21-Day 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training near Peniche, Portugal

A three-week, Yoga Alliance–certified 200-hour yoga teacher training with School Yoga Institute, held at People Ocean Retreat in São Bernardino, a short walk from the beach on Portugal's Atlantic coast and about an hour north of Lisbon.

The training teaches Hatha and Vinyasa flow alongside the wider practice of yoga: meditation, pranayama, more than 75 postures and three sun salutation variations, yoga philosophy and the Yoga Sutras, anatomy and physiology including the energy body, Ayurveda and the yogic diet, and kriya cleansing practices. Teaching skills run through the whole course, with cueing, sequencing and hands-on adjustments, and you start teaching your peers from the first days.

SYI's approach, which it calls Mystical Yoga, also brings in chanting and kirtan, cacao, fire and moon ceremonies, and self-inquiry through the Peruvian Medicine Wheel, with an introduction to the ethics and business of teaching yoga.

Groups are capped at 20 students and the course is open to all levels; some yoga experience helps but isn't required. On completion you receive SYI's certificate and can register with Yoga Alliance as an RYT-200. You also get lifetime access to the online 200-hour training and SYI's online membership.

Days begin with meditation, breathwork and asana at 6:00 and close with an evening satsang. Three vegetarian meals a day are included (vegan on request), and between sessions there is time for the beach and the retreat's natural swimming pool.

What's included

- 200-hour yoga teacher training (Yoga Alliance certified) - Certificate of completion (register as RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance) - Accommodation at People Ocean Retreat in your chosen room type - Three vegetarian meals a day, plus snacks (vegan available) - Printed and PDF teaching materials - Cacao ceremony - Lifetime access to SYI's online 200-hour training - Access to SYI's online membership and discounts on further courses

What's not included

- Flights (nearest airport: Lisbon, about 1 hour away) - Airport transfers - Additional reading materials - Day-off excursions - Travel insurance