Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala
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March 1-22, 2027
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Starting From $3100
Trauma-informed teaching meets flow, community, and the call to be of real service to the world.
Immersive Yoga Teacher Training Dates: March 1–22, 2027
Location: Mystical Yoga Farm, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
Intimate training cohort of 12-17 students
Yoga Alliance certified
Registered Yoga School RYS 200 Certified
Scroll down to meet your teachers, learn about the Mystical Yoga Farm venue, and read more about our unique curriculum…
Because you never know who’s walking into the room.
All yoga teachers need trauma-informed training because every yoga class holds a room full of histories. Trauma doesn’t announce itself obviously. It sometimes shows up in a tight hip, a held breath, a student who can’t close their eyes. The Bigger Life YTT prepares you to meet all of it: with skill, with steadiness, and with a practice that goes far deeper than posture cues. You’ll complete training with a deeper understanding of your own practice. Our goal is to prepare aspiring yoga teachers to be of service to the many needs of this world, wherever they end up teaching.
This training was built for YOU! Wherever you are on your path, we have space for you.
You’re ready to turn your practice into a vocation. You want a certification that gives you real tools, not just poses and sequencing. You’re feeling called to show up with presence and care in a variety of different environments, plus to successfully and ethically navigate the duality of yoga and capitalism.
Teaching may or may not be your goal. You want to go deeper into the philosophy, anatomy, and lived wisdom of yoga, and you’re ready to go all in. An immersive yoga teacher training provides greater depth than a weeklong retreat ever can, allowing you to expand your understanding of yoga philosophy, meditation, asana, and how your own practice can best serve your longevity and mental health.
You’re using this training as a transformative cocoon on your own healing journey. The curriculum, the routine, the community, the magical lake — all of it is medicine. Yoga teacher training is a potent container for “svadyaya” self-study and personal growth. Please note that all trainees are required to arrive in sound mental and physical health, sober, and prepared for an intense physical, intellectual, and emotional experience. Got questions about how best to prepare? We are here and happy to chat with you anytime before we embark!
You want to bring yoga into spaces that need it most! Places like schools, treatment centers, detention centers, and community programs for underserved populations. You’re here to learn how to do it well and ethically from teachers who have done it themselves.
You won’t just be certified on paper. You’ll actually be ready.
In addition to a full module on trauma-informed facilitation, this vital methodology we strongly believe in will be woven into every class. You’ll understand how to create safety and accessibility for any body in any room, whether the class you’re teaching is labeled “Power Vinyasa” or “Trauma-Sensitive Yoga.” Click on
Deep immersion in vinyasa and hatha sequencing, alignment, teaching creativity, assists, and the art of teaching, starting from day one. We’ll journey through the energetic anatomy of the seven chakras together in daily guided practices and class breakdowns that incorporate much more than just movement.
Yoga history, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the 8 Limbs of Yoga, Ayurveda, and more, not as theory to memorize, but as practices to embody, discuss, and share. Through lectures, discussions, and practice teaching, you’ll come away with retained knowledge on the whole of what yoga is. Hint: it’s so much more than just what you do on your yoga mat!
Studios, retreats, treatment facilities, schools, detention centers, corporate settings. You’ll have the tools to adapt your teaching to any context.
12-17 people. 21 days at Mystical Yoga Farm. Off-grid, fully present. The bonds formed in containers like this don’t fade. You’ll form lasting friendships that become your professional and personal foundation. The Bigger Life YTT includes post-training online integration circles and a 1-on-1 mentorship session follow up with a trainer.
A globally recognized 200-hour RYT credential, backed by Bigger Life Adventures’ lineage of trauma-informed teaching.
Everything you need to arrive, immerse, and leave transformed.
Vinyasa & hatha sequencing, trauma-informed methodology, anatomy, philosophy, pranayama, Ayurveda, adaptive yoga, Yoga Nidra, yoga business, and the art of teaching. Scroll down and click on “Our Curriculum” for more details on many of the topics we’ll cover.
16 online training hours will be taught online via video course to reduce the workload of an immersive 3-week training. These hours can be completed at your leisure in the months leading up to the immersive teacher training in Guatemala, or after the immersion for last-minute sign ups. This online portion of the course is required for Yoga Alliance certification.
