600 hours Yoga Teacher Training | 2022 -2023

Course overview

This two-year course, unique in Perth for its depth and scope, offers training in yoga for teaching and personal evolution in the authentic living tradition of Krishnamacharya, and an introduction to yoga as a complementary healing system. It comprises 600 hours, and after completion leads to registration with Yoga Australia at level 1 or 2, or with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hours level.

An expansive transformational course, it brings together the profound traditional teachings of yoga and the technical aspects of this discipline as we practise it today.

To receive the full brochure, send us an email

Note: maximum 12 participants. Next course intake 2024.

Trainees will participate in an intensive course of study that includes lectures, practices, home study, written and oral presentations, teaching evaluations, and most importantly, individual practice.

As TKV Desikachar always said: “First and foremost, Yoga is relationship”. A foundation of this course is the connection between student and teacher, between mentee and mentor, as a support of self-enquiry and personal transformation. Your mentor will also help you to establish a realistic and appropriate personal practice that will evolve over time and weave into your life.

Note: next course intake is Feb 2024. Please read on for more information and course testimonials.

400 contact hours: lectures, interactive workshops, practices led by trainer, supervised teaching practicum, and final exam.
10 hours – mentoring
200+ hours – personal study, preparations of written assignments and oral presentations, revisions
Total = 600+ hours

Starting February 5^th, 2022
Ending December 3^rd, 2023
10 two-days’ training week-ends per year in 2022 and 2023 – February to December
2 six-days’ retreats – September 2022 and September 2023

2022 – 5 Feb, 5 Mar, 2 Apr, 30 Apr, 28 May, 25 Jun, 6 Aug, 2 – 8 Sept (retreat), 15 Oct, 12 Nov, 3 Dec
2023 – 4 Feb, 4 Mar, 1 Apr, 29 Apr, 27 May, 24 Jun, 5 Aug, 1 – 7 Sept (retreat), 14 Oct, 11 Nov (exam), 2 Dec

And of course, mentoring and personal practice are the building blocks of this process.

For More information

What graduates of previous courses are saying

About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course

I was trained by Valerie between January 2013 and June 2015 and it was a life changing journey. During this extensive 550 hours (+++!) Teacher Training program, conducted according to Krishnamacharya tradition, I’ve learned the basics of what I needed to teach in an appropriate manner to my students. For each of the asanas we… Read more “About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course”

Celine Chambat, Portugal, YTT graduate 2015

About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course

I have done the TT training with Valerie, first as a way to learn more about yoga and how to do myself good. In reality it’s been an amazing and life changing journey. The pace of the training, the wealth of information and knowledge that were shared and offered, the personal reflection that was required… Read more “About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course”

Jehanne Phares Hakime, Singapore, graduated YTT in 2015

About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course

Passed from teacher to student through direct lineage from Krishnamacharya, the EKA 500hrs is highly recommended for those seeking authentic classical yoga according to the teachings of Sri Krishnamacharya. Valerie has a wealth of knowledge to share with students, covering pranayama, chanting, meditation, postures and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. The material learnt can be applied and… Read more “About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course”

Monique Morley, Singapore, YTT Graduate 2020

About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course

I took this teacher training course with the intention of helping others through the work of yoga. But it was actually the start of an inward journey towards a better understanding of myself, and I realized that I am the one who received the greatest help. I am happy that this course requires 2 years… Read more “About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course”

Siew Cheng Koh, Singapore & Malaysia, graduated YTT 2012

About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course

I had never expected to become a teacher. I was just fascinated with yoga and wanted to know more about it. The course covers all the aspects of Yoga. Chanting and Yogasutra are my favourites. Valerie has been a very precise, practical, clear, profound and caring teacher. She has every detail you would ever need… Read more “About the 500 hr Teacher Training Course”

Natalia Bruchilari, Argentina, graduate of YTT 2012

How is this course different?

Ongoing mentoring & Self-study - You will benefit from a minimum of 10 hours of one-on-one mentoring sessions to develop and evolve a customised practice as your platform of self-transformation, building a long-lasting connection with your mentor in the process.

Community - You will be part of a small group of 12 like-minded individuals linked together, sharing experiences, growing alongside each other for two years, and most likely beyond.

Methodology & teaching skills - You will become familiar with a broad range of tools unpacked in great detail (over 50 postures, 14 breath techniques, several energetic locks and techniques of meditation, Vedic chanting, and more), firmly establishing yourself as a skilful and compassionate teacher in a respected lineage, for a total of 600 hours, well in excess of industry standards.

Practical yoga philosophy - You will examine the nuts and bolts of yoga’s philosophy and psychology, with forays into the major texts and the detailed study of Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras, linking with concrete examples relating to everyday life.

An established leader in Yoga Training for over 10 years - You will be taught by a trainer with over 20 years of experience teaching yoga internationally, leading retreats, and running teacher training courses since 2008.

Course Curriculum

Please click here to receive the course brochure.

Brief summary of the course curriculum:

Module 1 | Anatomy & Physiology | the major systems, anatomy of movement, etc.
Module 2 | The Subtle Physiology of Yoga: cakras, nāḍīs, prāṇa, pañca-maya, pañca-vāyu, sapta-dhātu, tri-guṇa
Module 3 | Roots of Yoga: contextual history and evolution of yoga
Module 4 | Yoga Philosophy: overview of major texts (Bhagavad-Gītā, Sāṃkhya-Kārikā, Haṭha-Yoga-Pradīpikā, etc.); detailed study of ch. I & II of Patañjali's Yoga-Sūtra
Module 5.1 | Tools of Yoga: āsana | 50 postures studied in detail
Module 5.2 | Tools of Yoga: prāṇāyāma | 14 techniques studied in detail
Module 5.3 | Tools of Yoga: mudrās and bandhas (energetic seals), special postures as mudrās
Module 5.4 | Tools of Yoga: dhyāna (meditation) | definitions, applications etc.
Module 5.5 | Tools of Yoga: sound & Vedic chanting, non-religious
Module 6.1 | Teaching methodology: course planning, class sequencing
Module 6.2 | Teaching methodology: pedagogy of teaching, teaching practicum
Module 6.3 | Teaching methodology: ethics of teaching
Module 7 | Specialty yoga | Pre-natal, post-natal, children & teens, seniors, introduction to yoga- therapy

Teaching faculty

A French citizen, Valerie lived in Singapore from 2004 to 2021. She recently relocated to Perth with her Australian husband and two children. Valerie has been teaching yoga in the USA, the Netherlands, Australia and Singapore since 1999, and conducting teacher training courses in Singapore since 2008. She still mentors many graduates of past courses who are now living all over the world, from the Americas to Europe and of course Singapore. She identifies first and foremost as a student of yoga, and thus maintains strong links with her mentor Frans Moors in Belgium, and with the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) founded by TKV Desikachar in Chennai (India), where she has been studying for nearly 20 years. She is a Certified Yoga Teacher Trainer in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya. Valerie is a registered level 3 Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia.