Yoga education and training institutions in US

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There are many established and renowned institutions which offer short courses, workshops, retreats and yoga teacher certificate training in the U.S. Most of them offer intensive training in all aspects of yoga and its teaching with a focus on creating healthy communities. Some of the major institutions are listed here.

1. Maharishi International University (https://www.miu.edu/academic-programs ), accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, is based in Iowa at 1000 N. 4^th Street, Fairfield.

With a logo of ‘Home of Consciousness-Based Education’, the university offers about 40 programs including on-campus and online courses towards undergraduate and graduate degrees in Maharishi AyurVeda-the Integrative Health and other areas. Maharishi AyurVeda is a comprehensive system combining mind, body, behavior and environment.  Many of MIU’s degree programs include Transcendental Meditation and Yoga Asanas along with a great number of other courses. Some of the Yoga related courses are listed below:

The Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences: At MIU, you connect each discipline with your own innermost self — pure consciousness. This direct experience makes learning much more relevant and satisfying.

Offers specializations in Yoga & Ayurveda Wellness, Life & Wellness Coaching, Consciousness & Human Potential, Positive Psychology & Consciousness. The BA in Consciousness & Human Potential offers specialization in Positive Psychology & Consciousness. The B.A. with Ayurveda Wellness and Integrative Health offers specialization in Yoga and Ayurveda Wellness. 

The M.A. programs offer specializations in Consciousness and Human Potential and Enlightenment and Leadership.  MIU also offers a Ph.D. program in Maharishi Vedic Science.

2. Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (https://kripalu.org/) located in Massachusetts, offers workshops and training in yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Kripalu yoga, Kundalini yoga, Iyengar yoga, Restorative yoga, Therapeutic yoga, Vinyasa yoga, and professional training.

The Yoga Teaching Certificate course with special focus on Kripalu methods, can be either in-person or online or hybrid. Kripalu also offers both 300- or 1000-hour yoga certificates. Its foundational program with an emphasis on yogic traditions, teaches Kripalu Yoga‘s 21 foundational asanas, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation techniques. The certificate course suits beginners.

 The Himalayan Institute (https://himalayaninstitute.org/) spread over 400 acres in the Pocono Mountains in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, offers Yoga, Meditation and Wellness training with a focus on educating and empowering all who seek to experience their full potential. It offers yoga retreats, workshops and wellness programs. Its Pure Rejuv Wellness Center offers integrative health services and therapeutic treatments for healing, disease prevention and vitality.

The Institute’s Yoga Alliance certified comprehensive yoga teacher training programs offer both 200- and 300-hour training sessions. The courses are in-person and include online and webinar training. The courses are focused on the philosophy of yoga and asana and include asanas, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, ethics of yoga, scientific knowledge like anatomy and physiology, and much more. Courses are also offered in Vishoka Meditation.

4. White Lotus Foundation (https://www.whitelotus.org/) was established in 1967 and has been offering personal meditation retreats, yoga training and restorative yoga training.

White Lotus’s 16-day 200-hour Yoga teacher training course focuses on intensive training in a synthesis of classical and contemporary techniques and involves in-depth study of how yoga works, the origins of yoga, essential forms of asana practice, precise alignment and application, White Lotus Vinyasa Flow Yoga combining asana, pranayama and meditation.

The Foundation’s Restorative Yoga foces on self, and involves the underlying systems and rhythms of the body, balancing stress and tension with deep relaxation.

5. 7 Centers Yoga Arts (www.7centers-yoga.com) is located in Sedona, Arizona and offers an intensive month-long 200 hour training programs in Hatha Yoga and also in Kundalini Yoga, and is offered three times a year. The in-person program is focused on first knowing one’s self and then reaching out to others.

6.Sewall House (www.sewallhouse.com) located in Island Falls, Maine, focuses on an immersive yoga and healthy living program with personal attention. Along with Yoga and Wellness Retreats, the House offers one month long training twice a year in Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Yoga along with Iyengar, Ashtanga and Yoga Nidra.

7. ISHTA Yoga (https://ishtayoga.com/) located at 816 Broadway, New York City, offers courses and workshops on the Gita, Yoga Nidra, Pranayama, and 200 and 300-hours Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training programs.

Focused on integrative approach, the institution’s name is an abbreviation for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda. It offers week-long courses as well as month-long summer courses.

8. Strala Yoga (https://stralayoga.com/) based in New York with international centers, offers both in-person and online yoga courses as well as retreats. Backed by Deepak Chopra and Harvard Neurologist Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, Strala’s 200-hour training program focuses on the self first and the connection between mind, movement and breath. Strala’s intensive courses are two-weeks long.