Delta Groove Yoga School is bringing Kundalini Yoga Training to Chattanooga

Delta Groove Yoga in the heart of Midtown Memphis held its first Kundalini Yoga training in 2013. The studio marked a major milestone in 2016 with the formation of the Delta Groove Yoga School. In 2023, DGYS offered its first virtual training. And now, 2025 will mark another milestone as Delta Groove Yoga School takes this transformative training program on the road to Chattanooga in the fall. 

Delta Groove Yoga School’s Kundalini Yoga Training has been transforming lives and training teachers for over a decade. More than 150 yogis have gone through the program, using it as a jumping off point for personal, professional, and spiritual growth. This fall, Olivia Rokotnitz & Dr. Valentine Leonard will offer the DGYS 200-hour and advanced 300-hour Yoga Alliance-registered Kundalini Yoga Training at the Yoga Landing studio in Downtown Chattanooga. 

There are only a handful of Kundalini-specific yoga teacher training programs in the United States. In this blog post, we’ll explore what Kundalini is, who this training is for, and what you can expect to get out of it. Then, I’ll give you my impressions as a current student of the Delta Groove Yoga School. 

Meditation and mudra are two big components of Kundalini Yoga.

What is Kundalini Yoga?

Kundalini is your creative potential, your muse, your vital impulse. It is the common denominator for all forms of self-healing, inspiration, and evolution. The yoga traditions say Kundalini is coiled like a snake at the base of your spine. 

Also known as the yoga of awareness, Kundalini Yoga is a technology to unleash that creative potential through the use of specific combinations of breath, movement, meditation, chanting, and hand positions that are meant to cause specific reactions in the body. Using kriyas (the science of sequence), meditations, pranayama (breathwork), mantras, bandhas (energetic body locks), and mudras, Kundalini Yoga provides a systematic approach to generate, capture, and direct energy from within to empower ourselves, and in the process, empower the world as a whole.

Delta Groove Yoga is known as the home for Kundalini Yoga in Memphis. This spring, the studio also started offering online Kundalini classes at Yoga Landing. 

What is Kundalini Yoga Training? 

All yoga aims at developing self-mastery through the union of self to Self, or finite to Infinite; however, this training focuses on the specific branch of the yogic tree known as Kundalini Yoga. The training includes a well-rounded education in the history, philosophy, and science of all yoga, and physical practice is centered around Kundalini Yoga specifically. 

Kundalini Yoga is a powerful tool to enhance personal freedom, self discovery, and soulful living. Through this training, you initiate yourself and unlock your inner talents, learning how to “Tune In, Tune Up, and Transform” in order to fully embody your most radiant Self. 

In addition to providing the grounds for personal transformation, graduates of Kundalini Yoga Training are also eligible to become Yoga Alliance-certified yoga teachers. Although not all people who participate in the training do so with the intent of teaching, the training provides you with the knowledge, tools, and experience to begin guiding your own Kundalini Yoga practices for others. 

How is the training structured? 

Yoga philosophy tells us that the body has five layers, or sheaths, called the koshas. The koshas are the layers of our being. They start at the outside with the densest layer, and they go inward as they become more subtle. Only the densest layer, the physical body, is made of matter as we know it. The other four layers are energy states invisible to the physical eye, though we can easily sense their presence inside us when we pay close attention. They are energy, e-motions, ego/intellect, and soul. 

The Delta Groove Yoga School Kundalini Training modules are structured around the koshas, beginning with the physical body and moving inward. By the final modules, trainees focus on how they will take their expanded knowledge and creativity out into the world. 

And of course, at Delta Groove Yoga School, our signature soulful groove is always accompanied by music and fun. We have a unique rhythm and structure for the Kundalini kriyas, and we incorporate the growing knowledge of modern neuroscience and philosophy into all of our teaching.

Modules and dates for the Chattanooga training are as follows:

Module 1 - Awakening Through the Physical Body: Tuning into Truth

Sept. 26-28, 2025

Module 2 - Identifying & Developing Spiritual Discipline with Yogic Numerology

Nov. 7-9, 2025

Module 3 - Inner Alchemy: Feel to Heal

Dec. 12-14, 2025

Module 4 - Adventures in Consciousness: Living on the Edge of Grace

Jan. 23-25, 2025

Module 5 - The Radiant Body: Self as Soul

March 6-8, 2025

Module 6 - Evolution Through Yoga

April 17-19, 2025

Module 7 - Embodying Your Truth

May 15-17, 2025

Who is Kundalini Yoga Training for?

