The Kula Curriculum

Our Yoga Teacher Training is a holistic program based on the understanding that to understand Yoga you must first understand Self...

body, mind, and spirit.

Useful links:   All Offerings  -   200 HR YTT   -   300 HR YTT   -   Kula Retreats   -  Continuing Education  -  Locations  -   Discounts & Grants

The Chakana, or Andean Cross, acts as the guide and foundational structure for our courses, encompassing the Lower, Middle, and Upper Worlds, each focusing on different types of movement, diet, meditation and intention. The levels allow us to move up through the layers of our self-understanding, to reveal the wise, light-filled beings that we are.

We bring to life the ancient teachings of Yoga through accessible spiritual lessons, a solid foundation in Yogic philosophy, and a daily Holistic Yoga practice.

Every day our teachings flow through each of the four following arts...

Elements of the Yoga Teacher Training Program

The Yoga Alliance has set a widely-accepted international standard for Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) programs which includes a minimum hour requirements across five areas of teaching: techniques, philosophy/lifestyle/ethics, teaching methodology, anatomy, and a teaching practicum. Find out how Kula Collective explores these teaching areas in our Yoga Teacher Training programs...

The Kula Flow

The Kula Flow is a slow vinyasa based sequence with an emphasis on mindfulness, breath, meditation, and alignment. 

Useful Links: Curriculum  -  200 HR Syllabus  -  300 HR Syllabus 

Vinyasa means to intellectually place or arrange in a special way. We make sure our students have a solid foundation and understanding of the poses with equal importance on the transition from one posture to another.

We understand that the physical practice is a vehicle to the mental and emotional work that comes up and helps us to reflect on how we move through our lives; encouraging fluidity and awareness. When we align the body, we can easily access the alignment of the mind and spirit. 

Since vinyasa is not derived from any one lineage, as a collective we have come up with a creative sequence rooted in multiple traditions. The Kula Flow is has roots in Ashtanga, Sivananda, Kundalini, Hatha, and Iyengar. The intention of the flow is to give students an opportunity to access the stillness of the mind, preparing the body for meditation; the foundation of Yoga. 

It is important to us that the practice has an intention based on yogic philosophy that can be weaved throughout the class while still giving students space in their practice to explore any resistance that may surface so that they can ultimately find lightness in their bodies and their mind.

We dive deep into the 4 traditional paths of Yoga, which are… 

1. Bhakti - Devotion

We open with a chant in order to center our selves and invoke energy to assist us as we flow through our practice. 

2. Jnana - Knowledge

We utilize relevent themes to help lift the veil of who we are not, in order to reveal who we are… our truest, highest Self.

3. Raja - eight Fold Path

A systematic approach to Yoga that emphasizes the benefits of meditation for spiritual self-realization and the purposeful evolution of consciousness.

4. Karma - Selfless Service

Offering a dedication to that which is greater than you so you may be guided to flow into harmony with the Oneness of being.

The Kula Flow is a philosophical journey through the Eight limbs of yoga inspired by the teachings of the ancient sage Patanjali. Sutra literally means to thread, so you will experience this weaving of these important concepts throughout the class, leaving you with a better sense of your Self. 

The eight limbs include ... 

1. Yamas - Social ethics and guidelines (external)

2. Niyamas - Observances (internal)

3. Asana - sitting comfortably with Self

4. Pranayama - letting the breath flow with intention and ease 

5. Pratyahara - Withdrawal of senses 

6. Dharana - Concentration

7. Dhyana - Meditation

8. Samadhi - Transcendance

The Kula Flow provides an experience to look inward and fulfill our Soul’s purpose. It encourages us to find contentment in the present moment. When in the flow we recognize that there is nowhere we need to be, there is nowhere we need to go. This moment is entirely perfect, exactly as it is. We invite you to come practice with us, so that we can begin the process of stilling the mind in order to remember who we are and why we are here. 

200 Hour YTT Syllabus

Useful Links: Curriculum  - Kula Flow -  300 HR Syllabus  

Techniques:

Asana, pranayama, meditation and kriya techniques will be taught and practiced. Trainees will then practice teaching them to their peers, both one on one, and in a group setting. There will be time to develop one’s own asanas, learn about anatomical alignment, benefits, checkpoints and contraindications, as well as to teach and assist peers during group teaching sessions. 

