Teacher Training

Manasa Yoga is a Yoga Alliance (YA) Registered School (RYS) which provides a 200-hour and a 300-hour advanced training programme that meets Yoga Alliance’s standards. Manasa Yoga School offers 500 hours of training in two segments, 200 hours and 300 hours, permitting teachers who graduate from our Teacher Training Courses to become either a RYT 200 or a RYT 500, depending on the level of training completed.

 

Our programme director, Manoj Kaimal ERYT500 and co-founder Sandhya Manoj, conduct our Manasa Yoga Teacher Training Courses annually.

OUR TTC ADVISORY PANEL OF EXPERTS

On the advisory panel of experts for the Manasa Yoga TTC, we are proud to have Dr Rajesh Singh, Dr Ramkumar and Mr Richard Rosen. Their advisory capacities add value and integrity to our teacher training courses. All three of them will be sharing their insights with Manoj, in Manasa Yoga’s quest to continuously evolve and enhance our teacher training courses, so that they can be of maximum value to our participants. Dr Rajesh will be enhancing our teacher training course with the latest in the science of Anatomy; Dr Ramkumar will lend insights on topics of Ayurveda and related life principle;s and Richard Rosen will look into the philosophy and pranayama segments.

doctor

Dr. Rajesh Singh
Orthopaedic Consultant of Sunway Medical

An orthopaedic consultant and associate professor of the Sunway Medical Group, he specialises in upper limb surgery for trauma and reconstruction (arthroplasty& arthroscopy) as well as hand and microsurgery. He is fully registered with the Medical Board in Australia and is consultant to the Education Faculty of the Medical Protection Society (MPS-UK).

founder

Dr.Ramkumar
Managing Trustee of Punarnava Ayurveda Trust

Hailing from a family steeped in the traditional practices of Ayurveda, Dr Ramkumar is the Managing Trustee of Punarnava Ayurveda Trust. He leads the team in creating the Ayurveda healing village vaidyagrama in the outskirts of Coimbatore, India. He lectures widely in America, Europe and South-East Asia on different aspects of Ayurveda.

director

Richard Rosen
co-founder of Piedmont Yoga in Oakland, California

Co-founded Piedmont Yoga in Oakland, California in 1987 where he still teaches today. Richard has authored three books for Shambhala, ‘The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama (2002)’; ‘Pranayama: Beyond the Fundamentals (2006)’; and ‘Original Yoga: Rediscovering Traditional Practices of Hatha Yoga (2012)’ . He has recorded a 7-disc set of instructional CDs for Shambhala titled ‘The Practice of Pranayama: An In-Depth Guide to the Yoga of Breath (2010)’.

 

TTC lectures are conducted on weekends (either Saturday or Sunday), allowing students to easily accommodate career and family needs. Students are required to complete a day-to-day self-practice, as a record of their progress.

 

