Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica
Becoming a Yoga teacher with InnerSea Yoga Academy
There are multiple paths to becoming a yoga instructor. In the old days, you had to go to India for multiple months and train. Nowadays, the most accessible option for many is to attend a teacher training at a yoga studio nearby which usually is held over a few months, one day per week. The other option is an intensive 200-hour yoga teacher training with a yoga school anywhere in the world. Charlie has seen them being offered in Portugal and Greece, however, she decided to do it in Costa Rica. Why wouldn’t you learn in a place where you’re surrounded by tropical rainforest?
Yoga Teacher Training in Uvita
The intensive yoga instructor course with InnerSea Yoga Academy took place in the small town of Uvita on the west coast of Costa Rica. Uvita is quite a bit further south from the more touristic places like Tamarindo and Jacó and a bit more authentic. You can still find tourist accommodation and surf hire on the beach, and you automatically mingle more with the locals. You find lots of US-Americans there too, but they aren’t tourists, they’re expats who live in Uvita.
The training and accommodation were at a small family-run place, Hospedaje El Bosquecito. The owners, Mari and Julio, live in the property too and their family was among the first settlers in Uvita in the 1950s. The house is near the road with some cafes and restaurants and leads to a vast jungle property with a river, a wild garden, and a yoga deck. On your way to the yoga classes, Charlie crossed the river and saw plenty of birds, lizards and butterflies. During the yoga sessions, the group was often greeted by cows that were grazing there.
There were three meals provided per day, prepared by their own chef Gaby. Charlie enjoyed taking her breakfast plate to the terrace outside her room where she could watch the comings and goings of the local fauna by the river. It was better than the TV programme. She saw squirrels in all shades of brown and grey chasing each other up and down the trees, birds flying from branch to branch, and lizards nodding their little heads before jumping over the rocks.
Learning about all things yoga
Charlie had booked an intensive course and fitting 200 hours of training in 2.5 weeks is a challenge. As such, the academic schedule was quite extensive. They started their day with a Yoga class at 6 in the morning, had breakfast and studied in the classroom from 9 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. with an hour of lunch break six days per week. The Sundays were there to rest or to catch up on homework.
Yoga philosophy
The morning lesson was about the philosophy behind all yoga practice. They studied in much detail the yoga sutras by Patanjali and learned about the Bhagavad Gita and other yogic texts. They learned about Chakras, Koshas, and Nadis, and the eight limbs of yoga, to just name a few. To make the study content a bit more digestible, they drew what they had learned, sang, or did role plays.
Part of the philosophy lessons was meditation. Courtney introduced them to a different type of meditation every day and helped them learn how to write and guide their own meditations.
Yoga postures
Every day during the yoga teacher training was a practical lesson in the shape of an Asana clinic. They went over different yoga poses and were taught how to get into the pose in the correct and safe way, how to offer modifications and adjustments and what to watch for when students do the pose. This included the use of props like blocks and straps and some hands-on adjustment that the participants practiced on each other.
To bring it all together, they also learned about anatomy and physiology, about the nervous and respiratory systems. To make it more interactive the reassembled miniature skeletons and assessed each other’s posture.
Learning how to teach
A big part of becoming an instructor for any type of activity is learning how to teach and explain what you do. Every day during the course, there was a lesson in teaching methodology. They learned how to use their voice, which words to use and how to cue into poses. Madison also provided some tips and tricks about lesson planning and sequencing.
Charlie and the other students were gradually building their own sequence and practiced teaching every day.
Yoga practice
Every morning started at 6 a.m. at the yoga deck. The teachers for the morning class changed every day from Madison to Jen or Tim. This way, all students were introduced to different styles of teaching, and over time, they became a bit more observant of the cues and the transitions between poses. Charlie found herself more than once stopping her practice to take notes of things she wanted to incorporate into her own class.
Excursions
The course schedule of the Yoga teacher training in Costa Rica also included some excursions and outdoor learning. The first bit was a medicinal plant walk. Julio, the groundskeeper at the accommodation showed Charlie and the others around in his garden and explained which of the plants could be used as herbal medicine. They saw different plants that were good for digestion and harvested some fresh ginger and turmeric. Whenever there was a health issue during the course, Julio usually had a solution at hand, be it a tea to sleep better or solve digestive problems, or a paste to treat rashes. His garden certainly served its purpose.
They also did some meditative walks where they explored the local area. One of those walks guided them to the nearby waterfall, and another walk led through an impressive bamboo forest to a swimming hole.
At the end of the first week of the training, they went to the beach Playa Hermosa and held a fire ceremony. They had written on a piece of paper what they wanted to let go and burned it on the beach before they went for a cleansing swim in the ocean and observed the surfers.
In the second week, they visited a local farm and permaculture. Not only did they learn about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica, but also about a life aligned with nature. They tasted fresh coconut and heart of palm, harvested guavas, and saw a crocodile and a toucan. The farm was very close to the beach and the house of the family was built on the hill next to it from where you could even see the ocean. They learned how everything in nature is connected and that the Costa Rican lifestyle is not geared towards money. If it was, that farm would have already been sold to a hotel company.
Finals and Graduation
After all the learning, there was a formal assessment to complete the yoga teacher training. At the end of each week, there was a quiz and there was homework to complete every day. At the end of the training, every participant delivered a yoga class as part of their final assessment. In addition, they had to write an essay about everything they had learned and write another class sequence.
The graduation ceremony took place on the same beach where they had held the fire ceremony. They sat in a circle and showered each other in positive words before everybody received their certificate. They went for a swim before returning to El Bosquecito for a celebratory lunch. Charlie and the others were now officially certified yoga instructors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica?
The Yoga Teacher Training takes place in the town of Uvita on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. All training and accommodation are at Hospedaje El Bosquecito.
How to get to Uvita?
You can get to Uvita by bus from San José or other places with the bus company Tracopa. InnerSeaYogaAcademy can also organize a shuttle from San José airport.
What are the requirements to participate in a Yoga Teacher Training?
You should have at least one year of regular Yoga practice and a general interest in learning more about Yoga and teaching others.
How long is the Yoga Teacher Training?
The 200-hour-training lasts 2-3 weeks, given that you have prior Yoga experience.
What do you eat during a Yoga Teacher Training?
All meals are provided during the training, and they are all vegan.
Is there a final exam after the Yoga Teacher Training?
There are two quizzes, one at the end of each week. You also create and teach your own class and write an essay at the end. Don’t worry, you will be fully ready to take these tests by the end of the training.
What else can you do in Uvita?
There are beautiful beaches near Uvita where you can swim and surf. There’s also nature walks to waterfalls, swimming holes and bamboo forests.
