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Why is Costa Rica the best place to do your yoga teacher training?

Why does everyone want to do their 200hr YTT in Costa Rica?

Thinking of doing your YTT? Click here!

Is Costa Rica actually the best place to get yoga certified? So many people think it is! So many people START their yoga teacher training journey just by googling “200hr yoga teacher training Costa Rica” But why? Why do people think Costa Rica is the best and be all end all place for their yoga certification? 

Mostly because… there are so many to choose from. 

In the 90s and early 2000s, Costa Rica positioned itself as Eco-Friendly, safe, serene, beautiful, peaceful and above all, PURA VIDA- pure life. They identified areas of the country as blue zones, basically places where people are extra healthy and live longer due to the natural surroundings. The government sank millions into marketing to tourists with this narrative. There PR was so good that the country developed a reputation for being peaceful, inviting and perfect for yoga and yoga retreats! 

Costa Rica made it super easy for foreigners to live and work there and open up businesses… so now, voila, so many yoga retreat centres and yoga teacher trainings are located in Costa Rica! It was easy to set up shop there! 

But is Costa Rica REALLY the best place to get your 200hr yoga teacher training?  Maybe.

Here’s the truth:
The best place to do your yoga teacher training is not Costa Rica or Bali…

The best place to do your 200hr yoga teacher training is the place with the best program, the best teachers for you and the best place to safely immerse yourself in the experience.

Time and time again,
Yoga Academy has been voted one the best yoga teacher trainings in the world.

We do it right.

We have led more than 25 200hr yoga teacher trainings and over 40  yoga trainings overall.

We know what we’re doing…

We sometimes offer 200hr yoga teacher training in Costa Rica! BUT we also offer training elsewhere. Anywhere really that we find the best spot that is safe, oceanfront and perfect for learning.

Here’s what we offer at our next 200hr yoga teacher training just 3hrs from the Costa Rica airport: 

✅ Oceanfront yoga Shala

✅ Modern, stylish comfortable rooms

✅ totally private retreat center for just us

✅ super nice local team who is incredibly accommodating and friendly

✅ the beach out front goes on for miles and is safe, pristine and gorgeous

✅ world class surf breaks directly in front of the property

✅ Yoga teachers with DECADES of experience

✅ An established yoga school whose been running these programs for 8 years

✅ chef cooking gourmet home style meals, delicious comfort food

✅ Oceanfront pool

✅ sunsets for days

✅ SUPER SAFE (we don’t even lock our doors)

✅ located in the cutest little dirt road town
.

Thinking of doing your YTT? Click here!

So to sum it up,
sometimes we do yoga teacher training in Costa Rica… sometimes we don’t. EVERY TIME we do it in a gorgeous location with amazing views, experienced staff and great food. 

Get yoga certified online:

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Yoga Academy International Faculty:

Lauren Rudick

Lauren Rudick

Lead teacher and founder of Yoga Academy International, Lauren is a globally celebrated yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga for over a decade and comes from a variety of lineages and traditions. Lauren has lead yoga retreats and workshops in over 2-dozen countries and continues to study with world-class instructors whenever possible. She has been featured in Women's health Magazine, YogiTimes, Optymyz and get out there to name a few as well as on countless podcasts and newspaper articles. Lauren has solid roots in Iyengar based Hatha yoga with continued studies in Vinyasa flow, Anusara, Ashtanga, Restorative, Bhakti and Yin Yoga. She is inspired by teachers who tell stories. She has studied under Seane Corn, Chris Chavez, MC Yogi, Susan Cohen, Mercy Ananda, Nancy Goodfellow and many others. Lauren is passionate about sharing yoga from an authentic and soulful point of view. She believes that yoga practice can help uncover the veils that hide us from achieving our full potential.  Lauren is E-RYT 500 registered with Yoga Alliance. 

Hatti Williams

Hatti Williams

Hatti Williams is an Astrologer, Sound Healer, Fashionista and Yoga instructor. She completed her 200hr yoga teacher training and Yin Yoga teacher training with Yoga Academy International in Greece. Hatti then went on to study Yoga Nidra and Sound Healing where she learned more about the energetic body and Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridians. Hatti has a gift for bringing the mystical to life through her lectures and teachings. She offers a digestible and soulful take on astrology and merges the ancient wisdom of yoga with our understanding of the celestial universe seamlessly.

