200-HR YTTC ASHTANGA VINYASA FLOW (IN COSTA RICA)

OVERVIEW
Our 200-hour Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training Course is an intensive program designed to give you the knowledge, skills, and confidence to teach yoga classes based on a modified Ashtanga Primary Series and Vinyasa Flow style. Your yoga teacher training journey with us is as much about deepening your own practice as it is about gaining the skills to teach others with confidence.

COURSE DETAILS

Sampoorna Yoga Costa Rica offers an innovative in-person/online modality which allows you to get the best out of our signature Yoga Teacher Training Course.
HYBRID METHODOLOGY (Combination of our In-Person Course and our Online YTTC)
In this format, as soon as you sign up for the course, you can start learning from the comfort of your home. You’ll have lifetime access to the Online Module, so you can study and practice at your own rhythm and pace!
Soon after, you will join our senior lead teachers in a two-week in-person experience to clarify doubts, improve your practice, share with like-minded yogi fellow students, develop your teaching skills, and craft the art of hands-on adjustments while indulging in tropical nature!
The journey of becoming a well-rounded yoga teacher starts here!
1
APPLY
2
PAY THE COURSE DEPOSIT
3
GET ACCESS TO THE ONLINE MODULE
4
ATTEND THE IN-PERSON COURSE
5
GET CERTIFIED AS YOGA TEACHER
I. ONLINE MODULE
In the moment you sign up for our 200-hr Ashtanga Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training Course at Costa Rica, you will get access to our online platform. This online platform contains all the resources you need to start preparing for the in-person course.
You can study and practice at your own rhythm and pace, take notes and write down your questions, and doubts to clarify them with your teachers in the in-person course. Remember: you’ll have access to this platform for life, so you can continue watching the videos, studying, and practicing even after you’ve attended the In-person Course.
II. IN-PERSON COURSE
Over the course of two weeks, you will practice and study with our senior lead teachers and fellow students from different walks of life.
During this course, we will mainly cover the practical portion of the 200-hr Ashtanga Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training. Your days will be filled with asana practice, workshops, Q&A sessions, teaching practice, hands-on adjustments workshops, posture clinics, and much more.
SAMPLE OF OUR IN-PERSON DAILY SCHEDULE (MON-FRI)*
*Saturday we will finish at 1:00pm, and Sunday off.
What’s included in each module? | Online | In-Person |
---|---|---|
Pre-recorded theory classes of all the topics of the curriculum | ||
Ashtanga led classes on video | ||
Vinyasa Flow classes on video | ||
More than 83 hours of recordings of Q&A sessions | ||
Our comprehensive manual with illustrative photos, theory, practice exercises and much more information in PDF, downloadable and printable | ||
Ashtanga Primary Series “Cheat Sheets” with the Sanskrit names of all the asanas (downloadable) | ||
Audios to learn and practice mantras, counting, and asana names in Sanskrit | ||
Study Guide with more than 100 questions | ||
Business of Yoga classes to develop your career as yoga teacher | ||
Lifetime access to the online platform | ||
Theory multiple-choice exam | ||
Theory and practice of different Meditation and Pranayama techniques | ||
Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra classes (as bonus) | ||
Access to private Facebook group | ||
Welcome & Orientation session | ||
Ashtanga Led & Mysore style classes | ||
Vinyasa Flow classes | ||
Q&A sessions about all the topics of the course with our senior lead teachers | ||
Hands-on adjustments workshops | ||
Posture Clinics | ||
Yoga teaching practice from one-on-one to larger groups | ||
Practical exam | ||
Closing and graduation session | ||
200-hour certificate recognized by the Yoga Alliance |
THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF:
- You have been practicing yoga -intensively and continuously- and want to move to the next level.
- You want to deepen your personal asana and meditation practice.
- You want to learn and practice in a compassionate and non-competitive yet challenging environment.
- Are looking for a comprehensive, safe, well/structured, anatomically precise yet intuitive approach.
- You have a strong desire and urge to share this art of living with others.
- You are ready to learn yoga beyond asanas.
- You want to have the experience of an in-person course but don’t have much time off.
- You want to get the best out of an online training.
CERTIFICATION
In order to receive your certificate as 200-hr yoga teacher, you need to complete the following requisites:
- Obtain minimum 90% in your theory exam (*)
- 100% attendance to the in-person course
- Obtain minimum 22 points out of 35 in your practical exam (**)
(*) Available on the online platform. (You will have up to one year to complete the theory exam, which means that you can take this exam either before or after attending the in-person course. In case you take the theory exam after the in-person course, you will receive your certificate by email once all requisites have been met.)
(**) It will be completed at the end of the in-person course.
This certificate is recognized by Yoga Alliance USA, and you will be eligible to register with them as RYT-200.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE IN-PERSON COURSE?
To make the most of the second part of your YTTC, we advise you to:
- Watch as many videos/lectures of the online module as possible. (Ideally -but not necessarily-you may finish this module and take the theory exam before attending the In-person Course; otherwise, you can complete the Online Module and take the theory exam whenever you feel ready)
- Make notes, write down your questions and doubts
- Practice Ashtanga Primary Series and Vinyasa Flow -at least- 3 times a week each style
- Take enough comfortable and appropriate yoga clothes. (You may change clothes a few times a day).
- We will provide yoga mats and all the props you may need during your course, but you can choose to bring your own yoga mat.

