Frequently Asked Questions -
Yoga Courses & Retreat
Course and Curriculum
Our regular teacher training courses of 200, 300 and 500 hours, feature curriculum on teaching methodology that will equip a trainee with the skills to conduct a classroom and at the end of each course. All our students must pass each subject taught during the course with a written or oral examination.
We have limited seats and our groups are small so we select only genuine seekers who have a background in yoga and who will pledge to teach what is given to them including their personal experiences.
➢ Must be practising yoga for at least one year.
➢ Commit to 90% attendance.
➢ Ready to involve voluntarily in Karma Yoga (selfless service) and various activities of the school.
➢ Send us an application at support@shivatattvayoga.com stating the actual reason(s) of eligibility that should be reflected in their application (we request you to be genuine and honest while writing about this) and convincingly justify yourself for the scholarship.
Teacher training course
➢ Yoga Classes (Mon to Sat).
> One Ayurveda massage every week.
➢ Pranayama, Meditation, Yogic Sleep (Yog Nidra).
➢ Introduction to Ayurveda, Philosophy of Yoga, Mindfulness
➢ Accommodation equipped with attached bathroom and free WiFi
➢ Three Ayurvedic vegetarian diets, vegan and dairy free meals on request
➢ Day Excursion / river rafting (subject to availability), nature walk in the foothills of Himalayas.
➢ Yoga T-Shirt, TTC Manual and a Carry Bag
➢ Guidance, Information and escort services for local sightseeing.
You can apply online and register yourself by filling the registration form. Once we have received your registration form and upon availability we will send you a confirmation email and you can secure your place. We will require a non-refundable 20 percent of the total fee via online payment which is used to reserve your spot. You can use credit card/paypal for the online payment. You can pay the balance amount on arrival and before the commencement of the course/retreat. If you are using Paypal you can also pay at https://www.paypal.me/rishikeshyoga
Though it depends on the individual and it is totally a personal choice however if one prefers to learn beforehand for our syllabus, you can read these books:
➢ Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha by Bihar School of Yoga.
➢ Bhagavad Gita
➢ Yog Sutras by Patanjali
➢ Our course will cover the most important sections of pranayama, yoga asanas, mudras, bandhas, and multi styles anatomy/alignment, meditations, kriyas.
There is no age bar in yoga and we have seen that even in the age of 50+ people have learned yoga and made a successful yogic life. In fact the myth is that yoga is taken more as a physical exercise and activity, while the fact is that yoga is about the spiritual advancement of someone who practises this holistic science for self-realisation.
Our training is very busy six days a week with Sunday as a free day and we understand that our participants need a break from regular class physically and mentally, so we take our participants to nearby nature trails with our team.
As we are located in the foothills of the Himalayas acknowledging the river Ganga and Rishikesh city, which is also known as the world capital of yoga and is full of natural beauty and landscape, we organise our group tours to these places for light outdoor yoga sessions as well as place exploration, fun and photography.
Note: The cost of these trips is included in tuition and comes as an added bonus to attending our school. However if one feels like relaxing and doing their own thing, they are free for the day. Sometimes we may have extra assignments and homework, then we postpone or reduce our two free days into one.
Accommodation & Food
We offer private as well as twin sharing rooms along with an attached bathroom. The tuition fee includes accommodation and three vegetarian meals.
➢ Our food is unlimited and includes tea, if you are a vegetarian you just need to inform us during your arrival and our kitchen will be happy to serve you. We have outsourced laundry facilities at an additional cost.
Yes, we have internet Wi-Fi with good bandwidth for video-streaming and making calls back home. Though the internet/power providers are not stable and reliable some times and we may experience a bad signal and might face internet issues.
If there is a situation while you are coming for TTC, that your friend or partner is coming with you then we are ok with it if you want to share your room but it will depend on availability and will be at an additional charge.
You need enough clothes for a week or two so that you don’t need to wash it or send it to the laundry at least for the first week. Your night clothes should consist of casual trousers and tops which can be worn comfortably while going for morning walk/nature walk or even while going for breakfast.
➢ Any regular pair of walking shoes, especially sports shoes/sandals and slippers if you want to do any kind of water related activities on Sunday outings with the rest of the people and school staff.
➢ Shower slippers, towels and general toiletries.
➢ Do not forget to carry chargers or batteries for electronic gadgets you are carrying like electronics (laptops, tablets, iPads) and if they require a specific plug for charging. Although most of them are available in the local market of Rishikesh.
➢ A backpack (for backpacking, hiking & trekking). though it’s not absolutely necessary if you want to save money, the ground in India is not always paved and smooth, so it is not as good for a luggage bag with wheels as in Western and European countries.
➢ A lamp or flashlight and a small torch for emergencies.
➢ Any essential medicines prescribed by your doctor. Many people carry basic first aid (bandaids, antibacterial cream, etc.). We also advise you to carry medicine for diarrhoea In case you eat outside food or accidentally drink unfiltered/tap water and have issues because of that. All our food and vegetables are properly washed and cooked with purified water, so you never have to worry about getting sick due to your daily meals.
➢ Feminine hygiene products, if required. Please pack more sets of undergarments/socks as you might not be able to wash them on a regular basis or get them washed during training.
Toiletries: Please carry all the basic items you use to maintain your personal hygiene for example: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, face wash, shampoo, body-lotion, shaving kit, deodorants, etc. And there are some things that the climate of the region demands, like sunscreen lotion, or cold cream which should also be carried.
