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Below, please find answers to some of the questions we are frequently asked regarding our transformational Dharma Yoga Life of a Yogi teacher training program. Please contact us at [email protected] if you don’t find the answer to your question below or on the previous pages dedicated to this wonderful program.
Our current plan is to offer our LOAY 200 Hour July training completely online spread out over the month. We are re-imagining every aspect of this training so that you can all emerge from the experience with a deeper knowledge and understanding of Dharma Yoga, the art and science of Self-Realization, and will feel comfortable and confident sharing this special and sacred knowledge with others. You can find more information and revised schedule on our 200 hour training page here.
Additionally, please take a moment to view our LOAY 200 Hr Virtual Information Session detailing exactly how this training will be executed:
In regards to our scheduled August/October 500 Hour Teacher Training, as the global situation continues to evolve, we continue to try and adapt to it with your safety and that of our staff foremost in mind. While it is our strong feeling that the 2020 500 hour teacher training will most likely be offered online, we plan to delay making a final determination for another week or two. We know it is frustrating to not have a clear answer, but we want to try and make the best decision we can. Having the most current data as time passes definitely helps this process. We thank you for your understanding and patience, and look forward to making and announcing a final determination soon.
Please note the additional FAQs below are mainly geared towards our onsite teacher trainings, however, still contain pertinent and applicable information towards our online model as well. Please keep this in mind when reviewing.
Sri Dharma Mittra has been serving students from all walks of life by disseminating classical yet of the moment yoga for over 50 years, first under his Guru beginning in 1967, and then through his own school since 1975. He trained students to teach on an apprenticeship basis since the early 1980s. In 1999, Eva and Sri Dharma officially inaugurated a complete accredited Eight Limbs of Yoga-based training program. The first group of teacher trainees was comprised of students who had studied with Sri Dharma for several years and were personally invited to participate. This special group led the way for hundreds of Dharma Yoga Registered Teachers (DYRTs) to spread the teachings of Dharma Yoga to those in need everywhere. Today, Dharma Yoga Life of a Yogi teacher training programs are held in New York City multiple times each year.
There are typically a number of students who take part in the DY LOAY 200 and 500-hour TT programs without having a set goal of teaching yoga, and which we openly embrace. We understand that this approach includes a sincere desire to go deeper into personal practice to gain Self Knowledge and to experience Dharma Yoga through direct contact with a living Yoga Master.
Yoga Alliance demands a certain number of contact hours containing a set curriculum to qualify for accreditation. These requirements are met and exceeded in the DY LOAY 200-hour TT offered through the LOAY programming. The ten consecutive days that comprise the hands-on training contain at least 13 to 15 daily contact hours. These ten days represent a complete immersion in the theory and practice which are the essence of Dharma Yoga and the LOAY TT Immersions. An additional minimum of 50 to 100 non-contact hours are gained through required reading, essays on the reading, homework, dietary plans, independent personal practice, teaching/assisting/observing of Dharma Yoga, Karma Yoga-Selfless Service and a variety of other internship opportunities.
Examples include: develop a personal practice / home-study, Karma Yoga, teaching and practice; real world experience teaching public classes to varied populations; organize your own DY events and begin to build your own community of students; work under the supervision of the DY LOAY department.
The LOAY department will guide you through your internship and help support you in its completion. If there is a Dharma Yoga teacher in your area, they will work with you to the extent they can, as well. You will always have support from the LOAY Department by e-mail and phone on all of your questions.
As for additional requirements that might affect out-of-towners, often more than half the participants in any of our TT’s are from all around the world so we are prepared for this as it is our normal mode of operation.
