Studio Spotlight: Akasha Practice Review
any individuals feel they have a greater calling in life, and that calling is to teach the ancient art of yoga. If you are researching yoga studios to become a certified yoga instructor, you have probably realized there are hundreds upon hundreds of options both online and in the studio. So, how do you choose a yoga studio that is right for you?
Akasha Yoga Academy offers a 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training in the luxurious setting of Bali. If you cannot afford to travel to Bali, however, you can take their 200-hour fully online course that results in the same certification as the 200-hour course in Bali.
Let’s review Akasha Yoga Academy, the certifications you can receive to become a yoga teacher both in their studio and online, and the three course options. That way you can decide if traveling to Bali or studying online with this institution is right for you to expand your knowledge in the ancient art of practicing and teaching yoga.
Article Topics
About Akasha Yoga Academy
Founded in 2011, the Akasha Yoga Academy has trained more than 600 yoga instructors in the art of breath-based yoga. This type of yoga focuses on rhythmic breathing exercises that help your mind enter a deep, restful state of being. It is found to benefit individuals suffering from depression, as well as alleviating stress and anxiety.
The Akasha Yoga Academy claims that you will be empowered and confident to become a self-practitioner in this breath-based Yoga technique after taking one of their three courses available. The academy has three instructors who each come with their own impressive resumes, along with testimonials and accolades from former students:
- Burkhard: One of the founders of Akasha Yoga Academy, he has a Master’s in Critical Psychology from the Free University of Berlin and has traveled in India studying the roots of yoga and spirituality. He is certified at the highest level as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher.
- Kristen: The other founder of Akasha Yoga Academy, she discovered yoga while studying art history and architecture in college and traveled through South India during her early twenties. She is also certified as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the highest level.
- Devdas: Taught yoga for twelve years in India before joining the Akasha Yoga Academy.
As noted above, the teachers are masters within their craft and have decades of experience. They teach everything from breath-based meditation, asana, pranayama, and anatomy, to the fundamentals of reading yoga scriptures. The Akashic Records are essentially a collection of all universal events and connected to your well-being.
The Akasha Yoga Academy assures a safe environment taught with expert guidance and alignment in order to develop the key techniques in breath-based yoga. They also offer an online community that includes daily Zoom calls so that you can ask questions, listen to others, and build connections with others that will last a lifetime.
Yoga Certifications Offered
The curriculum at the Akasha Yoga Academy is certified and accredited by the International Yoga Alliance. After completing one of the three sessions offered, you will attain the certification needed to be a Registered Yoga Teacher RYT-200. This means you have successfully completed at least 200 hours of yoga teacher training.
If you opt for the 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teaching Training, you can use this ending certification towards achieving the highest Yoga certification level that is held by the Akasha Yoga Academy trainers. This is because completion of this longer course entitles you to register as an RYT-500 Yoga Teacher.
Only yoga institutions that are registered with the International Yoga Alliance can train teachers for this RYT-200 certification and all the training hours must be completed at Akasha Yoga Academy in order to meet the 200-hour requirement. You will be learning from lead instructors who are certified at the highest level, RYT-500.
The online option at Akasha Yoga Academy results in the exact same certification as the on-site course. Once you receive your certification in the 200-hour, online option, you will receive a qualified Yoga Alliance certificate that encompasses the exact same value and RYT-200 level of importance as if you would have taken 200 hours in Bali.
Online Yoga Teacher Teaching Certifications
The instructors at Akasha Yoga Academy understand that everyone cannot pack up and travel to Bali for a week to become a yoga teacher. Therefore, they offer a flexible, 200-hour certified online Yoga Training Course. This is a home study program that can either be taken live online or done at your own pace through pre-recorded sessions:
- Four-week, full-time intensive course
- Twelve-week, part-time course
- Slower-flowed course spread over three to six months
That way, you can study at your own convenience. This option is perfect for those who want to become a yoga instructor without having to pay thousands for a plane ticket to Bali or have to take off work for the required week-long course. You can study at a pace that fits your life in order to complete the 200 hours required to be a certified teacher.
At completion, you will receive an internationally recognized Yoga Instructor Certificate without leaving your home and you can then sign up as a Registered Yoga Teacher after fully completing the online course. This online course focuses on four parts of breath-based Hatha Yoga in the Vinyasa Krama style of Krishnamacharya:
- Practice and theory
- Anatomy and posture
- Yoga physiology
- Practicum and how to get started
You will learn everything from asana, pranayama, and meditation to posture study, yoga anatomy, and finally teaching and instructor skills and techniques. All of this is personally supervised by the experts with daily live sessions, guided preparation, recorded videos, and one-on-one feedback of your progress.
