This teacher training offers students in-depth skills to explore Yoga as a vehicle for holistic 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, yoga 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 yoga's ancient knowledge and concepts from yogic philosophy including Ayurveda, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and the Chakra System as frameworks for the application of Yoga as a journey towards radiant health and well-being.
The physical practice emphasis includes hatha and vinyasa yoga offered through a lens of biomechanically sound and anatomy-informed alignment. Expect both mindful vinyasa flow sequencing as well as gentler and restorative variations. You will practice physical postures from all categories of poses including standing poses, hip openers, forward bends, backward bends, twists, inversions, balancing, supine, seated, and prone.
Variations for all levels of practitioners will be provided in yoga practice, all abilities and ALL bodies 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 vinyasa flow yoga,
alignment-based classes, yoga foundations, senior, gentle, and restorative.
Salvatierra, a private eco-resort in Costa Rica, is a nature lover's paradise. It is simply a spectacular venue for yoga teacher training. Surrounded by natural beauty, it offers two yoga studios, a deck with unparalleled views, and a lovely indoor space with wood floors and windows on all sides. There are two pools on the property, oceanside cabinas, a magical beach for morning yoga, and delicious, healthy food. The retreat itself is located on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica and has been identified as one of the five blue zones on the planet. Costa Rica offers endless adventures, beautiful beaches, diverse wildlife, and opportunities for wildly wonderful experiences.
This magical property recently changed ownership and changed its name from Zen Spirit to Salvatierra. The name Salvatierra is both a reminder to us all to do what we can to save our beloved Mother Earth and an invitation to step into a place of refuge and reconnect with our truest, most blissful nature.
Located away from the popular hustle and bustle of tourist beaches, Salvatierra guarantees their guests a true retreat experience for living the yogic lifestyle and the possibility of immersing in unspoiled oceanside beauty. There are no hotels or facilities other than private residences on Costa de Oro beach and the premise is set on a wonderful long flat gold sandy beach interrupted by river estuaries. You can enjoy world-class surfing as well as kayaking and bird watching in the mangrove, horseback riding and hiking to waterfalls, star gazing into the dark sky and much more. In short, it is a nature lovers paradise and the perfect location for a deep immersion into yoga away from the distractions of our busy world.
Certification as a RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance
A solid foundation in classical Hatha Yoga – including alignment based vinyasa flow and restorative yoga within a therapeutic framework.
An anatomy and biomechanically informed alignment system that helps to address common misalignments and keeps your students safe
Variations and adaptations for all bodies, including special populations such as seniors, trauma-sensitive, and those with injuries.
Learn the art of sequencing yoga classes that honors your authentic voice and meets the needs of your student population
Explore breath work, mantra and meditation as tools to create vibrant health and wellbeing in your life
Gain insights into your (true) nature through the ancient wisdom of Yoga and its philosophy
Business of yoga training module, develop your vision and create a successful future
Share the practices with others in a safe and powerful way
Build self-confidence and tap into your amazing potential in a supportive, nurturing environment
Train with highly experienced, knowledgeable and passionate yoga teachers and yoga therapists
Liz Heffernan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT is an international yoga teacher and Integrative Yoga Therapist. She draws from decades of personal yoga practice, 25 years of teaching, and extensive training in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga through a variety of lineages including Kripalu, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Ashtanga Yoga, and Anusara. She currently directs and leads yoga teacher training programs, continuing education, and workshops in worldwide locations, provides unique one-to-one mentoring for yoga teachers wishing to improve their skills and delivery, instructs daily yoga classes and offers private therapeutic sessions.
Peggy Profant, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, E-RYT 500, and Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher, is a playful, passionate and adventurous spirit who is on a lifelong path of Yoga.
Her approach blends the ancient teachings with biomechanically sound alignment to help her students become more firmly anchored in their true, radiant self. She first discovered Kripalu yoga and changed the course of her life in her formative teen years. She has been leading yoga teacher trainings since 2005.
