In 2024, I took over the Foundation Course and Teacher Training Course from Swami Ambikananda.
To date I have completed two Foundation Courses and am currently leading the Teacher Training, excited to be developing new students to become the next generation of Traditional Yoga Teachers with the TYA.
The Foundation Course runs over 4 weekends – one weekend a month. The Foundation Course total 60 hours, and is to also include home study. During this period you will also be required to continue to attend a regular weekly yoga class (if you choose to attend any of my classes during this time there will be no charge).
This Foundation Course is the first level of the TYA’s Teacher Training Programme and completing it is the entry requirement of the Teacher Training Course.
We cover the history of yoga and the historic texts, covering the Vedas and Upanishads, in particular the Isavasya Upanishad, and the Katha Upanishad. We cover Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Within this philosophical aspect, we include the Gunas, and importantly the Ethics of yoga ~ and all 8 limbs.
We cover prana, the Nadis, the tattvas and chakras and koshas of the subtle body, plus several chants in Sanskrit over the course.
With regards to Anatomy and Physiology, we cover body tissue, the significant muscles (as only needed for own practice, as it’s extensive ~ this is covered in more detail on the Teacher Training course), core stability, flexibility, hyper flexibility, the skeletal system, ranges of movement such as flexion and extension, rotation and balance. In addition, we discuss interoception and proprioception. We cover respiration; internal and external, and pranayama, as well as meditation and several meditation practices, bandha, mantra and mudras.
Please note that you do not have to embark on the Teacher Training; some people like to do the Foundation simply to deepen their knowledge and practice.
Upon completion of the Foundation Course, the Teacher Training Course commences. The Teacher Training Course typically takes up to 15 months, depending on the number of delegates on the course. This course delves much deeper into the Anatomy and Physiology, continues with Yoga Philosophy and in addition is the Teaching Module.
There is no limit set in stone, but it has to be within a reasonable timescale. One can embark on the Foundation Course with little or no experience of attending yoga classes, yet to embark on the Teacher Training Course one has to have at least 2 years' experience. Therefore, I feel it reasonable to suggest 3 years would be a maximum, and after that, a refresher would be required as opposed to repeating a full Foundation Course (with the TYA). This is on the assumption that there is a TYA Teacher offering training local to you within that time frame. If not, of course this would be at the discretion of the TYA Tutor.
There is no limit set in stone, but it has to be within a reasonable timescale. One can embark on the Foundation Course with little or no experience of attending yoga classes, yet to embark on the Teacher Training Course one has to have at least 2 years' experience. Therefore, I feel it reasonable to suggest 3 years would be a maximum, and after that, a refresher would be required as opposed to repeating a full Foundation Course (with the TYA). This is on the assumption that there is a TYA Teacher offering training local to you within that time frame. If not, of course this would be at the discretion of the TYA Tutor.
'Does this Foundation course count towards qualifying with other organisations, or is it purely applicable for TYA?'
If you complete the TYA Foundation Course, it really depends on another organisation as to whether they would accept this for you to join their Teacher Training. Certainly, for the TYA, we do not accept students who have completed a Foundation Course elsewhere. The TYA prides itself on being Traditional, and believes the content of its Foundation Course is thorough and true to the teachings of our gurus before us.
Courses are held at my yoga studio west of Reading (RG30 3UE), 5 minutes from Junctions 11/12 M4.
For further details of the Foundation and Teacher Training Courses and dates, please email uddhava@traditionalyoga.org and he will direct you to the TYA Course Tutor nearest to you.