THE TEACHERS

ELI AGUILAR, COSTA RICA
E-RYT 500, SYT
Co-Founder Sampoorna Yoga Costa Rica, Director of Sampoorna Yoga Online, & Senior YTTC Instructor
.
ELI AGUILAR
Eli joined Sampoorna Yoga as a facilitator of the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course. And that experience was the non-return point. She felt in love with India, with its culture and with her passion: teaching. In Sampoorna Yoga, she has taught almost all the topics of the syllabus and she is particularly passionate about functional anatomy, how different bodies express the asanas in different ways, and she is very keen on respecting everyone’s unique body and practice.
Along with Deepak has co-founded Sampoorna Yoga Costa Rica. While she continues teaching in English and Spanish courses, developing curriculum and content for new courses, managing and teaching Yin Yoga training courses, handling the online education platform, she oversees different management responsibilities.

DEEPAK SHARMA, INDIA
E-RYT 500, SYT
Director and Founder of Sampoorna Yoga India, Co-Founder of Sampoorna Yoga Costa Rica
.
DEEPAK SHARMA
Deepak is the founder of Sampoorna Yoga, Goa and Costa Rica. He founded Sampoorna in 2008 after taking part in a 10-days Vipassana meditation retreat in Sri Goenka Tradition. He has been practicing yoga for 30 years and has been teaching actively for the last 25 years. He has graduated more than 11,000 international yoga teachers till date.
Yoga has been part of his family for many generations. Be it his grandfather, father or his mother, they all have been spiritual seekers. Yoga started to become part of his life when he was merely 12 years old. It started when his father asked him to assist him in his yoga workshops. His role was to merely organise the yoga mats and supply ‘warm & salted’ water to the participants during yogic cleansing techniques. It was through the keen observation of his father’s teaching style and people’s gratitude towards his father’s efforts that inspired him to learn more about yoga.
His father was a renowned yoga teacher in his home town in central India. Although he was in a job, he used to conduct free yoga workshops for the locals quite often. His father was so passionate about helping people through yoga that he used to literally take loans to conduct his workshops. His both parents have been spiritual seekers and have been visiting their Guru’s ashram for decades. His mother follows the path of bhakti yoga.
Deepak’s journey as a yoga student started by assisting his father in the yoga workshops his father used to conduct for the local people in the town when he was merely 12 year old. He became truly inspired with the power of yoga when he saw the value his father was adding to people’s lives through yoga.
Although he had been reading various yogic texts on yoga and spirituality since the age of 15, his journey of real yoga had not begun yet. He went on to become an engineer and worked various jobs just like many others. It was, when he was 24, when his real journey of yoga began. It was when he was in Mumbai railway station waiting for his train with four hours in hand to kill. He decided to go out to look for a movie theatre but ended up buying the most respected book on yoga ever, the Bhagavad Gita. In a non-stop reading spree of the next 26 hours he had finished the 850-page book. The book and its teachings had a profound impact on him and he was not the same person anymore.
While still in his 9 to 5 job he started to study more and more spiritual texts, visiting spiritual ashrams, attending satsangs, practicing more yoga and meditation. At the same time he also started to teach yoga to his colleagues for free to help them. When he was 30 he left his job and went to an ashram for two years to study with his guru. It was in the ashram where it was revealed to him that yoga was his path.
Apart from his father, Deepak has studied with various Gurus like Swami Sivananda, Swami Satyananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Osho, Eknaath Eswaran and J Krishnamurty and has studied hundreds of spiritual texts.

