Onsite Yoga Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Yoga Farm

The Onsite Yoga Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in Grass Valley, California, is a four-week residential yoga teacher training in the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta tradition. It is for people who want to learn to teach yoga and for those who want to live inside the practice for a month. The course is led by Acharya Swami Sitaramananda with Swami Adiparashaktiananda, Swami Sivasankariananda and Swami Divyananda. Graduates receive the Yoga Siromani certificate of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, and the training is registered toward the 200-hour certification.

What to Expect

Days follow a fixed rhythm. Wake-up is at 5:30 am, and morning satsang (meditation, chanting and a lecture) runs from 6:00 to 7:30. An asana and pranayama class follows from 8:00 to 10:00, then vegetarian brunch. Karma yoga, or selfless service, takes up the hour from 10:45. Midday brings either kirtan or a Bhagavad Gita class. The afternoon holds a main philosophy lecture from 2:00 to 4:00 and a How to Teach Yoga class from 4:00 to 6:00. After vegetarian dinner there is an hour for homework, and evening satsang runs from 8:00 to 9:45 pm. One day each week is free, though satsang is still attended.

The curriculum covers hatha yoga theory, the nadis and chakras, the Sun Salutation and the twelve basic postures, pranayama including Kapalabhati and alternate nostril breathing, and deep relaxation. Meditation studies include techniques, the mechanics of the mind and mantra, with mantra initiation if requested. Yoga philosophy takes in the law of karma, Vedanta, the paths of karma, bhakti, raja and jnana yoga, and the eight limbs. There is also anatomy and physiology, yogic diet and the reasons for vegetarianism, Bhagavad Gita commentary, and kirtan practice.

About the Teachers

Acharya Swami Sitaramananda is a senior acharya of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and director of the Sivananda Ashram Vedanta Yoga Farm in California and of the Sivananda Yoga Resort and Training Center in Vietnam. She is also acharya of China, Taiwan and Japan, and she organizes and teaches the Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training.

Swami Adiparashaktiananda is a dedicated sadhak and an experienced Sivananda yoga teacher and trainer, having taught in international teacher trainings in the USA, Vietnam, Japan and China for more than 16 years. He mainly serves as assistant to Swami Sitaramananda at the Yoga Farm.

Swami Sivasankariananda directs the Los Angeles Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center. She completed her teacher training at the Yoga Farm in 1997 and the advanced course there in 2008, and has made yatra through north and south India and to Mount Kailas.

Swami Divyananda is a sannyasin in the Sivananda tradition who comes from Vietnam. She began practicing yoga at 20 and completed her teacher training in 2016, the Health Educator Training in 2020 and the advanced course in 2022, along with five Sadhana Intensive courses.

The Setting

The training takes place on the grounds of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in Grass Valley. Lodging ranges from bringing your own tent to cabins: Om, Krishna, Siva and the Deluxe Shanti Cabin, each offered as a double or a private room. Two vegetarian meals are served daily. Registration opens at 11:00 am on the Saturday the course begins, and arriving the day before is recommended. The graduation ceremony is held on the final Saturday evening, with departure the next day.

Before You Go

Applicants request a brochure and application form from the Yoga Farm before enrolling. Each tier includes two vegetarian meals, two yoga classes and two satsangs a day. Required reading is the Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Swami Vishnudevananda and the Bhagavad Gita commentary by Swami Sivananda. Recommended titles are Essentials of Yoga Practice and Philosophy by Swami Sitaramananda and Yoga: Your Home Companion. All are sold in the ashram boutique. Bring slip-on shoes, loose comfortable clothing, writing materials, a meditation shawl or blanket, a yoga mat and a flashlight.