200 hours Yoga Teacher Training 2025
Foundation Yoga Teacher Training
Welcome to a unique & eclectic Yoga Teacher Training Programme, authentic & from the heart.
Peter & Sue are accredited trainers & our yin yoga teacher training course & 200 hour foundation courses are fully accredited by Yoga Alliance Professionals UK
We have been running yoga retreats here at our home in Portugal for over a decade & in that time we have been asked many times if we run Teacher Training Programmes, we always answered “ no but we will when we feel ready & the time is right “ Now is that time ! As yoga Teachers who entered the profession as pretty damaged & messy individuals our journey back to health & wholeness has been challenging, painful & sometime humiliating, but it has been & continues to be worth it as we have learned & continue to understand & remember so much along the way - we are happy, vibrant & grateful to be alive & now we want to share all the incredible knowledge we have integrated & embodied with you. Since our first 200 hour Teacher Training programmes almost 20 years ago in Dynamic Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga & more Traditional Hatha Yoga we have between us attended training programmes in Yin Yoga, Women's Yoga, Mindfulness, Yoga for Pregnancy, Yoga Nidra, Yoga Therapy, contemporary Shamanism, Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, Evolutionary Astrology & Qigong. On the training course we want to share the most important principles & applications of these disciplines to empower you to be a well informed, balanced, compassionate, effective Yoga Teacher able to confidently hold any space you are presented with giving of your heart & soul whilst keeping yourself safe & protected.We are sadly seeing lots of students & qualified Yoga Teachers on our retreats who are struggling emotionally, physically & mentally & have huge gaps in their knowledge, embodiment & understanding. This is scary as these ancient practices are exacting scientifically and hugely powerful, when we practice our body is the laboratory, if we get the practice ingredients wrong or don't recognise the students or our own unique needs it can potentially increase trauma or accelerate chronic disease rather than bringing about healing .Today doing a Teacher Training Qualification is often a way of opting out of the mainstream, or simply a career path & many unscrupulous people appear to be cashing in on that churning inexperienced Yoga Teachers out like gadgets on a factory line favoring quantity over quality then leaving them confused & broken to fend for themselves often formulating and holding classes that are at best ineffective and at worse dangerous.
We want to offer something very different. Our Teacher Trainings will be small groups (maximum 18 participants) You will have homework in between Modules, You will have regular Skype check ins during the course, you will have practice videos to follow, a daily developmental personalised practice routine, You will be able to volunteer here at the retreat centre whenever you want & when you are ready there will be opportunities to Teach here in the future. Basically once you start your training with us you will be given as much support & mentoring as you as an individual need. Our dream & our intention is to send true quality teachers out into the world that are equipped with the tools to wake up & help heal as many people as possible at a time in history when this is imperative if the planet & the human race are to survive & thrive. Although in a sense time is of the essence we feel that if this is to be integrated properly this is not a course to be rushed thus it takes place over eighteen months. We intend that you will deeply engrain the Teachings & practices with repetition & simple transmission so that when you do start Teaching you will be able to stand fully in your power & be a force of goodness in the world.
Unlike many YTTC’s we do have some entry requirements, so you can be assured that your are really ready for this journey, that your fellow students will be like minded individuals & you will be part of a genuine community with an incredibly powerful support network . If you are interested in being an Evolutionary Yoga Teacher you will need to submit a short application form, have an informal Skype chat with one of us & have a regular home practice. We would like you to have been practicing for two years rather the consistently. We welcome those who are fairly new to this path of remembering, unifying & integration & individuals who are qualified in other therapeutic modes, talk therapy or energy or body work as we firmly believe that the more strings we have to our bows the more effective will be our healing & the new paradigm favours fusion, creativity & integration of previously segregated disciplines. We are looking for individuals who want to make a difference, who are fully committed & dedicated to healing themselves & the world around them, who are not without their own struggles & are familiar with suffering, people who know only too well the pain, fear, worry, anxiety & myriad of other emotions that make up the human condition. We are looking for individuals who feel ready to face their traumas & insults, let go of their egos & hold up the mirror to gaze deeply at their own shadow selves.
