Andean Yoga School — Písac, Peru

A yoga school in Pisac, Peru, teaching through the Andean Cosmovision

Pisac sits at 2,970 metres, about an hour from Cusco, with ruins on the ridge above the town and the Urubamba river below. The Andean Yoga School teaches here, and it builds its training on a structure most teacher trainings do not carry: the Andean Cosmovision of three worlds, held together by the Chakana, the stepped Andean cross. Each world is paired with an idea from yoga. Uku Pacha, the serpent and the inner world, meets samskāra, the imprints that steer what we do next. Kay Pacha, the puma and the present, meets dharma. Hanan Pacha, the condor and the upper world, meets sādhana and seva, sustained practice and service. The school teaches them in that order and says the order is the point, because purpose built without looking at the past tends to repeat it. Daya, the founder and lead instructor, brings more than twelve years of teaching yoga, creating community projects and exploring ancient paths and traditions. The core offering is a 200-hour teacher training, 21 days in the Sacred Valley, registered with Yoga Alliance at RYT 200 level. Students study asana, pranayama, anatomy and philosophy, and they are given assignments rather than only lectures: a day alone on the mountain, a return to a place that marked them, an offering. Then the group goes back over it together, in a loop of experience, practice, reflection and integration. The school is candid about the certificate. It meets an international standard, but being ready to hold a room is not certifiable, and that, it says, is most of what the training is for. Places are limited by design. Kailin teaches pranayama and mantra, Jordy pranayama and coaching, and Juani Yin and AcroYoga. Shorter retreats include the Yanantin Retreat, built on the Andean idea of duality, and a seven-day New Year retreat.

Traditions: Andean Cosmovision, Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, Yin Yoga, AcroYoga, Mantra and Bhakti Yoga

Programs: 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training (21 days), Yanantin Retreat, 7 Day New Year's Retreat (Dec 27 to Jan 2), Chakana-sequenced curriculum of the three worlds, Clarity Call with Daya