A typical training day starts early. Most mornings open with a guided Hatha-based flow, followed by pranayama and meditation. Twice during the training, the morning starts instead with a Vedic fire ceremony at sunrise. After breakfast there's a short seva session, then journaling, a quick overview of the day, and a bit of practice teaching. That practice teaching begins in small ways from the very first morning. The main morning workshop follows, and each one focuses on a body area or theme: Buoyant Hips, Fluid Forward Folds, Elevated Backbends, Centered Spirals, Swaying Balance and Supple Shoulders.

Afternoons begin with lunch together and then a proper break. Most days it's a beach break, so you can swim, snorkel, nap or walk the Kona coast. Some days it's a home break at the ashram instead. Later in the afternoon there's a second session, usually pranayama, philosophy or another workshop, then evening meditation and a shared dinner. Sundays and Mondays follow the ashram's community programme, with live music, call-and-response chanting, meditation and an open Q&A with senior teachers. Sunday also brings a big brunch overlooking the ocean.

What sets this training apart from a typical 200-hour course is how it teaches sequencing. Instead of having you memorise a set series, the school teaches you to build your own classes from feeling and function. You use their own movement vocabulary and sequencing worksheets, then teach vinyasa sequences to the group and get feedback on the spot. By the last few days you're leading full classes and teaching pranayama to each other, with one-on-one feedback from the teachers before graduation.

The philosophy is taught from the school's own translation of the Yoga Sutras from Sanskrit, spread over several sessions. There are also sessions on the Upanishads, the Ham Sah breath mantra and the yogic view of the mind and heart. Some of the more devotional practices are part of the schedule: the Guru Gita chant, Durga and Shiva mantras, and a Tibetan Medicine Buddha meditation. You also make your own wrist mala from Rudraksha seeds grown at the ashram.

The training is led by Satyam and Abhaya Ehinger, a married couple who live at the ashram and run it together. Between them they have over 35 years of teacher-training experience and more than 150 certified trainings. The school has been accredited with Yoga Alliance since 2000 and has more than 400 five-star reviews there.

The setting is the Kona side of Hawaiʻi Island. The ashram sits on the ocean, and the group trips include snorkelling over the coral reef at Kaloko-Honokohau National Park, the Queen's Bath, a white-sand beach and the shops and cafés of historic Kailua-Kona. On the two free Saturdays you can head off on your own to the volcanoes, waterfalls and black-sand beaches.

What's included

- Accommodation at the oceanfront ashram for the length of the in-person training (rate depends on your room choice) - Three vegetarian meals a day (except lunch and dinner on days off) - Celebratory Sunday brunches and graduation lunch - Yoga Alliance registered 200-hour teacher training certificate - Daily guided yoga, pranayama and meditation - Daily workshops on functional movement, anatomy and sequencing - Practice teaching with one-on-one feedback - Yoga Sutras and lineage philosophy sessions - Vedic fire ceremonies at sunrise - Sunday and Monday night kirtan, meditation and satsang programmes - Rudraksha mala making workshop and materials - Konalani sequencing worksheets - Group excursions such as snorkelling and a Kailua-Kona beach and town trip (vary by session) - Instruction from resident Acharyas Satyam and Abhaya Ehinger

What's not included

- Flights to Hawaiʻi Island - Airport transfers (not mentioned as included) - Lunch and dinner on the two days off - Car rental and transport for independent exploring - Activities and entry fees on days off - Travel insurance - Personal expenses