A recommended reading list will be provided as well. We know life is busy, so pre-YTT reading is not mandatory. The material will be covered in depth during the training in Guatemala.
A 300+ page comprehensive printed manual — yours to keep, teach from, and return to for years after graduation.
Shared dorm or private room at Mystical Yoga Farm, nestled in the forest on the shores of sacred Lake Atitlán, between three magnificent volcanoes. MYF is a unique eco-retreat center focused on yoga, ceremony, permaculture.
This peaceful refuge provides a simple and safe container for healing, growth and empowerment. A 100% off-grid, sustainable, and zero-waste community, just living at MYF for 3 weeks is a life-changing opportunity to experience life in a loving sustainable community.
Nourishing plant-based meals prepared daily by local chefs using home-grown organic ingredients, plus at least one special weekly meal by Bigger Life Adventures founder Chef Zach, aka “Zachalicious”. Please let us know about any dietary needs or allergies in your application. Filtered drinking water and tea will also be provided.
Our three weeks together will also incorporate one fire ceremony, three sacred sauna evenings, one cacao ceremony and ecstatic dance, new & full moon circles, and integration practices woven throughout.
You’ll have the opportunity to stay a few nights longer after the teacher training officially ends in order to participate in a plant medicine ceremony guided by Mystical Yoga Farm’s safe and skilled facilitators. More details about this option will be shared after you register. It is completely optional!
Upon successful completion, your globally recognized 200-hour RYT credential through Yoga Alliance.
Multiple yoga shalas, sound healing dome, fire ceremonial circle, tree net hangout, dock and swimming platform, paddle boards, kayaks, yoga props, sound healing instruments, and more.
Your training doesn’t end when you leave the farm. Every student receives two group integration Zoom calls and one private one-on-one mentorship session with a teacher after the training ends. Because we know that the real work of becoming a teacher happens when you’re back home, stepping onto a mat in front of your first class, or sitting quietly with everything the training stirred up. These post-training touchpoints are a rare offering in the YTT world, and they’re built into your experience by design. You’ll have a space to ask the questions that only arise once you’re out in the world, to process what you’re integrating, and to receive direct, personal guidance as you take your next steps — whatever those look like for you.
We dive in March 1-22, 2027!
Please Fill Out Our Application Before Submitting a Deposit
Nestled in the forest on the shores of Lake Atitlán, a spiritual epicenter for the Mayan people and a place where earth and water are perfectly balanced. Often referred to as “the place where the rainbow gets its colors”, Atitlán is one of the most beautiful and deepest lakes in the world. Mystical Yoga Farm, directly on the lakeshore and best accessible by boat, is a self-sustainable, off-grid sanctuary dedicated to healing, transformation, and empowerment. Here, three volcanoes rise around you. The lake reflects the sky. The land holds you.
Mystical Yoga Farm is a truly yogic intentional community, providing students with a real immersion into conscious, simple living. The farm is zero waste, using composting toilets, shared bathrooms, and limited Wifi*, all by design. The absence of distraction is the point. For 21 days, the only place you need to be is here. Mystical Yoga Farm also proudly supports the local Tz’utujil Mayan, respecting their ancestral wisdom and care for the land.
Early bird sign ups will get their first choice of room type. 4 and 6-bed dorms, private single rooms, and private double rooms for couples are all available.
*Wifi will still be available as-needed, just not constantly.
Bigger Life Adventures has been leading trauma-informed yoga and adventure retreats and teacher trainings for 8 years across 7 countries. This is that lineage, spread throughout 21 nurturing and meaningful days.
Carrie has been practicing yoga for 14 years and teaching for 8. Her path to the mat is inseparable from her teaching philosophy. Yoga helped her get in touch with her intuition and finally quit drinking alcohol after a decade of addiction, work through her trauma, and reconnect with her higher self. Now she brings that same unflinching, recovery-aware presence to every place she’s blessed to teach: retreat centers, treatment facilities, schools, and juvenile detention centers.
For 6 years, Carrie has been the yoga provider for her home county’s Juvenile Detention Center, where she has trained and managed an entire community of trauma-informed yoga teachers. She has co-taught two 200-hour YTTs and multiple trauma-informed yoga trainings, led 100+ retreats across 7 countries, and holds an 800-hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor certification.
