Intensive Ashram Yoga Teacher Training
I had the fortune to invest one month in an intensive yoga teacher training course (TTC) at Sivananda ashram in the Bahamas.
I was already a certified yoga teacher following my completion of Ashtanga-based training in Chicago three years ago. Teaching yoga never became my profession, but the training gave me a powerful glimpse into mind behavior and triggered a series of life changes.
I had collectively spent about five months across a few Sivananda locations, including three months doing Karma Yoga at this ashram in early 2018. This place had become my favorite spiritual destination with its lush tropical campus, translucent Caribbean ocean, and a group of amazing resident teachers. Sivananda’s physical yoga sequence also had tremendous impact on my body – my spine actually bends now!
I had returned to the workforce in September 2018, and February seemed like a good time for a pause, not to mention optimal time to trade in Chicago winter. It was also my birthday month, and I could not think of a better birthday gift for myself. Once all those factors lined up, it was an easy decision. Also proved to be a good one!
What makes Sivananda TTC so unique?
Sivananda TTC was much different from the yoga teacher training I did part time at a local studio while working full time. Both qualified for 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) certification by Yoga Alliance. The one I had done met weekly and on alternating weekends over the course of five months. Daily yoga practice was encouraged but often overshadowed by demands of everyday life. I was brand new to yoga philosophy and other aspects of yoga, and it was exactly what I needed at the time.
In contrast, at Sivananda TTC, you lived a yogic life 24/7 in an ashram environment for a whole month. That meant immersing in yogic community, eating vegetarian meals, and enjoying open air and clean surrounding in rich nature, with little contact with the modern world. There was no separation of school life vs. home life. This was an ideal setup for transformation.
Sivananda TTC began with an inauguration ceremony and ended with a graduation ceremony, which were celebrated by the whole ashram. The resident priest performed auspicious rituals to bless us during the ceremonies. We were provided two pairs of uniforms, consisting of bright yellow T-shirt (color to stimulate learning) and white pants, which made us easy to spot. Our main lectures were held in a temple. We were supported by countless blessings.
Unlike a standard teacher training that revolves around one main teacher, we had FIVE teachers covering respective areas (physical yoga, philosophy, scripture study, meditation & chanting, and anatomy). Four of the teachers were permanent staffs who were basically monks. They lived and breathed the yogic life, and the quality of their teachings was outstanding.
A significant side benefit of Sivananda TTC was the bond you built with your classmates. Our class of nearly 40 students consisted of diverse backgrounds and ages from all over the world. Though the hectic schedule limited social time, we lived together in the greater ashram community and shared profound experience day in and day out. In the end, we merged into one big family.
With prices starting at US$2,400 (tent living) and including accommodation and all meals, it was not a bad deal at all.
The TTC Program
The core mission of Sivananda TTC is to train future leaders of humanity and peace warriors. The program was expansive and included much yoga philosophy in addition to physical yoga exercise. We also learned chanting, anatomy, and physical purification to help elevate our overall well-being.
The training schedule was probably the hardest aspect of the program for many. The day started with a wake-up bell at 5:30am to prepare for morning Satsang (meditation, chant, and lecture) and ended around 10pm with evening Satsang. Daytime was nonstop lectures and classes one after another. We did get a one-hour break in the afternoon (efficient classmates squeezed in beach time) and another break either in the morning or evening for homework and shower. We also got one day off of classes every week, which was a huge bonus even though much was spent studying and catching up on sleep.
The program was open to anyone including beginners. In essence, if we could keep up with the schedule, show up to classes and do daily homework, we were bound to succeed.
I commend all those who came to take TTC without prior ashram experience (the majority) for their courage to plunge into the unknown. In India, yoga was traditionally taught by living with a teacher for 12 years. This program had compressed it into a month. It must have felt overwhelming to many and there were lots of tears. But it was remarkable to see my classmates persevere, live up to the challenge, and come out transformed.
My experience
I was used to the ashram schedule from my karma yoga days and thoroughly enjoyed 5 hours of lectures and teaching classes instead of working. The well-developed curriculum allowed me to go much deeper in yoga philosophy. I also gained new appreciation for the power of a lineage, which was once a foreign concept to me. It was through those individual teachers that the knowledge had been passed on in an unbroken string for thousands of years.
Even though I had been practicing Sivananda yoga daily for a year, I was pleasantly surprised to learn many new variations. Each time enforced beginner mentality as I tried to put the body in a new way. And on rare occasions when it succeeded, it was like finding a hidden talent in my body.
As a TTC student, we were also given an opportunity to receive a mantra and a spiritual Sanskrit name with the support and blessing from the lineage. I did both.
The name given to me was rather a strange sounding one: Daya Devi. Daya means compassion and Devi means goddess. So goddess of compassion?? Hmmm… Honestly, it does not quite resonate with me at the moment.
But I have full faith it will unravel over time and may even make sense at some point. That is pretty much how my life has been the past two years. I have experienced the magic of letting a path unfold time and time again, even as I got back to doing financial work, which might seem far from spirituality. I have finally come to feel comfortable with not knowing and simply trusting, which itself is a blessing.
So for now, I can focus on enjoying the benefits of the training, applying them in day to day life, and do my added job as a certified peace warrior. I look forward to finding out what my new name actually means one day.
May all beings live in peace and harmony.
Daya Devi
Link to Sivananda Ashram Bahamas Teacher Training: https://www.sivanandabahamas.org/visiting-the-ashram/yoga-teacher-trainings/