Alignment Yoga Course in Goa: 5 Days or 9 Days?

We run both of these courses, so this is the school comparing its own programs. The aim is to help you pick the right one, including telling you when the shorter, cheaper course is the better choice.

What is the difference between the 5-day and 9-day alignment courses?

The 5-day course teaches the foundations of alignment-based yoga, and the 9-day intensive teaches those foundations in more depth and then adds the subjects a short course has to leave out. The method, the props and the shala are the same. What changes is how much of the body gets a day of its own.

Nine days is not the 5-day course with extra mornings bolted on. On the shorter course, backbends and supported inversions share a single day. On the longer one they are taught separately, standing balances, hips and twists each become a subject, and the afternoons go on two things five days has no room for: building a home sequence for your own body, and watching a partner practise so you learn to see alignment.

Who teaches alignment at Alpesh Yoga?

Both courses follow the alignment-based method of founder Alpesh Patwari, who has taught alignment for 21 years and yoga for 22+ years, and is one of the most experienced alignment teachers working today. Alpesh Yoga was founded in 2014, is registered with Yoga Alliance, and has trained students from 40+ countries.

In practice, alignment-based teaching means slow, exact cues, a lot of stopping to look at what a joint is doing, and props on the mat from the first morning: blocks, belts, bolsters, chairs and the wall ropes that hang in the shala. The props are not there for whoever cannot reach the floor. They are how every body, stiff or flexible, gets into the correct shape before it tries to go deep.

What does the 5-day alignment course cover?

The 5-day course gives each day one region of the body and closes with a full practice that puts them together. It is the technique half of a teacher-training syllabus, taught on its own.

1. Day 1: Foundations: feet, ankles and legs.
2. Day 2: The pelvis and the spine.
3. Day 3: Shoulders, arms and the upper back.
4. Day 4: Inversions and backbends with support.
5. Day 5: Putting it together: a full practice.

A full day has four blocks: a morning practice with props, a midday theory session on adjustments, safety and sequencing, applied prop work in the late afternoon, and a short restorative session before dinner. Early mornings and the middle of the afternoon are yours, and the beach is a few minutes away. Full details are on the 5 Day Alignment Yoga Course page.

What does the 9-day alignment intensive add?

The 9-day intensive gives standing balances, hips, twists, backbends and supported inversions a day each, with a lighter day in the middle so the first half can settle before the second begins.

1. Day 1: Foundations: feet, legs and the standing poses.
2. Day 2: The pelvis, the spine and forward bends.
3. Day 3: Shoulders, arms and the upper back.
4. Day 4: Standing balances.
5. Day 5: A lighter day, to consolidate.
6. Day 6: Hips.
7. Day 7: Twists.
8. Day 8: Backbends.
9. Day 9: Supported inversions, your own sequence and closing.

From Day 6 the afternoons include drafting, revising and finally practising a home sequence fitted to your own proportions, with one version for a stiff day and one for a tired one. Partner observation runs alongside it: watching another student's feet, pelvis and shoulders is the quickest way to start seeing your own. Full details are on the 9 Day Alignment Yoga Intensive page.

Why is one course five days and the other nine?

Each length matches what the course has to teach, and both lengths are final. Five days fits five subjects: three regions of the body, a supported inversion, and a day to put them together. Nine days fits eight subjects plus a deliberately lighter fifth day, because the body consolidates what it has been taught when it is given a pause. Shortening either one would mean dropping a subject, not compressing it.

Batches run on fixed calendar dates, and a batch can start and end on dates that do not match the number in the course name exactly. That is intended. Book your flights around the start and end dates listed for your batch on Dates & Prices, not around a count of days.

Which alignment course suits beginners and stiff bodies?

For most beginners and stiff bodies, the 5-day course is the better first step, because it covers the whole foundation in a week and props let you work in the right shape before you have the flexibility to force it. You do not need to be flexible or experienced to join either course.

• You have been to flow classes for years and nobody has told you what your back leg should be doing.
• Every class you attend seems designed for people more flexible than you.
• A shoulder, lower back or knee flares up in class and you want to know which habit is causing it.
• You have about a week in Goa and want the course to be the point of the trip.

The 9-day intensive also accepts beginners, and its first three days are foundations for everyone. What it asks for is nine days of slow, careful attention. If you are not sure you want that much, start with five.

Which alignment course suits experienced practitioners?

Experienced practitioners usually get more from the 9-day intensive, because the foundations are covered quickly and the extra days go on the areas a short course can only touch.

• You have done a short alignment course before, and it ended just as the work started to make sense.
• One part of your body never cooperates: tight hips, a stiff upper back, balances that wobble.
• You practise at home and want a sequence built for your own body, not one borrowed from a video.
• You want to understand how teachers see alignment, without signing up for a teacher training.
• You have ten days to two weeks in Goa and would rather spend most of it on one serious piece of work.

If you already teach and your alignment eye is the part of your teaching you trust least, either course helps. The 9-day course does more for it, because of the partner observation.

How much do the alignment courses in Goa cost?

At Alpesh Yoga, the 5-day alignment course costs $150 for the course only or $250 with food and accommodation, and the 9-day intensive costs $350 for the course only or $450 with food and accommodation. The with-stay price adds accommodation for your batch and vegetarian meals, including breakfast, coffee and tea.

Both prices include every session and the use of all props. Neither includes flights, Indian visa fees, travel insurance, excursions, laundry or personal expenses. Booking is free: we confirm your place, a 30% deposit then holds it, the deposit can move to a future batch within 12 months if your plans change, and the balance is paid on arrival.

Is either course a yoga teacher training?

No: both are practice courses, and neither counts toward Yoga Alliance registration or qualifies you to teach. There is no teaching methodology, no practice teaching and no assessment on either one.

They are, though, a good way to prepare for a training. Students who arrive at a teacher training with clean fundamentals spend the first week learning rather than unlearning. If teaching is your goal, look at our 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Goa, and use five or nine days of alignment to find out whether you want to go further.

How do I decide if I am still not sure?

Decide by the time you have and by what you want fixed, in that order.

• About a week, and a general wish to practise better: the 5-day course.
• Ten days or more, and alignment is the reason you are coming: the 9-day intensive.
• One specific problem area, such as hips, balances or backbends: the 9-day intensive, which gives it a full day.
• Completely new to yoga, or nervous about long days: the 5-day course first. You can always come back.
• Want a home sequence written for your body: the 9-day intensive. The 5-day course has no time set aside for it.

Several batches of the two courses start on the same day, so you can often decide once you know how long you can stay. The Goa season runs November to April, and every current batch is on Dates & Prices. To hear from people who have done the courses, read our student reviews.