500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher Training Course
Approved Yoga Alliance Program

Classes begin September 2010

Welcome to the advanced Yoga Teacher Training Program at the 500 level offered by Yoga Gyan Jyoti at Kanyakumari Ayurveda and Yoga Wellness Center. Yoga students (teachers) who want to improve their teaching skills and master their knowledge are invited to join this indepth, intensive training program. The classes meet one weekend per month for ten months. In this program, students enhance their understanding of yoga as a therapeutic science. Trainees have the opportunity to learn how to make adjustments for students suffering from different physical challenges. Ayurvedic practices, pranic healing, pranayama, anatomy and meditation are covered in great detail. In addition, we study the philosophy of the yoga sutras and Bhagavad Gita. Students learn to chant the Vedic mantras and experiment with many meditation techniques.

Poonam Gupta, MA, M Phil, RYT 500, CAE: Poonam grew up with yogic training at home. Her father was her first yoga teacher and taught her asanas, kriyas and the essence of yogic philosophy. Poonam learned how to meditate at a young age and as she grew older her parents taught her the principles of Ayurveda and how to eat holistically. Later on, she received a formal training in India, in Sivananda style of yoga. Poonam has also been trained and certified in US and is a 500 level yoga teacher. Due to her vast training, with teachers in two different cultures, Poonam has developed a very unique style of her own which comprises focus on alignment, Vinyasa flow, pranayama and meditation.

Poonam's rich ethnic background allows her to be a teacher in a wide variety of additional art forms including Hindi, Sanskrit, chanting and singing, Reiki, and Ayurveda. She also conducts regular satsangs in Hindi for Indian community. Her love for yoga and community service transcends the yoga classroom scenario and, as a result, she can be often found volunteering free classes at home, public libraries, spiritual organizations and children's programs.

In Poonam's own daily practice, she includes some cleansing practices, pranayama, acupressure and asanas. Her goal in hatha yoga is to reach a point of relaxation where a deeper understanding of the Self begins.

500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program Dates and Fees