Most Yoga Therapy trainings aren't built for the complexity
people are living with right now.
This one is.
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
ROOT → ASSESS → APPLY → PRACTICE → EXPAND → 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: Yogic frameworks for suffering + wellbeing
ASSESS: Whole-person assessment + therapeutic reasoning
APPLY: Stress, pain, grief, transitions + menopause
PRACTICE: Real clients + supervised practicum
EXPAND: Individuals, groups + communities
SERVE: Ethical, sustainable professional practice
From knowing yoga, to knowing how to help.
MODULE 1
Grounding the Therapeutic Practitioner
Begin the shift from teaching yoga to 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:
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Therapeutic presence + practitioner self-awareness
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Yogic understandings of suffering, healing + liberation
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Kleshas, samskara, avidya
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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:
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Yogic frameworks for understanding the whole person: koshas, gunas, prana + more
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Whole-person assessment across personal, relational + contextual dimensions
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How to identify needs, priorities, strengths + goals
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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:
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How chronic stress affects body, mind, energy, nervous system + daily life
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Prana, gunas, nadis + yogic approaches to balance and restoration
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Therapeutic practices for grounding, regulation, restoration + sleep
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How personal, relational + systemic stressors shape wellbeing
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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:
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Yogic + contemporary approaches to understanding chronic pain
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Anatomy, pain science + the lived experience of pain
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Accessible + adaptive therapeutic movement
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How identity, relationships + life conditions can shape pain and function
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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:
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How to meet grief without rushing to fix, reframe or find meaning
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Supporting identity change, shame, uncertainty + belonging
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Yogic approaches to impermanence, identity, compassion + non-attachment
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Embodied approaches to loss, transition, meaning + self-trust
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How family, culture, community + social conditions shape experiences of change
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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:
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Menopause physiology, symptoms + medical considerations
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Yogic + Ayurvedic approaches to changing life stages
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Sleep, mood, cognition, pain, energy + changing function
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How relationships, identity, caregiving + culture shape midlife wellbeing
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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:
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How to structure 1:1 therapeutic sessions from intake through follow-up
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Brahmacharya, ahimsa + satya as foundations for ethical care
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Consent, boundaries, power, scope + when to refer
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How to choose and adapt practices based on what you observe
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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:
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Conducting a whole-person intake + assessment
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Understanding needs across personal, relational + contextual dimensions
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Identifying client goals, strengths + priorities
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Creating an individualized yoga therapy care plan
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Leading sessions + adapting care in real time
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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:
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Evaluating what is helping + adapting care over time
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Working through complex cases with supervision
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Translating 1:1 therapeutic principles into groups + community care
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Working collaboratively in healthcare, nonprofits, wellness + other settings
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Svadhyaya, abhyasa + vairagya for practitioner reflection and sustainability
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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.
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Your professional identity, focus + populations you want to serve
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Ways to work with individuals, groups, communities + organizations
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How to communicate the value of yoga therapy + build referral relationships
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Pathways into private practice, healthcare, nonprofits, workplaces + wellness settings
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Pricing, documentation + sustainable professional practice
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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.
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
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Yoga teacher ready to move beyond teaching classes into therapeutic work
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Therapist, counselor or social worker who wants to integrate yoga responsibly into your care work
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Healer or wellness practitioner seeking a more cohesive framework for whole-person care
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Practitioner wanting yoga’s roots honored rather than stripped from the practice
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Care professional working with stress, pain, grief, burnout, life transitions or changing health
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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 Kassat
Seva in Action: Purpose, Service + Taking the Work Into the World
Jacoby Ballard
Rupture, Identity + Change: Supporting Clients Through Life Transitions
Lorena Smith
Land, Lineage + Ancestral Wisdom: Honoring the Traditions We Practice Within
Amy Wheeler
The Therapeutic Practitioner: Presence, Relationship + the Art of Yoga Therapy
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
A Letter from Your Lead Trainer
I'm Susanna, and I'm honored you are here.
I’ve trained more than 25,000 people, written extensively on embodying yoga’s roots, and spent years exploring one question: how does yoga help us heal?
Yoga has always held profound maps for suffering, healing, relationship and freedom. But too often, those roots are separated from the real-world skills practitioners need when someone is grieving, in pain, overwhelmed, changing, or living inside conditions that cannot be solved with an individual wellness practice.
This training brings those pieces back together.
