500 Hour Advanced Sound Training Course

Yes! We'd love to hear why you love sound and discuss how we could support you!

Book a FREE 30-minute training discovery call with Katey

All sales are final for the Online Teacher Training course. No refunds are issued for online courses once payment has been submitted.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any concerns before you make your payment.

Basically, the advanced 500 hour training is offered for brand-new students to the Heart of Sound, and the additional 300 hours of training is offered for students who have already taken our foundational 200 hour course.

The foundational 200hr course is included in the 500hr course.

As a mix of online + in-person, yes! You can combine the online teacher training with in-person retreat trainings worldwide.⁠

If you plan to attend in-person, you can get started NOW on the online teacher training material.

When we gather together the focus will be on ENJOYING our practice time together. No foundational lectures or basic skills classes will be offered during the retreat training. The core curriculum for the Heart of Sound training is much more effectively offered online, where trainees can absorb at their own pace. 

The retreat offers an opportunity to attend group practices and count those towards your teacher training hours. There will also be time in the schedule to fulfil other certification requirements if you wish to self-motivate to do so. We envision a rich environment of learning as trainees try out their leadership skills on each other!

Find out about all retreat options on our Courses page!

We've tried to create that ideal mix of dynamic live classes, small group connection, and pre-recorded content you can listen to while going for a walk, stretching on the floor, or doing the dishes. (Let's be honest - it's awesome to have an MP3 and not stare at a screen!)

Here's what it looks like:

With teachers: We have LIVE Advanced Masterclasses every 2-4 weeks. You will be given the opportunity to vote for times that suit you. We aim to find times that will allow our global family an equal chance of attending. 500hr students will also attend the schedule of the 200hr Online Teacher Training, 300hr students have the option to join this schedule as they wish.

With fellow trainees: You are required to meet with your cohort in live meetings and do study sessions with buddies. Social elements include (optional) "chai times," chant experiments, etc. In order to get your certification you'll have to teach your practicum classes in front of a live audience to get 360-degree feedback.

We understand that life is busy, and you need to know if you can realistically commit!

We're delighted to offer a program that stretches over many months, so you can maintain your work and family time while you study. Classes are sprinkled across time zones - of course not all times will work for all students, and that's fine! You'll often have an opportunity to vote on the class times that work for you. Also, rest assured... if it starts to feel like consensus that we need to adjust/slow down, we can flex the schedule to meet the needs.

We use GoogleCalendar to manage a reasonable schedule for those participating in the 200hr, 500hr, and Mentorship Circle with Anandra.

Note: Remember that the 500hr program includes re-doing the 200hr practices. :)

Here is our schedule from June 2021 to give you an idea (set to Hawai'i timezone). 

200hr TT sessions are blue (including optional Open Buddy Practice times to meet with fellow students to study together)
500hr TT sessions are orange
Mentorship Circle sessions are red (the additional, optional Mentorship Circle meetings are 1X monthly for 2 hours and scheduled by consensus. (Additional private sessions may be scheduled, too.))

If you don't have great internet access, or the live group practice schedule doesn't always work for you, don't worry!

The entire course is available via recordings online. You can start anytime, and go at your own pace!

All of the important content delivery & practice sessions are available online. (Office hours, buddy sessions, chai time chats, or other highly specific, personal connections are NOT recorded.)

However, when it comes time for the practicum (you teaching) you'll be required to teach live if you are pursuing the Yoga Alliance certification.

You'll have access to the online course for as long as we're in business. :)

📿 Personal Practice: We expect you to delight in spending 30-60 minutes per day doing your personal practice! You'll want to spend time with the Heart of Sound skills (Sanskrit alphabet, mantra chanting, vocal toning, empathetic listening, playing and chanting rāga-based songs).

🤓 Study: In addition to your personal practice, you'll spend 2-5 hours per week attending classes, reading, studying, watching video course content, and doing your homework and personal practice.

🌺 We often like listening to class recordings while walking or stretching on the floor.

🎤 Don't tell Sudhanshu, but some of us even do our sargam voice exercises along with his recording in the shower!

Practice Teaching: There is a minimum amount of teaching/practicum you must do to fulfil the certification requirements and beyond that you are encouraged to practice teach as often as you like, to the current TT students and/or the wider Heart of Sound community.

Since this is a self-paced course, there's really no "falling behind". If you need to take a break, you can return to the course whenever you like and pick up where you left off. Or, if you have a lot of time on your hands, you can dig through the pre-recorded materials much faster.

The online format allows for a self-paced, phased learning approach. We have put together an easy to follow self-study map which guides you through the course materials, allowing you to tick off your progress as you go, meaning you can work at a pace that suits you and your life.

Some who signed up for the 300hr Advanced TT in November 2020 received their certification by June 2021.

With ongoing enrolment and students at different phases of the course, it means whatever phase of the self-study map you are on, there will be someone at the same place as you. This makes our live group sessions rich and diverse and means there is always the opportunity to have buddy sessions with people at the same phase as you.

Know that you can join us at any time and work at a pace that is perfect for you ❤️.

If you're signing up for advanced training (having already done the 200 hour course) you'll attend the same LIVE practices that the 200 hour students participate in, but you'll be given a variety of focal points that deepen your personal relationship to the material, as well as increase your mastery as a chant leader.

Many of the training hours come from taking the 200hr training a second time but from a higher (deeper) vantage point.

Additional masterclasses are offered to complete the 300 hours, along with a brand-new manual, enrichment activities, and plenty of new skills to challenge a wide range of students.

Over the past 5 years of offering advanced training, we've found that this method of learning is highly effective.
(It used to be called the Teaching Assistant track, and was offered to a very limited number of people because of scheduling & staffing limitations.)

