My experience at Drishti Yoga School
Imagine putting your current life ‘on hold’ for almost a month to live in an Indian yoga school, eating Ayurvedic food, learning about muscles and nerves, practicing meditation and cleansing techniques you’ve never heard about, and doing asanas (yoga postures) while slowing down your breath. Imagine discovering a holistic outlook on life unlike anything taught in the Western world: yogic philosophy.
In this text, I will give you an overview of my 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT). I completed it in March 2023 in the North Indian city of Rishikesh known for a myriad of yoga schools. My training was at Drishti Yoga School which is certified by the US-based Yoga Alliance. That means you can use your certificate to teach anywhere in the world, with 200 hours usually being considered the basic requirement.
I had several motives for doing a YTT in India: I’ve practiced yoga almost daily for more than 5 years, have started meditating more recently and got offered to teach a yoga course in Germany once I would be back. On top of that, I got to visit my partner’s family in India for the first time.
After 25 days of YTT focused on Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga, I am stronger in the core, arms and legs, have gained flexibility, gotten to know my body better and delved deeply into the spiritual background of yoga. I’ve also met 17 amazing ‘classmates’ from all over the world and had incredibly knowledgeable teachers (all Indians) who were on fire for yoga.
A typical day at the yoga school
The days at the school were pretty intense and involved waking up around 6 AM — no problem for early birds like me. If you decide to come to Dristhi Yoga School, your schedule might change because the school always tries to improve things based on students’ feedback, and some teachers are employed at several schools. At the opening ceremony where we danced, got to know each other and took part in a fire ritual, we received a printed script including most of the material from the classes, especially anatomy, meditation, Ashtanga/alignment and philosophy.
Our days would start at 6:30 AM with Ashtanga class which I came to think of as the ‘military style of yoga’. In Ashtanga Yinyasa (the correct name), sequences of certain asanas are followed chronologically. Note, however, that Ashtanga yoga by definition also includes breathing, meditation and other practices besides asanas. We learned the so-called primary series that includes two types of sun salutations as well as forward bends, balancing postures, headstand, shoulderstand, and much more. Our teacher always had a smirk on his face and did a good job at aligning and adjusting us while keeping the lessons fun. Doing the same postures daily makes your progress very evident but requires discipline.
We then had pranayama and shatkarma class which included learning various breathing techniques, practicing yogic breathing and doing cleanses. The cleanses are probably part of every Indian yoga school because they are supposed to prepare you for the practice of pranayama and clean your body more deeply than a shower or face wash can. One cleanse was jal neti which we did several times. It works by letting warm salt water run into one nostril and out the other. Another one was the rubber neti where you try to insert a rubber string into one nostril, down to the throat, and pull it out through the mouth — only a few people from our batch managed (or wanted) to do it and I was admittedly proud to be one of them although it felt slightly awkward. There was also an eye cleanse with rose water that felt surprisingly good.
After breakfast, we had anatomy, alignment and philosophy classes for one hour each. I particularly enjoyed anatomy since I had little previous knowledge about muscles, joints, tissues, bodily ‘deformities’ like scoliosis or flat feet, the lymphatic system, blood flow, etc. Our teacher was a funny and knowledgeable guy who told us so much in one hour that I had a hard time writing everything down. Our philosophy teacher had impressive expertise on the scriptures that first described yogic practices (e.g., the Yog Sutras) and made me learn a lot about Indian culture. Yet, a few students always fell asleep because this was our least interactive class (one of my closest friends from France must have broken the sleep record).
After lunch and almost three hours of break — spent by most of us in a cafe, on the rooftop or napping — , it was time for Vinyasa flow which I and many other students loved. Our teacher who also taught pranayama and was one of the school’s managers made us do one and a half hours of extremely intense postures from Superman pose, bow pose and half moon to humble warrior. He made us sweat and sometimes suffer, but I felt that we were building muscle strength which in turn really helped with the Ashtanga series. In Germany, his classes would have been called ‘intermediate’ or ‘advanced power yoga’ — but here in India, it was Vinyasa yoga for ‘beginners’ (which is how we were considered as first-time YTT students).
The last class of the day was meditation with our only female teacher. She inspired everybody with her gentle nature and beautiful traditional dresses and taught us a variety of meditation styles like trataka (candle meditation) or walking meditation with breath retention.
