About The Yoga Institute
The Classical Traditions of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar - brought to life for you today
Understanding who you are learning from is a critical part of selecting a training provider. Here you can learn a little more about who we are, our training approach, as well as why we do things the way that we do.
Your experience is central to everything we do, and nothing is by chance 
For people with a passion for yoga, The Yoga Institute offers inspiration, education and support in applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to modern lives.
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Beginning in the year 2000 under the name Yoga Sanga - later becoming The Yoga Institute - we have been dedicated for a quarter of a century to helping people discover the techniques, wisdom and experience of this ancient healing system's benefits!
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Rather than primarily being a yoga studio with some training on the side, we are a dedicated yoga training, education and advocacy organisation.
Our mission is to help people experience transformation via the authentic transmission of the yoga traditions.
We are also involved in the international advocacy work with the World Health Organisation of elevating global standards of yoga training and education.
Training is not an adjunct for us, it is the very core of what we do.
With a deep understanding of the adult learning process and best ways to retain knowledge in the future, we do not advocate for training that rushes you through the learning experience - without opportunity to really process information, without opportunity to practice, experiment and read at home, or that does not include a significant portion of face-to-face training and dedicated one-on-one coaching.
All of our training offerings are designed as part-time courses; learning to sustainably embed yoga into your 'real life', so that you can incorporate yoga into your daily life, for a lifetime.
Each course includes:
- Dedicated one-on-one mentoring to help meet you wherever you are at in your unique yoga journey,
- Time to process, practice and reflect,
- Access to materials at home to help you take ownership of your learning experience in a way that best suits your lifestyle,
- Feedback on both your intellectual grasp of knowledge and concepts, and importantly, on your embodied knowledge such as asana and pranayama techniques, and teaching skills.... so you know you're on the right track!
In a world where (astonishingly) it's possible to graduate a teacher training program without ever having feedback on teaching a class, our programs all adhere to the philosophy of allowing people to do embodied practice (with feedback) step-by-step throughout all of the training, and ultimately opportunities to practice teaching complete yoga classes, in environments that feel supportive and encouraging, helping cement your learnings bit by bit, and bolster your confidence along the way.
Personal growth and transformation don't happen in comfort zones, and - like a juicy stretch or yoga posture - you will feel the deliciousness of that which is new and/or challenging, but always in ways that are encouraging and supportive.
We know that our adult education approach helps our students emerge with a new lens on the experience of being alive, and skills for life. And, for those training to share yoga with others, as immensely capable yoga teachers who feel confident to safely and lovingly hold space for others and to launch & elevate their teaching careers.
Whether you want to study for enjoyment & personal development, to learn how to teach yoga, or to upgrade an existing qualification and elevate your career, The Yoga Institute is here for you.
The Yoga Institute provides:
- Yoga Teacher Training
- Yoga Studies Short Courses
- Yoga Teacher Standalone Mentoring
- Yoga Teacher Study Upgrade Pathways
- Yoga Therapy Training
- Yoga Teacher Continuing Education
- Development of your personal yoga practice
- Sanga events and teacher listening circles to foster support, community and shared learning
Our yoga studio is known as Cammeray Yoga. The Yoga Institute is proud to share our centre with the passionate team of yoga teachers at Cammeray Yoga, who operate as self-employed yoga teachers, and offer classes and community events to the public in our beautiful studio space. Teachers' contact details and a sample timetable can be found here.
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Our Yoga Teacher Training Faculty
Located on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, The Yoga Institute is a dedicated centre for education in yoga. Passionate about yoga and the benefits it brings to peoples' lives, our team is lead by Dr Michael de Manincor, a direct student of TKV Desikachar (see below).
Our team committed to providing yoga teachers and yoga teacher training students with a highly engaging learning experience. This includes:
- Using best practice adult education methodologies
- Fostering an open, safe and supportive learning environment
- Utilising web-based e-learning tools to complement face-to-face tuition
- Facilitation of stimulating and intelligent discussion
- Highly skilled and experienced lecturing staff and mentors
The Yoga Institute values the role that mentoring offers both trainee teachers and yoga teachers. We have a team of experienced mentors who provide support and guidance, including developing a personal yoga practice.
Course Recognition
Yoga Australia (formerly YTAA)
The Yoga Institute's 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program is registered with Yoga Australia. Completion of the Diploma course meets all the requirements to become a full member with Yoga Australia (Level 1, 350 hrs).
Membership of Yoga Australia also provides eligibility to gain professional indemnity insurance in Australia.
Please note that currently there is no governing body or government requirements for course accreditation or certification of Yoga Teachers in Australia. However, government requirements for accreditation and registration of Yoga Teachers may change in the future. We always encourage our graduates and other yoga teachers to be registered teachers with Yoga Australia.
In Australia, a minimum of 350 hours of training is required by Yoga Australia to register as a Level-1 Yoga Teacher (ie: non-provisional yoga teacher)
Our 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate enables our graduates to immediately differentiate themselves as yoga teacher, while simultaneously providing them the additional training to feel super confident, be able to authentically give people tailored one-on-one sessions, and opens the door to more advanced trainings - such as Yoga Therapy.
Visit Yoga Australia for more information
Teachings
At The Yoga Institute we teach an approach to yoga that comes from the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya, who is considered to be one of the greatest yogis of the past century.
During the one hundred years of his life, he inspired thousands of practitioners worldwide and taught prominent teachers such as B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, A.G. Mohan, and his own son TKV Desikachar. It was his students' ability to travel internationally and their grasp of western languages that propelled Krishnamacharya's teachings into the western world.
TKV Desikachar was a student of his father for three decades. In 1976 he founded a non-profit Yoga Centre in Chennai, India, The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) to share and propagate the teachings of his father and teacher. His English language skills and travel to Australia & New Zealand helped bring the ancient wisdom of Yoga to the English-speaking populations in the southern hemisphere.
Essential to these teachings is the principle to "Teach what is inside you, not as it applies to you, to yourself, but as it applies to the other".
Yoga should always be adapted to the needs, circumstances and goals of each individual, never the individual to fit the yoga.
Come join our community and benefit from our decades of yoga education experience. We can't wait to meet you!
You may also enjoy reading How To Choose a Teacher Training Program
The Yoga Institute acknowledges the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our centre is based.
Copyright The Yoga Institute 2025