Where you learn to listen deeply, see the whole person, understand what may be contributing to suffering, know what you’re doing and why, and meet people with skill.
We’ll go deeply into yoga’s traditions while building therapeutic reasoning, ethics, assessment, relationship skills and supervised real-world practice.
To me, that is yoga therapy: rooted, responsive and capable of meeting the world we are actually living in.
And that is the practitioner I want 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 + FacultyT
Three-hour live sessions 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
Together, lets grow our yoga legacy and leadership.
FAQs
Tuition
For the 2027 cohort, tuition is $7,997 USD
(full value $15,997)
You have the option to pay in full: $7,997
12-month plan: $997 deposit + 12 payments of $595
Buy Now, Pay Later: options may be available from about $199/month, subject to approval.
Flexible payment options are available to make the training more accessible.
Is this a professional yoga therapy certification?
Yes. Embody Yoga's Roots Ignite’s Yoga Therapy Certification is an independent professional training. You’ll graduate trained to assess the whole person, develop and adapt therapeutic care, and work with individuals and groups in real-world settings.
It is not an IAYT-accredited program and does not confer the C-IAYT credential. It is also not medical or mental health licensure. Scope, ethics, referral and interdisciplinary care are part of the training.
What are the pre-requisites?
There isn’t one single pathway into this training. We’re looking for a strong foundation in yoga, healing or care work, plus readiness for advanced therapeutic study.
Applicants may come through a 200- or 300-hour YTT, trauma-informed yoga training, long-term yoga practice, somatic or meditation study, psychotherapy or social work, or other relevant healing and community-care experience. We review applications holistically, looking at your training, experience, relationship with yoga, the people you serve and why you’re drawn to yoga therapy.
I'm a therapist or social worker, not just a yoga teacher. Can I apply?
Yes. You do not need to come through a traditional yoga-teacher pathway. If you have a meaningful relationship with yoga and relevant experience in care, healing or therapeutic work, we encourage you to apply.
Will I actually work with real people?
Yes. Supervised practicum is built into the training. You’ll assess real clients, develop care plans, facilitate sessions, adapt your approach and bring cases into supervision.
Will I learn both 1:1 and group yoga therapy?
Yes. You’ll learn to work therapeutically with individuals and groups, and to adapt the work for community and professional settings.
What can I do with this training professionally?
You’ll be prepared to work therapeutically including 1:1 work, therapeutic groups, wellness settings, nonprofits, workplaces, healthcare and community organizations, along with scope, referrals, professional communication and sustainable practice.
How much time does the training require?
Most months include three live 3-hour training sessions, mentorship, readings and practice between sessions. Practicum months also include client work and supervision. Sessions are recorded, although live participation is encouraged.
How much direct access will I have to Susanna?
You’ll train with Susanna live weekly, throughout the full 10 months through live sessions, plus direct mentorship and support from Susanna and core faculty. Each participant will have two one-on-one sessions with Susanna.
What if I miss a live session?
Sessions are recorded and available in the training portal. Some practicum, mentorship or supervision requirements may need to be completed live or made up.
I’ve already studied a lot. How is this different, and will it repeat what I know?
This training is designed for people who already have pieces: yoga philosophy, anatomy, trauma-informed practice, nervous system work, somatics, Ayurveda, or other healing modalities, but want to know how to put them together.
Rather than centering an individual, diagnosis-based model, we work across personal, relational and systemic contexts, rooted in yoga psychology on its own terms. You’ll learn how to assess, discern, choose and adapt care, work with individuals and groups, and practice with real people under supervision.
The goal isn’t more information. It’s integration, therapeutic reasoning and knowing how to use what you know.
Are payment plans or partial scholarships available?
Yes. Payment plans and Buy Now, Pay Later options are available, along with limited partial scholarships for Global Majority/BIPOC practitioners, frontline workers and those with demonstrated financial need.
How long do I have access to the training materials?
You’ll have access to the training portal and recordings for two years - one while you are in the live training and one year afterwards.
How do I join?
Complete the application for the 2027 cohort. We’ll review your background, experience and goals to make sure the training is a good fit.
More questions?
Email hello@ignitebewell.com
We’re gathering a small cohort ready to lead with greater skill, rootedness and care. We hope you’ll be part of it.
Ignite's Impact
25,000+ students trained • 15+ years of experience • Global faculty • 3X Award Winning
