Yoga Teacher Training | Yogaville

Yoga teacher training at Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville in Buckingham, Virginia, offered through the Integral Yoga Academy, which has been turning yoga students into yoga teachers for over 50 years. The core program is a 200-hour Integral Yoga teacher training in two parts, led by Swami Divyananda Ma and Saci Murphy, both E-RYT 500. Alongside it sit specialized trainings in pranayama, meditation and yoga nidra for those who want to deepen their teaching.

What Happens

The 200-hour training is one program in two parts. Part 1 is taught online over a number of weeks with Swami Divyananda Ma and Saci Murphy. Part 2 is a residential two-week completion at Yogaville, open to students who have finished Part 1. To begin, you apply through the Part 1 program.

The curriculum covers yoga philosophy and history, instruction in asana, pranayama and meditation, and teaching methodology including class sequencing. There is hands-on practice and feedback, and certification on completion. The aim is to give you a full spectrum of peace practices to offer your community, and many students find their own lives changing along the way.

Specialized trainings run as separate programs:

- Pranayama Teacher Training, five days, with Swami Karunananda and Krishna Howeth, both E-RYT 500. It explores how regulating the breath can energize, strengthen, detoxify and relax the body, and how it can calm, balance and focus the mind.
- Meditation Teacher Training in India, a two-week immersion with Swami Ramananda and Ram Wiener, in the land of Sri Swami Satchidananda. Training takes place in an intimate classroom setting with Integral Yoga instructors and leads to certification as an Integral Yoga Meditation Teacher.
- Yoga Nidra Training for yoga teachers, five days, with Chitra Sukhu.

The pranayama and meditation trainings also count toward the Integral Yoga 300-hour certification.

About Swami Ramananda

Swami Ramananda is an E-RYT 500 and C-IAYT yoga teacher. He co-leads the Meditation Teacher Training in India with Ram Wiener, guiding students through Integral Yoga meditation practice in an intimate classroom setting.

About Chitra Sukhu

Chitra Sukhu is a yoga teacher described as a globally recognized expert in Yoga Nidra and Hatha Yoga. She leads the Yoga Nidra Training, where participants study the healing and restorative practice of Yoga Nidra along with its foundations.

The Setting

Yogaville is the home of Satchidananda Ashram in Buckingham, Virginia, and the site of the residential portion of the 200-hour training. The ashram setting is where Integral Yoga is lived as well as taught, so the two weeks of Part 2 are a full immersion. The meditation training is held in India rather than at Yogaville.

Before You Go

The 200-hour training is foundational and suits all levels. The specialized trainings assume prior yoga study or teaching experience. Part 2 of the 200-hour program requires completion of Part 1. All instruction is in English.

The tradition is Integral Yoga, and the faculty include E-RYT 500 and C-IAYT certified teachers. Early payment discounts are available on some programs, and the academy offers help choosing a training if you are unsure where to start.