Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training 2023/2024

Over 200h Yoga Teacher Training

“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” – Ramana Maharshi

About Course

This training is a collaborative program bringing together, under the leadership of Sonia Ama, a group of experienced teachers and professionals of different fields, to provide a high quality, in-depth training over the course of several months and over 200 hours of training.

The TTC’s main focus will be Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and will include the study of Yoga as both a physical, energetic, mental and ethical practice and discipline. We will approach Yoga as a life-supporting tool with the potential to transform and develop our lives, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Collaborations with other teachers will include several areas such as Hands-on Adjustments, Anatomy of Yoga, Art of Touch, Meditation and Buddhist philosophy.

Areas Of Focus

Ashtanga Primary Series Asanas in depth practice and study
Alignment, Asanas lab, Hands-on adjustments, with a focus on the breath and flow of Prana in our Yoga practice. Mysore-style & guided practices. Exploration of portions of Intermediate series.
Physical and Physiological Anatomy
Body Systems and Organs, Functional Anatomy, Palpatory Anatomy, Anatomy of the Breath.
Energetical Anatomy
The Subtle Body, Koshas, Prāna, Chakras System.
Teaching Yoga
Guiding and Ashtanga Yoga class, Sequencing Vinyasa Yoga classes. Create classes tailored-made for the practitioners; learn yoga vocabulary and the use of verbal cues; Pedagogy and Methodology skills; Hands-on Adjustments; Finding your own voice as a teacher.
Ethics
Teaching and Yoga Ethical inquiring.
Yoga Philosophy
Introduction to the main texts supporting Yoga and Sāmkhya philosophy (8-limbs Yoga path of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad-Gita, Hatha-Yoga Pradīpikā). Introduction to other Indian traditions such as Tantric philosophy.
Pranayama and introductory Kriyas
Meditation practice and introduction to Buddhist teachings
(Dharma) to support our daily life and our teaching path.
Healing Arts
Art of Touch.
Ayurveda
The Reading of the Body/Mind as a basis for our one-to-one or Mysore-style teaching. Notion of Balance, Dohas and Gunas.
Yin/Restorative Yoga
Restoring our Energy, Therapeutic Yoga practice, Practice in Pregnancy or disease.

We are not affiliated to the American Yoga Alliance by choice. Although our whole team of teachers have innumerable training hours, we feel that making this commitment would align us with a business mindset which does not resonate with Agora’s values. Sonia is a longtime student and assistant of renowned Ashtanga Yoga teachers who all support and recommend her work (Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, Chuck Miller, Ron Reid and Marla Meenakshi Joy among others).Additionally, Yoga Alliance’s stamp does not represent any guarantee of quality in the training or teachers.

For Who?

For any Yoga practitioner wanting to go deeper into the study of Yoga and its different dimensions. We ask for a previous experience of Yoga of minimum 2 years of consistent practice. Previous experience with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is required. If you are not new to Yoga but quite new to Ashtanga, we recommend that you participate in the Mysore program at Agora (or an Ashtanga studio in your hometown) in the previous months before the start of the course as well as while taking the course, so that you become familiar with the Primary Series.

For Yoga teachers who wish to further their practice and study of Yoga, refine their teaching skills, refresh and deepen their anatomy understanding, improve their assist and hands-on adjustments skills. For Yoga teachers interested in developing their knowledge in Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda and to get introduced to the Buddhist teachings, that can support their personal development as individuals and as teachers.

I'M READY TO GET STARTED!

Our Format

The training will take place on a week-end format, and include a 4-day residential meditation retreat in the South of Portugal as well as one full intensive week at the end of the training

Total of 205 + hours of training

+ 20 hours of assists

Personal study and practice

(at Agora or in another studio in your hometown)

All weekends will be held in-person at Agora. It is possible to join the week-ends online via Zoom, although we recommend in-person participation to a minimum of 2 of them. In-person presence is required for the intensive week and the meditation retreat unless agreed otherwise with the teaching team. These collective gatherings will allow the group of trainees to bond and spend time together, enhancing the learning process.

There will be a strong focus on hands-on adjustments and practicing “teaching” during the one week intensive. This will provide students, especially online ones, with an opportunity to practice hands-on with different “bodies”.

Online students will have a special online Mysore practice with Sonia to replace the in-person Mysore practice happening at Agora during the training weekends.

