Embody Yoga's Roots
Yoga Therapy Certification
Yoga Therapy for Whole-Person Wellbeing: Learn to Meet Suffering With Skill

10-month professional training with supervised practicum

& real-world application

From yoga teacher to skilled therapeutic practitioner.

Most Yoga Therapy trainings aren't built for the complexity
people are living with right now.

This one is. Learn to bring Yoga's depth into care.

Become a yoga therapeutic practitioner who can assess the whole person, discern what care is needed, and use yoga's roots therapeutically with individuals and groups

We are living in times of complex suffering.

Stress lives in our bodies, burnout in our workplaces, grief moves through families and communities. Racism, displacement, caregiving, isolation and rapid social change shape our wellbeing in ways we cannot fully understand or heal by looking at the individual alone.

And yet, much of wellness asks: what is wrong with this person, what practice will fix it?

This training starts from a different place.

We train you to understand the whole person, body, nervous system, inner life, relationships, culture and conditions, and discern what care is actually needed.

Because Yoga's roots are already therapeutic.

Yoga has long asked questions at the heart of this work: What causes suffering? What creates greater wellbeing, agency and freedom?

This is yoga therapy for the world as it is.

Preparing caring professionals, yoga teachers and healers to meet suffering with greater skill, in individuals, groups, workplaces and communities.

You'll train to work with

Four Signature Therapeutic Protocols

Learn to assess, adapt and apply Yoga Therapy to four areas people are navigating everyday.

Stress, Burnout, Anxiety & Sleep

Understand stress, overwhelm, anxiety, exhaustion and sleep disruption, and support greater stability, restoration and capacity.

Perimenopause & Whole Person Wellbeing

Support the physical, mental and emotional changes of midlife through individualized, whole-person therapeutic care.

Chronic Pain, Function and Agency

Work with pain as a whole-person experience, support movement, mindfulness, function, confidence and greater agency.

Grief, Identity and Life Transitions

Support grief, loss and transition through practices that engage the body, emotion, purpose, meaning, relationship, ritual and meaning.

People are already bringing you more than yoga.

They tell you about their anxiety, grief, chronic pain, burnout, sleeplessness, hormonal change, trauma, workplace stress and lives shaped by enormous change.

And you care. But caring isn’t the same as knowing what to do.

When someone is struggling, you want to understand, what's within your scope, what kind of care may actually help and work with them over time.

That requires a different set of skills.

Yoga Therapy teaches you to assess rather than assume. To discern and create a plan of care, adapt, and refer or collaborate.

This is the shift from teaching yoga to practicing therapeutically from yoga's roots.

You already know how powerful yoga can be.

You'll learn to utilize yoga with greater skill, discernment and care.

When Just Teaching Yoga Isn't Enough

You know the pieces.

But how do you put them together?

Maybe you’ve studied yoga philosophy, anatomy, trauma-informed yoga, nervous system regulation, Ayurveda or somatics. The next move isn’t more techniques. It’s learning to see the whole person across personal, relational and contextual dimensions, discern what kind of care is needed, know what to use, when, why and with whom, with yoga's roots as a foundation.

Whole-Person Wellbeing Method

From Dukkha (suffering) to Swaraj (agency, care and freedom)

ROOT → ORIENT → OFFER → TRANSFORM → SERVE

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

10 Months of Professional Yoga Therapy Training

Live online training • Guest faculty • 1:1 Mentorship with Susanna

Small-group mentorship • Supervised practicum • Real-world application

ROOT: Yoga philosophy, psychology + the eight limbs

ORIENT: Whole-person assessment + therapeutic reasoning

OFFER: Skilled care for stress, pain, grief, transitions + menopause

TRANSFORM: Direct experience, real clients + supervised practicum

SHARE: Individuals, groups + communities, ethical, sustainable professional practice

From knowing yoga, to knowing how to help.

MODULE 1
Grounding the Therapeutic Practitioner

Root into your sadhana. Begin the estoeric shift from teaching yoga to living and practicing therapeutically. Explore yoga’s maps of suffering and wellbeing through kleshas, samskara, avidya and vidya, while grounding in therapeutic presence, lineage and whole-person care.

You’ll explore:

Sadhana - your unique, private, personal practice Therapeutic presence + practitioner self-awareness
Yogic understandings of suffering, healing + liberation
Kleshas, samskara, avidya
Land, lineage + relationship to the traditions we practice within

MODULE 2
Whole-Person Assessment + Therapeutic Reasoning

Learn to assess the whole person through Indian models of health and wellbeing, including the koshas, gunas, prana and Ayurveda, and use therapeutic discernment to understand what kind of care may help..

You'll learn:

Yogic frameworks for understanding the whole person: koshas, gunas, prana + more
Whole-person assessment across personal, relational + contextual dimensions
How to identify needs, priorities, strengths + goals
Therapeutic reasoning: what to offer, when, why + within what scope

MODULE 3
Body Under Pressure: Stress, Burnout, Anxiety + Sleep

Learn to understand stress, anxiety, burnout and disrupted sleep through both yogic and contemporary understandings of the body, mind, energy and nervous system.

