Creating a Community of Teachers

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.

What Our Graduate Teachers Have to Say

Some of our grads have been kind enough to offer a few words about their experience with Teacher Training at Spirit Rising Yoga..
Click here to read what past graduates have to say.

Course Schedule

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 every 3rd weekend 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:

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.

Kenny Velez /Guru Kar Singh Memorial Scholarship Fund

Kenny Velez/Guru Kar Singh was a beloved friend and an extraordinary yoga teacher who taught with integrity, nobility and grace. His passion for gardening and organic cooking was exceeded only by his love for the many souls around him. He was deeply loved, known for his 'exuberant compassion' in putting others first as a trusted listener, provoking soul and nurturing friend. Guru Kar Singh lived as a yogi and inspired many students 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.

To request an application for the
Kenny Velez/Guru Kar Singh Memorial Scholarship
for Level 1 Teacher Training 2011-2012,
email info@spiritrisingfoundation.org
or click here
to print an application form

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.

Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training Certification
at Spirit Rising Yoga 2011-2012 Course Schedule*

*All dates are subject to change. Participants will be given advance notice of any schedule changes
**Participants are required to attend 5 Group Morning Sadhanas during the course.

2011 - 2012 Course Tuition

Our course provides each Trainee with an unparalleled experience of the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, which could be considered "priceless". Please refer to the Tuition Schedule below for details. We also offer a generous payment plan on a case by case basis, so please ask us about the terms that might make it easier for you to take the course at this time.

$ 3100* if paid in full by the starting date of the program, October 8th, 2011
$ 3300* if paid in regular installments (as specified in contract)
$ 2790* for full-time high school/college students with ID*

- Completed registration form and deposit of $600* (applicable to tuition) are due by September 10th, 2011 ($175 non-refundable).
- Tuition does NOT include registration for the White Tantric Yoga course or the cost of the required 20 yoga classes outside of KYTT.
- Refunds are determined on a case by case basis. See your contract for full details.

* A 3% processing charge is added to all credit card transactions.

The Course Facilitators and KRI Teacher Trainers reserve the right to grant KRI Certification based solely upon their discretion and evaluation of each student's readiness to be a Kundalini Yoga instructor. Evaluation will be based on the student's successful completion of the KRI Teacher Training course requirements as outlined in the course contract.