Whether you're a therapist, an artist, an accountant, a yoga teacher, and/or at a crossroads in your personal or professional life, this training can give you the tools you need to reset your body, strengthen your nervous system, awaken your creativity, deepen your awareness, amplify your clarity, and activate your most radiant self.

Teaching is not necessarily for everyone, and many people have gone and continue to go through this training primarily for their personal development! Through the training, you develop a yogic toolkit to establish your own daily sadhana (committed personal practice) and take these sacred teachings out into the world as a teacher, healer, and radiant being. Through honest participation, you'll cultivate personal greatness and meet other great yogis who share a vision to heal, uplift, and inspire each other and the world. 

There are two options for the training: 

• 200-hour training is much like a B.A: You get acquainted with the many layers of yoga philosophy and practice. You learn the basic discipline and the tools you need to develop a personal practice, embrace your destiny, and begin to share it with the world. 

• Advanced 300-hour training is much like an M.A: You must have completed a 200-hour yoga teacher certification in order to qualify. You will go deeper into the philosophy and practice of Kundalini Yoga. You will apprentice with your lead teachers and refine your teaching skills. You will grow in your understanding, discipline and embodiment of Kundalini Yoga in order to consistently heal, uplift, and inspire.

What will I get out of Kundalini Yoga Training? 

I’m currently enrolled in the Kundalini Yoga Training as a 300-hour student, set to finish in June. As of writing this, I’ve finished five of the seven modules and the word I feel most sums up this experience is “transformative.” 

I was coming out of a months-long depression last fall, unsure of what my next move was. I’ve always been more of a Hatha-style yogi, and although I dabbled in Kundalini at Delta Groove, my home studio, the idea of doing my 300-hour training in Kundalini wasn’t something I’d really considered. And then the universe just kept nudging me. I started attending meditation circles and engaging in sadhana groups with Olivia. I began attending Valentine’s Kundalini Yoga classes and workshops. And I undeniably felt the stirrings of the shakti force within me, calling me forward into the training. 

Circumstances continued to align, and the next thing I knew, I was at my first Kundalini Yoga Training intensive in mid January. And “intense” it was, but I threw myself in, full force. Now just two modules before finishing the training, here’s what stands out the most to me among the many blessings that are emerging.

Community through Sangha

I fell in love with the other members of my cohort, some of them relatively new to yoga, some of them lifelong practitioners, some of them with the intention to teach, others with the intention of self-growth. Having a group of like-minded people to talk with about spiritual growth, yoga, and the subtle workings of the universe is something I’ve always longed for and value so much from this training.

Resilience through Kriya

The kriyas work, y’all! The first requirement I fulfilled as a student of the training was 40 days of a physical kriya followed by an 11-minute meditation. I chose a kriya that worked on strengthening the aura by working on the nervous system. Every day, I could feel my sense of self being strengthened and my window of tolerance being widened. The emotional ebbs and flows of everyday life just feel more manageable now. 

Physical Fitness through Sadhana

It’s not an exaggeration to say that at 43, I’m in the best shape of my life … and I’m including my teenage years here! The physical body is only one layer of the entire body, according to yogic philosophy, but having it in control sure does make the other layers cooperate better. I’m stronger, more flexible, and fitter than I’ve ever been. I credit this not only to the physical practice building muscle but also to the meditation practice lowering my stress levels. 

Mental Dexterity through Meditation

Speaking of the meditation practice, I never thought I’d be someone who could meditate for an hour every morning, but that’s just what I’m doing right now, four months into my training. I can tell a difference in my ability to be present, in the quality of my focus during meditation, and even in my interactions with others as I tap deeper into my intuition. 

I’m eternally grateful that I decided to follow the cosmic breadcrumbs that led me to sign up for this training, and I know I’m only just at the beginning of witnessing the blessings further unfold. 

Tune In, Tune Up, Transform with DGYS Kundalini Yoga Training

If you’re ready to commit or have questions, please contact: Olivia or Valentine at dgys@deltagrooveyoga.com. Not sure yet if this is for you? Check out a class! You can find Kundalini Yoga classes live and online at both Yoga Landing in Chattanooga and Delta Groove Yoga in Memphis. Sat nam!