Q&A

Our mission is to spread the love for yin globally while creating high industry standards.

No doubt ‘yin is in’ and with it comes a huge amount of unskilled and untrained people providing yin yoga classes. And while these classes often can be beautiful offerings and might be ‘yin’ in their nature, very often they are not what we consider ‘yin yoga’ in the yoga sphere.

The yin yoga practice according to the principles and components, follows the foundations laid out originally by Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, and Bernie Clark are defined.

The consideration of an individual skeletal structure, functional alignment and working with ‘yin tissue’ not only stretches but also strengthens them and requires quite some ‘know-how’.

Addressing the physical benefits as well as the energetic layer when working with the Taoist philosophy, the meridians and chi flow need serious study.

Transforming a yin yoga class into a in yoga healing experience needs skill, practice and talent.

We are here for it. And we offer you the opportunity to explore these things with us. And ultimately to help us spread the word with our affiliate program.

Our focus is on offering you a high-quality education in the perfect learning environment, so we just would like you to be prepared:

At times it can be intensive and demanding, do not expect a yoga holiday or a luxourious retreat stay. With completion you receive a certificate & a diploma, it is an education aimed to prepare you to be able to teach professionally. There will be limited time for your self-study and rest, please use this time carefully.

We offer an educational teacher training program, not a wellness or self-healing retreat. Homework is given, you will be asked to teach and hold presentations, self-study and the successful completion of an exam is required. However, we also aim to incorporate some fun and your weekends are free for you to explore 🙂

We often see reality not matching people’s expectations of that picture-perfect tropical paradise at first, especially when jetlagged and tired disappointment sets in easily. Expect ‘Asian standard’, even though all our destinations have their own beautiful charms, it can be a little rough around the edges, please remember on Instagram everything looks better 😉

Our venues are selected with two things in mind: learning and nature immersion. Often you will find more of a yoga school camp environment and not a luxurious holiday retreat! Our aim is to keep our programs accessable, and while we always offer our courses in really outstanding locations, be aware the price reflects the standard of the accomodation offered. The rooms are absolutly comfortable and have everything you need, but if you are in a place in life where you would like to pamper yourself a bit more, book yourself in a private room close by and just join us for the day program. For the tuition fee the shared room price applies in this case.

Ideally arrive a few days before start of the program, expolre the country, allow yourself to rest and acclimatise. Don’t take things too seriously in those early days, give yourself time to adjust yourself and your expectations, and we are sure you will leave with big love in your heart for our location and its people.

We recommend that you to bring a few sets of comfortable light yoga clothing and swim wear, sunscreen, mosquito repellant, something a little warmer for the early mornings, a white outfit for our opening and closing ceremony, a reusable water bottle, and your own yoga mat.

Yoga is about doing the practice according to the capability of your body and growing in your practice every day. Therefore we feel it doesn’t matter if you are experienced or not, if you are open-minded with a love for adventure, a dedication to learning and your own personal development then you are at the right place! However, certain programes are more or less suitable for different stages of your yoga journey, just get in touch to discuss which one is best suitable for you.

Here is an example day, but we adjust to sunrise/sunset, temperature/mosquito time and it might change a bit from day to day depending on sunset/sunrise times and our venue.

Weekdays are study immersion, your weekends are free to explore the area and dedicate yourself to some self-study. Saturdays and Sundays are free and there are no meals provided.

The mornings start with a nature meditation followed by some movement with guided yang yoga classes. After breakfast, there are theory and methodology classes till lunch, followed by a long midday break. The late afternoons are dedicated to the yin yoga practice and a sunset circle to complete the day. Days can vary, but here is an example day:

• 06:30 – 07:00 Sunrise Sadhana – Spiritual Self-Practice Time
• 07:00 – 07:20 Nature Meditation
• 07:30 – 08:30 Active Morning Practice
• Breakfast Break
• 09:15 – 10:15 Asana Lab
• 10:20 – 11:20 Theory
• 11:30 – 12:30 Methodology
• Lunch & Afternoon Break
• 15:30 – 17:30 Yin Yoga Immersion
• 17:45 – 18:45 Sunset Circle
• Occasional optional evening activities

The first day starts with an opening circle at 17:00, followed by our first dinner together. The last day is reserved just for your checkout.