The last week of the training was almost fully dedicated to ‘exams’ so that all 18 people from our big batch could pass. The exams were pretty chill though: In anatomy, we had to do a short presentation which I did about the wrist, its functioning, typical injuries, asanas that put a lot of pressure on it and possible modifications. In philosophy (yoga darshan), there was an easy written test; in alignment, we had to explain how to properly perform two asanas and in our Vinyasa class, we had to design a whole yoga class in a group of three. The latter was the most work intense and exciting but also great because we experienced what it is like to teach a group.
Eating well & getting out
The food at the school was mostly plant-based. It was pretty healthy and ‘sattvic’ as defined in the ayurvedic cuisine, which meant without garlic and onions (as those can make you bloated) and with little oil. Since three daily meals are included in the YTT price, few of us ate outside of the school regularly. I liked the food although some fellow foreigners found it repetitive. We usually had some raw vegetables, rice and roti (bread made in a pan) along with different types of daal (lentils) and vegetable dishes. For breakfast, it varied a little and included toast, porridge and Indian chay, black tea — we asked the cook to make some without milk as well.
Our program included some excursions during the week and others on the three free Sundays. We did yoga at the bank of the Ganga river, Vinyasa and Acro yoga on the beach and saw the sunrise at a beautiful temple (Bal Kumari) that was located an hour of drive away, in the Himalayan mountains. One evening, all of us went to Ganga Aarti which is a Hindu ceremony for honoring the river Ganges with traditional live music, a fire show and the offering of flowers and incense. Every student also got a free 1-hour ayurvedic massage in the yoga school building that I did not expect but enjoyed; and one sound healing and reiki healing session was held by two external people. Drishti had a professional photographer who accompanied our excursions and took beautiful photos of some classes — for us and the school’s Instagram presence.
My batch and I were lucky to be in India during the color festival Holi, the main Indian festival besides Diwali. This meant we had a whole extra day off to celebrate for which the school provided colors to throw around, turned on music and prepared special food. After our ‘intimate’ celebration just outside the yoga school, most of us walked into the city and experienced how overwhelming it can be with what felt like five times more people on the streets than usual, most of them shouting “Happy Holi!” and painting the faces of strangers with colored powder.
What to know before coming
- If you’re Indian, ask for the Indian price which is about half of what foreigners pay. I think that’s fair because the Indian currency is a lot weaker than the euro or US dollar.
- You might want to bring cleaning spray and a cloth to wipe your yoga mat from time to time. Although the yoga hall floor was cleaned almost daily, the mats provided by the school were not. You can also bring your own yoga mat or buy one in Rishikesh as almost everybody did (myself not included). I also recommend that you actively ask the hotel staff to clean your room and hand them your key at least once a week (typically on your free Sunday). Still, the school aka hotel might not be as clean as you might expect it from a hotel in your home country.
- You can ask the YTT managers to buy certain kinds of groceries. This is how we got several jars of peanut butter for breakfast. They might not buy things like soy milk that are expensive, but asking doesn’t hurt!
- If you choose a shared room which I did to save money, you will have a roommate of the same gender. The single rooms are more luxurious and spacious, but I was happy to have a ‘roomie’ with whom to talk, wake up early, ask for medication, share sweets with, etc. I was lucky to have an amazing roommate but think I would have gotten along with any other girl from our batch too.
- Almost everybody from our class got sick at some point, be it with food poisoning and a cold (which I both had when I arrived at the school), stomach problems or menstrual pain. Think about it: You’re spending almost a month of intense physical practice in a country that is probably not your home country, with spices and temperatures you are not used to. You can anticipate this by packing medication for typical diseases like diarrhea, headache and a cough or you can go to one of the pharmacies or ayurvedic shops in Rishikesh that will sell all those. Also, bring sweaters for possibly chilly mornings.
Final words
No matter which yoga school in Rishikesh you choose, the program will likely be similar. You will have other teachers, but their teaching style might not differ fundamentally if they are Indian. What makes the difference (and will reassure your close ones back home) is to know that the school you decide on exists and that somebody else has made a great experience there. I can wholeheartedly recommend Drishti Yoga School and urge all fans of yoga to learn more about this ancient tradition amidst the holy blue Ganga and the beautiful mountains of Rishikesh. Let me know if you have questions or thoughts, or if you have completed a YTT yourself.
© Annika Erika for Medium 2023