8 week-ends: Friday evening, Sat & Sunday all day (8 x 17 hrs = 136 hrs)
1 week intensive at Agora at the end of the training (6 days + 1 day off = 45 hrs)
4-day residential meditation retreat in the South of Portugal (25hrs)
Continuing regular self-practice and study
Continuing regular self-practice and study
20 Assists at Agora or in another studio in your hometown

There will be homework, readings and a personal creative project to realize throughout the training. Maintaining a regular practice throughout the course is required.

The trainee will receive a certificate of completion from Agora at the end. If a trainee cannot meet all the requirements to complete the training, it is possible to catch up on some missed training hours by joining workshops or intensives at Agora.

Prepare for the TTC before November

Sonia and Vlad (Mysore teachers at Agora) will be teaching a one-week Ashtanga Yoga Immersion at Agora, July 21-28 2023. This can be a great opportunity to boost your practice and get comfortable with the Ashtanga series before starting the TTC a few months later. You are also welcome to join classes at Agora or ask for a private class to support you in establishing a regular self-practice until the training.

Training Dates

8 weekends: (these dates might be subject to changes until July 2023)

2023: 17-19 Nov / 01-03 Dec
2024: 12-14 Jan / 2-4 Feb / 23-25 Feb / 8-10 Mar / 22-24 Mar / 12-14 Apr

Meditation Retreat

25-28 Apr 2024

6-day Final Intensive

Apr 30 - May 5 2024

Get in touch for more info

Investment

2550 euros NORMAL PRICE

2400 euros EARLY BIRD PRICE for registration until 1st May 2023

(Includes 1 month unlimited Mysore & Led pass at Agora).

Over 205hrs in person training hour
Including special guest teachers
Full Training Manual + Access to resources
Follow-up throughout the year
4-day Meditation residential retreat
Certificate of Completion

Payment plans are possible. Get in touch if the investment required does not meet your financial situation.

Contact Form

Ask us questions – Reserve your spot

What They Say…

"I discovered yoga one November evening a few years ago, when Sonia was teaching in a Parisian social center. I had been recommended by a common friend to whom I had spoken about my desire to soften my body hardened by years of sport, although I initially had imagined Yoga would not satisfy my taste for energy-demanding practice. That first session showed me the opposite and I immediately wanted to continue. Sonia then taught me Ashtanga for a year, two or three times a week, and I discovered, beyond the physiological benefits, a vast world where one looks for his or her own balance and path, questions his or her certainties, learns patience and tolerance, especially towards oneself, being inspired by the experiences of others. Yoga is now part of my life, far from Portugal and Sonia's classes, but always inspired by her teaching to which I return with great pleasure whenever the opportunity arises. I am called to change my environment regularly, and my regular practice is a red thread in my life: it guides me, reminds me of who I am, of my values, of my essence, and it gives my mind a rest when daily life becomes too heavy."

Tanguy D.
"I was fortunate to have Sonia as my teacher during several yoga retreats. Sonia is a very talented yoga teacher, she is very clear in her explanations, and demonstrations, she is compassionate, caring and warm. Her classes are well structured and organized."

Laurence F.
"Sonia is my first teacher of Ashtanga Yoga, and the one that basically opened the huge world of self inspection through yoga standing right there by my side. Not in front authoritative, not in the back pushing, but side by side. Guiding with care and kindness, observing things in me even before I could see them, and skilfully helping me unravel and overcome my own limits. I cannot imagine anyone better in this world to train aspiring yoga teachers, as much as teaching might be more of an art or inner vocation, she does an extraordinary job translating her own view and experience into clear instructions and structured teachings. All while captivating you and inspiring you to look for yourself, to inspect and observe what your student need and what you want to convey in your teachings. Apart from the valuable skills and huge knowledge on the human body and the different ways of approaching asanas specific for each individual, she will inspire you to also look further towards the more subtle patterns of the mind that reveal on the mat and equip you with the different tools inspired from Ayurveda and meditation to help your students and convey the real essence of yoga. On and off the mat. Always in service of her students. She is the one that will make you love teaching yoga."

Ada M.
"Meeting Sonia as a teacher has changed my life in many aspects: she first gave me the will and courage to start a teacher training and bits by bits, to build a new life around the practice and the teachings of Ashtanga Yoga, now along her side. Every day she guides me with kindness, humour and truthfulness, opening new doors in my body and in my mind, encouraging self-exploration and knowlegde. She is this incredible teacher that one can be looking for a lifetime, and I feel so lucky that our path crossed!"

Marion D.
"The practice with Sonia and the introduction to Ashtanga led to a big mind shift. She taught me how to arrive in my body in the most natural and intuitive way. Her teaching is clearly not only about the physical part of Ashtanga, but also about the philosophical part; she teaches how to deepen and heal the connection between body and mind. I feel very grateful to get the chance to explore the world of Ashtanga, pranayama and meditation in movement by being one of Sonia’s students."

