The 6 month course includes a Yoga Alliance® USA 500hr Registered Yoga Teacher™ qualification, as long as you complete the required hours.
The long-term study is an individualized program according to your specific focus with guidance and instruction from your teachers.
6 months / 500 hr Training Dates 2024-2025
October 15th, 2024 – April 11th, 2025
December 01st, 2024 – May 29th, 2025
*Please arrive the day before your course begins and depart the day after your course ends (no extra charge).
*Free day every Wed. and Sat., 1-2 weeks break between trainings.
Daily Schedule
(subject to change)
Honour and Cultivate Yourself
07:15-07.30 ārti (ā + rati) offerings towards the Divine principle, Nyasa and Japa
7:30-09:30 Traditional Ayurvedic Walking Massage (exchange massage to prepare the body for āsanas)
09:30-11:30 Morning āsanas
(a compact set of āsanas designed to integrate relaxation into life along with Prāṇāyāma and/or Bandhas to optimize your internal system/Teaching Practicums mid-month)
11:30-14:30 Lunch and Interpersonal Communication
(engage and grow in the community as you develop your abilities to honestly interact with others). Rest and Study time (culture personal growth, study/relax and rejuvenate your whole system)
14:30-16:15 Satsang/Discussion (meeting of minds)
16:30-19:00 Tri-dosha balancing āsana series
19:00 Shower, Dinner, Social Development (participate freely in developing skills to interact honestly in the group dynamic setting)
20:30 Evening Program: Music, Dance, Goddess worship/Puja, Sanskrit chanting/study, movie nights (twice weekly)
*One-on-one appointments at your request.
Temple in Hampi, India.
6 month / 500 hr Training Prices 2024-2025
*All Standard and Premium Rooms have a private bathroom
Regular Pricing Per Person (7 to 90 day advance payment)
$8875 Standard Single / $7925 Standard Couple/Friends Sharing
$9675 Premium Single / $8700 Premium Couple/Friends Sharing
$7050 4 Bed Women’s and 4 Bed Men's Dorm
Early Bird Per Person (90 - 179 day advance payment / 10% discount)
$7920 Standard Single / $7125 Standard Couple/Friends Sharing
$8700 Premium Single / $7850 Premium Couple/Friends Sharing
$6325 4 Bed Women’s and 4 Bed Men's Dorm
Super Early Bird Per Person (180+ day advance payment / 20% discount)
$7050 Standard Single / $6325 Standard Couple/Friends Sharing
$7750 Premium Single / $6975 Premium Couple/Friends Sharing
$5625 4 Bed Women's Dorm and 4 Bed Men’s Dorm
Pricing Details:
-All prices are per person with accommodation and Ayurvedic based meal program
-All prices in US Dollars
Cancellation Policy:
85% refund until 7 days before program, 50% refund within 7 days of program, or free rescheduling for same program on a different date
*Cancellation policy for Early Bird and Super Early Bird:
50% refund or free rescheduling for same program on a different date
Long-term Initiation Courses
As students go deeper into the study of Tantra at Shri Kali Ashram, the system unfolds itself to them in ever-increasing insights. As such, a longer course of study is recommended.
For those aspiring to be Tantric teachers or adopt the Tantric lifestyle, we recommend a minimum of six months intensive study. This time-frame allows one to truly immerse oneself in the system, allowing time to fully relax, integrate and appreciate the intricacies of the teachings. As the body and mind are brought into harmony, the student is able to move past limitations into a full and meaningful life.
Benefits of Joining our Long-term Courses:
Overall health: In our school of tantra, through the regular practice of āsanas, prāṇāyāma, and bandhas you will effect changes in you energetic body (prāṇa/chi field) which will bring about health and vitality to physical body, sexuality, emotions, mentality, and spirituality.
Sexuality: Tantra understands sexuality to be a foundational aspect of existence, hence healing any disharmony there will produce benefits throughout all aspects of life. The whole idea is for you to become a complete being (jīvanmukti) with no psychological deficits so that you can appreciate a total relationship and life. Tantra teaches you to live this moment in totality. In 6 months practice you can bring about health in your sexuality. In even longer study you can better understand the inner workings of the energetic (prāṇa) system in order to help others and be more precise with yourself.
Lifestyle: By participating long term in our community, you will be able to experience and adopt a wholistic lifestyle. Live according to timeless principles for health and happiness.
Mental health: When your chi or prāṇa system is imbalanced, it shows that the coordination and interaction between your inner systems are poor and manifests as a lack of energy, lack of health, lack of mental health (depression, anxiety, stress, hypertension, insomnia, bipolar etc). Living in this state builds a pattern which convinces many that they have fundamental psychological deficits. However, when the energy system (prāṇa/chi) is brought into balance, these symptoms vanish.
Philosophy: There has been a big interest in the Trika system, Advaita, and non-dualism. We teach the full aspect of these schools of thought, not from the academic point of view (inherently colonialist), but from a genuine Traditional Tantric perspective. The academics have their own readings but the Traditional Tantrics, as Ma Kristina, offer here the wholistic perspective of Advaita as one total ideology not just of India, but present throughout the whole ancient world.