Liz Heffernan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT is an international yoga teacher and Integrative Yoga Therapist. She draws from decades of personal yoga practice, 25 years of teaching, and extensive training in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga through a variety of lineages including Kripalu, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Ashtanga Yoga, and Anusara. She currently directs and leads yoga teacher training programs, continuing education, and workshops in worldwide locations, provides unique one-to-one mentoring for yoga teachers wishing to improve their skills and delivery, instructs daily yoga classes and offers private therapeutic sessions.
Jess Trudeau, E-RYT 500 first began practicing yoga in 1999 as a young college student and fell in love with it’s creative nature. The practice has been her foundation through the carnival of life including motherhood and a tumultuous illness with Guilliane-Barre that left her temporarily paralyzed in 2016. She believes her yoga and meditation practice to be the shining light through any darkness on her path as it has helped her recognize the body’s phenomenal potential to overcome.
Innately perceptive and wildly passionate, Molly applies a level of determination and delight to her yoga instruction that’s truly one of a kind. Her approach is focused and intense; a union of effort and surrender that she believes is key to unlocking one’s deepest level of awareness and joy. While the core of Molly’s teaching is alignment-based flow and restorative yoga, there is a deep level of therapeutic guidance that governs all she offers—from her public classes, workshops, and private sessions to her ongoing teacher training programs and festival courses.
Liz Heffernan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT is an international yoga teacher and Integrative Yoga Therapist. She draws from over two decades of personal yoga practice, 25 years of teaching and extensive training in the Hatha yoga systems of Kripalu, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Ashtanga and Anusara. She currently directs and leads Yoga teacher trainings and workshops in worldwide locations, provides unique one-to-one mentoring for yoga teachers wishing to improve their skills and delivery, instructs daily yoga classes and offers private therapeutic sessions.
Liz is the Founder and Director of Soma Yoga Institute, a world-wide, in-person and online yoga teacher training school that embraces a therapeutically-oriented, heart-centered approach. These programs, heralded by many as truly inspirational, combine modern day biomechanics and research driven science with ancient teachings and serve to teach adaptive Yoga for all BODIES as a practice for vibrant health, self-transformation and personal empowerment.
Liz has trained extensively in the Hatha systems of Kripalu, Ashtanga, Anusara and Integrative Yoga Therapy.
In her work as a yoga therapist, Liz specializes in working with students with musculoskeletal issues as well as helping seniors age gracefully. She is highly skilled in adapting practices to meet the complex health challenges associated with aging. In collaborative partnership with Yoga 4 Brain Health she has co-founded the Memory Maintenance Yoga Teacher Training program that certifies Yoga teachers to help their communities delay the onset of memory loss related diseases through Yoga. Liz also serves as a faculty-mentor for the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy supporting professionals on their journey to become yoga therapists.
Liz is known is for her ability to bridge the gap between the ancient perspectives of yoga and contemporary daily life. Her teaching weaves together philosophy, creative sequencing, clear alignment, mindful breathing, and compassionate self-inquiry to form a tapestry that reflects her heartfelt commitment to this transformative path.
Liz believes that the path of Yoga brings greater ease, not just to the individual, but to all beings everywhere, and ultimately uplifts planetary consciousness one conscious breath at a time.
Since discovering yoga more than 20 years ago, Molly has studied with some of the world’s most renowned instructors most notably the founder of Smart Flow Yoga, Annie Carpenter, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty and Don Stapelton from Nosara Yoga Institute. She credits Annie for giving her the skills to teach intentional alignment and sequencing, Don for the ability to encourage self-inquiry and Chuck for finding the unity in all things. For the past seven years, Molly has also been the owner and director of Yoga Centered Studio on the Big Island of Hawaii. In addition, she leads workshops, retreats and teacher trainings all over Hawaii.
Ultimately Molly considers herself a student of life. She is constantly drawing inspiration from the world around her, and most recently the newest addition to her family, her son, Reef. Her hope is to inspire others to share the practices of yoga that have so positively impacted her life.
“The yoga mat is a microcosm for who you are,” says Molly. “It’s not about how good you are at handstands or how flexible you are, it’s about how you approach life. Yoga reveals this and so much more. It’s about discovering who we are and finding acceptance right then and there in that very moment.”
