18 Day 200-Hour Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training in Playa Negra, Costa Rica, February 15 – March 4, 2025

Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica

Join this Yoga Alliance registered program which includes a transformational and therapeutic approach to yoga. We will explore vinyasa flow, Hatha, and restorative yoga through an anatomy-informed alignment system. You will learn modifications and adaptations for ALL BODIES, including special populations such as seniors and those with injuries. Our therapeutic perspective explores Yoga as a vehicle for vibrant health, personal empowerment, and total well-being. We combine modern-day biomechanics and research-driven science with ancient teachings. You will leave with an understanding of anatomy, alignment, and modifications to keep your body safe for a lifetime of practice. Our non-dogmatic approach explores Yoga philosophy as a practice of radical self-love uncovering perspectives that encourage body positivity, unconditional acceptance, personal empowerment, and true mind-body-spirit health and wellness. Graduates of this program are prepared to teach a variety of yoga class types, including all levels of Vinyasa yoga, alignment-based classes, yoga foundations, and senior, gentle, and restorative yoga.

Highlights

• Learn to teach from the “eyes of love” and help the world heal one mindful breath at a time
• Anatomy-informed alignment principles mindful Vinyasa, Hatha, and Restorative practices
• Eligible to register with Yoga Alliance upon completion
• Study with C-IAYT Yoga Therapists and E-RYT 500 teachers with over 25 years of experience
• Modifications and adaptations for all bodies, including special populations
• Explore concepts from Ayurveda, the Upanishads, Patanjali and the Chakra System
• Explore breath work, mantra and meditation
• 17 nights accommodation and three delicious healthy meals per day

Skill level

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

Yoga styles

• Hatha
• Vinyasa
• Restorative
• Nidra
• Therapeutic

Accommodation

Facilities

• Shopping
• Swimming pool (outdoor)
• Café
• Dining area
• Environmentally friendly
• Garden
• Meditation garden
• Poolside bar
• Restaurant
• Special menu request
• Yoga deck
• Yoga shala
• Free Wi-Fi
• Laundry
• Library
• Patio

Peace Retreat is a wellness center designed to enhance the experience of nature that surrounds you by using an increased proportion of open-air common areas with simple and well-appointed accommodation options.

Their aim is to support guests to comfortably immerse within the vast open space and stunning scenery; to explore and connect with nature in a tropical setting; to achieve the right balance of peace and rejuvenation.
The Peace Retreat is designed intentionally to achieve the right balance of peace and rejuvenation for all its guest and includes a variety of accommodation options all with safes, ceiling fans and fresh linen service.

The property includes two open air and screened yoga studios, a 10-foot deep swimming and dive pool, spa options, and Nourish at Peace, an Ayurvedically inspired restaurant. There is a pool on the property and delicious food served 3 meals a day.

Accommodation options vary from double or single-shared cabanas and an open-air bath-house and single-stall bathrooms, as well as private indoor rooms with ensuite bathrooms and attached balconies – all with safes, ceiling fans, and fresh linen service.

Program

Curriculum Overview
This teacher training offers students in-depth skills to explore Yoga as a vehicle for vibrant health, self-transformation, and personal empowerment. Our curriculum includes a unique blend of alignment-based vinyasa flow, a solid foundation in Hatha Yoga, and 200 hours of instruction offered within a therapeutic framework.

The instruction will cover a wide range of Yoga techniques including Yoga postures, anatomy, relaxation, breath awareness, pranayama, meditations to calm the mind, contemplations to transform limiting tendencies into life affirming thought patterns, and the application of clear, anatomy-informed principles of alignment to create safety, balance, and freedom in Yoga poses. Students explore concepts from Ayurveda, the Upanishads, Patanjali and the Chakra System as frameworks for the application of Yoga as a journey towards radiant health and wellbeing.

The asana emphasis includes both level one/two alignment-based vinyasa flow sequencing as well as gentler and restorative variations. Expect to practice asana from all categories of poses including standing poses, hip openers forward bends, backwards bends, twists, inversions, balancing, supine, seated, and prone. Modifications for all levels of practitioners are provided and all levels of abilities are welcome to attend.

Rather than offer standard sequencing or rigid methodologies, students are exposed to frameworks that inspire each yoga teacher to adopt the practices, awaken their creativity and find their own authentic voice as a teacher.

Graduates of this program feel empowered to teach a variety of Yoga class types, including all levels of Vinyasa yoga, alignment-based classes, Yoga foundations, senior, gentle, and restorative.

Schedule

The Costa Rica program is scheduled as an intensive program. While the program days are full, the activities of the day are kept diverse and active. The days really are a wonderful mix of digesting concepts intellectually, applying the concepts experientially and diving into the practices of yoga. Care is taken within the program schedule to ensure that students have a healthy experience both physically and mentally. We promise not to keep you sedentary for too long. There is physical activity and deep relaxation built into the program every day.

You will be provided one full day off for rest or to explore the local area.

Sample Daily Schedule

• 06:30 Sunrise meditation, pranayama, and gentle movement often at the ocean
• 07:30 Breakfast
• 08:30 Yoga asana practice plus techniques or teaching methodology
• 12:00 Lunch
• 13:00 Restorative, gentle, therapeutic practice, or yoga Nidra. Yoga philosophy, lifestyle, and ethics, anatomy, and physiology, practice teaching
• 16:00 Afternoon break to rest, swim or take in the amazing sunsets of Costa Rica
• 18:00 Dinner and sunset at the beach
• 19:00 Evening session, group discussions or assignments

Included excursions
There will be one full day off mid-way through the program to explore the local area. Students often take surf lessons, go horseback riding, restore with a massage day, visit the nearby town of Tamarindo, go snorkeling, take trips to the national park or explore local beaches. Excursions require an additional fee.

Instructors

Liz Heffernan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist

Liz Heffernan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, is an international yoga teacher and Integrative Yoga Therapist with over 25 years of teaching experience. She draws on extensive training in Hatha, Vinyasa, and therapeutic yoga to create adaptive practices for ALL BODIES. Liz leads yoga teacher trainings, workshops, and retreats worldwide, offering personalized mentoring and private therapeutic sessions. Known for bridging ancient yoga wisdom with modern biomechanics, her teaching emphasizes alignment, self-inquiry, and personal empowerment. Her approach weaves together mindfulness, creative sequencing, and bio-mechanically safe alignment, offering students an accessible path to vibrant health and self-transformation. As the founder of Soma Yoga Institute, Liz is dedicated to making yoga accessible to all. Her heartfelt commitment to the transformative power of yoga continues to inspire students worldwide.

Molly Masaoka, E-RYT 500, Owner Yoga Centered