Her teaching is grounded, warm, and deeply practical. She infuses trauma-informed practices into every class she leads, yet also loves to challenge her students with a little intensity or a creative mobility flow! From vinyasa at a studio to yoga in a cell block, Carrie strives to infuse her yoga sessions with nervous system regulation, philosophy you can actually grasp, and a bit of humor as well. She believes every teacher deserves this foundation. An entrepreneur, writer, and activist, Carrie isn’t afraid to speak up about the cognitive dissonance of running a yoga business under capitalism. She brings years of real life experience as a founder, studio teacher, and retreat leader to this training and aims to transfer her business savvy as well as her teaching methods to trainees.
An avid traveler, Carrie has explored 44 countries, worked as a Health Education Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Tanzania, and coached many travel lovers on how to volunteer and live abroad. In her free time, Carrie loves trail running, mountaineering, playing harmonium, eating chocolatey desserts, and making friends with dogs.
Sydney is a trauma-informed yoga teacher and was Bigger Life Adventures’ very first intern back in 2022. She has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and teaching for half a decade. Sydney’s love for dance and movement naturally flowed over to her love for yoga asana, but slowly learning breathwork, meditation, and practicing yoga’s ethical principles is what propelled her recovery from disordered eating.
Yoga for recovery resonates deeply with Sydney and influences her trauma-informed, exploratory style of teaching. When she is not practicing or teaching, you can find Sydney trail running, thru-hiking around the world, or cuddling with a cat enjoying one or her “granny hobbies”.
Zach is the co-founder of Bigger Life Adventures and Carrie’s partner in building a brand rooted in conscious living, plant-based nourishment, and genuine community. Zach contributes his deep knowledge of yoga philosophy, the science of consciousness, and ceremony, helping to hold the container that makes transformation possible.
Once a week during our Guatemala yoga teacher training, Zach takes over the kitchen to give the local Mystical Yoga Farm chefs a well-deserved break, and to treat students to his somewhat famous “Zachalicious” meals! Vibrant, from-scratch vegan meals and desserts inspired by his plant-based cookbook Plants on Plates await you! Reiki Master, musician, rock climber, and true “jack of all trades”, Zach shows up to every space with creative energy and grounded care.
Below we provide all-inclusive package pricing including accommodation, meals, training, and certification. No hidden costs. Early bird package prices are available until September 30, 2026
🛌A vibrant community living experience. Ideal for those who thrive in shared space and love the energy of togetherness. There is one 6-bed dorm and one 4-bed dorm. Everyone will practice quiet hours after 9pm to ensure adequate rest for all trainees during this transformational experience.
$3,100 early bird
$3,400 regular price
🏡Ideal for those who value personal space, quiet, and nervous system support during an intensive immersion. Limited availability.
$3,700 early bird
$4,000 regular price
👩❤️👨Share your growth journey with your partner. One private room with a double bed for two, two full training experiences—limited availability.
$3,400 per person early bird, so $6800 per pair
$3,700 per person regular so $7400 per pair
Please fill out the application to register your interest and tell us a bit about yourself. All yoga experience levels (beginner through experienced) are encouraged to apply. We just want to get to know you and your intentions a bit in order to compose a cohesive training cohort. After filling out your application, submit your $500 deposit via the simple registration form at the top of this page. After receiving both your deposit and your application, we will get back to you to confirm your spot. If your application doesn’t seem like the right fit for this training, 100% of your deposit will be refunded.
Morning meditation and mantra
Silent coffee break
Guided yoga practice
Breakfast and break
Practice analysis, lecture, and discussion
Lunch and break
Evening practice teaching, lecture, and discussion
Dinner
Free time to study and relax
Quiet hours begin
🕉️200-hour Yoga Alliance certification
😴21 nights accommodation
🥗3 plant-based meals per day
📖Full curriculum & printed manual
🧘♀️Trauma-informed yoga methodology
🔥Special ceremonies (fire, temazcal, cacao)
🌝3 cleansing sauna evenings
🌋Full use of MYF facilities
🧘🏻♂️Group & individual mentorship & integration support
Scholarship spots available. We offer 2 spots at 50% tuition for Central American applicants or those demonstrating financial need. These spots are in dorm accommodation and are offered in alignment with our commitment to accessible, trauma-informed yoga for all. To apply, fill out the scholarship-related questions in our YTT application.
