K1

Foundation (Level 1) Yoga Teacher Training Course in Modern Kundalini Yoga

Our comprehensive 200+ hour Kundalini Yoga Instructor course comprises a minimum of 160 hours of classroom instruction and 40+ hours of home study leading to an internationally recognised certification and (optional) membership of Yoga Alliance Professionals (UK) - "raising standards of yoga teaching worldwide".

“Today's Teachers test old sources and explore new solutions, together with their students - the teachers of tomorrow.”

Upcoming K1 courses    

i-SKY Local websites worldwide  

i-SKY is a long established and fully independent yoga school operating globally and registered as such with Yoga Alliance Professionals (UK).

We specialise in modern Kundalini Yoga, popularised in the West by Yogi Bhajan. We offered the first internationally certified Kundalini Yoga Instructors course in the UK (1995) and for 30 years worked with the Kundalini Research Institute (USA) certifying students to the Yoga Alliance (USA) standards.

Since 2018 i-SKY have actively supported Yoga Alliance Professionals (UK) in their mission to raise the standards of yoga teaching and training worldwide. i-SKY courses, students and teachers are now registered with yogaallianceprofessionals.org as our commitment to shared excellence, applied worldwide, across all yogic traditions.

Our K1 course includes:

• Use of breath, posture, sound, and meditation to awaken & train the mind & body. 

• Kundalini and Yogic philosophy. 

• Yogic and Western Anatomy;

• Developing a clear calm meditative mind 

• Utilising mantra and sacred sound from various traditions

• The way of the Yogini;

• Developing a daily yoga practice;

• Developing a personal yogic lifestyle;

• Teaching modern Kundalini Yoga inclusively;

• Truth, transformation and the guru complex.

• The ethics, role and conduct of a teacher

• Examining a variety of sources to determine a personal position

During this course you will: 

• Learn to safely and beneficially apply the traditional understanding of Kundalini in a contemporary yogic context. 

• Challenge yourself. 

• Confront self-imposed limits. 

• Touch your soul. 

• Experience your highest, purest consciousness. 

• Gain the knowledge & confidence to build a more peaceful and creative life.

• Work creatively with a group of like-minded people - many of our courses feature an affordable yoga retreat led by our graduates.

• Work to achieve an internationally recognised yoga teaching certification - with the opportunity to create a life-long career.

This course is suitable for:

• Students of Kundalini Yoga

• Students and Practitioners of any of the many paths of yoga

• Teachers of other spiritual perspectives

• All seeking to deepen a yogic experience (including those who do not want to instruct yoga)

• Those simply seeking to develop a greater spiritual awareness

Certification Requirements:

• Attendance and participation in all sessions 

• Timely payment of all course fees

• Satisfactory teaching practice assessment

• Passing grade in any oral, written or practical exams

• Attendance of at least 10 approved yoga classes outside the course

• Creation of at least 2 yoga class curricula

• Completion of at least 2 assigned 40-day yoga kriya 

• Satisfactory completion of all coursework 

• Submission of course and trainer evaluation/feedback (if requested)

• Upholding an approved yogic Code of Practice/Ethics

Please note:

1. The i-SKY Teacher Training team reserve the right to grant certification based solely on their discretion and evaluation of each student’s readiness to be a Teacher of Modern Kundalini Yoga. This evaluation is based on successfully meeting the course requirements including but not limited to those listed above. 

2. Students are strongly encouraged to submit all certification requirements within 6 weeks after the end date of the course. All requirements must be completed and submitted no later than 12 months after the conclusion of the course. 

i-SKY offer the K1 course as a Foundation Course (Level 1) recognised by Yoga Alliance Professionals (UK)

i-SKY Training Teams

Formerly, as Mentoring Lead Trainers within the Aquarian Trainer Academy (USA), Guru Dharam and Darryl created an excellent international i-SKY training team to complement the friendly local i-SKY administrative and student support teams. 

