Dear Karthik,
Hope you are doing well. It has been a while since I wrote. Summer (in Chennai) helps us slow down, gives us some space to reflect from a quieter location. Maybe this is also the time for carefully considering the next steps in our journey as an institution and as a community.
How can we make Yoga practice an integral part of more and more lives? Amidst all the chaos in the world, how can we bring some inner quiet and clarity? So that we may live and act with compassion and understanding, even in small ways, contributing to the wellbeing of the world.
Looking back, we started our first formal training program in 2008 in Hyderabad, over 500 people got trained as yoga teachers and therapists. Over the years, I was losing enthusiasm because training became a goal to reach with tangible outcomes - a piece of paper with a stamp on it, a certain number of hours clocked. While teaching and learning with each batch of students was itself a joyful process, the paraphernalia became restrictive.
Now, after two years, we are coming back into the space of Teacher Training. While keeping the elements and content of training true to the teachings of the tradition, we are exploring how to keep the spirit of learning and inquiry fresh.
In June 2026, we are launching our next Yoga Acharya program. This program is not just to qualify as a 'Yoga Teacher', but to learn what it takes to walk the path of yoga and enable others on this journey.
With the 3 modules of Yoga Sadhana offering a strong foundation for your personal journey, the Acharya program will teach you how to inspire your own students, learn and grow into their full potential.
You will learn the important principles and practices of Ashtanga Yoga as given to us by our teachers Sri T Krishnamacharya, Sri TKV Desikachar and generations of teachers in this tradition who continue to bring their own uniqueness into the teachings.
You will receive valuable inputs from traditional and modern texts, practical exploration of the concepts, tools and techniques in a multi-generational space as learning never stops at YogaVahini.
There will be rigour and intensity in our engagement with an equal measure of flexibility and lightness, respecting each individual’s capacity, interest and life context.
If you have done any of our training programs in the past and want to invest in a long-term program for personal and professional growth, we welcome you aboard.
If you have done /doing Yoga Sadhana with us and want to explore the next steps of learning to teach yoga, this is the time for you. The 8 week Tapas Intensive starting in May 2026 is a pre-requisite for the Yoga Acharya program.
Please look up the basic details of the program on our website and if you are keen to do any component/the whole Program, please speak to us:
Lekha Parameswaran: +91 98415 66607
Aarthi Jayakumar: +91 98405 96785