Carolina K.
"I first approached yoga with extreme mistrust, viewing it as a New Age stretching-activity or at best as a practice of acrobacies. A long-time meditator, I thought yoga had little to offer on my path to self-knowledge. But watching Sonia's graceful practice made me think that yoga was much deeper than I had thought. From watching what seemed blissful, came a strong will to learn. This made me come day after day to the studio where no one else than Sonia could have taken me by the hand the way she did. My determination to learn met her all-encompassing generosity as a teacher. She shared with me knowledge in detail, supported me to explore according to my own interests while giving me structure and protecting me from injuries coming from going too far, or too fast. Her observation skills as a teacher are extraordinary and her adjustments and verbal cues are so precise and rich that it feels easy to understand even very sophisticated subtleties. Above all, I understood through Sonia that I could practice yoga as meditation in movement and this opened for me a world of infinite possibilities where the word "grace" easily comes to mind. I could never thank her enough for opening for me this path."

Luis S.
"I did my first yoga retreats with Sonia and it opened new perspectives for me! Thanks to her, her professionalism, her gentleness, her listening and her high standards, she made me want to go further in my practice. I participated in her workshops every time I could and I progressed a lot thanks to her. She also brought me a more global and philosophical approach of yoga which I was missing. Thank you!"

Hélène J.
"I can only say Sonia is one of the best (if not the best) yoga teachers I have ever had. With her nice humor, she makes the practice a very pleasant place, always giving tips and taking the time to explain the asanas and correct it. She helped me reconnect with my practice and I can see how it improved in such a short time. It's very clear how knowledgeable and passionate she is about yoga, always finding a way to share it with the ones around her!"

Tuíla L.
"Honestly, I did not get willingly into Yoga. I did it because I was injured and my physician advised me to do Yoga. I went to my first class full of preconceived ideas thinking that Yoga was this kind of activity made for granny! One hour later, I was into it. Best decision ever, I have been practicing Yoga Āsana for 4 years now. Practicing Āsanas and meditation, reading about Yoga philosophy, brought me this gap of freedom I was looking for, the self-improvement and a new way to perceive thing, to enjoy what happens in life. I really enjoy practicing with Sonia either on regular classes or through retreats. The way she teaches is both serious and kind. She guides you in a way you can acknowledge your own inner strength and find some peace even for just a moment."

Gaëlle A.

About the Retreat

As part of our journey together, we will have a residential 4-day retreat in the heart of Alentejo, led by Luis Salamanca with the collaboration of Sonia Ama.

This will be an amazing opportunity to get to know each other better and to enjoy learning through being in the mindful presence of each other.

There will be light Yoga practices during the retreat in order to leave lots of time and space to sitting Meditation practices, exploration of Buddhist teachings and periods of silence. We will be immersed in Fonte das Perdizes in Alentejo, where nature has a soothing effect on the mind.

Note that the full cost of this residential retreat is already included in the TTC total investment (except transport to the retreat – by train from Lisbon to Grândola).

Our Vision

Our core values will define the way we interact during this course and the approach we have regarding teaching Yoga and integrating Yoga into your life

Holistic perspective
Body, Mind, Spirit are facets of one reality. During this course, we will explore different philosophy systems that consider the unity of Body and Mind (Yoga philosophy, Buddhism, Ayurveda), and approach Yoga from the physical, mental, intuitive and emotional perspective. We will explore the multiple dimensions of our being through practices, study and self-inquiry, while cultivating an ever-present awareness of interconnectedness in life.
Yoga as a Meditation in Movement
Yoga (Union) and Meditation (one-pointedness) are ultimately the same thing. Through Yogic practices (asana, pranayama, meditation, ethics) we follow a path that brings us closer to an internal union, a sense of integration. Cultivating clarity of mind and fluidity of Prana (life energy), it becomes easier to see what is in front of us, moving away from the suffering caused by ignorance or not knowing (avidya).

Although this training will be focusing on the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system and will include a lot of Asana study (physical aspect), we will integrate sitting meditation to our practice and look at Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as a Meditation in Movement. During our Meditation retreat, we will explore the parallels between the messages conveyed by Yogic tradition (specifically the Yoga Sutras as well as other texts from Yoga literature) and Buddhist teachings. Meditation techniques associated to Asanas practice will deepen our awareness of the “citta vrittis”, or fluctuations of the mind.
Mindful approach to the Asana practice
As you probably know if you are already practicing at Agora, with Sonia or another of our teachers, our approach of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Asana practice is based on the principles of breath, integrity, alignment and a balanced way of practicing, stimulating yet mindful. We will look in details to the entire Primary Series of Ashtanga to learn how to teach it. Practitioners who have already started Intermediate series or are ready to start during the course , will be able to practice it and receive guidance during the Mysore mornings.