Molly is an amazing yoga teacher and a beautiful soul to be around and learn from. Molly's inspiring spirit really shines through in her teaching. She is extremely knowledgeable about alignment, anatomy, and how to use yoga as a method for healing and/or optimal health. She is fun and encouraging. I absolutely love Molly and her asana classes are the best ones I've ever had the privilege of taking. The yoga Molly practices and shares with others will lift your body, mind, and spirit to a greater place! - Jensi Gise
Peggy Profant, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, E-RYT 500, and Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher, is a playful, passionate and adventurous spirit who is on a lifelong path of Yoga.
Her approach blends the ancient wisdom of yoga with biomechanically sound alignment to help her students become more firmly anchored in their true, radiant self. She first discovered Kripalu yoga and changed the course of her life in her formative teen years in 1980.
Her first initiation into yoga was through Kripalu, and it gratefully changed the course of her life in her formative teen years. Yoga provided balance, self discovery, and restoration throughout her academic years in college as she completed studies in Environmental Education and Dance.
Peggy travelled to India to immerse in the practice of Ashtanga yoga where she met her life partner. Teaching yoga coincided with settling down, raising a family and becoming a massage therapist in 1998. Later Peggy pursued the rigorous path to become a Certified Anusara Teacher in 2004 and began to delve into more studies of the therapeutic aspects of yoga. Every class she teaches is a creative expression with meaningful and uplifting heart themes partnered with skillful sequencing and therapeutic alignment. Peggy is a thoughtful and encouraging Life Coach and mentor to many students and yoga teachers in her community and around the globe. It is her wish to empower her students, friends and colleagues to overcome obstacles to self love and allow each person to joyfully offer their gifts back to humanity. Peggy founded and operated a premier yoga studio in Arcata, Om Shala Yoga, for 10 years, and co-founded World Family Yoga leading family retreats in Costa Rica. She has been leading workshops, retreats and Yoga Teacher Trainings since 2005.
A nomad at heart, Jess has led teacher trainings, retreats, workshops and classes worldwide for 17 years since her first class to a group of women in Mongolia while living in the Peace Corps.
Jess’s classes are soaked in yoga's rich philosophy and paletted history, mindful alignment and thoughtful sequencing, inspired by her own never-ending search for play and creativity. She enjoys teaching a vast diversity of yogic styles from Therapeutic, Restorative and Chair Yoga, to Partner and Aerial Hammock Yoga; but gets extra lit up highlighting Vinyasa Flow’s fluid diversity with a multi level approach. She finds joy in making yoga accessible to all with creative use of props and adaptations for beginners, injuries, body types, and pregnancy; instilling an inclusive environment for the practice of yoga. Her mantra is, “move like yourself” and encourages students to find their own inner teacher with the foundation of guiding principles.
Jess infuses classes with mantras on harmonium to find voice, hand mudras, breath pranayama, as well as insightful themes and intentions to shake out routine and invite people back home to their bodies. She is interested in balancing the architecture of alignment with the grace and freedom found in flow. As a teacher she inspires her students to use yoga as a gateway to better understand oneself, accept and even celebrate our humanness, and to seek wonder in the cracks where the light tries to find us.
Jess has been blessed to study with many phenomenal yogis during her travels including Dana Trixie Flynn, Sri Dharma Mittra, Carrie Owerko, Jillian Pransky, Suzanne Sterling, Chrissy Carter, Elena Brower, Cyndi Lee, Eoin Finn, and Desiree Rumbaugh; a few of many whom she’s incredibly grateful for passing on their knowledge, inspiration, and innate wisdom. She carries 900 hours of advanced certifications from Yogaworks, Laughing Lotus, Blissology Bali, and Heartwood Institute.
www.jesstrudeauyoga.com
At Salvatierra in Costa Rica the cuisine is delicious, healthy, locally sourced and organic when possible. Most meals include fresh tropical fruits and vegetables that are organically produced on the Salvatierra farm. When purchasing outside of the estate, the chefs always privilege local organic products. Therefore, by buying locally Salvatierra is helping the local Costa Rica community. Vegetarian meals, vegan options, gluten-free alternatives, and seafood options are provided to all students and included in the price of tuition. Students who have special dietary requirements are encouraged to let us know in advance as we will do our best to accommodate them.