THE CURRICULUM
The Primary Series is especially designed to repair, rejuvenate, and strengthen the system for the purpose of yoga. Within the series there is also a strong focus on realigning the musculoskeletal system and toning the muscles in the lower abdomen and pelvic floor, which are, incidentally, very important for establishing the correct breathing technique.
You will have the option of practicing all the asanas, with modifications, and/or with props.
Dynamic flows practiced four to five times a week, learning principles of sequencing, designing and teaching Vinyasa Flow classes.
In the in-person module, you will receive a daily two-hour workshop focused on alignment and adjustment techniques for the main postures of the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series and a few other more advanced postures. These workshops also include modifications, advance variations, adequate use of props, postures clinics (arm balances, backbends, inversions, among others), and regular hands-on adjustments practice.
You will learn the principles of sequencing in order to create Vinyasa Flow sequences based on a chosen theme; the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting and correcting, verbal instructions, teaching styles, the qualities of a teacher, voice projection, floor presence, planning and structuring a class, dealing with injuries and safety precautions.
There will be plenty of guidance on how to improve and enhance your teaching skills and how to plan and structure a class. In the in-person module, you will start teaching one-on-one and then progress to teaching larger groups towards the end of the course. You will receive feedback from your teachers and your classmates as well, to help you to improve and to find your unique voice and style as a teacher.
You will learn and practice different breathing and meditation techniques such as nadi shodhana, kapalbhati, bhastrika, ujjayi and bhramari; chakra meditation and yoga nidra.
In these classes you will learn about:
- Meaning of yoga, concepts, history
- The four paths of yoga (Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, Karma Yoga)
- Nadis (energy channels), Chakras, kundalini
- Vedas and six systems of Indian philosophy
- Ashtanga yoga (Raja Yoga): aim of yoga, modification of mind, mental disposition, meaning of OM, eight limbs of yoga, Kriya yoga, Samyama yoga, Samadhi (enlightenment)
- Mudras, Bandhas & Kriyas: Introduction, different types, practice and its integration with meditation
- Obstacles on the path of yoga, means to overcome obstacles
- Concepts of Gunas (Satva, Rajas, Tamas) and their applications in daily life. Effects of food in Gunas
- Life style and ethics for a yoga practitioner and teacher.
During the in-person course, we will have open and interactive philosophy classes where you are free to ask questions related to spirituality, meditation or any other enquiry related to the content learned in the pre-recorded classes.
Our anatomy classes ensure an understanding of the key muscles and bones involved in asana practice and their associated health benefits and contraindications. Substantial emphasis is placed on analytic training, muscular and skeletal anatomy, individual limitations and differences. The specially designed practical anatomy classes are the backbone of the alignment classes. You will learn the following:
- Basic concepts of anatomy and physiology related to movement.
- Application of anatomical principles to yoga practice (mechanics of yoga asana, its benefits and contraindications, healthy patterns of movement, etc.).
- Practical anatomy with a major emphasis on the skeletal system, muscular system, connective tissue, nervous system, and movements of the major joints of the body.
- Muscular and skeletal differences; compression, tension, proportion and orientation theory.
All these topics are studied in the online course using pre-recorded lectures, manual, exercises and review questions. During the in-person anatomy workshops, you will clarify doubts with your teacher, work with classmates, and practice to understand the anatomical principles of asanas.
The Primary Series is especially designed to repair, rejuvenate, and strengthen the system for the purpose of yoga. Within the series there is also a strong focus on realigning the musculoskeletal system and toning the muscles in the lower abdomen and pelvic floor, which are, incidentally, very important for establishing the correct breathing technique.
You will have the option of practicing all the asanas, with modifications, and/or with props.
Dynamic flows practiced four to five times a week, learning principles of sequencing, designing and teaching Vinyasa Flow classes.
In the in-person module, you will receive a daily two-hour workshop focused on alignment and adjustment techniques for the main postures of the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series and a few other more advanced postures. These workshops also include modifications, advance variations, adequate use of props, postures clinics (arm balances, backbends, inversions, among others), and regular hands-on adjustments practice.
You will learn the principles of sequencing in order to create Vinyasa Flow sequences based on a chosen theme; the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting and correcting, verbal instructions, teaching styles, the qualities of a teacher, voice projection, floor presence, planning and structuring a class, dealing with injuries and safety precautions.
There will be plenty of guidance on how to improve and enhance your teaching skills and how to plan and structure a class. In the in-person module, you will start teaching one-on-one and then progress to teaching larger groups towards the end of the course. You will receive feedback from your teachers and your classmates as well, to help you to improve and to find your unique voice and style as a teacher.
You will learn and practice different breathing and meditation techniques such as nadi shodhana, kapalbhati, bhastrika, ujjayi and bhramari; chakra meditation and yoga nidra.
In these classes you will learn about:
- Meaning of yoga, concepts, history
- The four paths of yoga (Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, Karma Yoga)
- Nadis (energy channels), Chakras, kundalini
- Vedas and six systems of Indian philosophy
- Ashtanga yoga (Raja Yoga): aim of yoga, modification of mind, mental disposition, meaning of OM, eight limbs of yoga, Kriya yoga, Samyama yoga, Samadhi (enlightenment)
- Mudras, Bandhas & Kriyas: Introduction, different types, practice and its integration with meditation
- Obstacles on the path of yoga, means to overcome obstacles
- Concepts of Gunas (Satva, Rajas, Tamas) and their applications in daily life. Effects of food in Gunas
- Life style and ethics for a yoga practitioner and teacher.
During the in-person course, we will have open and interactive philosophy classes where you are free to ask questions related to spirituality, meditation or any other enquiry related to the content learned in the pre-recorded classes.
Our anatomy classes ensure an understanding of the key muscles and bones involved in asana practice and their associated health benefits and contraindications. Substantial emphasis is placed on analytic training, muscular and skeletal anatomy, individual limitations and differences. The specially designed practical anatomy classes are the backbone of the alignment classes. You will learn the following:
- Basic concepts of anatomy and physiology related to movement.
- Application of anatomical principles to yoga practice (mechanics of yoga asana, its benefits and contraindications, healthy patterns of movement, etc.).
- Practical anatomy with a major emphasis on the skeletal system, muscular system, connective tissue, nervous system, and movements of the major joints of the body.
- Muscular and skeletal differences; compression, tension, proportion and orientation theory.
All these topics are studied in the online course using pre-recorded lectures, manual, exercises and review questions. During the in-person anatomy workshops, you will clarify doubts with your teacher, work with classmates, and practice to understand the anatomical principles of asanas.