Contact Hours: 100
 

Asanas:

A variety of asanas from the following groups of asanas will be taught including gentle beginner and intermediate variations. The trainees will be taught how to enter and exit a pose, how to use the breath in the asana, checkpoints for alignment, benefits and contraindications for the asana, and how to assist students in the pose.

Categories of Asanas: 

Standing and balancing asanas, forward bends, back bends, side bends, twisting poses, crouching and seated poses, poses on the abdomen, poses on the back, inverted poses and meditation poses. Trainees will also learn how to adapt the techniques for specific ages, levels, some ailments, and in the case of pregnancy. They will learn warm-up techniques and relaxation poses including the importance of deep breathing in relaxation to prevent muscle fatigue and the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles.

Pranayama:

Teacher trainees will learn the form, benefits and contraindications of the following pranayama techniques, as well as when to incorporate them into the class and how to introduce pranayama techniques. Abdominal breathing, the three-part breath, ujjai pranayama, brahmari pranayama, anuloma viloma, and kapalabhati pranayama. They will learn how to perform these pranayamas with the bandhas and with relatively short breath retention (Kumbhaka) when appropriate.

Bandhas:

In order to perform the retention in the above breathing techniques, it is necessary to teach and learn Mula bandha, Jalandhara bandha and Uddiyana bandha, the latter also being instrumental to kriyas such as nauli. The purpose of the bandhas will be discussed in its relation to the uniting of prana and apana to channel them into the shushumna nadi.

Kriyas:

Trainees will learn the following kriyas, their benefits, primarily for their own practice, and later how to introduce the kriya to a class: Jal neti, jal kapalabhati, agni sara, and tratak.

Meditation:

In the theory section, the goal and paths of yoga will be discussed, thereby leading to the concept and techniques of meditation. Guided meditation will be explored, including creative visualization, meditation using yantra, mantra, ideation, ishta chakra and the withdrawal of the senses from external objects. Students will be guided in choosing a mantra for meditation.

Mantra:

We will explore the idea of mantra as a mystical energy encased in a sound structure in relation to mantras such as Om. Trainees will learn to chant and present yogic mantras for the beginning and/or ending of yoga classes (such as the the Shanti mantra or the Jyothi mantra). Bija mantras for purifying the chakras will also be explored including the timing and procedure for using these mantras in meditation.

Philosophy, Lifestyle and Ethics:

Our program attributes emphasis to this section, as we believe that Western students of yoga tend to focus more thoroughly on the physical aspects of yoga: alignment, health benefits etc. than on the philosophical base and framework of yoga, including the practice of yoga off the mat. This section will introduce yoga psychology and philosophy through discussions on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, primarily Chapters One and Two.

Facilitators will present sutras, and also use pairwork and group work discussions to give trainees the opportunity to explore how these sutras relate to their practice, and how they live their lives. Patanjali’s eight-fold path is the climax of chapter two, and the trainers will offer concrete examples of how to implement Yamas and Niyamas in our daily lives. Trainees will have the opportunity to discuss their understanding and experience with these yogic guidelines. They will also be guided to see the interrelationship of all of the ten principles, as well as the interrelationship of the different paths of yoga. The paths (Bhakti, Karma, Raja and Jnana) will also be introduced in both a philosophical and practical light.

Contact Hours: 30

Transformational Experiences:

During the transformational experiences evening program, students will delve into the practice of both nama and abstract kirtan, as well as Vedic mantras such as: the Gayatri mantra, the Mahamrityunjaya (healing) mantra, the Shanti mantra, the Loving-kindness mantra, and the Akhanda mantra. Students will experience Yoga Nidra and Sacred Ceremony. Transformational experiences will also include some rituals, group sharing, healing circles and creative movement.

Lifestyle:

We will present and compare Yogic and Ayurvedic concepts of nutrition, as well as those of daily cleansing rituals, self massage, and other practices.

Ethics:

As a natural extension to the ten principles (Yamas and Niyamas), as well as the discussions on Teaching Methodology, we will flow into a discussion of professionalism and ethics in the teaching profession in general and the yoga profession in particular. We will present our Statement of Professional Standards, and discuss as a group the importance of having and maintaining codes of professional standards.

