Mantra / TM · In-person + Online
Kriya Yoga meditation teacher training from Ananda, founded by Swami Kriyananda (a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda). Distinct from but parallel to the SRF lineage; emphasizes Yogananda's energization exercises plus seated meditation. Yoga Alliance accredited.
Ananda Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training is the formal teacher pathway in the Ananda Sangha lineage of Yogananda's Kriya Yoga, founded by Swami Kriyananda. Kriyananda was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda from 1948 until Yogananda's death in 1952, and he later established Ananda Village in Nevada City, California, in 1968 as a spiritual community and training center. The Ananda lineage diverged from Self-Realization Fellowship after Kriyananda's departure from SRF, and the two organizations now offer parallel but distinct expressions of Yogananda's teachings. The training is unusual in combining a Yoga Alliance accredited 200 and 300-hour yoga teacher certification with substantive meditation teacher preparation in the Yogananda tradition. The asana component is built around Yogananda's Energization Exercises, a set of thirty-nine subtle physical practices he developed for awakening and directing prana, plus a postural yoga form Kriyananda developed called Ananda Yoga, which uses asana with affirmations and concentration on energy centers. The meditation component covers the foundational Yogananda techniques including Hong-Sau, Aum, and preparatory work toward Kriya Yoga initiation, which is offered separately to qualified students. The primary residential format is a roughly three-week intensive at Ananda Village, with online cohort options and shorter modular pathways available. Tuition runs roughly USD 3,000 to 5,500 depending on format, accommodation, and pathway length. The program issues both Yoga Alliance RYT 200 or 300 credentials and the Ananda Certified Teacher designation, and it sits within the Ananda Sangha network of communities and centers in nine countries. The lineage is explicitly devotional and guru-centered. Yogananda is the central figure, with Kriyananda and the senior current Ananda teachers as the lineage holders. Practitioners drawn to a non-devotional or fully secular meditation pathway will find the framing a fit only if they're willing to engage seriously with the lineage's bhakti and guru-disciple structure.
The training sequences across yoga philosophy, asana methodology, energization exercises, meditation practice, and teaching skills. Philosophy covers Yogananda's reading of the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and the Sankhya framework that underlies Kriya Yoga. Asana methodology centers on Ananda Yoga, Kriyananda's adaptation of postural yoga that emphasizes affirmation and energy direction over alignment-as-end. Energization Exercises receive substantial time as the lineage's distinctive subtle physical practice. Meditation instruction covers Hong-Sau breath awareness, Aum sound meditation, and preparation for Kriya Yoga initiation. Teaching skills include sequencing for asana classes, leading group meditation, introducing the lineage to newcomers, and integrating affirmations and chanting in ways that work for mixed audiences. Kriyananda's books are central reading, alongside selected works by Yogananda himself.
The intensive residential format runs across roughly three weeks at Ananda Village in Nevada City, with substantial daily practice, meditation retreats, classroom study, peer teaching, and immersion in the community life of Ananda Village. Online cohort and modular pathways extend the same content across longer timeframes for participants unable to commit three weeks residentially. Faculty include senior Ananda teachers and current lineage holders. Assessment combines written examination, peer teaching review, and personal interviews with senior teachers about the candidate's practice and readiness to represent the lineage in teaching.
Graduates earn the Yoga Alliance RYT 200 or 300 credential and the Ananda Certified Teacher designation. They are qualified to teach Ananda Yoga, lead meditation classes in the Yogananda tradition, and offer introductory study within the lineage. The Ananda credential carries weight within the network of Ananda Sangha centers in nine countries; the Yoga Alliance credential carries weight in the wider yoga teaching market. Many graduates teach at local Ananda centers, lead retreats, or integrate the practice into their own studio teaching. Kriya Yoga initiation, the lineage's central transmission, is offered separately to qualified students.
Applicants need a personal yoga and meditation practice, typically several months to a year of consistent engagement, and an alignment with the lineage's devotional and guru-centered framing. Some prior exposure to Yogananda's teachings is helpful but not required. The intensive residential format also assumes the practical capacity to commit three weeks to residential practice; the online and modular pathways have lighter time demands but still require substantial daily commitment.
The Ananda training sits alongside the SRF Lessons as the two main pathways into the Yogananda lineage. SRF's home-study Lessons format is explicitly self-paced and culminates in Kriya Yoga initiation; Ananda's program is a more conventional teacher training with Yoga Alliance certification and a residential intensive option. The two communities are distinct organizationally and have somewhat different emphases: Ananda integrates community life and Kriyananda's adapted Ananda Yoga asana form; SRF retains the more original Yogananda format and slower lineage pace. For practitioners wanting an active teaching pathway and Yoga Alliance credentials, Ananda is the more obvious fit. For practitioners wanting the original Yogananda lineage stream, SRF.
| Location | In-person + Online |
| Country | United States |
| Tradition | Mantra / TM |
| Format | In-person, Online |
| Training hours | 200 |
| Duration | ~3 weeks intensive |
| Estimated cost | USD 3,000-5,500 |
| Accreditation | Yoga Alliance RYT 200/300, Ananda Certified Teacher |