Currently i-SKY maintains our mentoring and team training provision within the flexible structures afforded by Yoga Alliance Professionals (YAP)

No less than 75% of every i-SKY YAP courses is taught by one or more of the Senior Yoga Teachers

All i-SKY team members are required to maintain an ongoing process of ProfessionalSupervisionSpiritualGuidance (i-SKY PSG - established under the direction of the late Judy Fraser).

Why train with i-SKY?

Our syllabus is unique and has been evolving since 1995. Our approach is to challenge the group and in return to rise to the opportunities they present - every student group takes the teachings in new directions. The minimum level of instruction and the required level for certification should be the same the same for any YAP Foundation or YA Level 1 course anywhere in the world but some students will be better suited to one program or trainer than another. We have been offering these courses for longer than most and have a great deal of diverse experience. We try to be inclusive, to offer a yogic perspective which we can substantiate (rather than random rules which must be enforced) and, over the years, we have generally been seen as taking a more liberal view within modern Kundalini Yoga than most. We have over a quarter of a century of excellent student feedback and are always happy to put prospective students in touch with a recent graduate to talk about the course from a student's perspective. Whenever possible we offer the option to try a day or two before committing to the whole course. We endeavour to make all our courses affordable and graduates consistently report that they got much more out of the course than they had expected - some having paid much more in the past for "similar" programs that delivered less. If you have the opportunity to do so please join us on one of our retreat weekends where you can chat to current students, see the quality of their delivery, and get a taste of the i-SKY style.

The international School of Kundalini Yoga (i-SKY) is the longest established Kundalini Yoga training in the UK (1996) and was amongst the first of the KRI (Kundalini Research Institute) certified programs across the world. i-SKY evolved into a network of international Schools of Kundalini Yoga offering a variety of other training programs and related short courses - in addition to training kundalini yoga teachers in the UK, USA, the Middle East, South East Asia, and across Europe.

i-SKY is committed to spreading the safe practice and understanding of yoga in the new "aquarian" age and recognises diverse sources of authentic Kundalini Yoga from the ages past. i-SKY seeks to create competent and confident practitioners and instructors of Yoga through example, challenge and encouragement; and to inspire those teachers to enthuse a new generation of students through this timeless technology of personal transformation. 

“A tree is known by its fruit.”

i-SKY K1 Modular Course Structure

The K1 course comprises a minimum of 20 very full days and is offered in a variety of formats mixing 1 - 5 day modules and variously ordering the content. K1 has been most often presented as 10 residential weekends.

Our new 2025 "midweek" course will comprise 25 shorter days and the content will follow the topic sequence below - supported by a brand new course manual.

- Introduction to Modern Kundalini Yoga

- Kriya: the Mechanics of Yoga

- The Body and its Energy Systems

- Teaching Yoga

- Living Consciously - yoga for life

- Awareness and Spirituality

- Mind and Meditation

- Roots of Yoga and its Philosophy

- Practicum

Cost and Dates

Costs will vary from region to region but we always try to offer great value for what is a well proven experience. Non-residential and online courses have proliferated in recent years but when and where possible we still offer live in-person courses (which we believe best supports the student process). We do not offer "one month intensives" as we believe gradual assimilation to better assist a deep process of personal transformation.

Please see local course links for specific course details in countries other than the U.K.

The UK specific information below will still be of general interest if you are considering a course with us in another country.

U.K. K1 course information

We no longer retain a single residential venue and in recent years our courses have moved around the country "by invitation". We enjoy this and will continue to do so - wherever invited...

We may offer online and hybrid courses but our preference is for the broader experience and informal social learning afforded by a regular in person group.

See the latest course information here 

Current U.K. Courses & Fees

2025

Crowthorne, Berkshire. £1995 (prepaid)

Non-Residential Weekday course including a new comprehensive course manual, Yoga Alliance Professionals trainee teacher membership (& student teacher insurance options); excludes local B&B (if required). Lunch is not included but can be provided for a small cost (paid locally).

U.K. Historical Information

Since 1996 (when i-SKY established the very first UK Kundalini Yoga course in the UK) until 2022 we offered an annual cycle of what has proved to be a very successful and rewarding residential programme. Rewarding for those individuals who chose to explore their own self-awareness through this transformational spiritual technology and successful in that we annually empowered ever more conscious and competent teachers - many of whom never expected to teach at all!