Do consider the exhaustion of overnight travel, jetlag and arrival at an unknown destination – adjusting to different climates, time zones and foods can be tricky, take it slowly and arrive a few days early if you can. You could check out the beautiful beaches nearby or the ones close to the airport for a smooth arrival.

Our shared room option is always shared with the same gender.
If you choose a shared room, tolerance, adaptability, and kindness is a must. Really be aware that you will be living and sleeping very close by one another with absolutely no privacy. Lights off and silence from 10:00 pm to 5 am must be respected. For rooms with AC, the AC temperature agreed on is 25 degrees Celsius as it is considered most optimum for healthy bodily functions.

Sometimes booking is the easy part, especially if you have a clear vision of what you want. However, the tricky bit can be deciding what to pack. Is 7 pairs of yoga pants really too much? Probably!

We have bucket loads of experience when it comes to attending and hosting trainings, so we have come up with our perfect packing list.

Clothing

– A few different outfits that you can move in / light cotton is always a good choice, in our destinations sometimes it can be very humid
– A sweater or jacket for cooler mornings/evenings
– A white outfit for the opening & closing ceremony
– Swimwear for the pool or beach
– A pair of shoes you can slide on and off for walking around the venue
– A sarong or light scarf to cover when needed

Personal Items

– Toiletries
– Any prescription medication
– Sunscreen and mosquito repellent
– Towel / sarong
– Ear plugs and eye mask for a better night’s sleep

Extra Things

– Reusable water bottle and your yoga mat
– Journal and pen
– Phone / electronic devices & charger (adapter if needed)

Yes, you will receive a Yoga Alliance-affiliated certificate when you complete your course. We will give you all the knowledge and tools you need to be a yoga teacher. In most of our courses you will have plenty of opportunities to practice teaching and receive constructive feedback. It is then up to you if you feel ready to take on teaching. Some students feel ready while others feel that they need to practice and continue learning before teaching others.

We have a love for a conscious lifestyle and follow an Ayurvedic yogic diet, therefore our offered food is always fresh and pure, as organic as possible, and mostly vegan.

If you have any specific requirements (especially allergies e.g. nut allergy) please let us know in your application so we can prepare to accommodate that.

In yoga, one of the foundational ethical principles is Ahimsa, or non-harming.

Ahimsa encourages us to live with compassion: towards ourselves, others, and all living beings. It asks us not only to avoid physical harm, but also to make mindful, kind, and respectful choices in everyday life.

Food is one of the most tangible ways we can embody Ahimsa. Modern meat and dairy production often causes significant animal suffering and operates under conditions that are deeply unethical. By choosing a vegan diet, we actively reduce harm, support more sustainable food systems, and honor the yogic path of compassion and awareness.

Some students worry about nutrition, especially protein intake, when eating vegan. Rest assured, a well-balanced plant-based diet provides all essential nutrients and sufficient protein to nourish the body, especially when combined with wholesome whole foods, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. Yet if you feel you truly feel you need them, we do offer eggs at breakfast as an optional addition.

For this reason, during our programs and trainings, we offer only vegan food. This is not about restriction, but about alignment to create conditions for clarity of mind, lightness of body, and integrity of practice.

We invite you to view this as part of your yoga journey: bringing Ahimsa to life, not only on the mat, but also at the dining table.

The 200-hour course is designed for people who are at the beginning of their yoga teacher path as a first foundational yoga teacher education. The 200-hour certificate will qualify you to register with Yoga Alliance as a teacher.

Here you will have more time to dive deep into the yin side of yoga as well as explore general anatomy and yoga humanities. There is also much more opportunity to actively practice teaching yourself to gain teaching experience to develop your own style of teaching.