Teaching Methodology:

Practical teaching methodology includes how to demonstrate, observe, cue and assist students. This will be integrated with the Techniques class. We will also model the importance of language used to describe entry, maintaining and exiting poses. For example, in the forward bend, the image of “surrendering the body to the force of gravity” is a useful, and gentle image, as is “inhale release slightly, exhale and sink in to the pose – feel the pulse of the pose”, as opposed to “pull” or “push”-style language.

Theoretical discussions of methodology (pedagogy) aim to explore how to become a transformational facilitator, or teacher rather than just an instructor. This includes such topics as: the art of sequencing, creating a safe space, establishing a student-centered class, managing group dynamics, language and cuing, the ethics of assisting, and creating a yogic environment for learning, (including the dress of the teacher, yogic colours, the direction of the class etc). Trainees will also discuss qualities that will be instrumental to them as teachers.

Contact Hours: 25

Anatomy and Physiology:

In the 20 hours of anatomy and physiology class, students will be learning both about the physical system and the subtle body.

Physical Anatomy:

This class aims to teach trainees about anatomy and how it relates to yoga. Teachers and students will be guided by resources such as Anatomy and Asana, and The Anatomy of Movement. Subjects will include the study of the skeleton, muscles and joints, the cardio-vascular system, the respiratory system and the endocrine system and how they are benefited by yoga.

Subtle Anatomy:

Subtle anatomy is the yogic teaching regarding the three bodies, the physical body, the astral body and the causal body, as well as the five corresponding sheaths, and the yogic techniques that purify each sheath. Further, the concept of nadis, and chakras will be explored. The shape, location, associated glands, and characteristics of each chakra will be explored. This subject will be complemented by the practical meditation sessions and chanting sessions which will explore meditating and chanting to purify the chakras. It will also complement the discussion of the ida, pingala and shushumna nadis that is intrinsic to any discussion of pranayama and the bandhas.

Practicum:

In the first half of the program, trainees will be gradually introduced to teaching by teaching peers each pose or mini sequence in the Techniques class. This will progress towards teaching one pose or mini sequence to the whole group ‘Group Teaching’. In second half of the course, the trainees will each teach two classes to a peer. Each class will be 90 minutes long. They will then get 15 minutes of feedback from their peers and from the trainer. 

The first round will be a set KULA FLOW sequence; the second round will be the Unique Creative Flow: a beginners or intermediate level class where students are required to create and sequence their own class holistically around a theme and peak pose of their choice.

Contact Hours: 22 (Including 5 hours of teaching a partner, small group and classes)

300 Hour YTT Syllabus

Useful Links: Curriculum  -  Kula Flow  -   200 HR Syllabus   

The 300 hour Kula Collective training strategically builds upon the 200-hour Kula curriculum, but is also a good fit for those who have completed a non-Kula 200-hour program or those who have a good deal of experience teaching and/or holding sacred space.

At the 200-hour level, our focus as Kula facilitators is to guide students to understand how to teach a safe and effective yoga class. Students are given the foundation for teaching yoga asana, pranayama and meditation, as well as the principles for understanding the application of topics such as anatomy, Ayurveda, yogic cleansing and yoga philosophy.

At the 300-hour level, the Kula facilitators guide students into a deeper understanding of the essence of who they are as yoga teachers. Students are given opportunities to expand their teaching by incorporating themes and spiritual intentions that speak to their deeper message as a yoga teacher and their greater purpose as a healing practitioner on this planet. 

A safe container is created for self-exploration that encourages students to step beyond their previous ways of teaching and engage in a practice that expresses their authenticity and passions in service to the whole. The 300-hour curriculum is designed to move students from the level of “teaching a yoga class” to the level of “guiding an inspirational experience.”

Course Flow

We honor the guidance and intuition that brought you here

and the trust and dedication that is evidenced by your presence.

The Kula Collective 300-hour training is a transformational journey to your highest self, to understand your true essence as a teacher, healer and a part of All That Is. This course provides tools to deepen your practice and sharpen your spirit, cleansing away that which no longer serves and creating space to manifest that which does. This is a self-purification to connect with the deep, intuitive and creative part of yourself, inspiring you to step onto your mat as a teacher from your most aligned and luminous state of being.

We bow to the inner guru that know what calls you,

and give thanks to the wisdom that is yet to be revealed.