We are calling true healers who are motivated to use their gifts to bring about positive change rather than Instagram fame. In return you will receive one of the most holistic detailed Teacher Training programmes of all times. We do not just look to India for the history & philosophy of yoga we also explore the Daoist perspective of ancient China & the ancient mystery traditions of the west that were destroyed during the inquisition right back to the most ancient of all yogic roots in the Shamanic practices of indigenous people worldwide so that we can fully remember exactly who we are & the purpose of our earth walk on this beautiful blue planet.
The Teacher Training programme will include the Anatomy & Physiology that is necessary & relevant for your safe & effective Teaching purposes, our intention is not to bombard you with names of obscure muscles rather to give you a simple yet comprehensive overview of how our incredible bodies function & how we can maximise our potential when we have a practical , fun & colourful understanding of our powerful & intelligent visceral organs, skeletal idiosyncrasies, surprisingly simple myofascial trains, sensitive nervous system, amazing endocrine system & more. We will also give a brief over view of the body electric with an introduction to Chakra, Dantien & Meridian theory which you can delve into more deeply in the yin training & future specific Qigong & Energy anatomy modules.
We will cover in detail all common more Yang actively engaged Yoga postures & their variations grouping them in ways that help to simplify anatomical alignment rules & verbal instructions. Learning both their sanskrit names which hold special energetic vibrations & the English names which are more appropriate to use in some settings. We will show you how to activate the spiralic dynamic in the limbs so that you can simply align & effortlessly hold postures for time. In addition we will define Asanas in their Physiological, Energetic, Mental & Spiritual perspectives & show how they can be applied in an elemental & Shamanic context. You will become familiar with the different styles of Sun & Moon salutations so that you can select those most appropriate for yourself & your students at any given time. You will also learn the methods of how to sequence a class, how to open a class, engage the student’s attention & still their active minds, how to warm up the muscles & joints before Asana Practice, how to change the tempo of a class & how to cool down, integrate & consolidate the healing & empowerments at the end of class.
We will cover the art of grounding in great detail as it is of paramount importance at the moment as city dwellers become more & more bombarded with technology & spend less & less time in nature.
You will learn how to hold a space, how to project your voice, how to give safe, appropriate physical assists & adjustments, various contraindications, how to give verbal adjustments, how to motivate & invite enquiry, how to modify postures for beginners, how to challenge more advanced students & how to handle more challenging students.
You will be introduced to basic mindfulness & other meditation techniques so that you can introduce mindful enquiry to your classes & conduct simple group meditations. We will also introduce you to the use of Sound & Mantra.
These areas will be expanded further in future modules.
You will understand & be able to identify potentially unhealthy breathing patterns & acquire many helpful techniques to assist people how to regulate their breath & use it to fully ground and accentuate their health & vitality. You will also learn a variety of safe & effective pranayama techniques & how to pace & convey them fully to others.
As we see so many people today struggling with their mental health we will give You the tools to be able to help those struggling with depression to begin to lift their spirits & those with anxiety related conditions to be able to start to relax & let go.
You will be able to recognise if people may be experiencing a healing crisis & what you can do to help them navigate what can be a scary & unpleasant experience.
A big part of the course will be devoted to cleansing & purging techniques drawing from the traditions of Hatha Yoga & Qigong to help cleanse the physical body. This is of paramount importance as we currently live in a world of such toxicity it is almost impossible not to have absorbed heavy metals, negative energies & poisonous substances from your food, water, environment & people around you. The Daoists & Yogis knew that you should not put clean water in a dirty cup, we really need to regularly cleanse if we are to effectively practice more advanced Yogic techniques. We will emphasise the importance of Pawanmuktasana (joint releasing) but making it much more fun, varied & engaging than in traditional yogic contexts by drawing on the multitude of different techniques Qigong has to offer.