January 5-22, 2025
August 1-18, 2025
December 1-8, 2025
January 5-22, 2026
A $500 USD deposit will reserve your space and will be applied to the full tuition price listed above. Deposits, tuition, and housing payments minus a 10% processing fee, are refundable up to 31 days prior to retreat start date. The 10% processing fee will apply to all refunds and this fee covers credit card charges and administrative processing fees.
Retreat costs (housing and food) are due three months prior to the start date of the program or within two weeks of registering and your final tuition payment is due no later than one month prior to the program start date. If you would like to discuss alternate arrangements or a payment plan, please feel free to contact us directly and we would be happy to work something out.
Ask about our buy now and pay later option through Afterpay, available for those in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Fee-free transfers for documented health/emergency situations: If cancellation is necessary prior to the first day of the program due to documented health or emergency situations, a student’s deposit and tuition will be fully transferable to a future program with Soma Yoga Institute. In all other circumstances, due to the logistics involved in planning residential programs in retreat settings, we regret that we are unable to issue deposit/tuition/housing refunds 30 days or less prior to program start date. No refunds are issued on or after the program start date for any reason.
All Inclusive Yoga Teacher Training Packages Include:
✨Housing
✨Three delicious and healthy meals per day prepared for you with love
✨Yoga teacher training tuition
✨Instruction from world class C-IAYT yoga therapists/E-RYT 500 instructors with over 25 years of experience
✨A comprehensive 250 page Yoga Teacher Training Manual
✨Afternoon smoothies and snacks
✨Daily room cleaning, as needed towel changes, and weekly sheet changes
✨One load of laundry per week washed and dried for you
✨Business of yoga curriculum to help you design the teaching career of your dreams
✨As needed mentoring after the program ends
✨Six month access to our 200 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training content, an essential resource to support you as you move out into the world teaching yoga
All inclusive prices vary based on housing choice:
January & December (High Season) program prices:
🌴Beach Cabina Triple Occupancy $4297 USD
🌴Beach Cabina Double Occupancy $4597 USD
🌴Beach Cabina Single Occupancy $6073 USD
🌴Loft on the Hill Single Occupancy $6073 USD
🌈Garden View Single (Shared bath with one other) $5172 USD
August (Low Season) program prices:
🌴Beach Cabina Triple Occupancy $3897 USD
🌴Beach Cabina Double Occupancy $4347 USD
🌴Beach Cabina Single Occupancy $5743 USD
🌈Garden View Single (Shared bath with one other) $5143 USD
(Payment plan options now available through Afterpay)
Please book your flight to arrive at Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) or Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO). Transfer from and to the airport on the group shuttle is provided for a reduced fee (specified times only).
From Liberia International Airport:
Arrange to fly into the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR) in Costa Rica. The group shuttle departs from the airport at 8:00am and 3:30 p.m. on arrival day (Jan 5/Aug 1/Dec 1) and returns to Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) for flights departing after 9:00 am on departure day (Jan 22/Aug 18/Dec 18). Shuttle from Liberia to SalvaTierra Retreat takes approximately 3 hours. The group shuttle charge is $75 USD per person each way.
From San Jose International Airport:
Arrange to fly into the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica. The group shuttle departs from the Adventure Inn (15 minutes from the airport) in San Jose at 10:00 a.m. on arrival day and returns departing SalvaTierra at 7:00 a.m. on departure day for flights leaving after 3:00pm. Shuttle from San Jose to SalvaTierra takes approximately 5 hours. Group shuttle charge is $100 per person each way. The Adventure Inn in San Jose is a great place for the first night with free airport shuttles if you are a guest and a large breakfast included in the price. You may book a room directly with them here: https://www.adventure-inn.com/. The shuttle will depart directly from this hotel and on the return take you directly to the SJO airport.