There will be a great emphasis on alignment, understanding of the primary and secondary actions in each pose from an anatomical perspective, but also a constant search for the energetic balance in the pose, using the breath as a key indicator for harmony.

We will take a step-by-step approach to the practice, focusing on building safe postures, where one can go really deep into the experience of the pose without fear of injury. We will teach assisting skills and hands-on adjustments that are respectful of these elements, always emphasizing the right of students to decide for themselves what they need. There will be plenty of time to practice these adjustments on each other during the course as well as during the assisting hours.
A sense of community
At Agora, one of our main wishes and focus is to foster a sense of interconnectedness within the people participating in classes, training, and activities.

We believe that if we can cultivate this connection at the level of a community of practitioners, then we can expand our awareness in the rest of our relationships and produce ripple effects over our social circles, reaching more and more people.

This means cultivating a friendly and open state of mind making it easy to meet and build ties with each other. We will have a WhatsApp group and/or Facebook group to share resources throughout the training. Some events or gatherings will be organised during the year to create the opportunity for our practice of Yoga to also flourish off the mat, in between our training sessions. Hopefully together we can create a supportive and motivating environment in which learning is facilitated for all and connection can naturally deepen over time.
Self-study (Svadhyaya) & responsibility
It is important to keep up with our practice ! It seems obvious if one wishes to embark on a Yoga training journey, but it is worth mentioning as one of the foundations for any progress and integration of the teachings: practicing consistently. We need to keep a consistent practice, even more when taking most of the training online. To support their practice, we encourage the online students to join some of the weekends (at least 2) in presence. Student’s responsibility includes doing the homework, readings, taking notes, coming up with questions the following times, etc.

It also includes keeping track of the schedule and program, the announcements, knowing what to bring and what to prepare for the training weekends. And of course to take general care for the space that has been set up as a learning environment.
Fostering Creativity & Creative Methodology
Creativity is very important in our lives and a balanced Prana or vital energy allows for this creativity to manifest. During this training, emphasis will be put on placing the teachers trainees at the center of the learning process and of the training narrative. Creative methodology tools will be implemented to make your learning fun and efficient.

Each participant will work on a creative Yoga project over the year and present it to the group at the end of the course.

Training Team

Sonia Ama

Sonia has dedicated her life to practicing, teaching and studying Yoga for the last 13 years. After teaching at Ashtanga Yoga Paris (studying with Linda Munro & Gerald Disse) she founded Agora in Lisbon in 2019 and developed a Mysore program. Sonia is a student and assisted Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor. She also studies with Chuck Miller, Ron Reid and Marla Meenakshi Joy. She shares the depths of Yoga with deep listening and love.

Marion Duval

Yoga has been part of her life for 10 years. She did a 200h Yoga teacher training at Ashtanga Yoga Paris with Linda Munro and Gerald Disse, then continued training and learning with Sonia since 2019. She teaches Ashtanga , Vinyasa, and Yin Yoga at Agora - Marion is a pillar of the community and member of the management team. She will be assisting Sonia during the training and in charge of the Relations with trainees.

Luis Salamanca

Luis has been practicing meditation for 20 years. He co-founded Agora with Sonia in 2019. He is a “Mitra” (friend) of the Triratna Buddhist Order, teaches Meditation and Buddhist philosophy and holds regular meditation retreats. Luis will be teaching Meditation techniques and introduction to Buddhist philosophy during the training, and he will be leading the 4-day Meditation retreat that is part of the course.

Vlad Mizikov

Vlad has been practicing Yoga for 14 years. He leads the Mysore program with Sonia at Agora. He is also a Myofascial therapist, trained with holistic therapist KRI Jagdish in Mysore, India, and he has a Bachelor of Health Science degree specializing in Musculoskeletal Therapy. Vlad will be teaching Anatomy of Yoga and sharing his insights on the Subtle Aspects of Yoga practice.

Diane Brito

Diane has been working as an Osteopath since 2016, after 5 years of training in Paris. Diane is also trained in Craniosacral therapy and has a university diploma in Anatomy. Diane’s office is now based at Agora where she gives her sessions. She is excited to be sharing her knowledge about the body and will be teaching Functional Anatomy and Anatomy of Yoga during the training.

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