You understand:

How chronic stress affects body, mind, energy, nervous system + daily life
Prana, gunas, nadis + yogic approaches to balance and restoration
Therapeutic practices for grounding, regulation, restoration + sleep
How personal, relational + systemic stressors shape wellbeing
How to adapt care to the person rather than simply treat the symptom

MODULE 4
Chronic Pain, Anatomy, Function + Agency

Understand chronic pain as a whole-person experience and learn to support movement, function, participation and agency without making “fixing the body” the goal.

You'll learn:

Yogic + contemporary approaches to understanding chronic pain
Anatomy, pain science + the lived experience of pain
Accessible + adaptive therapeutic movement
How identity, relationships + life conditions can shape pain and function
Supporting choice, participation, confidence + agency

MODULE 5
Grief, Identity + Life Transition

Learn to accompany people through grief, rupture and major life transitions that can reshape identity, belonging, relationships and meaning.

You’ll learn:

How to meet grief without rushing to fix, reframe or find meaning
Supporting identity change, shame, uncertainty + belonging
Yogic approaches to impermanence, identity, compassion + non-attachment
Embodied approaches to loss, transition, meaning + self-trust
How family, culture, community + social conditions shape experiences of change
Therapeutic approaches for both individuals + groups

MODULE 6
Perimenopause, Menopause + Whole-Person Wellbeing

Learn to support the physical, emotional and life changes of perimenopause and menopause through individualized whole-person care.

Understand:

Menopause physiology, symptoms + medical considerations
Yogic + Ayurvedic approaches to changing life stages
Sleep, mood, cognition, pain, energy + changing function
How relationships, identity, caregiving + culture shape midlife wellbeing
Scope, referral + individualized therapeutic care

MODULE 7
Therapeutic Relationship, Groups, + Ethical Care

Develop the relational and ethical skills needed to work therapeutically in professional settings with greater confidence, clarity and care.

You’ll learn:

How to structure 1:1 therapeutic sessions from intake through follow-up
Brahmacharya, ahimsa + satya as foundations for ethical care
Consent, boundaries, power, scope + when to refer
How to choose and adapt practices based on what you observe
How to facilitate therapeutic groups around a shared need or population

MODULE 8
Supervised Practicum I: Assess, Plan + Work With Clients

Put the Whole Person Wellbeing Method into practice with real people, with mentorship and supervision as you learn.

You’ll practice:

Conducting a whole-person intake + assessment
Understanding needs across personal, relational + contextual dimensions
Identifying client goals, strengths + priorities
Creating an individualized yoga therapy care plan
Leading sessions + adapting care in real time
Documentation, professional communication + case supervision

MODULE 9
Supervised Practicum II: Adapt, Integrate + Work in Community

Deepen your therapeutic reasoning as you follow clients over time and learn to adapt yoga therapy for groups, communities and professional settings.

You'll create:

Evaluating what is helping + adapting care over time
Working through complex cases with supervision
Translating 1:1 therapeutic principles into groups + community care
Working collaboratively in healthcare, nonprofits, wellness + other settings
Svadhyaya, abhyasa + vairagya for practitioner reflection and sustainability
Protecting your energy, boundaries + capacity while caring for others

MODULE 10
Professional Practice + Seva

Bring your training into the world through meaningful, ethical and sustainable work rooted in dharma, seva and yoga’s deeper purpose.

Your professional identity, focus + populations you want to serve
Ways to work with individuals, groups, communities + organizations
How to communicate the value of yoga therapy + build referral relationships
Pathways into private practice, healthcare, nonprofits, workplaces + wellness settings
Pricing, documentation + sustainable professional practice
A clear plan for taking your work into the world

EMBODY YOGA'S ROOTS
YOGA THERAPY TRAINING

Where can Yoga Therapy take you?

Designed for places people actually live, work, struggle and heal.

Bring therapeutic yoga into work with individuals, groups and communities, and into settings like private practice, healthcare, nonprofits, wellness, recovery and workplaces.

You’ll learn to adapt whole-person care to different people and settings while being grounded in yoga’s roots, ethical practice and scope.

APPLY NOW

What Makes This
Yoga Therapy Training Different

Yoga’s roots are the foundation.

We embody yoga's roots & practice yoga as a sophisticated system for understanding suffering, healing, relationship and liberation, not simply a collection of wellness techniques.

Whole-person means whole context.

We consider the body, mind, energy, relationships, culture and conditions shaping a person’s wellbeing. Healing is never reduced to the individual alone.

Care should be ethical + sustainable.

We practice consent, scope, transparency,

reflection and boundaries, so you can serve others without abandoning yourself.

LEAD ETHICAL, GROUNDED, TRAUMA-INFORMED REAL WORLD YOGA THERAPY

Who This Training is For

✨ This Yoga Therapy Training may be your next move if you're a

Yoga teacher ready to move beyond teaching classes into therapeutic work
Therapist, counselor or social worker who wants to integrate yoga responsibly into your care work
Healer or wellness practitioner seeking a more cohesive framework for whole-person care
Practitioner wanting yoga’s roots honored rather than stripped from the practice
Care professional working with stress, pain, grief, burnout, life transitions or changing health
Practitioner who has learned many pieces and is ready to put them together with greater confidence

You do not need to be an expert. You do need curiosity, commitment and a willingness to learn.

