Join Sonya Genel E-RYT500 and a collective of special guest teachers for this unique opportunity to deepen your yoga practice and learn the essential skills to become a great teacher. Dive into powerful studies that combine the logical mind with intuitive flow, the scientific with the mystical traditions, and the conscious with the subconscious to unlock deep reservoirs of creative energy within you!
This 200-hour Rasa Yoga Teacher Training is registered with Yoga Alliance and is a great foundation in the practices and art of teaching yoga. The program brings a wealth of knowledge and has the foundational approach of fostering every teacher’s unique gifts, heart, and voice.
What is Rasa Yoga?
Rasa Yoga is a modern day yoga mystery school that brings together skill, ingenuity, and soulful creative expression. It is a fusion of vinyasa flow, intelligent alignment, myth, mantra, mudra, meditation, and ritual. Founded by internationally celebrated teacher Sianna Sherman, Rasa Yoga serves as a platform for personal and collective transformation. Rasa Yogis are dedicated to the practices of yoga, community collaboration, individual creativity, and soul alchemy. The teachings are universal and life enriching on many levels.
Who is this training for?
This training is both for dedicated practitioners who wish to immerse themselves in the practices of yoga, and for yoga teachers seeking to refine their skills. The program offers a soulful and integrated approach to serve as the catalyst for radical change and growth in your personal life. You will also be given all the tools you need to grow into a skillful and successful teacher of yoga.
Program Design:
This 200 Hour Training is an extended program that meets on the weekends over the course of three months. The training is designed to be a progressive journey through the following modules:
Month 1) GANESHA MODULE – NEW BEGINNINGS
The first few weeks of the training are the Ganesha module sets up the foundation for an integrated yoga practice. Learn the names and forms of essential yoga poses along with basic pranayama, alignment principles and healthy biomechanics of asana practice. This module initiates the study of yoga philosophy and how the ancient practices apply to modern-day life.
Month 2) LAKSHMI MODULE – CHURN THE HEART
The Lakshmi module dives into the heart of the practices with increasing commitment and invites the practitioner to willingly enter the churning phase of practice and learning how to teach the practices. Learn how to structure a class and how to articulate the shapes and forms of the poses with biomechanical awareness. Functional anatomy will be introduced for the upper and lower body as well as beginning adjustments with therapeutic understanding. Learn set sequences for both solar and lunar asana offerings to begin practice teaching with friends. Beginning sequencing will be taught in conjunction with basic voicing skills. The group energy co-creates safe space and refuge to begin teaching in small groups.
Month 3) HANUMAN MODULE – LEAP WITH LOVE
The Hanuman module builds an effective bridge for the bold leap into the world as a yoga teacher. The teacher is prepared with a solid foundation of understanding asana biomechanics, adjustments, class themes, basic anatomy, philosophical understanding of the yoga tradition, and steady practice that informs the teacher with living wisdom as an embodied vessel. Every trainee will be initiated to teach for the entire group with direct and loving feedback from Sonya. Emerge with your unique voice and share the practice of yoga with Love.
Topics that will be Covered:
- Sankalpa – crafting root intentions for your practice, teaching, and life.
- Sadhana – creating a strong regular personal practice.
- Vinyasa Flow – how to create inspired sequences linking movement to breath.
- Asana– Foundation & Form: Learn intelligent alignment & key biomechanics of 108 yoga poses.
- Functional Anatomy – an integrated vision of the human body & essential anatomy for yogis.
- Meditation Fundamentals – learn to practice and teach several different meditation techniques. Simple and powerful!
- Pranayama – learn to practice and teach a wide variety of beginning through advanced breathing techniques.
- Energetics – demystifying Chakras, Koshas, Prana Vayus, and Nadis.
- Mantras – the power of sacred sound and chanting.
- Mythology – stories of the gods and goddesses from the yoga tradition that bring the practice to life and provide everyday inspiration for modern times.
- Mudras – Sacred hand gestures or seals.
- Bandhas – energetic locks for asana.
- Restorative Yoga – restful practices for deep healing.
- Yoga History & Philosophy– study key teachings from sacred texts: Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and a sample of tantric texts.
- Intro to Sanskrit – basic pronunciation for asana poses and common chants.
- Intro to Ayurveda – the yogic way to health and wellness.
- Art of Teaching – setting class themes, voice & effective communication, demonstrations, use of music, verbal and physical adjustments and more!
- Progressive Sequencing – intelligent & creative maps to sequencing your classes.
- Sacred Space– the art of holding space for others & creating ritual.
- Business of Yoga – professionalism, marketing, creating workshops and trainings, teaching privates, building community, standing out in a crowded market.
Testimonials:
“Sonya’s YTT is a creative and synergistic channel of deep yoga education. All my studies with her have been instrumental to my growth as a yoga teacher, but this is a full immersion that both reaffirms and revolutionizes your own experience.
For anyone called to both the precision of anatomy-based asana and also yoga’s spiritual empowerment, this is it. Each module and component is clearly inlaid with accurate information; it also reaches beyond physical practice into what makes yoga tangibly soulful – from meditation to mantra, myth and more. Little was left unturned in our sessions exploring the most integrated approach to yoga I have ever taken.
It is evident that Sonya leads this with integrity and her own years-long experience. Every part of me was able to unfold, take in new knowledge and apply it with a practical magic. Teaching yoga is what I most intend to do, and there has not been any other training I would rather harness for that vision.”
