translations of important scriptures will be given live by Dr. Kumar in the oral tradition. Yoga is to be learned orally and experientially, not intellectually or through reading. The Yoga asanas taught will be those which are most beneficial for a broad public. This will range from zero resistance to high intensity Yoga for a range of capabilities and temperaments.

Certification

Traditional Yoga is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga School (RYS500). Upon completion you will receive a 200 hour Traditional Yoga Teacher Training Certificate. This certificate is valid for a period of 2 years from the date of issue if you wish to register with Yoga Alliance as RYT-200, please refer to their certification policy, http://www.yogaalliance.org Assessment for those seeking RYT200 certification: At the end of each class, there will be online quiz with 5-10 multiple choice or true or false questions (takes 5 to 10 mins to complete). These must be finished within 2 weeks of the class. Halfway through the course you will submit a 10 minute video to demonstrate your learning. This should orally present your understanding of 3 topics of your choice. This should include at least one practical demonstration of a technique taught in the training. Feedback will be given by a course facilitator. At the end of the course you will submit a 20 minute video to demonstrate and reflect on your learning. This should orally present your understanding of 3 topics of your choice and indicate how you intend to apply then in your teaching. It should include at least two practical demonstrations of techniques taught in the training. People who wish to participate in the training, but not gain certification do not need to complete the assessments outlined above.

Payment

This course is generously offered by Yoga Healing Foundation India, a registered charity . Dr. Kumar is teaching as a volunteer and the charities in India, UK and US are run by volunteers. The teaching offered is priceless, however the fee amount collected will be used to cover the filming and broadcast costs incurred by the charity in India, and to help pay for the three months of free webcasts that Dr. Kumar has been offering since March.

How to Register? 

• Signup/ Login
• Click on the button “Take this Course”
• Add to cart
• Proceed to checkout
• Fill in the student application form which includes billing details and submit it
• We will review your application and contact you within 48 hours. We may invite you for a course orientation conversation with a volunteer on the phone before we confirm your booking. Until then, your payment is on hold.

About Dr. Kumar

Dr. Kumar is an authority on the science of yoga and its diverse systems, an award-winning scientist and a renowned yogi. His teaching is informed by his extensive experiential and theoretical knowledge, developed through his education in more than 37 schools of Hatha yoga and 50 traditions of meditation and progressed through decades of self-practice. He has taught over 100,000 people in India as a public service, focusing on free public health and yoga awareness workshops that address the growing levels of lifestyle related diseases. As a child he began his formal studies at the Sivananda Ashram under Swamy Vishnudevananda. He was initiated by Swami Chinmayananda, Sachidananda & Omkarananda and later under Swami Rama and Satyananda Saraswathi. He also learned asana practice with BKS Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, Desikachar among other renowned teachers as well as unknown but equally accomplished Himalayan masters and monks. He learnt powerful health rejuvenating pranayamas in Shakthi traditions of Tantra such as Prakrithika (external respiratory techniques), Vaikrithika (internal respiratory techniques) and Kevala (natural respiration). Other schools include Kaivalyadhama-Lonovala, Ananda Ashram-Himachal and Kriya Yoga traditions such as Babaji Kriya Yoga, Yogoda, Mangeshda. Dr. Kumar’s first teacher cautioned him to avoid being limited to the methodology of only one school, realizing that each school gives importance to only a few limbs of yoga. This is something Dr. Kumar has followed throughout his life, allowing him to keep an open mind, and continuously learn and expand his knowledge, respecting all traditions. Dr. Kumar’s teaching is informed by his deep understanding of yoga traditions and focuses on practice. His theoretical studies of Hatha Yoga have explored Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Hatha Ratnavali, Gheranda Samhita, Siva Samhita, Hatha Yoga Rahasyam, Kurantaka Yoga and Kapala Kurantaka Yoga and he has translated many of these original texts for his training program. Dr. Kumar has studied meditation in Hindu, Yoga, Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist schools including monastic traditions in Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka and Tibetian traditions such as Dzogchen , Kagyu, Goenka, Ektha, Pa-Auk, Panditarama, Shwebu and various Nyingma traditions. Rather than belonging to any one school, Dr. Kumar’s teaching adheres to the genesis of yoga and its many components. Dr. Kumar has been teaching residential meditation courses in India and the UK since 2008 and has trained meditation teachers to conduct non-residential courses for the registered charity, Traditional Yoga, in the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, India and the US.  He has taught over 100,000 people in India as a public service, focusing on free public health and yoga awareness workshops that address the growing levels of lifestyle related diseases in India. Dr Kumar is a practitioner and teacher of Kayachikitsa, a system of yoga that was practiced in the tradition of Narayana Swamy by the author of HathaYoga Ratnavali. This tradition was passed through his family lineage to Narayana Munindra, with whom Dr. Kumar studied. Dr. Kumar is one of only three people in the world to have been trained in this knowledge and to currently practice this particular system. Kayachikitsa is an ancient science focused on the treatment of physical and mental illness, and with his advanced knowledge this technique, his understanding of medical conditions, and his reassuring compassion, Dr. Kumar continues to bring effective relief to many people. The long-term benefits are the regeneration of the whole body system and the means to achieve and maintain a status of complete health. Dr. Kumar’s personal experience of the therapeutic benefits of yoga inspired him to teach. In 1992 Kumar was involved in a road accident. He suf­fered multiple fractures in the lower spine, hip and pelvic bones. He also lost control over his lower torso and his ure­thra was ruptured. He was told that he would not be able to have children and may not walk again. He was bed rid­den for two years and doctors had little hope for his recov­ery. Finally, he used his deep knowledge of yoga to design a systematic program of treatment for himself with asana and pranayama practice. By the following year, he was mobile and in two years he could run. He resumed practicing around 300 asanas and had his first daughter in 1994. In gratitude for the benefit he has received he has volunteered his time to teaching yoga and meditation for free to thousands of people in India and reviving the ancient system of yoga therapy, Kaya Chikitsa. A government scientist at BARC, Dr. Kumar has been honored with the Homi J. Bhabha award for his excellent contribution in the field of Nuclear Science & Technology and Rajiv Gandhi Excellence award for his meritorious services in the field of Yoga.