Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course June 2027

This is a month-long Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island, Bahamas. It is a residential 200-hour yoga teacher training for people who want to teach yoga or simply live the yogic path in full for four weeks. Students live as part of a working ashram, following the gurukula system in the guru parampara tradition, with swamis and senior staff guiding the days.

The course is Yoga Alliance accredited at the 200-hour standard for Registered Yoga Schools. On successful completion of the course and exam, students receive the Yoga Siromani certificate from the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, designating them a Teacher of Yoga. The program has trained more than 50,000 students over some fifty years, carrying forward Swami Vishnudevananda's aim of building skilled teachers and spreading peace through yoga.

What to Expect

The days follow a fixed ashram rhythm. Morning satsang begins at 6:00 am with meditation, chanting, and a lecture, or a silent walk. Asana and pranayama class runs from 8:00 to 10:00, followed by brunch. Midday brings a Bhagavad Gita and chanting class, and the afternoon holds a two-hour main lecture on yoga philosophy and psychology or anatomy and physiology, then two hours of asana teaching techniques. Dinner is at 6:00 pm, and evening satsang from 8:00 to 10:00 includes meditation, chanting, lectures, concerts, or special events. Free time is set aside between sessions, and some of it is given to karma yoga, an hour of selfless service each day. Attendance at all activities is mandatory.

The curriculum covers Hatha yoga and pranayama (the twelve foundational postures, variations, kapalbhati and anulom vilom), Raja yoga and meditation, Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga and Vedanta, yoga anatomy and physiology, yogic nutrition, and kriyas such as neti and nauli. Teaching practice means guiding classmates through asana, making adjustments, and adapting postures for different needs.

Students have one day off each week. They still attend morning and evening satsang and do their karma yoga, but the rest of the day is free for study, the beach, the gardens, the Well Being Center, or the Yoga Vacation workshops held at the ashram.

Evening satsangs bring in visiting presenters from fields including neuroscience, Ayurveda, psychology, and Indian classical music. The guests during this course include Ram Rao, Chris Niebauer, Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Suzanne Bryant, Tzivia Gover, Debashish Banerji, Shani Robins, and the musicians Indranil Mallick, Indrajit Roy Chaudhuri, and Oindrila Roy Mallick.

About Manish Vyas

Manish Vyas is a professional musician, composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist from Gujarat, India. He has played Indian music since childhood and later turned to sacred and devotional music: mantras, kirtan, and other expressions of the ancient Indian tradition. His central focus is the power of sound, known as naad yoga. He also plays tabla and harmonium. His work draws on ragas to set mantras, poems, and traditional texts, and his collections include Vedic Invocations, Yoga of Chanting, Healing Ragas, and Sufi Splendor. He closes the program with a stretch of kirtan, mantra, and Sanskrit chanting.

The Setting

The ashram sits on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, among gardens and a short walk from the beach. Guests arrive through Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport, and a one-way airport cab is the usual way in. Lodging comes in three forms: a single tent hut with a single bed, nightstand, closet, lamp, and outlet; a double tent hut with a double bed, fan, and towels and bedding; or a private air-conditioned single room within a one-minute walk of shared bathrooms and five minutes from the beach. Tent huts use shared bathrooms a short walk away. Accommodation covers the night before and the night after the course. Two vegetarian meals are served each day, brunch and dinner.

Before You Go

There are no formal prerequisites, and the course welcomes all levels, though it asks for a commitment to daily asana practice and the full residential schedule. Students with recent injuries or certain health conditions are asked to contact the school beforehand. The course is taught in English, and the manual is available in other languages on request.

Tuition includes the manual, lodging, and two vegetarian meals a day, along with two pairs of white yoga pants and two yellow t-shirts issued at the initiation ceremony. Airfare, ground transport, required books, the hatha yoga kriya kit, Bahamian VAT, and personal items are extra. Bring a yoga mat, meditation cushion, toiletries, swimwear, and sunscreen. Tent bookings also need a tent, bedding, and towels.