Every year some students joined us with little awareness of an intention to teach but with a genuine motivation to deepen their understanding of the process that Kundalini Yoga had sparked within them and, year after year, those students discovered themselves - in the realisation that we are all teachers in the making.

The experience of a modern Kundalini Yoga class or practice touches the soul or spirit and engenders a deep yearning for something missing in our modern lives. Although we treat all our K1 course participants as prospective yoga instructors, we are aware that ever more of our students are using this course to facilitate a necessary change in their increasingly demanding lives. K1 delivers personal transformation - as the cocoon facilitates the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.

Student Feedback

The course itself has developed over the years and has been offered in more than 50 different countries. Our 200+ hour syllabus is supported by an excellent course manual and enjoys international recognition through Yoga Alliance Professionals. Our course is largely experiential but if you thought that this course would be all about yoga postures you are in for a most informative surprise.

The course must be completed within a 2 year period (i.e. any part missed must be attended in the next series - unless alternative provision is made). As well as the core group of new students, who will progress through the course with you, you may subsequently meet experienced students from a previous course completing their attendance requirement. We find this approach broadens the participant’s experience as well as allowing some flexibility for those juggling other time commitments.

Our exciting syllabus has been developing for a quarter of a century and is delivered in the UK by an internationally experienced i-SKY team under the direction of Darryl O'Keeffe and/or Guru Dharam Singh Khalsa and/or Livtar Llyn. Each Part is presented by one of the i-SKY Trainers sometimes supported by a member of our Teacher in Training team and/or an experienced Aide (whom you will have usually met on your first weekend) - this ensures continuity as well as a variety of presentation styles.

We encourage students to begin to instruct during the course and can provide suitable insurance arrangements. We encourage our graduates to continue appropriate professional development - both within i-SKY and more broadly through Yoga Alliance Professionals.

We firmly believe that experience is the key to understanding, so we try to offer opportunities to experience the course before committing yourself to registering as a student. Firstly. yoga retreats offer the opportunity to meet with past and present students and teachers and get a flavour of the i-SKY style. Secondly, (subject to availability) you can attend an initial session with no obligation to continue the course further unless you then choose to do so. Please note though, that the demand for places on our courses has often meant that only those who pre-register for the course can be assured of a place. Several places may be reserved a year in advance and late applicants may be disappointed.

The final part of our course has traditionally been an "open to all" yoga retreat planned and facilitated by our graduating students.

Ufton Court, an historic Tudor manor extended in Elizabethan times (pictured above), was our UK residential course home for many years but since Covid we have preferred to offer smaller local courses once again - often by invitation to yoga centres and even private homes...

Yoga is a path of self-development, a path to the realisation that all is One. Yoga means the "union of all". All yogic paths lead to an awareness of the subtle energy centres or chakras and the latent spiritual energy of Kundalini. It may be truly said that Kundalini is the point of union of all paths of yoga.

Kundalini Yoga facilitates the integration of body, mind and soul through achieving, maintaining and expanding a state of higher consciousness. This state is reached through asanas (physical exercises and postures), pranayama (breath control), meditation, relaxation, yogic philosophy and a yogic lifestyle as shared, taught and practised on this course.

"Experience is the key. It is experience that validates our understanding. Experience goes right into the heart. No words can replace experience." This course, therefore, is essentially experiential.

Personal practice is the foundation of the spiritual technology that is modern Kundalini Yoga and an early morning group sadhana forms the backbone of a residential course - groups exercising, meditating, chanting and singing before breakfast.

 
You will be learning and practising a proven spiritual discipline that bridges scientific and religious understanding.
You will experience, enjoy and participate in creating a spiritually charged group dynamic.
You will develop a deeper understanding of your own yoga practice.
You will be making new friends and sharing a lot of laughter with like-minded people.
You will have the opportunity to qualify as an internationally recognised Modern Kundalini Yoga Teacher and, even if you choose not to do so, you will find yourself better able to support those who will increasingly turn toward you - because they find themselves uncomfortable where they are and they saw or perceive that you did something that worked for you, that changed you and left you comfortable where you are "standing in your own truth".