Daily Flow

The Kula Collective RYT-300 takes place over 30 days and is divided into 3 cycles of 9 days. as we rise through the 3 ‘worlds’ of learning through the symbolism of the Andean Chakana. Our classes are held in beautiful and inspiring spaces, and are led with an open and informative guidance that encourages interaction and group participation. We spend the day communicating from the heart, discovering new parts of ourselves and the world, releasing the Guru within.

The Chakana provides the backbone of our experience, alongside the Yogic and Quechua Chakra System, which lead us through the Lower, Middle, and Upper Worlds of study and self-discovery in the three Cycles of the program. Each Cycle progresses on the last, leading us through a medicine cycle of learning and healing. We take the tenth day of the Cycle off to rest. Two days in each Cycle are half-days of self-sadhana (spiritual practice).  We meet on alternate evenings for Satsang to ‘communicate truth’ through traditional Indian gathering, sacred sharing circle, and ceremony. We honor each cycle through intention and related practices.

Each of our days will flow through the Four Arts, as detailed below. We start our mornings with our Art of Practice, exploring various forms of yoga, pranayama and meditation; followed by the Art of Living, where we initiate comprehensive discussions on yogic philosophy, ancient wisdoms and mystical teachings. In the afternoon, we refine of our Practice through interactive workshops that break down the Art of Teaching. We end our afternoon with the Art of Healing, focusing on Ayurveda, energetic healing and shamanic healing and a group meditation. The order may vary occasionally, but the idea is to have a well-rounded flow to our days and to feel the interconnectedness of the Arts by experiencing each one of them as a part of the whole… the Art of Yoga.

Interspersed throughout the days and evenings, we create sacred space for sharing and celebrate our connection through Bhakti Yoga - the yoga of devotion, in the form of traditional Indian Kirtan and sacred medicine songs from around the world. We follow the yogic, vegetarian diet, which purifies our practice from the inside out, eating our meals with the same reverence and mindfulness that we apply to each step. We meditate as we breathe, bend, dance and laugh our way through our experience. We allow our practice to be a ceremony, each time. We live this practice. And in doing so we do not just share Yoga, We Embody Yoga.

Chakana as a foundational flow for the YTT course:

The Four Arts

We encourage and teach a holistic approach to yoga with a foundation in the traditional four paths, infused with shamanic wisdom and practices that help connect us with the natural world and her elements. Our passion is to bring these ancient teachings alive and help our students apply them to modern day living.

Art of Practice:

It is through the experience of yoga that we understand the infinite nature of our being; where we reach beyond the boundaries of our individual lives and individual experience and touch the unity that is Yoga.  

The Kula Collective 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training places emphasis on the experiential face of yoga by living our practice as a group. Each morning we wake in silence to meditate as the sun rises, flowing into our internal experience of pranayama and yoga. As we continue to expand through our teaching, we creatively work with the flow of our practice and feel what it is to open up our boundaries, deepening personal practice through Meditation, Pranayama and Asana. We verify through embodiment, to reveal the wisdom within.

Outside of the Shala we follow the yogic, vegetarian diet, which purifies our practice from the inside out. We eat our meals with reverence and we open and close our space with Om, the Universal Sound. We find meditation in all that we do not just on that mat. We understand this is a practice that cannot be mastered, but only practiced and find presence in that experience as it unfolds for us.

Art of Teaching:

Sharing yoga is an process of intimacy; one that asks for deep movement within both giver and receiver, through love, authenticity, attention and connection. There are many ways in which yoga can be shared. Here at Kula Collective we believe that the fundamental principle that links all of our yoga teaching is Connection; the concept that in order to truly help another being to find oneness, we must ourselves be a channel to that oneness.

As sharers of yoga, we must eventually be able to abandon ourselves to the infinite creative flow that comes through us. This of course, takes time, patience and a lot of learning. The question is, how do we become comfortable enough with ourselves and with what we are sharing to be able to fully let go to this connection as we are teaching? One way is to ensure we have a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding to give us the tools we need for our Art to be boundaryless.

At our RYT-300 level training, our focus is on taking you to the next level of your teaching by diving deep into correct alignment, muscular engagement, breathing, and energetic awareness. We will share with you a variety of therapeutic asana practices and workshops that will provide building blocks for creating and sharing your own sequences. Students in your class will benefit from our extra focus on anatomical alignment within asana, as well as our step-by-step guide to physical and energetic thai massage-based adjustments.