Self-Knowledge: With education and meditation you will come to a deeper understanding of yourself and others and your relationship to the world. This will change your worldview.
Self-Love: Self-care is the fundamental builder of self-love. In tantra we care for the physical, emotional, sexual body, mental, and chi bodies (puryaṣṭaka). We do this through our practices and our lifestyle. Tantra understands each being as precious. Studying tantra goes beyond repeating common platitudes and affirmations, and allows you to really understand and appreciate your valuable, unique and interconnected existence. This will transform the way you live your life.
Authentic Action: If you wish to share healthy wholistic practices with others as a teacher or in your personal relationships, it’s best to have it deeply integrated for yourself. Long-term courses will allow you to do this authentically.
Direct Guidance: You will receive individual guidance from long term teachers and Ma Kristina.
Daily Life at the Ashram Includes:
Our All-Inclusive package is complete:
Yoga Alliance® USA 500hr Registered Yoga Teacher™ qualification
Daily energy culturing āsana practice (balancing the doshas, vata/pitta/kapha)
Regular prāṇāyāma, bandhas, vyāyāma (supportive practice) yoga classes
Daily Āyurvedic walking massage instruction and guided practice (receiving and giving)
Puja/goddess consecration: including tantric mantras, mudrās, offerings and meditation on your true nature as a reflection of the divine
Introduction to Sanskrit: to familiarize yourself with the language system of Tantra and Yoga, which is foundational for Tantric meditation
Lectures/Satsangs: covering many topics such as psychology and sociology (for teachers to understand their students and also understand their own personal growth with relevance to Tantra Yoga); spiritual cultures of the world; the modern understanding of tantra and yoga; traditional Tantric/Yogic philosophy (Trika, kuṇḍalinī, etc.), lifestyle and ethics, āsana theory, anatomy and physiology, and teaching methodology
500 hours component: 14 weeks intensive study including 12 weeks teaching practicum in the mornings, a rest day every three or four days, and 2 weeks holiday between 200hr and 300 hr modules
Three healthy vegetarian meals per day (Tridoṣa balanced meals)
Comfortable Accommodation (suitable for singles and couples)
Testimonials from Long-term Students
Mikael Kjærsgaard Møller "I have for several years been practicing, studying and looking into different kinds of yoga, meditation and tantra, as I felt life was about more than what I had experienced so far.
Looking into these different practices has helped me, but there has until now always been something missing. No matter what I did, and how much I did it, there was still something underlying missing. After having studied tantra for a couple of years in Denmark, I saw there was something beautiful in the philosophy, but at the same time I had the feeling that there was a lot of misunderstandings about tantra and that there were some deeper perspectives missing from the tantra I encountered in Europe.
So in 2013 I started looking for a school that could give me a traditional perspective on tantra and yoga to see, if that could give me the answers I was looking for. In the search I came across Shri Kali, and decided to leave my job as communication officer to go there and see what it was about… read more."
“The long-term study at Shri Kali Ashram allows for one to integrate and build upon the foundational information given in the one and three month programs. The longer study provides an opportunity to go deeper into the Tantra science, i.e. learning Sanskrit, going into traditional Tantric Texts, learning and studying the rituals as well as deepening the āsana, pranāyama and bandha practices. Personally, I was interested in building and progressing my overall quality of life, so the ability to stay long term in order to integrate what I was learning, along side others who had similar goals, was wonderful. I was able to see my own limitations and gain the skills to work through deeply ingrained conditionings in order to discover and actualize my potential for living a happy and wholesome life. The long-term program, aside from the Tantric studies, prepares one for participating honestly in life. My interpersonal skills significantly improved as I was interacting with many people from all across the world, my relationships improved drastically, and most importantly, I gained the tools to be honest and really honor myself. The long-term programs at Shri Kali Ashram are for those who are serious about adopting and integrating Tantra as a serious and sustaining life culture.”
Sampsa Pynnönen
"The long-term Tantric Initiation courses at Shri Kali Ashram are dedicated to giving all those interested an opportunity to dive deep into the ancient sciences of Yoga, Tantra and the Veda. I have been most satisfied with the guidance and teaching offered. It does not matter whether you are fluent in Sanskrit or have never done Yoga in your life, the course will be adapted to suit your particular situation from where you are at to where you want to be. One gets presented with a truly holistic take on the ancient sciences and as the months cruise by, the āsanas quickly become increasingly effortless to perform and with the guidance of Bhagavan Shri Shanmukha and Ma Kristina, the whole Vedic and Tantric sciences in their beauty and interconnectedness begin to open up. Having teachers at your side who have decades of experience in the system which they teach is a must in that they guide the students along the learning process not by holding their hand but by showing them the path one can then take.
I believe the Initiation Courses will be especially helpful for those who want to deepen their understanding of the Veda, Yoga and Tantra and will certainly cater to those who have been searching for answers regarding the fundamentals of life. A love of learning, an open mind, as well as honest introspection coupled with a will to drop unhelpful habits and life styles will certainly ease the process. The course excels in its residential nature whereby the Initiation becomes a 24/7 process as compared with going to classes in your home town a few times a week. This allows one to immerse oneself into a Tantric culture, which Shri Kali is dedicated to preserving."