DATES AND FEES
The In-person Course will take place in Costa Rica on the following dates:
All fees are per person. Fees are in Euros and include taxes.
*Early Bird Discount: 100 euros if booked, at least, 60 days before the course’s start date.
Booking amount is 400 euros. The remaining balance would be paid 60 days before the course starts.
THE COURSE FEE INCLUDES
- Lifetime access to all the resources on the online platform
- Tuition fee, YTTC manual (printed and digital), t-shirt and bag.
- 13 nights of accommodation in the selected room
- Pick up and drop off Airport-Cahuita-Airport (see more details here)
- Welcome dinner on the check-in day
- Three vegetarian meals per day during the entire duration of the course
- Breakfast on the check-out day
- Filter water, tea and coffee all day long
- All props needed during the In-person Course
- Wireless internet
- Use of swimming pool
- 200-hr Certificate approved by Yoga Alliance

ABOUT COSTA RICA
ABOUT COSTA RICA
Costa Rica occupies a privileged place in the heart of Central America for the richness of its beaches. It comprises 1,228 km of coastline, of which 1,016 km are from the Pacific coast and 212 km in the Caribbean Sea, with about 600 beaches surrounding the entire national territory.
The Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is lined with picture-perfect beaches of yellow sand and swaying palm trees. The clear, turquoise water welcomes swimmers, sunbathers, surfers, and snorkelers. The Southern Caribbean coast has missed the boom of tourist development that has happened elsewhere in Costa Rica. It continues to remain a pristine off the beaten path destination with a unique culture of its own.

ABOUT CAHUITA
ABOUT CAHUITA

ABOUT THE VENUE
ABOUT THE VENUE
The environment at The Goddess Garden is designed to help us remember our true nature, our essence. It is a space for people who want to feel in harmony with nature and wish to practice yoga in a lovely rainforest and beach scenario.
At The Goddess Garden you enjoy the enchanted Caribbean Sea and the magic of Costa Rica’s rainforest, a true paradise for nature lovers and yoga practitioners.

HOW TO GET TO CAHUITA
HOW TO GET TO CAHUITA
- The nearest airport is Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). The course fee includes a GROUP shuttle from and to the airport as follows:
- Pick up: Sunday Sep 4th at 1pm
- Drop off: Saturday Sep 17th at 8am (the van will leave the venue after breakfast)
- Please note that this service is for the entire group, so you need to plan your flights accordingly to make it to the pick-up and drop off timings.
- If you cannot make it to the group shuttle, we can provide you some options for you to arrange your private shuttle at market rates (about $60 one way per person).
- You can also rent a car and drive about 3 hours and 45 minutes to The Goddess Garden, using route 32. The venue is located in Playa Grande, Cahuita. Limon
- You can take a domestic flight to Limón, or take a public bus from downtown San Jose to Cahuita and viceversa.

THINGS TO DO IN CAHUITA*
THINGS TO DO IN CAHUITA*
During your time off, you may want to visit these places and do some on these activities:
Cahuita National Park hike and waterfall | Try traditional cuisine and mingle with the locals |
The Sloth canals | Snorkeling |
Jaguar Rescue Center | Kayaking |
Vergua Rainforest research and adventure park | Ziplining |
Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center and Botanical Gardens | Horseback riding |
Butterfly Garden | Scuba diving |
Cacao trails and cacao museum | Hiking in the jungle |
Beautiful beaches | Surfing |
BriBri indigenous reserve | Birdwatching |
Turtles hatching (from March to July) | Boat tours |
(*) All the extra-curricular activities are independent from Sampoorna Yoga’s courses and are not included in our fees or in our activities. If you are interested in any tour, you can let us know and we will provide you the contact to book it.