When we share yoga we are sharing an experience that is largely personal and internal, so it’s important to us that all our participants understand what it is to hold sacred space, how to empower through our communication, and how to allow space for all experiences to unfold within the safe, energetic container you create. We explore the ways in which you can tailor your practice for someone who is injured, imbalanced or pregnant, and we help you to find your creative essence as you build your own sequences, explore themes and reveal the wise teacher within.

Our intention is to provide you with a wide range of tools and feedback to give you the confidence you need to creatively expand. We support you as you refine your own offerings into something new and deeply personal to you, and step into the empowered self that you are.

Art of Living:

How can I live better, slower, with more authenticity? Why do we do what we do? What are the thoughts that I think? How much more deeply can we inhabit our experience? And, underneath all of the thoughts and questions and memories, Who Am I?

Philosophers through the ages have speculated on the big questions, and Yoga is just one of infinite pathways to the truth. If you have come to Yoga, chances are you will have asked yourself these questions. As we come together in our group training, we explore these and many more, through examining both our own understanding of the Art of Living and that of the ancient sages.  

Through study of the Yoga Sutras, modern yoga’s foundational text, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and many other complementary topics such as Buddhism, Tantra, Darshana and mystical poetry, we better come to understand the true nature of the self and our place in the world. Through our discussion as a group, we together uncover what it is to make an art out of living. How can we share our Yoga with the world? Through living it, of course.

Art of Healing:

As a holistic Yoga Teacher, we are not simply sharing a physical practice to keep people fit - we are sharing a lifestyle practice that helps people to heal physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically. Through sharing yoga in this way, we allow ourselves as a whole to connect to our true nature as spiritual beings. As yoga teachers and practitioners we know what it means to ‘hold space’, and as we deepen our art we have the potential to evolve this into a true yoga experience, a ceremony, a surrender to a higher power. Through embodying our understanding of the subtleties of the body and how it interacts with the mind through energy, we share our yoga in a way that truly can heal, from the inside out.  

The Kula Yoga Collective 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training gives the opportunity for deep self-healing through personal discovery practices, group exercises, intentional discussion and Sacred Ceremony. Our training also offers a wide selection of teachings on complementary health practices, including but not limited to: Ayurveda, nutrition, massage, Thai massage, energetic healing, Tai Chi, Chakra cleansing, herbal healing, and the Yogic diet, kundalini, advanced healing meditation and shamanic journeying, cleansing, plant spirit medicine, sacred sound ceremony, energy healing, tai chi and yoga nidra.

As Yoga Teachers we are living examples of unity - of true, whole vitality. Through experiencing the transformation first hand we are better able to share it with others. Through clearing away the parts of us that are no longer in alignment with our true nature, we create space for the truth to be channelled through us. Thus, the Art of Healing component of our curriculum contains many personal practices to dive deep into our own healing. Understanding the subtle world in this way allows us to reveal our wisest Self, and to unveil our true calling as healing practitioners and as sharers of an ancient wellness practice.

Thank you for trusting and joining us as we live and practice with a supportive and loving community helping each other let go and flow into life.

“We are the ones we have been waiting for” - Hopi Elders

Kula Collective is Yoga Alliance Certified!

Yoga Alliance® is the largest registering body for yoga teachers, studios and schools within the US and the largest nonprofit association representing the yoga community (see website here). Yoga Alliance provides a set of educational standards for yoga schools that specify hours or study in certain Educational Categories, to ensure schools provide adequate training to yoga teachers, enabling them to teach safely and competently. 

To register with Yoga Alliance and use the title and Registry Mark of Registered Yoga School (RYS®), yoga schools must submit their training syllabus for review and agree to maintain a curriculum that meets Yoga Alliance Standards. Yoga teachers who complete a RYS teacher training are generally eligible to apply to register as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT®).

The Kula Collective exceeds the minimum standards required for yoga teacher preparation as set out by Yoga Alliance.  All our facilitators are registered with Yoga Alliance at an RYT-500 or ERYT-500 level, and come from a variety of lineages and traditions. Check out our Yoga Alliance Profile.

After completion of our program you will be able to register with Yoga Alliance as a certified teacher and you will be able to teach anywhere in the world.  A yoga teacher who registers with the Yoga Alliance Registry earns the title of Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and may publish his or her online profile on the Yoga Alliance Directory.

Information borrowed from the Yoga Alliance website: www.YogaAlliance.org