Course Duration: 5 Months
Course start date : 15 September 2020
Course end date : 15 February 2021

Course timings:

Daily classes with Dr. Kumar will be every day Monday through to Saturday, it is strongly recommended that you watch them on the same day as broadcast.

The classes will each last between 2 and 3 hours and students would be required to have some flexibility as some classes may go on longer at times. (If you miss a class you can catch up with that particular video when you get the time).

Classes will be streamed live starting at 5am Indian time, then they will be available to watch at your convenience any time afterwards. If possible, the best time to watch is early morning.

Each training course offered by Dr. Kumar will offer new teaching and new perspectives. The RYT500 will be different content from the RYT200 and will have more emphasis on practice including asana, but particularly looking into shatkriya, pranayama, mudra and bandana and Kaya Chikitsa (yoga body therapy including massage).

Each limb of Yoga is a deep science. 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.

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

he daily class will be between 2 to 3 hours, some days it may even be  longer so each student needs to have some degree of flexibility about time commitment.

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.

“ Dr Kumar in his teaching, takes a big stick of TRUTH dynamite and throws it at the granite rock face of our conditioning. The good news is that the fissures created start to let the light in, the aftershock of those truth bombs cause vibration levels to rise and an awakening begins ! ”-Louise James, Yoga Teacher and student of 200hr Yogi Training

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  teaching of the guru is transformative if the student is completely open minded and able to listen unconditionally. 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.

If possible, depending on Covid-19 risks and social distancing measures, an in-person three day meditation course will be offered as part of the training. All other aspects of the course will take place online

At whatever stage you are on your journey in Yoga, this course will bring new levels of knowledge and understanding. Dr Kumar’s teaches to people of all temperaments, levels and ability.  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.

Please read the code of conduct page carefully to consider whether you are suitable for this course

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 journey for those who are seeking authentic yogic knowledge, but will be rigorous and challenging at times. 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)

This training will strictly follow the discipline of traditional ashrams. Even though we are learning remotely in our own homes, we are responsible for our own self-discipline and will each be carefully following the code of conduct. Prior to registration  you will be sent a joining letter with further information about the course guidelines.

YAMA

The first step of Patanjali’s Noble Eightfold Path is Yama and represents the resolution to give up any action that causes harm to others or ourselves by body, speech or mind. It is the foundation that enables progress in Yoga. The Five Yama are observances outlined by Patanjali:

• Ahimsa – non violence, to remove anger or hatred from the mind
• Asteya – non stealing to remove greed from the mind
• Satya – truthfulness, right speech and abstaining from gossip/ back biting to remove fear from the mind
• Brahmacharya – non sexual misconduct to remove lust from the mind
• Apaarigraha – non addiction to prevent slavery of the mind

You are welcome to attend the course for your own learning without seeking a certificate in which case there is no obligation to complete the quizzes or assignments unless you would like to.

This information applies if you do wish to achieve certification:

Upon completion you will receive a 500 hour Traditional Yoga Teacher Training Certificate, on the condition that all classes have been watched, and that all daily quizzes and course assignments have been completed as required.

Traditional Yoga is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga School. This certificate can be used to register with Yoga Alliance if you wish to apply for their RYT-500 accreditation. However Yoga Alliance accreditation of online teaching after December 2020  is yet to be confirmed (as it is too early to confirm the extension at this time). In the case that the extension is not granted, the course online will continue to finish 500 hrs and a suitable method of granting the certificate will be looked in to.

Please note that Yoga Alliance charge for accreditation and require you to apply within 2 years of completing the training course, please refer to their certification policy. This policy is the same for graduates of all Yoga Registered Alliance Training Schools: http://www.yogaalliance.org

For each class there will be an online quiz with 5-10 multiple choice or true or false questions (takes around 5-10 mins). There will also be at least one set course assignment during the 5 months, details of which will be shared during the training. This could for example take the form of a video demonstration and presentation.

It is only mandatory to do this if you require the course certification but everyone is welcome to participate.

For students who are taking an online Yogi training with Dr Kumar for the first time, the course fee/donation is as shown for the full 5 months.

For students who have undertaken the 2020 online RYT200 course, the course fee will be 50% of the starter price. This policy is offered to all students on a course to course basis who wish to continue to learn with Dr Kumar, so that the course costs reduce as you go on learning.

The course fee can be paid in two instalments over the 5 months.

This course is generously offered by Yoga Healing Foundation. The wish of Dr. Kumar and Traditional Yoga is to give the highest quality teaching at the lowest possible price to support sustainable long term learning and to encourage the spread of authentic Yoga at a time when the world needs it more than ever.

Dr. Kumar is teaching as a volunteer and the entire course in both India, USA and the UK is run by volunteers.

The teaching offered is priceless, however the nominal course fee  will be used to cover the filming and broadcast costs.

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 honoured with the Homi J. Bhabha award for his excellent contribution in the field of Nuclear Science & Technology and Rajiv Gandhi Excellence