~ Demi V. Piriya
Sonya’s 200 hour Rasa teacher training was an unforgettable experience that empowered me to fully step into the seat of the teacher with confidence and grace. If you are already a teacher or considering to become one – Sonya’s training will deepen your practice, refine your voice and open you up to the world of myth, mantra, mudras and more. Sonya is a master of holding space and shares her gifts freely with her students with the highest integrity and respect for everyone.
~ Whitney Littlewood
I attended the 200 hour Rasa Yoga Teacher Training in 2018 lead by Sonya Genel. It was a comprehensive passionately arranged program. The course was packed full of daily mantra meditation and yoga practice rich in mythology and tantra. The introduction to Yogic history, philosophy, and values was remarkable. Sonya’s story telling was weaved in incorporating an intimate and embodied perception. The guest speakers were outstanding, and even the homework was satisfying. I treasure the relationships that were developed with my fellow Yogis. I enjoyed this course so much. I recommend it to everyone interested in yoga in any capacity. It has truly been a light on my path that will never go out.
~ Uriah Stanton“This Rasa Yoga Teacher Training led by Sonya Genel has transformed me in so many ways! It has awakened my teaching voice that transpired to my daily work job in getting promoted and becoming a mentor. It has given me the confidence to transition from being a student of yoga to a yoga teacher to share the Rasa of Yoga.”
~ Femia Djohan
My Rasa Yoga Teacher Training with Sonya was life changing! It really helped me find my true self, my voice, and it cracked my heart wide open. I have also made indescribable bonds and life long friendships in this training. It was a magical experience. Sonya does an amazing job at holding a beautiful, safe and loving environment for everyone to learn, grow and bond. I would do this training again in a heart beat.
~ Flynn Sauer
Recommended Reading:
- Light on Yoga – BKS Iyengar
- Yoga Resource Practice Manual – Darren Rhodes
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – Sri Swami Satchidananda
- Tantra Unveiled – Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
- Path of Yoga – Georg Feuerstein
- Yoga and Ayurveda – David Frawley
- Yoga Anatomy – Leslie Kaminoff
Lead Teacher:
Sonya Genel, ERYT500, joyfully embraces the power of yoga not only to heal and transform the body but also to heighten human consciousness and to create a radiant life. In her classes, Sonya weaves precise anatomical alignment with flowing movement. Always approaching her students with authenticity and humor. Sonya’s intention is to hold space for a direct embodied connection with Spirit. When she is not teaching yoga, Sonya can often be found drawing or painting. As an artist, she notices the profound effects yoga has on her creativity, and she has dedicated herself to enthusiastically guiding others toward enhancing their own unique life path through yoga.
When Sonya first discovered yoga in the 1990’s, she began with Ashtanga yoga and power vinyasa, but as her practice evolved she gravitated more towards alignment based styles such as Anusara and Iyengar. She attended her first teacher training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Over the years she has completed hundreds more hours of training in alignment based yoga, prenatal yoga, anatomy, therapeutics, mysticism, tantra, and meditation. Sonya is grateful to have had the opportunity to study deeply with Sianna Sherman and many other incredible teachers.
Sonya now brings over 13 years of teaching experience to her classes, workshops, trainings and retreats. She is a Certified Teacher Trainer of Rasa Yoga, and holds an E-RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance.
Practice with Sonya at home! Classes available online at udaya.com and yogavibes.com
Guest Teachers:
- Sianna Sherman – Internationally acclaimed master yoga teacher and founder of Rasa Yoga.
- Dr. Mike Lane – Doctor of chiropractic, anatomy expert, and master teacher of Functional Movement.
- Greta Hill – Ayurvedic specialist, master Rasa Yoga teacher, and co-director of the Rasa Yoga School.
- Tamara Vodovoz – AcroYoga trainer, Rasa Yoga teacher, and expert on inversions and balancing.
- Carlos Pomeda – Renowned senior teacher of the philosophy, history, and practices of the Yoga tradition.
Dates:
September 14th, 2019 – December 14th, 2019
Times:
Saturday 11:00AM–7:30PM
Sunday 1:30–8:30PM
* No Training on Thanksgiving weekend.
* Saturday sessions will meet every weekend.
* Sunday sessions will only meet every other weekend on the following dates:
Sep. 15
Sep. 29
Oct. 13
Oct. 27
Nov. 10
Nov. 24
Dec. 8
Meeting Locations:
Saturdays:
The Green Yogi Berkeley
1642 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94709
Sundays:
Heart Source Center
1600 Shattuck Ave. Suite 214A
Berkeley, CA 94709
Price:
$2795 Early Bird Rate (register by July 14th)
$2995 Full Tuition (register after July 14th)
*Can be paid online if paying in full upon registration.
$800 Deposit
*Included in total tuition fee. Guarantees your spot in the program. Non-refundable after August 14th.
6 Month payment plan available at the rate of $332.50/month (Early Bird Registrants) or $365.83/month.
*May only be set up in-studio or over-the-phone.
*Full payment is a requirement to graduate and receive your Rasa 200 Hour Training certificate. Students also need to attend all sessions, make up missed sessions, and complete their final presentation in order to graduate and certification.
Ready to sign up? Please fill out the application below:
