The Heartwood RYT-200 Immersion allows students an opportunity to dive deeply into yoga and receive the nationally recognized Yoga Alliance certification in a progressive 15 day format. This training includes Reiki level 1 training & aerial yoga certification as  well. (Arrangements can be made to take Chair certification on another time as a substitute for Aerial if that is a better fit for your goals but you must be willing to return to take the weekend course later.) The grounds of Heartwood provide plenty of opportunity for us to move around and change up the day for diverse experiences as we enjoy the state of the art yoga center, with yoga library, kitchen, audio/visual equipment, and a full range of props and materials, as well as getting outside in nature to enjoy the labyrinth, meditation gazebo, elements firepit,  the new fresh air gazebo studio, chakra meditation garden, medicine wheel, art room, outdoor practice areas, and more.

This program includes a beach day, journaling, a Chakra subtle body meditation workshop, and other lovely activities to open minds and hearts to a new way of looking at life, while also creating lasting memories and relationships with your tribe. We cover comprehensive posture focus and anatomy, as well as philosophy, the history of yoga, subtle body awareness, business of yoga and more. 

We meet daily from 9am till 9pm, pacing each day to sustain the longer hours comfortably, with two days of early release (5pm) on Aerial Weekend. A vegetarian lunch and dinner is served on the grounds of Heartwood (vegan and gluten options available), allowing us to continue with our studies in an intimate setting while breaking bread together to connect as a tribe. Be prepared for 15 wonderful days of yoga, yoga, yoga. You will work hard, but enjoy every minute.

Authenticity

​The Heartwood 15 day immersion certification is recognized worldwide through Yoga Alliance. You can check Heartwood Yoga out on the Yoga Alliance website to see over 120 reviews from people who have graduated from our program and gone on to forge successful careers or positive life change. The program unfolds in a way that one concept stacks on another, so you leave with a deep understanding of yoga and the competence and onfidence to share the practice with others if you do indeed plan to teach. Yoga Alliance allows 16 hours of elective studies in addition to the core basics, and in our case, we use that time for Aerial yoga certification. This practice uses an aerial swing as a prop to facilitate healing and authentic yoga in a way that helps students understand the power of inversion and gravity to enhance poses and health benefits. We allow students to substitute chair yoga in cases when they rather not experience aerial, but that involves an extended stay or coming back when that program is offered depending on our seasonal offerings. We also teach Reiki level one as part of your energy studies, and you will experience gong meditations and other energy healing modalities too.   

Experienced Teachers:

All instructors involved in yoga teacher training at Heartwood are E-RYT-500 certified or above, all are yoga therapists registered with IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapy) or LMT (Licensed Massage Therapists), Reiki masters and have other credentials to add to their experience.

Engaging Syllabus:

We begin each day with a practice revolving class styles to assure students are exposed to varied methodology of yoga to expand the understanding of the most popular yoga styles today. Some of the classes may be yin or restorative, while others are flow or kundalini. After practice we have lectures, films, anatomy, meditation, pranayama, teaching practice, etc. so we are not doing physical yoga all day. We are careful to pace the day to keep everyone's energy up and Heartwood is a very inspirational place, so we often move out of the yoga center to have a discussion around our fire pit (which is also a fountain if the weather is warmer) or under the shade of trees near the medicine wheel, or in our meditation gazebo.  We have a gorgeous meditation garden that won a national award and was featured in Country Garden Magazine too, so we enjoy many inspirational environments to enhance our learning. We also spend one day at the nearby beach for outdoor class. Sarasota has the number one beach in America with soft white sand and beautiful sunsets and is a crystal vortex due to the natural quartz infused sand.

Our accommodations, if you are need to stay with us, are dorm style, with 4 or 5 people to a room with a shared bathroom. We also have an RV offering two private spaces that we use when our rooms are full. Please note we have space only for 11 people each session at this time, and usually the residencies fill early. The beds are full size, comfortable and the rooms feature lovely décor. Students don’t spend much time in the dorms, other than to sleep. The yoga center is open 24-7 and has a holistic library with couches, a lobby with internet, and a full service kitchen so if you want to get a snack, or find privacy to study, relax or just be, the center is only a few feet from the dorm space. The grounds are inviting too with a fire-pit you can visit at night, a garden and we have an art room making it possible to wander with a cup of tea, find a place to land to reflect or to be engaged in a mindful project. Laundry facilities are available too. We have complimentary bikes for a leisure ride to the nearby state park, or to get to area stores and eateries (4 miles) if you wish. We do not charge extra for staying here in our dorm facilities on the property, and this is made available for the convenience of those traveling to attend, so the accommodations are only for those coming from out of town are available on a first come first serve basis.  

When  our dorms fill, students are offered  an option to stay in a private room with bath at the home of  one of our fellow teachers who live close nearby.  This can be a lovely option for privacy while taking advantage of no-fee accommodations. For this option, you will need a vehicle to get back and forth. They live close, but you will still need a car.

Local residents and people with family or friends in the area often attend these programs and ask if they can get a discount since they do not need accommodations. We do not offer a discount in these cases, because our pricing does not include overnight stays, and does include a meal plan which everyone participating enjoys.

​Students who are staying with us are welcome to come a day early to get settled before the program (which begins on the first day at 9am) and leave the day after graduation. Check in time is 3pm and check out is 11:00am. We are happy to provide rides to the airport for RYT-200 or 300 programs the day before and after a program for flights during 10am and 8pm. If you arrive beyond these hours or on an alternate day, you would need to use an Urber or Lift. Shorter programs require you to provide your own transportation to and from Heartwood.