$500 deposit holds your spot · Pay monthly payments until we begin · Airfare and travel expenses to Atitlán not included
same gender roommates, shared composting bathrooms and hot showers
$3,100
shared composting bathroom and hot shower
$3,700
$3400 per person
$6800
Do I need prior yoga experience to apply?
Having some yoga experience is helpful, but you don’t need to be “advanced” or have years of experience. What matters more is genuine curiosity, openness, and readiness to show up fully — on the mat and off it.
What styles of yoga will be taught?
The training centers on vinyasa (flow) and hatha, with trauma-informed methodology woven throughout every style. We’ll also incorporate some yin, restorative, adaptive, and Yoga Nidra practices throughout the training. You’ll graduate able to teach both flow classes and trauma-informed yoga in a wide variety of contexts.
Why Guatemala?
Lake Atitlán is one of those places that does something to you before the training even begins. Surrounded by three volcanoes and steeped in living Tzʼutujil Mayan culture, it has drawn seekers, healers, and yogis for decades, and for good reason. The land itself is part of the curriculum. There’s a stillness here that’s hard to manufacture anywhere else, and an aliveness that keeps you present in a way that a conference room or a city studio simply can’t.
Guatemala is also genuinely accessible — more affordable to reach than Bali, less traveled than Costa Rica, and far less commercialized than most yoga destinations. Mystical Yoga Farm sits off the beaten path near Santiago Atitlán, which means your cohort gets the lake magic without the tourist noise. And because MYF is off-grid and alcohol-free by nature, the container is already set before you arrive — no negotiating with the environment, no distractions bleeding in from outside.
We appreciate how Mystical Yoga Farm honors and respects the Mayan roots of this place, in their sustainable living, in their ceremonies, and in the ways they give back. We are also offering 2 half price YTT scholarship with priority going to Central America natives.
What does “off-grid” actually mean?
Mystical Yoga Farm runs on sustainable systems — composting toilets, solar power, and permaculture. It’s simple, intentional living in deep connection with the land. Many students find it to be one of the most liberating aspects of the experience.
How do I get there?
Fly into Guatemala City (GUA). From there, we’ll arrange group shuttles directly to Mystical Yoga Farm near Santiago Atitlán. We’ll connect you with fellow students to coordinate travel together once you’re registered.
What if I’m not sure I want to teach?
That’s completely okay — many of our students come for the depth of their own practice and personal healing, not a teaching career. The certification is yours if you complete the program, but the transformation happens regardless of what you do with your credential afterwards.
Is the training suitable for people in recovery?
Absolutely. Bigger Life Adventures has always been a recovery-aware, alcohol-free community. This training is a natural extension of that — a sober, supportive container where you don’t have to explain yourself or navigate drinking culture. All trainees are expected to maintain an alcohol and recreational substance-free lifestyle during the entirety of the training.
Are payment plans available?
Yes. A $500 deposit holds your spot, with flexible payment plans available through your start date. Reach out and we’ll work something out that fits your situation. You’ll also get a $100 discount off your registration as a thank you if you are able to pay in full right away.
What is Bigger Life Adventures?
Bigger Life Adventures is an 8-year-old trauma-informed yoga and adventure retreat brand. We’ve led 100+ retreats across 7 countries, trained teachers, and brought yoga into schools, treatment facilities, and detention centers. This YTT is the compilation of everything we’ve learned about what it means to teach with depth, care, and real-world skill.
Flight Booking Assistance — $50 Flat Fee
I offer flight booking for retreat guests and friends who’d rather skip the search.
Send me your travel dates and preferred airports and I’ll find and book the best options for you. I’ll confirm all details with you before anything is finalized, either over a quick Zoom or via message, whichever works best.
The fee is $50, paid to me directly. You pay the actual cost of the flight separately. In return, you get a curated search, zero hassle, and someone who knows how to find a good deal.
If that sounds like a good deal, reach out and we’ll get you booked.
— Carrie
Since all retreat deposits and payments are used to secure venues, activities, and supplies, and since canceled spots require extra time and energy to re-fill, all deposits and payments are non refundable. In emergency situations, you may or may not be offered a credit for a future retreat or event, based on the decision of our team. Cancellations due to fear of travel are not transferable or refundable. Cancellations less than 1 month before your retreat are not refundable or transferable. We recommend travel insurance to protect your investment in the event you must cancel.