TEACHER TRAINING TESTIMONIALS

‘With the number of Yoga TTCs available now, one is hard pressed to choose a course with the right amount of focus on asanas, philosophy and anatomy. Being a certified fitness coach, I understand the value of getting the right education to help me facilitate my clients on their various paths towards wellness. After surveying a number of courses, I found myself attending classes at Manasa School of Yoga, learning from Guru Manoj Kaimal and his teachers. What I experienced in the classes, not only in terms of mat practice but also yoga philosophy, helped me reach the decision to enrol in Manasa Yoga TTC. The course and the classes at Manasa have not only enriched my life, but also the lives of those I attend to, and for that, words cannot express my gratitude.’
Daniel Chandranayagam, ACE Certified Personal Trainer
‘I was hooked on the mastery Manoj showed on the details of asana and of the learning process from the first class I attended. Manoj is always there to help you go as far as your commitment will take you. This dedication has continued throughout all his classes and in the teacher training course. Manoj and the Manasa TTC was a life-changing experience for me. I acquired many more technical skills than when I started. My teaching abilities have vastly improved and now include many new techniques. I’ve met and befriended many fellowManasa-trained teachers whom I continue to learn things from and am appreciative of that.  I have also learned how to become a better student of yoga  and of life.”
Christina Kow, Lawyer.
‘Intensive, Expanding and Empowering. Three words to describe the Manasa Teacher Training Course by Manoj Kaimal. For me,Manoj is THE Yoga Guru and I feel lucky to have found him, to have the opportunity to continue to practise under him and learn from him. All the workshops he conducts are like wells of knowledge and information yoga practitioners as well as yoga teachers can draw so much from but his teacher training courses(both the 200 hour and the advanced TTC) are definitely the creme de la creme where life-changing learning experiences are concerned. Manoj knows his ‘stuff’ and to have the chance to be trained as a yoga teacher by him is a gift I am ever grateful for. He continually inspires and challenges us to impart teachings as yoga teachers instead of merely giving out instructions. Having completed the Manasa Teacher Training Courses with him has powerfully and positively changed my teaching, my practice as well as my life.”
Susan Thulin, resident yoga teacher at Manasa Yoga School
‘Training in the presence of a teacher who is dedicated, skilled, enthusiastic and outrageously talented inspires me to expand my capacities beyond what I imagined possible. Manoj’s passion for yoga motivates me every day to work hard to improve my teaching and personal practice on every level. He trains incredible teachers and I feel fortunate to learn from a supportive and talented group. I’m grateful for my teacher training experience with Manoj and I recommend his teacher training course to any serious, committed teacher. Thank you.’ 
Tanja Kondic, teaches Manasa Yoga in Singapore
‘The teacher training I received at Manasa has made me a much more direct and clearer yoga teacher. I’m much more precise in the way I’m instructing poses, and in the way I use my language. This translates to a more effective experience for my students. The feedback I’ve gotten from my students is that they’re learning more about the poses and how to practise in a skilful and consistent way.’
Ng Say Guan, corporate worker who teaches yoga on weekends.
‘TTC has deepened my understanding of philosophy, anatomy, asanas, etc but mostly of life itself! It showed me a completely new level of living, appreciating much more what is around us: the nature, the relationships, the tastes of feelings, emotions, situations.  It opened me to the awareness of the present moment. It allowed me to start venturing inside, getting to know myself better or rather paying attention to what is going on inside, contemplate it, observe it. Taught me how to listen and trust the Universe! It made my life experiences so much deeper and more conscious! It has been an amazing journey and there is still a long way ahead that I am looking forward to every day!’
Kasia Gendis, teaches Manasa Yoga in Lagos, Nigeria
‘To me, being open and humble to receiving the knowledge that is yoga, the ability of one to howsoever little, be able to comprehend the Self; beyond asana or pranayama practice; one is already deemed to be practising yoga. This is what I have taken from my TTC tutelage under Guruji Manoj and am continuing to do so as I realise yoga is a continuous process of self-research and self-reflection, the ultimate laboratory and illuminator being YOU.’
Anuja Ananthanan, a banker who enjoys teaching yoga to the sight impared
‘Having been with Manoj and Manasa Yoga for over 10 years, and having taken four TTCs, with each passing year, I slowly learn to drink in the philosophical aspects while practising the asanas; then the rajas (ego) in me of competing and wanting to reach a goal slowly diminished making me realise that whilst most of us are always looking for the “shiny object” outside of us, we fail to realise that should we look deeper into ourselves, we will find that shiny object within ourselves – being in contentment – santhosha, accepting things for what they are and letting go, being happy and in each and every moment thus illuminating us into better human beings so we can set examples to others.’
Susan Kho, teaches Manasa Yoga in Kuala Lumpur
‘When is the right time to take TTC?  This question often lingers in a practitioner’s mind. The beauty of it is that no one has a crystal ball which says that one will or will not become a yoga teacher. For me personally, upon receiving TTC, there happens to be more illumination during practice, more taste of consciousness and most importantly the obsession to get into a certain shape has disappeared. When this obsession disappears, a whole new world of asana practice is born.’
Alagappan Annamalai, an avid golfer who enjoys teaching yoga to children
‘While most yoga schools choose to focus only on asana alignment and anatomy in their TTC courses, Manasa’s teacher training syllabus is more comprehensive as it includes in-depth learning of yogic philosophy in both its 200-Hour and advanced teacher training courses. Manoj often stresses that the attainment of a shape alone is not asana and asana alone is not yoga. To be a true yogi and teacher of yoga, one must live the life of a yogi, through our conduct, speech and action, working towards Samadhi and Prajna. Through regular and repeated study and practice, wholesome thoughts will flourish in our sub-conscious mind, replacing unwholesome and unskilful patterns and memories. I feel, Manasa TTC is a good start to the path of a true yogi.’
Wai Kuan, teaches Manasa Yoga in her studio in Petaling Jaya