The 100-hour course is designed for people who have already done a general foundational yoga education course before and have teaching experience (or simply do not have the time to go for the full program right away). With this program, you will receive a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education certificate, but it does not qualify for a first registration with them as a yoga teacher. Some of these hours can be collected to work towards to your advanced 300-hour Yoga Alliance certification with us.

In any case, even for experienced teachers, there is a lot of value in going for the longer program as a profound yin yoga therapy immersion. There are so many layers to yin, the Daoist philosophy and the way we can benefit from the wisdom of the meridians and chi flow to ultimately transform a yoga class into a mindful healing space, or offer more personal tailored sessions to our students when it comes to physical or energetic healing. So if you have the time and resources we recommend taking a deep dive into the yin side and going for the longer immersion.

However, both concepts are high-quality Yoga Alliance-affiliated programs with extracurricular Oriental medicine workshops, which allow you to learn all about yin yoga as a healing method and mindfulness practice. With successful completion of any one of the courses you also will receive the Yin Yoga Therapy™ Diploma.

In this case we offer you to attend only the in-person immersion for a 150 hours Yoga Alliance Continuing Education certificate and you can to skip the online modules with a 200 Euro discount. Use the code: NOONLINE when booking.

The 300-hour Yoga Alliance certification is an advanced level of training that builds upon the foundation established in the 200-hour certification. To pursue a 300-hour certification, a yoga teacher must first complete a foundational 200-hour certification program (with any foundational yoga teacher training school – RYS 200), and then complete 300 hours of additional training.

All of these additional 300 hours have to be with the same Yoga Alliance-affiliated institute (registered yoga school – RYS 300). We offer to collect these 300 hours with our different shorter modules where we then tailor your individual schedule according to your availability and interest and match it to fulfil the required curriculum.

After completion of (any) 200 and our 300-hour certification, you will be able to register as a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance RYT 500.

For the 700-hour Yin Yoga Therapy™ Professional Diploma join us for the modules of your choice and collect the hours towards the 700-hour certification. Included in these hours can be the Yin Yoga Therapy™ apprenticeship program, online courses and pathway mentorship as well as assisting in foundational training courses as a teacher trainee practicum.

The aim is to enable our graduates to offer their own yin yoga teacher training courses. The Body-Mind-Soul Center does usually not offer many shorter training courses, we encourage our graduates to offer these to spread the love for yin with their own courses with our support. We will provide our ambassadors with material, manuals, the association with The Body-Mind-Soul Center Yoga School and the right to our Yin Yoga Therapy™ label and certification, marketing and social media support as well as mentoring through the process etc. Or graduates might even want to join our team and start working with us as a teachers.

How to get there:

After the first foundational 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification (from any yoga school, but only if done with us they are included in the 700 hours) and the first two advanced modules with us, together we will craft an individual plan suited to the student’s preferences on how to complete the remaining hours.

We believe that yin yoga is best offered as a “trauma-aware” or “trauma-sensitive” practice by nature. In our training, we explore trauma awareness deeply; however, our approach is distinct from a “trauma-informed” one, which typically requires specific professional training and a structured framework for understanding and addressing trauma in ways that go beyond what is practical in a group yoga setting.

In our trauma-aware approach, we prioritize understanding how trauma impacts both physical and mental well-being, empowering our Yin Yoga Therapy graduates to tailor their sessions to create safe spaces and reduce the likelihood of re-traumatization. We also introduce our trainees to basic first-aid methods and a range of holistic tools to support individual healing.

This trauma-aware approach reflects a collaborative, holistic view of well-being, aligning body and mind and complementing cognitive or body-based therapies. Our emphasis on working alongside trauma and mental health specialists allows Yin Yoga Therapy graduates to understand their role within a broader support network, enhancing the therapeutic potential of yin yoga within a multidisciplinary framework.

Yin Yoga Therapy is our registered brand name, and the “therapy” in our name symbolizes a blend of physical, mental, and energetic healing principles that extends beyond the standard yin classes commonly offered.