Nail Cutter – apart from cutting nails, additional features of a nail cutter can be used for cutting fruits, opening seals or lids etc. We have laundry facilities also and the same can be availed at a nominal cost.
➢ Glasses or contact lenses – If one wears glasses or lenses, It is good to carry an alternate set as a backup.
Our school doesn’t have any specific dress code. However you should choose yoga wear that hugs your body shape properly, allows easy movement as well as has good stretch for asana practice. We would like to inform you that Indian Culture does not encourage exposing and revealing clothes so you should choose a dress that covers your knees and shoulders.
We would not advise you to carry extra money during your stay as we provide food and accommodation in addition to your daily schedule. We also recommend you carry an ATM card that does not charge international fees. For international travellers, the best and most convenient way is to carry an ATM card with a transaction limit of around $100-150 USD per day. Please check with your bank for transaction fees each time you withdraw money from an ATM machine outside your country.
We do have plenty of Yoga Mats for you to borrow and we will not recommend you to carry yours to avoid extra luggage
Travel & Visa
You can apply for an e-Visa which is valid for 2 months at the website- https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html if your stay is longer than the most common visa, go for a tourist visa (lasts up to 6 months). The earlier rule that a period of 2 months must elapse after leaving India before re-entering has been removed from November 2012.
➢ Important thing to know before applying for a visa: Non-refundable tickets or reservations should not be purchased until you possess all your visa and passport. Although the visa application process has gotten better, it is notorious for not being timely.
If our course is the first activity you are going to do in India, we recommend you book your flights so that you arrive a day or two before the scheduled date of the course. This will allow you some flexibility in travel time for commuting. We have a short orientation session on the first day before the course starts, and classes begin in the morning of the scheduled start date.
It depends on your plan. If you are not planning to explore other places of India, you should book your flight so that you can leave a day or two after the scheduled end date of the course.
Distance of our school from some famous city nearby:
➢ New Delhi – 234 kms
➢ Dehradun – 45 kms
➢ Haridwar – 20 kms
New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), is the closest international airport and from there you can also fly to Dehradun Airport (DED). You can also consider checking if it’s cheaper to fly from New Delhi to Dehradun or commuting by train from New Delhi to Haridwar.
Ideally you should take a morning flight from New Delhi (DEL) to Dehradun (DED) so that you can reach Dehradun maximum by afternoon, however it depends on your international flight and its connecting timings so you can plan accordingly .
In general the flight from New Delhi to Dehradun is only 45 to 60 minutes but again it depends on flight to flight.
We have a tie-up with local transporters and a private taxi will cost around US$60 for a transfer to/from New Delhi airport to our school. There is a maximum of two students who can share a taxi, and you will split the total charge with the other student. Please inform your flight airline number, along with arrival time to avail this paid facility.
➢ For 2 persons by taxi from New Delhi (IGI) – US$ 60
➢ For 4 persons in SUV from New Delhi (IGI) – US $100
The distance from New Delhi airport to our school is roughly 235 Km and depending on the highway traffic it generally takes 6 to 7 hours drive time.
The distance from Dehradun airport to our school is approximately 45 Km and depending on city traffic it is usually a one hour drive.
After depositing your booking amount you are entitled to switch the dates of your course and are valid for one year.
➢ Switching of course/dates is not applicable to scholarship programs.
Health & Safety
Our school is located in Rishikesh in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, which is also known as the world capital of yoga and this place has a spiritual connection as per Hindu mythology. Hundreds of thousands pilgrims visit this land for various sacred rituals from all across the globe . One of the biggest reasons is that the holy river Ganga flows through this state and this river has the highest importance among pilgrims and is also worshipped as Maa Ganga.
Every year a number of yoga and spiritual enthusiasts from all over the world visit this city and it is one of the safest places to be if you are a solo traveller or a solo female traveller. Our Indian culture is based on the principle of Atithi Devo Bhava, that is, the guest is the form of God. The local people here are very welcoming as well as friendly and accustomed to multicultural people, and full of innocence compared to the crowd of Indian metro cities.
This mystical land is for sure a good and safe place for all and we look forward to unforgettable moments for the enthusiast who sees India as a land of mythology, spirituality and human bonding and cultural values.
Our advice is not to drink water straight from the tap. Bathing is fine (as long as you don’t gulp mouthfuls of water).
➢ If you are eating or drinking outside the school you should check whether local restaurants/cafes use filtered water for their ice and drinks.
➢ We prepare our food with purified water and we provide bottled water.
➢ We are not officially medical professionals (in the Western sense of the word), so you are supposed to use your own judgement and research before deciding whether or not to take vaccines.
➢ We also recommend you to check with your doctor if you are allergic to anything in particular.
You should not worry about malaria and/or taking any anti-malarial medication in Rishikesh, as Rishikesh is not in a high risk area for malaria.
➢ Malaria medication can sometimes be a source of nightmares, and is not recommended for long periods of time (30 days). Some travellers carry medicine with them, just in case, but you won’t need to take it in Rishikesh. However, please take our advice with a grain of salt, as we are not medical professionals in the western sense of the world.
Yes we recommend you to take vaccination for Typhoid as generally India has a higher risk for Typhoid, so you should consider this. We would also advise you to do your own research on getting Typhoid vaccines for India.