KUNDALINI YOGA TEACHER TRAINING FAQ
What is The Kundalini Yoga Level 1 Aquarian Teacher Training course, really?
This isn’t just a program to become a yoga teacher. It’s a wholistic science. That’s why we tell people it’s a course in self-mastery. It’s a course that teaches you the secret science of being a human. Secret science? Yes, it’s practically a secret in our current world how to be a healthy and happy human being. Why? Because so many things about being human just aren’t taught in schools and haven’t been for thousands of years. So first and foremost, This course is a course in Humanology. Yes that’s really a word, coined by Yogi Bhajan when he started teaching this ancient science openly starting in 1969. This course is a training in how to utilize all your power as a human being, from how to breathe for more energy, to how to get up in the morning to take advantage of energy currents which can accelerate your life flow. The best part is that when you complete it, you are certified to teach others the amazing techniques you learned. The basic idea is that, people teaching other people how to be happier and more fulfilled, will make the world a better place for us all to live.
How is this different from other yogas out there?
All yoga is designed to eventually raise the kundalini. What is the kundalini? It’s like your super hero powers. Everyone has this unused potential energy which is basically the light of the soul. That’s is kundalini. It exists in an actual place in your body too– at the base of the spine. There’s the cornerstone of Kundalini Yoga– now the soul isn’t some pseudo-religious concept grown over with weeds and thorns. It’s a potential energy available to you, right at the base of your spine.
The only catch is that it’s dormant until you consciously activate it. Kundalini Yoga and Meditation is the systematic awakening and circulation of this energy. And all yoga is designed to do this. However, it takes 20 plus years with other forms of yoga to activate the kundalini, whereas Kundalini Yoga does it in as little as 90 days . That’s because the other yogas mainly emphasize physical postures and you have to master those postures the energy will rise. And in these days of lightning fast information, who has that kind of time? Kundalini Yoga uses a combination of breath (prana) sound current (mantra) and finally postures to create a synergy that activates the kundalini very quickly and efficiently.
What’s the course like?
It’s an immersive course with a lot of energy. You’ll definitely feel accomplished doing this course. The classroom time consists of 180 classroom hours spread over 8 weekends. Each weekend is a combination, of Yoga, Meditation, student led teaching (practicum exercises,) Videos with The Master, Yogi Bhajan, plus Lecture and Discussion of various topics pertinent to Kundalini Yoga. The emphasis however, is on experience of the energy rather than lots of information. We teach the kriyas experientially so you actually get and download energy. So, when it comes to the concepts that you learn, you’ll understand them because you’ve experienced them. All this makes that experience a part of you. That experience turns into wisdom because you’ve been there and done that.
What’s the weekend schedule like?
We have 8 weekends in this format. We start on Friday night for a few hours, then we go Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM with lots of breaks and a longer lunch break.
What if I am absent for part of the course?
Occasionally students need to miss a day or an entire weekend due to special circumstances. Students who are absent for certain periods of time are not given refunds for individual hours, days or weekends missed. Rather, the student is given the opportunity to make up lost hours in another course given by the teacher. If you have a planned or unplanned absence you would discuss it with the training team to make the necessary arrangements.
Are there any prerequisites?
No. If you’re a human being and you’re breathing and have a heartbeat, you’re eligible. No experience is necessary because Kundalini Yoga isn’t linear or hierarchical. It’s more like a mandala, or a circle. Wherever you enter, you’re going to gain energy and experience because the course is the science of the human mind-body energy system.
I’ve never done Kundalini Yoga before, can I still take the course?
Yes. Each year we have one or two people who’ve never done Kundalini Yoga before. In fact, here’s some words of one of last year’s students, Drew Darrell, who came to the course never having done a live Kundalini Yoga class before.
“Jai Gopal is a VERY powerful teacher. He is a walking example of the success of the technology, and you would be hard pressed to find a more authentic, knowledgeable and accurate teacher; absolutely faithful to the teachings of Yogi Bhajan exactly as they are. I completed Jai Gopal’s recent Level One Teacher Training course having no knowledge of Kundalini Yoga beforehand. I feel like I learned lifetimes of knowledge and experienced so much in terms of the practice, that it is now an integral part of my daily life. I’ll be forever grateful to Jai Gopal and to this practice. Sat Nam, Wahe Guru!” ?–Drew Darrell, Norfolk, VA
I don’t want to Teach yoga…
Many people take the course just to go deeper into Kundalini Yoga and never teach at a yoga studio. There was one man who took the course and said that he considered it like taking 8 yoga retreats over 8 weekends, in his home town. He said to him that was a great bargain because for that price, he got to go very deeply into the practice he loved– like going on a bunch of yoga retreats. Thousands have taken this course with no desire to teach. We should back up for a second and define teaching though. Once you have experienced your own energy and how to control your mind. Once you’ve learned how to sidestep thoughts that cause you pain, you can teach others you work and live with. These little techniques, like breath of fire, or the three minute addiction meditation, might just help cure the anxiety, panic attacks, or just a general unhappiness of people in your life. But it starts with you learning to do it for yourself.
This course, because of it’s intensive nature is the only way you can really take a deeper dive into the practice. Just taking 90 minute classes isn’t going to give you the depth of experience and understanding you’ll get in this course. Even if you were to take two or three classes a day you still wouldn’t get to the inner workings of the practice like we do in this course. These weekends allow you to really strip away the layers that block your mind and go into the positive flow of life force energy.