In terms of your own development you will also have a personalised Evolutionary Astrological Chart reading so that you can explore your personal strengths & talents & look at ways & practices you can use to develop in more challenging areas. A big part of the training will be analysing yourself on the mat in terms of physical blocks & limitations. Also Enquiring into your emotional mind state using mindful enquiry & looking at your strengths & challenges from the perspective of the medicine wheel. We will also explore areas of energetic strength & weakness so that you will feel more balanced & more whole.You will also be given homeopathic & vibrational flower & mineral essences as needed & have an opportunity to explore your own personal optimal nutritional requirements with our experienced nutritional therapist Selina. All in a non judgmental, non shaming, supportive & light hearted environment.
Our aim is to equip you with the tools to be kind, gentle, caring, trustworthy, ethical, compassionate, courageous, righteous, patient, unconditionally loving Yoga Teachers. Sadly the patriarchy & its hierarchical structures has left a legacy of emotional abuse, sexual abuse & overall abuse of power in the Yoga world & although there is still little official regulation in the area of Yoga Teaching for the safety of both Teachers and Pupils we respect & uphold certain ethical boundaries. As far as we are concerned when we come to class we often expose our inner child & children deserve to be treated with absolute care & respect & the protection of an often fragile soul is paramount.Thankfully the old power structures are disintegrating as we enter the new paradigm of individuation and finding more balance between the Masculine & the Feminine & we are unfolding our own paths with a little help from each other. We are finding a way that is as Earthy & Practical as it is Lofty & Spiritual & our Teacher Training aspires to be a reflection of this new world. We are overturning old structures, we are not claiming to be Gurus or Masters we are just people who have worked & studied with perseverance to uncover our true natures. With that in mind we always invite your ideas & contributions to the training, we welcome your questions & invite you to experiment & find out for yourself what works rather than blindly believe. We practice in circle rather than with some on stage or pedestal. Part of the uniqueness of this programme is that our training centre is also our home, it is cozy, welcoming & just a little bit magical, you will be immersed in the natural world, you will be well fed, well nurtured & well loved by our dedicated Team & our menagerie of animal friends.
We will also spend time looking at methods of protection when you are Teaching. In the west although we have understood for a while the reality of emotional transference we are slowly beginning to understand the implications of transference energetically when we work in a therapeutic environment. We will teach you how to identify the difference between your “stuff “& that of other people & how to protect your energetic boundaries & how to effectively cleanse yourself after you have taught. We will also Teach practices to help you refresh & renew your energy if you have become depleted during teaching.
We will discuss the importance of ritual, devotion & a heartfelt connection to the natural world, how to identify the seasonal shifts & changes & how to adapt & modify your practice according to your environment & the time of year. We will identify the importance of our thoughts & our intentions & find methods of surviving with integrity & authenticity in a world where the understanding of what yoga really is has been distorted & industrialised.
During the training course you will have plenty of opportunities to practice your teaching skills & you will be provided with plenty of appraisal & feedback so that you will really know when you are ready & will feel confident teaching from your very first class.
We will also look at the practicalities of running yoga classes & how you may set out as a full time Teacher or how you can fuse this important work with other disciplines.
The Foundation Training will incorporate 200 contact hours here at the Yoga Evolution Retreat centre set over weeks (28 days in September 2025, The package will also include all meals & accommodation. Also included will be your, any online videos/ audios , personalised practice guidelines & homework marking . In terms of commitment between modules we would recommend that you set aside at least an hour a day of personal practice & around another 5 hours a week for study & homework. The cost of the foundation course is 2800 Euros, please let us know if you require a payment plan.
If you are interested in attending our Teacher Training Programme commencing in the September of 2025 we look forward to hearing from you. Please contact Sue or Peter at info@yogaevolutionretreats.com with any questions you may have & we will a1nswer you as soon as we can & send you an application form.