Aerial Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh with Priya Sharma

Aerial Yoga Teacher Training, Taught in the Hammock

The aerial yoga teacher training at Rishikesh Nath Yogshala is a single intensive week built around one specific skill: teaching yoga in a fabric hammock rather than on a mat. It is led by Priya Sharma, the school's aerial yoga specialist and an RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance, and it is deliberately narrow in scope. This is not a general teacher training with a hammock bolted onto it. It exists because aerial yoga asks for a different vocabulary than floor-based practice, rigging, weight distribution, spotting, and a genuinely different set of contraindications, and a serious teacher needs to learn that vocabulary properly rather than pick it up by trial and error in front of a paying class.

The training runs at the same school on the northern edge of Laxman Jhula, on the bank of the Ganga, and draws on the same Nath lineage roots that shape everything else taught here, though the aerial curriculum itself is a modern specialisation rather than a classical one. What it shares with the school's longer trainings is the same standard of care: nothing improvised, nothing taught without first covering how to keep a student safe in a hammock several feet off the ground.

The same honest-pricing approach applies here as it does everywhere else at the school: one number, quoted before you book, with nothing added once you have arrived. You should not have to break the bank to add a genuine specialisation to your teaching. What the course fee covers is set out in full below.

Here is exactly what is included in the aerial yoga course fee, item by item, so there is nothing left to guess at once you have arrived.

Free pickup from Dehradun airport is included with every residential course on arrival; ask the school about return drop-off when you book.

A single intensive week is not long, and the curriculum is built to respect that rather than pretend otherwise. It does not attempt to teach general yoga teaching skills from scratch; it assumes you already have them and spends its time entirely on what is specific to teaching in the air. What follows is what each part of the training covers.

The aerial curriculum is taught by Priya Sharma. Meet the full teaching team, including Mayuri Shewale and Rahul Badoni, on the teachers page.

Sound Healing, Included

Sound healing is part of the shared rhythm at Rishikesh Nath Yogshala, not something reserved for the school's longer teacher trainings. A session with singing bowls is folded into the aerial week at no extra cost, and it is worth experiencing after a day of inversions and restorative work in particular, since the two forms of stillness complement each other more than you might expect.

For students who want to go further with sound as its own specialisation, the school runs a separate sound healing program structured across three progressive levels. You do not need to book that program to take part in the sound healing session included in this course.

Where You Will Stay and Eat

Accommodation is on-site, in separate dormitories for men and women, priced exactly the same regardless of which one you are staying in. Rooms are simple and clean, sized for a short residential stay. Full room layouts, including bathroom arrangements, are shown on the food and accommodation page. Wifi covers the school, and laundry access is available on-site.

Food is three sattvic meals a day, vegetarian, prepared in the school's own kitchen, with herbal tea between meals and filtered drinking water available at all times. Sattvic food, in the yogic sense, means simple, fresh and easy to digest, which suits a week that puts real demand on the core and shoulders in ways floor-based practice does not. If you have a genuine allergy or dietary restriction, raise it with the school before you arrive so the kitchen can plan around it.

A full walkthrough of the rooms, the kitchen and what a typical day of meals looks like, with photos, is on the food and accommodation page.

Certification and What It Adds to Your Teaching

Completing the training earns you a specialisation certificate from Rishikesh Nath Yogshala confirming you have completed the aerial yoga teacher training, covering rigging and safety, inversions, restorative aerial, sequencing and contraindications. It is worth being precise about what this certificate is. It is a specialisation credential, not a standalone Yoga Alliance registered teacher training in its own right, and there is no separate Yoga Alliance registration category for aerial yoga the way there is for a 200 hour or 300 hour training. What you leave with is a genuine, focused qualification to teach aerial classes safely, layered on top of whatever general teaching credential you already hold or go on to earn.

Do I Need a Yoga Certification First?

In practice, yes, and the school is upfront about that rather than selling this course to anyone who books it. Aerial yoga teacher training is a specialisation. It teaches you how to bring an existing set of teaching skills, cueing, class management, reading a student's body, into a hammock; it does not build those skills from zero. Someone who has never taught a floor-based class before is not well served starting here, because half of what makes an aerial class safe is teaching fundamentals this week simply does not have time to cover.

The straightforward route is to complete the school's 200 hour yoga teacher training first, or an equivalent Yoga Alliance-recognised foundation elsewhere, and come to this course once you already know how to run a class on the ground. Graduates of the school's own 200 hour training arrive at this course already familiar with the teaching style and some of the same teachers, which tends to make the week move faster and more comfortably than it would for someone starting completely fresh.

Who Should Not Do Aerial Yoga

Is This Course Right for You?

