Participate in a life-transforming experience in a community of others who share your interests. Throughout the course, personal development and self-awareness are encouraged through meditation, essays, interactive group exercises and teaching practice to deepen self-knowledge and confidence and develop group skills. Students gain teaching skills first amongst their classmates and then through practicums under the supervision of experienced teachers.

You'll discover an exceptional group of like-minded individuals who will share this deep experience into the teachings. "Community happens" through all the yoga and meditation the group does together. Life-long relationships and deep bonds of trust form with peers that fulfill the longing of the soul for fellowship and spiritual community.

Gain the credentials and experience to teach others professionally.

The program combines 180 classroom hours with 40 hours of home study and leads to professional certification by the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) and membership in the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers' Association (IKYTA). A one-year Associate Membership in IKYTA is included in the course.

Spirit Rising Yoga Center is a Yoga Alliance Certified 200 hour Yoga School. The classroom hours and home study hours total 220 hours, so graduates meet the requirements for registration by the Yoga Alliance at the RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) 200 hour level.Course Requirements

Course Requirements include an application and entrance interview, attendance and participation in all class sessions, completion of all written and practice assignments, 5 Morning Group Sadhanas, 20 Kundalini Yoga classes taught by KRI certified teachers outside of Teacher Training (during the nine months of the program), a passing grade on the KRI written exam and satisfactory completion of the teaching practicum, course evaluations and exit interview.

This is a program which is designed to balance your work schedule and activities. It will give you an intensive experience of learning and practicing yoga while still being able to maintain your regular work schedule and personal activities.

This eight month course is centered around sessions meeting on weekends which combine yoga classes with classroom instruction, discussion, and teaching practicums. Each session focuses on a specific area of yoga practice, experience, and knowledge that is essential for every serious student and teacher of yoga. The course schedule allows time off for holidays, home study, completion of written assignments, and opportunities for processing and integrating the experiences of the training into everyday life.

Each month you will receive a detailed calender of the month's schedule of sessions, topics, home reading and practices.
See below for Course Schedule and Tuition information.

Curriculum

Experiential, interactive coursework provides the participants with a solid groundwork in the theory and practice of the sacred science of Kundalini Yoga:
  - Yogic and Western anatomy
  - Yogic philosophy & the origin of Kundalini Yoga
  - The mind & meditation
  - Kundalini Yoga postures and kriyas
  - Mantra, mudra & sound, the Science of the Shabad Guru
  - Developing and maintaining a daily yogic practice
  - 3HO yogic lifestyle, vegetarian diet and Humanology, the Yogic technology of relationships
  - The evolution of yoga through the historical epochs
  - Structured teaching practice
  - An invaluable toolbox of the best Kundalini yoga sets, pranayams and meditations
  - The Code of Ethics of a Kundalini Yoga teacher
  - How to market your classes and present yourself professionally as a teacher
  - The role and identity of a Kundalini Yoga teacher
  - Introduction to reading Gurmukhi script
  - Many opportunities to hear first-hand stories of Yogi Bhajan and the early days of Kundalini Yoga in the West.

Mentor Program

This unique program carefully matches each trainee with a mentor who is a graduate from a previous Kundalini Yoga teacher training program who supports and nurtures your progress. The mentors work with the trainee during the breaks to be an active part of the self-transformation assignments outside of class. We offer this program to build another layer of community and many graduates report that this feature greatly deepened their relationship with the teachings and their personal practice.

The White Tantric Yoga Course

The White Tantric Yoga Course is an essential component of the KYTT certification course. Graduates have reported that experiencing White Tantric Yoga helped them grasp their unlimited potential for personal growth. This one-day meditation course is both challenging and uplifting. It rises us to the heights of our excellence and crystallizes our commitment to transformation. It is an experience unsurpassed for its power and ecstasy. White Tantric Yoga is practiced in pairs as a group meditation. You will sit facing a partner and follow instructions for meditation given on a video tape by the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan. Every course is facilitated, in person, by a representative of the Mahan Tantric. Attendance in this course is a requirement for certification.

About Kundalini Yoga and Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga, arrived in the United States in 1969 with a stated purpose: "I have come to create teachers, not to gather disciples." For over 30 years, he traveled internationally, teaching Kundalini Yoga, the Yoga of Awareness and the 3HO lifestyle. He founded Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization, (3HO), based on his first principle: "Happiness is your birthright." Through the Aquarian Teacher Program thousands of people's lives have been transformed as they gained their teachers' certification in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. IKYTA was formed in 1994 to further spread these priceless teachings through the united efforts of Kundalini Yoga teachers worldwide.

If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something,
write about it. If you want to master something, teach it."   ~ Yogi Bhajan

Kenny Velez /Guru Kar Singh Memorial Scholarship Fund

Kenny Velez/Guru Kar Singh was a beloved friend and an extraordinary yoga teacher with integrity, nobility and grace. His passion for gardening and organic cooking was exceeded only by his love for all. He lived as a yogi and inspired others to excel in the face of difficulty. Kenny was doubly committed to teacher training, participating first in KRI's Level 1 Teacher Training program in New York City, and then graduating from the Spirit Rising Yoga Teacher Training program in 2008. He was a dedicated teacher who made every effort to improve the lives of his students and people around him until his untimely passing in April, 2009.

To honor his legacy, Spirit Rising Foundation established the Kenny Velez/Guru Kar Singh Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2009. Contributions to this fund will assist aspiring Kundalini Yoga teachers participate in the Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training Course by providing needed financial support in meeting its tuition costs.

A key requirement of the Scholarship is post graduation 25 hours of Seva teaching yoga to a preselected under-served population.

To request an application for the Kenny Velez/Guru Kar Singh Memorial Scholarship for Level 1 Teacher Training 2013-2014, email info@spiritrisingfoundation.org

Special Yoga Classes and Events

You'll also have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular events, such as group meditations, workshops and classes with other yoga teachers and students. Optional yoga field trips are planned for those who want to deepen their practice, as well as special advanced classes and informal get-togethers.

Course Materials

Three excellent books are the primary texts for the KRI Level 1 Teacher Training Course. Participants will receive the Aquarian Teacher KRI Level 1 Teacher Training Textbook, an invaluable reference tool for learning and deepening one's knowledge about Kundalini Yoga. Each page takes you to new levels of understanding. The Aquarian Teacher KRI Level 1 Teacher Training Manual is a compendium of the most important Kriyas and meditations for a Kundalini Yoga teacher to have at their side while teaching. The Master's Touch is an inspiring and powerful volume of lectures and meditations given by Yogi Bhajan focusing specifically on the process of becoming a teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. You will also receive other materials that will assist in your course work.