Physically, Yin Yoga Therapy emphasizes long-held, passive stretches targeting connective tissue, improving flexibility, range of motion, and joint health while reducing tension and chronic inflammation. Research suggests that stretching supports tissue hydration, increases oxygenation, and aids in recovery by releasing stored tension and promoting rejuvenation. Our approach to physical therapy in yin yoga is adaptable and highly effective for injury recovery, making it suitable for individualized physical healing.

Mentally and energetically, Yin Yoga Therapy integrates practices such as the Dan Tien healing breath and mindfulness. Central to our approach is working with the Taoist wisdom of the Five Elements, chi flow and meridians, which bridges a physical somatic practice with cognitive and emotional awareness. Working with meridians is foundational to yin yoga but often overlooked; our training equips you with a deep understanding of each meridian, its related chi flow, and its energetic significance within every pose. Beyond individual poses, we focus on enabling our graduates to create intelligent sequences that address specific needs and selected themes, making this a truly comprehensive therapeutic approach.

Payment Plans

A 30% deposit is required to secure your spot. The remaining balance must be paid no later than 30 days before the start of the course. Until that date, we are happy to accommodate any payment plan that suits your needs.

However, paying in full right away has the added benefit of immediate access to the complete and extensive study materials, allowing you to be thoroughly prepared for your course.

Upon acceptance into the program, the applicant must pay a deposit of 30% to hold the applicant’s place in the program.

The deadline to pay in full is thirty (30) days prior to the start date of the training.

Read more about tuition & refund policy here >

Visiting the Maldives is the most simple, everyone gets a 30 day visa upon arrival.

For Bali, Indonesia, 80+ nationalities can get a Visa on Arrival at the airport for IDR 500,000 (ca USD 35). The Visa is valid for 30 days. Here is the official site for details: https://www.imigrasi.go.id/en/ and apply for your tourist visa here: https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/

Everyone visiting India requires a visa to enter the country beforehand. We recommend you to get a simple tourist visa, many countries are eligible for an online electronic short-term visa: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html or you might need to get in touch with your closest embassy directly. Each country has different visa rules and regulations – lately, the electronic visa is given is valid for 30 sometimes up to 90 days. Please find more details here http://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/ and inquire about the process, rules and regulations specific to your country.

For Sri Lanka, check out the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) beforehand with which you will be issued a 30-day short visit visa with entry – https://eta.gov.lk/slvisa/visainfo/center.jsp

Upon arrival in Thailand most travelers are issued a one-month tourist visa. Most passport holders can obtain a further 30 days at the local Koh Samui Immigration office. However please check with your own countries Thai embassy for specifics, as countries do differ – https://www.thaievisa.go.th

After complete payment of the course, we will send you a link to our very own book ‘The Yin Healing Method’ and workbook ‘The Power of Chi – Move Your Energy with Yin Yoga’ by the creator of Yin Yoga Therapy™ Alexandra Denkinger M.D.(Acu).

So, if you are interested in receiving those consider paying early (no worries, the refund policy is the same), they are very extensive and cover everything you need to know about yin yoga and more.

As a general yin foundation, we recommend: ‘The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga’ by Bernie Clark, get in touch via email and we are happy to send you our list of book recommendations.

Upon full payment (the latest due one month before the course starts), you’ll receive digital access to our comprehensive, high-quality study material. These digital books are all you’ll need for the course.

We no longer provide printed copies, as we’ve encountered too many instances where materials were left behind after training—something we strive to avoid for sustainability reasons.

We encourage you to print the materials yourself if you prefer, but please keep in mind they are quite extensive. Many participants find it equally effective to use the electronic version. While we won’t be using these materials frequently during lectures, we’ll refer to specific chapters or pages for review or preparation for upcoming lessons.

By giving you the choice to print or go paperless, we ensure that printed copies are valued and you made sure they fit in your luggage while helping us reduce unnecessary paper waste.

Let’s work together toward a more sustainable world.