"This training deepened my own sadhana and service in the world."

- Kayla, Yoga Therapist

Meet the Wisdom Holder Faculty

Michelle Cassandra Johnson

Protect Your Energy: Boundaries, Capacity + Midlife Wellbeing

Harpinder Mann

Sadhana in Practice: Discernment, Sustainability + the Practitioner Self

Hawah Kasat

Seva in Action: Purpose, Service + Taking the Work Into the World

Jacoby Ballard

Rupture, Identity + Change: Supporting Clients Through Life Transitions

Lorena Saavedra Smith

Land, Lineage + Ancestral Wisdom: Honoring the Traditions We Practice Within

Rima Abu-Isa

The Art of Therapeutic Presence: Embodiment, Relationship & the Sacred

Tejal Patel

The Embodied Practitioner: Trust, Desire + Discernment

Hala Khouri

Stress, Burnout + Anxiety: Restoration & Sustainable Care

Marsha Banks Harold

Pain, Function + Agency: Rethinking What Healing Means

J S Park

The Art of Accompaniment: Grief, Loss, Ancestral Wisdom

Neelam Pathikonda, Doctor, Integrative Medicine

Perimenopause. Menopause and Whole-Person Wellbeing

Zabie Yamasaki

Brahmacharya: Boundaries, Consent + Scope as Sacred Practice

Linda Lopes

Your Yoga Therapy Lead Mentor

A Letter from Susanna

I’m Susanna, and I’m happy to be here with you!

However you’ve arrived, you belong here.

Yoga helped me heal, and it changed the direction of my life.

Since then, I’ve trained more than 25,000 people, founded the Ignite Institute, written Embrace Yoga’s Roots and Ignite Your Yoga, and spent more than a decade exploring one question:

How does yoga help us meet suffering with skill?

Along the way, I realized I wanted something I wasn’t seeing enough of: a way to hold the depth of yoga’s roots and the real skills we need when someone is grieving, in pain, overwhelmed or moving through change.

So I built this training. You’ll learn to embody yoga’s roots, listen deeply, see the whole person, understand what may be contributing to suffering, and know what you’re doing and why.

We’ll go deeply into yoga’s traditions while building therapeutic reasoning, ethics, assessment, relationship skills and supervised real-world practice.

Rooted, able to meet suffering and care for it with skill.

That’s the kind of practitioner I’d be honored to help you become.

Susanna Barkataki, PhD Scholar in Yoga Psychology Author, Embrace Yoga's Roots Founder, Ignite Yoga Institute

What Students Say About Learning With Susanna

Rooted in Authenticity

"Hearing the chakras and koshas described as 'maps of the experience of being human' was a huge insight moment. It completely shifted how I understand yoga."– LaShae, Founder

Real-World Care

"I finally feel like I have the language and tools to create a usefu Yoga Therapy program" – Abby, Yoga Studio Owner

Transformative Leadership

"This helped me step into leadership and impact my community in many ways " – Ashanti, Nonprofit leader

"I found the kind of practitioner I wanted to become.”

- Rachel, Yoga Studio Owner

How It Works

Embody Yoga's Roots Yoga therapy training moves from study to practice to real-world work.

This is not a course you consume. It’s a training you enter with teachers, mentors, peers and eventually real clients. You’ll study, practice, apply what you’re learning, receive feedback and build the confidence and discernment to use yoga therapeutically in the work you want to do.

Your Monthly Rhythm

• Live Training sessions with Susanna + Faculty

Three-hour live sessions (Wednesdays at 9am-12pm PT / 12-3pm ET and four Saturdays through the year at 9am-12pm PT / 12-3pm ET) exploring yoga philosophy, whole-person assessment, therapeutic reasoning, practice, case work and real-world application.

• Mentorship

1:1 and small-group mentorship to integrate what you’re learning, bring questions and cases, and develop your own capacity as a practitioner.

• Sadhana, Practice + Homeplay
Readings, reflection, sadhana and real-world practice between sessions so the learning moves beyond your notes and into how you actually work

• Supervised Practicum

You’ll work with real people, conduct assessments, develop and adapt care, facilitate therapeutic sessions and bring cases into supervision.

• Professional Pathway
You’ll also learn how to bring yoga therapy into the settings that fit you, whether that’s 1:1 work, therapeutic groups, healthcare, wellness, nonprofits, workplaces or community spaces, with attention to scope, referrals, professional communication and sustainable practice.

• Annual In-Person Retreat

We’ll also gather in person to practice, connect, rest and deepen the work together.

You won't do this alone. You’ll have peer connection, community support, access to recordings and resources, and space to tend your own practice and sustainability while learning to care for others. Includes private community connection, training portal + recordings, peer support and ongoing mentorship