Master Level 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training, Rishikesh

Master Level 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training takes place at Tattvaa Yogashala in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. It is a long-form yoga teacher training for people who want to study at the 500 hour level in one of the best-known yoga towns in the world. The school lists the training as a residential program, with a choice between sharing a room with one other participant and having a private room.

Tattvaa Yogashala runs yoga teacher trainings at several levels, and this is the most extended of its Rishikesh programs. The 500 hour course is scheduled over 51 days, longer than the school's 200 hour (about 19 days) and 300 hour (about 23 to 25 days) courses in Rishikesh. Anyone considering it should expect an unhurried, immersive stretch of study rather than a short intensive.

What to Expect

The length of the program is its defining feature. Fifty-one days in one place means the training can settle into a steady rhythm of study and practice instead of a rushed overview. People who choose a 500 hour course usually want more than a first certificate: time to deepen their own practice and to build the footing for teaching with confidence.

The school offers its teacher trainings in a residential format in Rishikesh, so the days are organized around the program itself. A detailed daily timetable and session times are not something this description can promise, and it is worth asking the school for the current schedule when you apply.

The Setting

Rishikesh, in Uttarakhand, is a town with a long association with yoga and meditation, and it makes a natural home for a long teacher training. Tattvaa Yogashala is based there, and the program is held at the school.

Accommodation is offered in two forms: a shared room for two people, or a private room. Choosing the private option costs more than sharing, so it is worth deciding early which suits you. The school also runs trainings and retreats in Bali, Goa, Kerala and Nepal, though this 500 hour course is the Rishikesh program.

Before You Go

Applications are made directly through the school, and places in some of its Rishikesh trainings do fill up, so it helps to apply well ahead of the start. The school lists the 500 hour training as open to application for its upcoming batches.

Because the course is long, plan for the whole stretch: time away from work, travel to Rishikesh, and the practical side of living at a school for several weeks. Choose your room type when you apply.

If you are earlier in your training, the same school offers 100, 200 and 300 hour courses, including Ashtanga-focused versions, which may be a better starting point before committing to the 500 hour level.