Yoga Classes Offered
If you decide you would like to travel to Bali for their in-person yoga classes, you can choose between the 200- and 300-hour, weeklong courses. The 200-hour certification includes 20 hours of compulsory online course preparation and then 180 of teaching onsite in Bali. The 300-hour course is 30 compulsory hours online and 270 hours onsite.
The 200-hour Hatha Yoga certification course is a three-week, full-time immersion course into the Heart of Hatha Yoga and an introduction to the philosophical and spiritual roots of this ancient tradition. The schedule runs Monday through Saturday, with Sundays off, from 7:00 a.m. through 7:30 p.m. The 200-hour curriculum includes:
- Techniques, training, and practice is posture, pranayama, and meditation
- Anatomy of the body, the skeletal and muscular system, along with other systems within the body
- Yoga humanities, which includes the history, scope, and classical paths of yoga and hatha yoga
- Other professional essentials and practicum training that concludes with a 90-minute final exam
If you want to strive for the highest level of certification, the 300-hour yoga classes include the essentials of the 200-hour certification course and a similar curriculum of teachings, practices, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, and practicums. But, this is a one-month, full-time immersion split into three phases:
- Advanced Hatha Yoga and Pranayama
- Yin Yoga and Mediation
- A six-day silent retreat
The 300-hour training program is a combination of strong self-practice, slow-paced contemporary Yin Yoga, and a combination of Hatha, Pranayama, and meditation. This option also runs from 7:00 a.m. through 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, with Sundays off. However, it also has a retreat schedule from 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m
Contact Akasha Yoga Academy
The onsite courses at Akasha Yoga Academy are located South of Ubud, the Balinese Yoga capital of southeast Asia. There are different accommodation options and packages in which to choose, from single rooms with a shared bathroom to deluxe, luxurious villas that include a private bathroom and a pool.
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a yoga instructor through the training of the Akasha Yoga Academy, you can contact them fully online through their Web site. Their Website has free previews of their teachings so you can review whether the teaching style of the three instructors is right for you.
If you find the videos impressive, you can sign up for any one of the three courses offered to become a certified yoga teacher. You can use the contact form found on their Webpage for more information on joining their team. Then, you can live a life that many other yoga instructors have found, which is a life of purpose, passion, and inner peace.
You may also want to pursue their Asana guide, which demonstrates 26 different poses, and their Chakra guide for details on the seven different Chakras that are essential to spiritual development in the world of yoga. Learn more about Chakras in these chakra courses online. There is also an online blog that offers articles of inspiration, writings from graduates, and other moving stories about yoga.
Akasha Yoga Academy Costs
Taking one of the three courses at the Akasha Yoga Academy is not inexpensive, but comparable to other options out there today:
- 200-hour online Yoga Teacher Training: Usually $1,700, currently has a 50% discount of $850
200-hour on-campus course in Bali:
- Tuition and breakfast is only $2,500
- Budget shared (tuition, breakfast, lunch, shared dorm, airport pickup) – $2,800
- Budget private (tuition, breakfast, lunch, private single room, shared bathroom, airport pickup) – $3,000
300-hour on-campus course in Bali:
- Tuition is only $3,500
- Family pass for graduates of the 200-hour program (tuition and breakfast included) – $2,900
- Budget shared (tuition, breakfast, lunch, shared dorm, airport pickup) – $3,900
- Budget private (tuition, breakfast, lunch, private single room, shared bathroom, airport pickup) – $4,300
There is also an inclusive comfort option for both the 200- and 300-hour options that includes tuition, breakfast, lunch, airport pickup, and a private single studio with a shared pool. You will need to contact the Akasha Yoga Academy for specific prices since they are not listed specifically on their Web site.
If you sign up for two months before the course start day, they are offering $300 off for both the 200 and 300 hours taken at their location in Bali. You can visit their website for more information and then decide if you are ready to take the next step in contacting the experts at the Akasha Yoga Academy and delving into the world of yoga instruction.
Outro
Joining one of the three courses at Akasha Yoga Academy is not cheap, but you can download their free brochure and access sample classes through their Web site to see if one of the courses is right for you. That way you can check out the styles of each of the three instructors and acclimate yourself to the online and on-campus teachings.
The instructors at the academy have impressive resumes and having the online option gives anyone from around the world the same opportunity to become a certified yoga teacher. As with any investment such as this, you will want to compare the curriculum, coursework, and prices to other available yoga instruction to see if this is right for you.
(Looking for more yoga schools to check out? You should look at Siddhi Yoga School Review as well as the Brett Larkin Yoga School review!)