Angie Pone

Hatti Williams

Originally from Argentina, Angie is now a beach babe and a Nicaraguan local. She teaches soulful yoga classes that include Whim Hoff style breath work and themes sprinkled throughout that really connect yoga philosophy with movement.

Teresa Edmilao

Teresa Edmilao

Teresa has been practicing massage therapy since 2006. She has a 3000hr diploma in Massage Therapy from the West Coast College of Massage Therapy in Vancouver, BC. Teresa has a passion for helping people connect with their bodies. She lives by example, inspiring people to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. Teresa spent 7 years practicing massage therapy in Canada to people from all walks of life; students, athletes, desk workers, labourers, youth, elderly, dancers, and accident victims. Teresa is also a fire dancer and hula hoop dancer. She has experienced numerous injuries has personally been through the rehabilitation process many times. It was these experiences that have lead her to delve deeply into the study and application of anatomy and movement. Teresa offers anatomy classes at Yoga Academy International. Her teachings are thorough, meticulous but fun, drawing on every day life experience to help yogis understand their bodies better. 

Will Peters

Will Peters

Making yoga accessible and enjoyable, regardless of who you are and how strong or flexible you are, is his priority. With a passion for all things health and wellbeing, Will’s aim is to inspire anyone and everyone to step on the mat to gain the physical and mental benefits that yoga can provide.Born in the UK, Will is a qualified and registered yoga teacher with over 250 hours of training. Will places an emphasis on alignment and safety. Outside of teaching, Will is an enthusiastic yoga student, constantly pushing his body and mind to new limits. Whether it’s learning to handstand, progressing towards the splits or practicing mindfulness exercises, Will loves to learn new things and grow. This provides continuous evolution to Will’s teaching as he brings new-found energy and knowledge from my personal practice into class.

Nancy Goodfellow

Nancy Goodfellow

Yoga director and co-owner of Pranamar Villas and Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica, Nancy is extremely well known for her inspiring and creative daily classes, workshops,and retreats, with students both locally and internationally. Her twenty years of committed practice, thousands of hours of trainings, and continual curiosity towards life’s most mysterious aspects are all part of why she has so many devoted students. She began her Yogic studies in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition under the guidance of her first teachers, Dominic Corigliano, Tim  Miller and Pattabhi Jois. Nancy has completed over 500 hours of Yoga Alliance teacher trainings and began teaching in 1998. Nancy dedicated many years of study to the Anusara method with its amazing principles of alignment, Tantric philosophy and Bhakti filled practice. She completed over 500 hours of certified Anusara teachings and traditional non-dualistic Tantra studies.

Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason

Chef Charlotte Mason hails from Boston where she used work in high end restaurant kitchens and then later opened up her own catering company. Burnt out and needing a break, Charlotte went on a surf vacation to Nicaragua and 3 weeks later moved cross continents and has been there ever since. Charlotte's love of sourcing locally, creating exceptional plant-based dishes and combining flavours makes her food loved by everyone. Charlotte is passionate about health and wellness and is also a certified yoga instructor. Giving back not only with flavours, Charlotte frequently teaches yoga classes in Spanish for local women and helps empower local women to follow their dreams and speak their minds. In joining Yoga Academy International, Charlotte has added so much to the experience by creating comfort and family feelings found only when gathering around a table to share delicious meals together. When not on Yoga Academy International's trainings, Charlotte creates gourmet pop up dinners around Nicaragua and chefs at yoga retreats around the world.  

Sanne Hofman

Sanne Hofman

Sanne is a ray of sunshine! Before joining the Yoga Academy International team, Sanne was a neuropsychologist in Holland. On her path, she felt that her chosen field was not quite the right fit. So Sanne set off on a journey through Central America to get to know herself better. Along the way she met her partner Toby in Panama. Together they worked and traveled through Central America eventually finding their way to Maderas Beach, Nicaragua. They loved the spot so much that they decided to move there and eventually got jobs managing a boutique hotel. Wanting to expand her offerings at the hotel, Sanne took Yoga Academy International's 200hr teacher training in 2018. She then furthered her studies in the Chakra-Vinyasa Training and went back to Europe to take Thai Yoga Massage training. Sanne is compassionate, loving and kind. She is an example of how to live yoga ethics while still being true to who you are. Sanne offers YAI students endless encouragement and love as well as unwavering support on their journeys. She can always be counted on for a listening ear, a compassionate friend, a glowing smile or a warm hug when you need it most. 
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