200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification

   –  Yoga Teacher Training

Transform your life and awaken your potential! This training, a hybrid that begins with home study and ends with two weeks on a beautiful mountain full of Costa Rican nature, provides a brave space to go deep into asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, functional anatomy and biomechanics, modifications, adjusting, teaching skills, intelligent sequencing, and social justice. Experience yoga as an embodied path of releasing old patterns and understandings and learn how to live your best life. Through this course, you will connect to the teacher within you and feel your practice grow from the surface of your body to the depth of your soul. You will understand the honor of being the teacher, and see yourself become a confident guide for yourself and others.

Here in Costa Rica, the Panacea family will surround us with love and support on this yogic journey. You will be nourished on all levels: with delicious, fresh, locally-sourced vegetarian food from our on-site chef, with amazing views of the Pacific ocean and valleys, with the comfort and simplicity of our design, with love from the crew of rescued animals, and you will be seen, heard, and guided well by a masterful teacher’s teacher. 

You will also put your knowledge into action in our local community, as this is an important aspect of the path of yoga. We have an ongoing relationship with the Ecodesi senior center, and a portion of your tuition is donated to this organization. As part of this training, you will also volunteer your new yoga skills by co-teaching at Ecodesi.

What is a “hybrid” teacher training?

A hybrid Yoga Teacher Training combines at home study and in person immersion.  In this format, you will have the best of both worlds.  Before training, you will have a greater amount of time to absorb the foundational information, done in a combination of recorded videos, readings and worksheets, along with a series of live online meetings with your cohort and myself. 

The pre-recorded videos and reading will cover a good amount of the basics of history, philosophy, and anatomy to give you plenty of time to view both at your convenience and as many times as you’d like to let the information sink in.  You will be assessed on your uptake of the information in a variety of ways, both through sending in projects as well as through the online discussions that we’ll have – and you will receive as much support as you need to gain this knowledge.

I have witnessed the benefit of this format, as it gives you the opportunity to really prepare yourself well in the comfort of your home and over a couple months for the intensity of the two weeks of in person yoga teacher training here in Costa Rica.  In person, we will focus on the part of the training that needs to be done hands on:  deepening your practices and learning to teach yoga, with direct feedback and support.  This part of the training is what I refer to as our Yoga Bubble.  You will be immersed in living your yoga for your time here on the mountain.  Each day, you will put into action what you have studied in the months before.

The cohort for the Winter training will be established by January 1st, 2024, and you will have the schedule of online study and events during January and February.  The in-person portion of the training will begin here in Costa Rica on March 2nd, and finish on March 16th, with our graduation and closing circle.  We’ll have dinner together and then you will leave on March 17th.

The cohort for the Summer training will be established by May 1st, 2024, and you will have the schedule of online study and events during May and June.  The in-person portion of the training will begin here in Costa Rica on June 29th, and finish on July 13th, with our graduation and closing circle.  We’ll have dinner together and then you will leave on July 14th.   

Yoga Teacher Training Spring and Summer 2025: $2000
Room and Board – Double Occupancy Spring 2025:  $1500, Single Occupancy Spring 2025:  $2000                                                                                                                        Room and Board – Double Occupancy Summer 2025:  $1800, Single Occupancy Summer 2025:  $2500

Who is a best fit for this training?

I have a requirement that you have consistently practiced yoga for at least a year. If you are still early on in your exploration of your body/mind and spirit through your practice, you may get overwhelmed coming into this teacher training. Take the time to be established in a regular physical practice of the postures, the style of which does not matter. You should be familiar with the common asanas, and be practicing 2-3 times a week at minimum.

While it is a training where you will learn to teach, you don’t have to want to be a teacher.  About half of the students in our program don’t intend to teach:  they want to learn for themselves or perhaps a loved one.  The journey is a personal one, whether you want to teach or not.  You should also be at a stage where you feel like you want to deepen your understanding of yoga itself –you are curious about how it may contribute to you leading a better life, whether it be on a physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual level. You may have noticed how much better you feel after your practice, and are curious as to why this is, and what more there is to it. You may know other people who have felt as though yoga helped them through some big life changes, and want to have the same support in your life. You are ready for some tools to help you connect with your inner strength and wisdom, whether you call it your soul or spirit, or something else. You want a way to engage the best you can be for bettering your life and those around you.  You are ready to step into your power, even if it means a process of being cracked open and put back together again.

You are also someone who loves fresh air, simple comforts, the chance to be immersed in nature, and observe the natural rhythms of the sun rising and setting. You are ready to dive deep into the study of yoga, and leave the rest of your life behind for a few weeks. You want to learn how to listen well to yourself and to others, to get beyond the surface to find your Truth. You are willing to be open to new ways of moving, thinking, and sharing in a small group of like-minded people. You are ready to sweat, laugh, cry, and grow.

TLDR:  Is this training good for someone who does not want to teach yoga?  YES

 Is this training good for someone who does want to teach yoga?  YES

Let’s be real:  the main thing this training will give you at minimum is a better understanding of who you are, and at maximum will bring you into a clear relationship with your true nature, along with giving you a very good foundation of how to be an excellent teacher of yoga.  Does this sound like what you are looking for?  I hope so.

 I only teach in small groups.  This means that you will be challenged to show up for yourself and your fellow trainees daily.  It also means that you will have a lot of time to practice teaching, to ask your questions, and to have this training be an experience that will transform you.

A Typical Day

We start our day with a 2-3 hour morning practice. You will have fresh fruit and a coffee or hot water maker in your cabina for before practice, and a full breakfast after.  The rest of the morning will be spent in bringing the philosophy of yoga to your practice and teaching, along with developing your knowledge of asana and sequencing, and the teaching skills needed to teach yoga in different forms and settings. You will have time at lunch to enjoy the yummy food and the infinity pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

 The afternoons will be spent on practicing teaching skills, applying functional anatomy and biomechanical principles to each other’s bodies in how we practice asana, as well as deepening your understanding and practicing the techniques of pranayama and meditation. 

 After dinner, you will have time to complete assignments, read, journal, reflect, and rest.

The days will fly by — you will be amazed at how much you learn, and how much will change as you are immersed for two weeks.  You will develop and teach a full class by the end of the training, along with co-teach in a small group at Ecodesi.   You will be both happy and sad when it ends. While excited to go and share what you have learned, part of you will always look back at this precious time with longing.