Once you have been accepted and have made your deposit or paid in full, you will be sent a reading list and assignments pertinent to your particular training. If you live within commuting distance of the New York Centers, you should consider starting to take some classes to familiarize yourself with the foundational aspects of Dharma Yoga as taught daily at the Centers. If you live outside the New York metropolitan region, The Maha Sadhana Level I and II DVD’s or YogaVibes online classes are a sure way to gain exposure to Dharma Yoga. If there are Dharma Yoga Registered Teachers where you live, begin taking classes with them. If regular practice is not already a constant in your life, you might consider taking on some aspect of the practice as a way of preparing yourself for the odyssey on which you are embarking. Resting up during the final weeks before the training will ensure that you enter into it better equipped to deal with the mental and physical demands. Finally, it is recommended that you begin to diminish consumption of any meat, poultry or fish in your diet and explore a more plant-based diet to help in your preparation. A requirement of the actual program is that you keep a mostly vegan diet during the actual contact hours of the training to honor the foundational and most crucial teaching of yoga: to harm no living creatures through word, thought or deed. Additionally, this diet will help you feel better in general. Another powerful technique we will be practicing throughout the training is Mouna or Spiritual Silence. It is one of the best practices for purifying the mind as it is a respite from the constant conversation, stimulation and mental activity which are all regular features of our modern mode of existence. Mouna is a Sadhana (spiritual practice) that increases self-control. We will be practicing a modified version of this throughout the training where we ask that you only speak if necessary.
Our invitation to you is to approach the DY LOAY TT sessions as complete retreats. Try to maintain minimal contact with the outside world, only using your cell phone, computer and other wireless devices if absolutely necessary. Allow yourself to arrive free of expectations, set aside what you already know, and let yourself absorb the teachings fully. In other words, our invitation to you is to become a Yogi during our time together.
Every trainee is responsible for his or her own room and board and the expense for these arrangements falls outside the cost of tuition. There are many inexpensive hotels and hostels within walking distance of the Dharma Yoga New York Center where our in-town TT’s take place.
As with accommodations, you are responsible for your meals. It is recommended that you bring snacks that you’ll be allowed to eat during many of the prescribed activities throughout the course of each day. Also, there are many wonderful vegetarian and vegan restaurants and health food stores in the area. A block from the DYC is a lovely little vegan luncheonette which sells prepared foods, smoothies and juices from early morning until late at night. There are also wonderful Kosher gourmet vegetarian Indian restaurants nearby. Raw and vegan restaurants are only a few blocks away, as well. Gramercy Park down to the East Village is a great area for vegetarian dining. Midtown South also has a broad variety of vegan and vegetarian options.
Due to the intensive nature of these programs, you are required to be available for the entire duration of the training. Our on-site hours meet and surpass the Yoga Alliance minimum standards and categories of training. In addition, we require you to learn to lead a Yogic lifestyle throughout your course of study. It is not advisable to start new projects at this time or to schedule other activities. We have set aside this whole time to be with you and expect and want you to be 100% with us. It is best to plan ahead so you do not have any other obligations during the time you are in your immersion with us. Absence is discouraged as you are responsible for any missed hours and will have to pay out-of-pocket for private sessions to make-up the difference.
One of the world’s most venerated Yoga Masters, Sri Dharma Mittra is the creator and foundational guide for the 200, 500, 700, and 800-hour DY LOAY TT immersions. He is also the main teacher for all of the scheduled trainings. The supporting faculty of teachers includes close senior devotees and teachers of Dharma Yoga who live and breathe Sri Dharma’s teachings and message including: Ismrittee Devi Om, Adam Frei, Kim Jeblick, Melissa Capezzuto, Mark Kan, Brittanie Dechino, Gabrielle Sulc, Yoshio Hama, Gerson Frau and Andrew Jones. For more information on our exceptional faculty, please visit our teacher’s page.
Yes. Completing and signing a DY LOAY TT Health/Medical Condition Waiver, completing our Medical History form and submitting a signed doctor’s note clearing your health are basic requirements of this program.
If you have any questions at all, someone from the LOAY department would be happy to speak with you in depth. Call 212.889.8160 or email your question to [email protected].
