Criteria for Certification

The following Criteria for Certification must be met by all students wishing to become Agama Yoga teachers. If during the Teacher Training Course any staff member becomes aware of any breach of these criteria, TTC Administration will be notified, and will investigate and address the matter promptly, in a case-appropriate manner. We reserve the right to deny certification to any student who does not fulfill course obligations or who does not meet Agama standards, detailed below. In the event that certification is withheld, it will be at the sole and final discretion of Swami Vivekananda to grant permission to retake the course.

Attendance

With the exception of emergencies, Agama expects full attendance of all TTC sessions in order to earn the certificate issued at the end of the course, pending the successful outcome of a student’s exams. A student will be granted a small margin of excused absenteeism from class sessions (5 percent or less) to account for illness, visa runs, or emergencies. Attendance is defined as participation in all facets of each scheduled session: theoretical presentation, asana practice, meditation, interviews, teaching workshops, etc. A student who does not meet the attendance minimum will not receive his or her teaching certificate. If a student’s excessive absence is due to a legitimate reason, such as an illness or other health emergency, he or she may join a future TTC, at a cost of 25 percent of the course (€525), and must successfully attend all classes and pass all exams (with the same margin of absenteeism noted above, for the same acceptable bases) in order to earn the course certificate. Otherwise, should certification be withheld due to unexcused absences, the student may – upon reapplication to the program and reapproval – reattend the TTC at a future date for the full program fee in order to receive certification.

It will be the student’s responsibility to make up any missed course material for excused absences.

Students may not study any other Agama course levels concurrently while enrolled in the Teacher Training Course.

Exams

Five exams mark a student’s progress throughout the course. The first two contain written questions taken from lecture theory and supplemental course materials. Two final exams, in conjunction with a final evaluation of the student, must be completed successfully. One is a written exam covering teachings and theory specific to the TTC; the other is a practical exam. In addition, students are expected to complete Red Sash Exam separately, which contains both theoretical and practical components, and in which students will be asked to demonstrate asanas, pranayama, and other techniques with satisfactory competency. Participants must complete the course with a cumulative passing exam average, in addition to attendance verification, in order to receive their teaching certification.

Practicum Workshop Training

Successful completion of all practicum teaching assignments is a requirement for certification. Presentations must demonstrate a student’s ability to teach using the Agama Yoga methodology, including a good command of the scripted mnemonics that participants will receive in the course, as well as theoretical absorption of the material itself demonstrated by a proper understanding of the course material, correct answers to questions when student-teaching, etc.

Professional and Ethical Behavior

After certification, an Agama Yoga teacher is expected to adhere to certain standards, which will be described fully in the Spiritual Code that you will be required to sign at the end of the course. If there is found to be a professional or ethical complaint against an Agama teacher, an inquiry will be made. If a legitimate basis for the complaint is found, it could result in revocation of certification, or other limitations placed on the teacher’s use of the name “Agama.”

Annual Empowerment

Agama Yoga teachers teach under the permission and spiritual protection of the founder and spiritual leader of the school, Swami Vivekananda Saraswati. At the end of each TTC, graduates receive an empowerment to teach directly from Swami Vivekananda. In order to continue teaching under the Agama name and with the protection of Swami Vivekananda, you must receive an empowerment each year. This brief meditation is arranged at least twice annually, scheduled a minimum of three weeks in advance. Teachers worldwide are asked to synchronize their schedules with this announced meditation and to participate in order to renew their empowerment.

Use of the Name “Agama”

We encourage TTC participants, upon graduation, to go out and teach this Yoga system. However, noncompliance with the Spiritual Code of Agama may be grounds for revocation of certification.