Suitability
This course is open to all and everyone has the potential to benefit from it:
Experienced students with a well-developed personal practice of Yoga over one or more years who may now wish to share those benefits with others.
Less experienced students simply seeking to deepen their understanding of Yoga.
We strive to offer a basic ashram style experience, accentuating the simple pleasures in life.
Any diet provided will be vegan and the group may be self-catering (an integral part of the learning experience -when offered).
We seek to share with all an "ashram style" experience - including the chores!

Outline in-person Schedule (non-residential)

09:10   Session 1
11.00   Session 2 (Active)
12:30   Lunch
13:15   Session 3
15:00   Session 4
16:35   Close of Day

Outline online Schedule

09:00   Session 1
11.00   Session 2 (Active)
12:30   Lunch
13:30   Session 3
15:30   Session 4
17:00   Close of Day

plus weekly sessions of 75-90 mins for the duration of the course.

Outline in-person Schedule (weekend residential)

FRIDAY
17:00 Optional Yoga Class
18.15 Supper
18.45 Registration
19:00 Diary Feedback
20:00 Weekend Theme
21:00 Close of Day
SATURDAY
07:00   Sadhana
08:00   Breakfast
09:00   Session 1
11.30   Session 2 (Active)
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Session 3
16:00   Session 4
18:00   Supper
18:00   Session 5
21:00   Close of Day
SUNDAY
07:00   Sadhana
08:00   Breakfast
09:00   Session 1
11.30   Session 2 (Active)
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Session 3
16:00   Close of Weekend

Basic Certification Requirements for YAP Foundation (Level 1) i-SKY certification

i-SKY courses register Trainees with Yoga Alliance Professionals where, after successfully completing the following 10 aspects of the course, the Trainee can (optionally) upgrade YAP membership to Yoga Teacher and follow a personal path of professional development. 

 1    Full attendance of all sessions within a two year period and full payment of all fees in advance.
 2    Completion of at least ten approved yoga classes after commencement of the course.
 3    Satisfactory performance in practicum
 4    Passing grade or better in any examination, assessment etc..
 5    Creation of two yoga course curricula.
 6    Completion of two 40 day kriya (yoga set/meditation).
 7    Establishment of a regular (daily) yoga practise through the course.
 8    Representation of an approved (YAP and/or other) Code of Practice (Professional Standards for Yoga Teachers and satisfactory performance in a course exit interview (if offered or required).
 9    Completion of Certification Requirements (all set coursework and examinations to a satisfactory standard) before the end of the program.
10   Maintenance of a daily journal of experience and progress.

  
Evidence Requirements for the Achievement of YAP Foundation (Level 1) i-SKY certification
 1  Written verification of course attendance by i-SKY. 
 2  Written verification of observation by a teacher trainer or experienced KY teacher (acceptable to i-SKY).
 3  Written verification of observation by a teacher trainer or experienced KY teacher (acceptable to i-SKY).
 4  Completed K1 exam paper marked and signed by i-SKY.
 5  Two completed course curricula agreed and signed off by i-SKY.
 6  Personal statement supported by Student Diary entries
 7  Personal statement supported by Student Diary entries
 8  Signed and dated copies of a Code of Ethics and i-SKY Certification Requirements.
 9  Submission of all coursework requested to a satisfactory standard and written verification of complete submission by i-SKY.
10 Personal statement summarising the journey documented by the diary with reference to differnt entries over a period of at least 3 months.

i-SKY Coursework (example submission meeting the requirements of 9 above) specific coursework required may vary from course to course and person to person

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself." Galileo 

 “The most important surrender is the surrender of your character, your way of being, so that it may change. 

If you do not surrender your very own nature, never will this nature change.” The Mother - Mirra Alfassa.

Upcoming K1 courses     i-SKY Local websites worldwide