This course suits a working or newly qualified yoga teacher who wants a genuine specialisation to add to what they already offer, someone who has already trained on the floor and is curious whether aerial work is something they want to bring into their own classes or studio. It is not built as a first introduction to teaching yoga, and it is not a fitness class dressed up as a teacher training; the contraindications list above is there because this is training for something with real physical stakes, not a photogenic activity to try once.

If you are still deciding whether teaching yoga is right for you at all, start with a floor-based foundation like the school's 200 hour training. If you already teach, or already hold that certification, and you want one focused week that adds a real, specific skill to your teaching, this course is built for exactly that. Studio owners often value a teacher who can offer something beyond a standard mat class, and an honest, properly taught aerial credential is a concrete way to stand out in a crowded job market without overstating what a single week can give you.

Arriving in Rishikesh

The nearest airport is Dehradun (DED), Jolly Grant Airport, which has direct flights from Delhi and a handful of other Indian cities. From Dehradun, Rishikesh is a straightforward taxi ride, and the school can help arrange transport if you share your flight details ahead of time. If you would rather travel partly by train, the nearest railhead is Haridwar, which has far better long-distance rail connections than Rishikesh itself and is a short drive from the school.

Because the course itself is only a single intensive week, losing even one day to travel delays is a much bigger fraction of your training than it would be on a longer residency. Build in a clear buffer day before the course begins rather than cutting it close. Most nationalities can apply for an Indian tourist e-visa online in advance; requirements and eligible countries change, so check the current rules for your passport before you book flights.

What to pack: comfortable, close-fitting activewear that will not catch or bunch inside hammock fabric, since loose clothing can genuinely interfere with rigging and inversions, plus the same modest layer you would bring to walk around the school and its temples, since Rishikesh is a spiritual town. A reusable water bottle and any personal medication you take round out the list, since finding a specific foreign brand locally is not guaranteed.

International Students

All classes are taught in English, including the safety briefings and contraindications lecture, so a working conversational level is assumed. Spanish-speaking support is available on request if you let the school know when you enquire or book.

Trainees come from a range of countries and backgrounds, and the school is used to hosting an international group even across a short specialisation course. If you have a specific language or communication need beyond English or Spanish, ask before you book. Given how much of this week depends on precise safety instruction, the school would rather know in advance than discover a gap once you are already in the hammock.

Do I need to be strong to do aerial yoga?

You need reasonable body awareness more than raw strength. The hammock supports your body weight, which means many aerial postures ask less of your arms than a comparable floor pose would. That said, this is a teacher training, not a passive class, and you should expect to be genuinely active across the week.

Is aerial yoga safe?

It is safe when it is taught properly, which is exactly why rigging, safety checks and contraindication screening are core modules in this training rather than a brief mentioned in passing. Like any practice that involves suspension and inversion, it carries real risks for certain people, which is why the exclusion list on this page exists and is treated seriously.

Who should not do aerial yoga?

Talk to your doctor before booking if you have had a recent surgery, have glaucoma or another condition involving raised eye pressure, are pregnant, have uncontrolled high blood pressure, experience vertigo or another inner-ear condition, or have a recent spinal injury. This is not a complete medical list; it is a starting point for a conversation with your own doctor. The full explanation is set out earlier on this page.

What is included in the course fee?

Accommodation for the full stay, three sattvic meals a day plus herbal tea, filtered drinking water, your course manual, full use of hammocks and rigging equipment during training hours, a guided Ganga aarti visit, wifi, laundry access and your aerial yoga specialisation certificate. What is billed separately is listed in the table above.

Do I need a yoga certification before taking this course?

In practice, yes. This is a specialisation that teaches you how to bring existing teaching skills into a hammock; it is not a first introduction to teaching yoga. The school recommends completing a 200 hour yoga teacher training, ideally its own, before taking this course.

What does the aerial curriculum cover?

Hammock rigging and safety, inversions and spinal decompression, restorative aerial, sequencing an aerial class, contraindications and student screening, and a supervised teaching practicum. The full module-by-module breakdown is set out earlier on this page.

Which airport should I fly into?

The nearest airport is Dehradun (DED), Jolly Grant Airport. If you are arriving by train instead, the nearest railhead is Haridwar, which has stronger long-distance rail connections than Rishikesh itself.

Are the dormitories shared between men and women?

No. Men and women stay in separate dormitories, and both are priced exactly the same. Nobody pays more to be housed separately.

Is sound healing included?

Yes, at no extra cost. A session with singing bowls is built directly into the aerial week's schedule. The school also runs a separate, more advanced sound healing program across three progressive levels for anyone who wants to specialise further afterward.

How do I book and what deposit is needed?

You can book directly through the school's booking page, where the current deposit amount, payment options and next available start date are shown. If you have questions before committing, the general FAQ page and the teachers page are both good places to look, or you can reach out to the school directly.