Himalayan Yoga Institute

At The Himalayan Yoga Institute, we pride ourselves on helping people to improve their lives and find their passion and life purpose. We maintain small class sizes to make sure that all of our students, whatever they are learning, get plenty of personal attention. Our main focus is to equip you with the skills and tools which will allow you to shine as a yoga teacher. We have therefore put a lot of thought into creating a highly comprehensive and well-rounded Yoga Teacher Training course. At the moment we offer yoga training courses in the Indian Himalayas and on a lovely island in Croatia. We offer a superb course, providing you with powerfully sequenced, pre-designed class templates, ready for you to use as soon as you begin your teaching career - so you can start teaching straight away, tips on public speaking and how to use your voice, practical advice on how to use modifications and prevent injuries. We also teach the principles of sequencing so you can be creative and design your lesson plans based on these principles. You will get introduced to teaching methodology and actually practice teaching while on the course - with detailed feedback so you can fine-tune your teaching skills before having to face the 'real world' - and lots more. What do we teach? The school of yoga is Ashtanga Rajadhiraja based on the 8 limbs of Patanjali’s system of Ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with the Ashtanga Vinyasa style) There are so many different styles of yoga – it can all get a little confusing! Here we will explain what Rajadhiraja Yoga is in order to help you understand what we teach. This is probably the most frequently asked question we get asked here at the Himalayan Yoga Institute. Unlike other ‘styles’ of yoga, Rajadhiraja Yoga is not a style of yoga as such but rather a school of yoga. Broadly speaking it is classical yoga encompassing a variety of practices. What in today’s world is understood as a style of yoga mainly pertains to the style or way in which asanas are performed or executed. Classical yoga however, the way yoga was traditionally practiced, is far more comprehensive and not limited to asanas alone. Classical or Raja Dhiraja yoga is a complete system of self-transformation, including a wide variety of practices, designed to develop body, mind and soul. The fundamental techniques of yoga were systematized by Shiva - a great personality and spiritual master who lived around 7000 years ago. Over time the original systematization of yoga as given by Shiva was distorted and some aspects were misunderstood and lost. About 2100 years ago an attempt was made by a sage called Patanjali, to reclassify the techniques into what he called Ashtanga, or eight-limbed, yoga. This original eight-limbed path is the basis, the overall structure of all present day forms of yoga and is sometimes also called Raja Yoga, or ‘the yoga of kings’, implying that the yogi never feels subjugated by anyone. Raja Dhiraja Yoga, or in other words, ‘the yoga of the king of kings’ is a more extensive and comprehensive form of Ashtanga Yoga. This term was first coined by Ashtavakra, author of the famous philosophical text AshtavakraSamhita over 2000 years ago The present day form of Raja Dhiraja Yoga uses the eight-limbed structure as its basis, but includes techniques of the original system, given by Shiva, which were lost or overlooked – clarifying and correcting misinterpretations – and with recent additions brings the whole practice into relevancy for modern day life and human psychology. In terms of asana practice (which is just one of the limbs, the 3rd limb, of Patanjali's Ashtanga yoga), a specialty of the Raja Dhiraja school is that there is great emphasis on proper breathing and certain aspects of pranayama are incorporated in the asana practice as well. This is important, because pranic energies are to be awakened and moved throughout the body during asana practice in order to restore balance and to direct prana, or vital energy, to various inner organs and glands. When this is accomplished, asana practice results in a general sense of well-being, which can be felt on the physical, mental and emotional level. Hence, the emphasis is on proper breathing, proper positioning and a quiet but persistent flow of movement. Raja Dhiraja yoga is today the most complete form of yoga – an all-round systematic and scientific process for the development of body, mind and soul. So, as you will be exposed to the teachings of Raja Dhiraja yoga you will be introduced to an entire system, a school of yoga not just a style. Once you have such a comprehensive and broad fundament or basis in terms of yogic practices, you will be able to apply a more "Hatha" style or "Vinyasa" style to your asana practice - using the terms as they are popularly used today. Both, the holding of postures for a prolonged period of time as well as a vinyasa practice will be provided and taught during the course. Our Logo The Logo of the Himalayan Yoga Institute is a representation of the heart chakra with its 12 petals and a blooming lotus at its centre symbolizing the awakening of spiritual love and awareness. Finding our way back to our heart allows us to realise the power, beauty and innate wisdom of our inner Self. For more information about our teacher training courses visit: www.himalayanyogainstitute.com

We also offer 200h online yoga teacher training courses:

https://www.himalayanyogainstitute.com/200-hour-online-yoga-teacher-training/