The initial round of practices and new content is SO RICH, the personal transformation is so profound that we've developed a tiered curriculum to help trainees get even more out of it the second time.

If you've already done it, you know with certainty that our 200 hour teacher training has always been more of a 500 hour course (and our previous advanced course has always been more of a 1000 hour course!)

We're happy to "grossly overdeliver" as one student fondly puts it... to offer you much more training value than you expect.

If you're signing up as a brand-new student to the 500hr course, you'll complete the 200hr course program first. You're welcome to stack on the 300hr material, too, or wait until you've done "round one" and do the rest later, with your special cohort on the same learning track.

Yes. This is a Yoga Alliance qualified 500 hour Teacher Training. You must register and pay for membership with YA, and once you complete all prerequisite and course materials with Heart of Sound, you can send request to YA for the certification.  

Re: yoga training
If you've already taken a different 200/300/500 hour yoga course from another yoga school, our curriculum is entirely sound-based and so that training is unlikely to overlap much.

Re: mantra, kīrtan, bhakti yoga etc. training

Over the years we've tried to admit folks with extensive sound & mantra teacher training into our courses directly at the 300HR level, but no one has yet passed our basic competency assessment to be able to skip the foundational 200HR training.

If you'd like to be considered to jump right in at the 300hr level, you're welcome to email us with a list of your previous training and experience and an MP3 of you chanting at least a 24-syllable (or longer) Sanskrit mantra.

Q from a 200hr Online TT student:
I have the feeling like I am not yet ready or good enough for it. I'm still digesting so much from the 200hr Online TT. I am still working hard on a personal practice that’s not nearly as grounded as when I did my first yoga TTC and I had an established practice of 3 years. I need help discerning how I am using mantra and nada yoga with the public, how to share with others.

A from Anandra:
So integrity and authenticity are important to you? Love it. :)

For me the question is not "Am I practicing perfectly?" because I rarely feel that I am... but "Can I help others deepen their own practice?" and the answer is a definite YES.

This is an infinite field of study.

Please honor your inner voice about your personal pace of digestion; if it's right it's right! If it's not, it's not.

If the real reason is a narrative that you're "not good enough", you might want to look at that from a few other perspectives.

💓 You're welcome to take this and any Heart of Sound training solely for your personal growth and to be part of the practice community, whether or not you seek certification.💓

This is a hands-on training, and while the 200hr course is a comprehensive foundation in the yoga of sound, the 500hr level is all about deep digestion, integration, and embodied mastery in chant leadership! 😀

500-hr level students seeking professional certification will be required to:

• Demonstrate your skills at a higher level of mastery than the 200hr students
• Support 200hr students by offering discernment, reflection, and coaching on their skills (Sanskrit alphabet, mantra chanting, harmonium playing, etc.)
• Lead a variety of chant experiences for the HOS community or general public that represent the appropriate range of sound-based skills for you. (For instance, James with a 10-year musical background will be challenged to lead a rāga-based kīrtan, while Sally who is new to music will be challenged to lead a simple mantra melody in unison.)
• Propose, Submit, Review & Offer a full-length sound-based practice or workshop LIVE for the Heart of Sound teacher training community
• Refine your offering by doing your full-length sound-based practice a second time (after implementing the feedback you received)

A thorough feedback and refinement process ensures that you (the 500hr trainee) gets invaluable reflection:

• From new 200hr students
• From your 500hr advanced training cohort
• From the Teaching Team

We are currently only offering scholarship assistance for the 200hr Online Teacher Training.

Yes.

If you're a brand-new student, please start with the curriculum for the 200-hour course as is.

You'll be invited to the exclusive 500hr Masterclasses and all guest lectures and will also be able to review them as often as you'd like.

This is layered learning. The more personal experience you have with the practices, the more our lecture Q&A discussions will "land."

The great value of this online format is that you have access to everything in recorded audio & video anytime!

After fulfilling the 500hr certification requirements and completing a year of mentorship with Anandra, you may qualify to become a Heart of Sound instructor.

According to your capabilities, you might be able to teach branded Heart of Sound chant experiences, workshops, and sound/mantra segments for other people's trainings. You may even qualify to help teach at our 200hr or 500hr trainings.

Becoming a Heart of Sound instructor will include permission to use copyrighted handouts as well as our customizable marketing materials.

We're contemplating the structure of legal, financial, and liability details and look forward to being able to offer this as an option for those interested in building a career sharing the transformational power of sound.

Yes, most likely.

You'll want to double-check with your tax preparer, but if you are in the wellness industry this course would probably be considered continuing education for professional development and be 100% deductible.

Since Anandra started teaching mantra globally in 2009, she has been living extensively in India. When profits exceed expenses, funds have been used to directly support numerous educational and social service projects in India. The Heart of Sound teacher training was also designed as an instrument to perpetuate legacy: it supports her music Guruji and his senior students to continue their musical tradition (both financially and via new student referrals).

After factoring in annual basic business expenses and modest admin + teaching salaries, our end-of-year statement usually works out to show a very small profit. (For instance, in 2019, it was $7,329.). However, we're grateful we've been able to continue to serve due to a combination of frugal management, barter, and extensive volunteer support.

Our hope is that the new online era of teaching will enable us to share the sound-based practices with more students worldwide and increase our ability to offer more scholarships as well as grow our service projects like Mantras for Peace and the Sacred Sound Stage. (To get involved, contact [email protected] to volunteer)

In each course, there's a Pay it Forward section where you can go to find out more about the specific India service projects.

If you'd feel safer to have more detailed financial transparency, you're welcome to contact us.