200-Hour YOga Teacher Training at yoga Soup

Deepen your practice and inspire others.

Deepen your practice and inspire others.

APPLY NOW

“You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become”

-Bhagavad Gita

Earn your 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training & Certification

WITH Dora Chan and Jazmin Ment + Guest Teachers Cynthia Abulafia, Luca Cupery, & Issac Osborn

This Yoga Alliance-accredited 200-hour training offers a rich study of yoga philosophy & practice including an in-depth survey of the foundational principles of yoga, including the philosophies, key texts, ethics, science of the nervous system and methods of teaching asana.


You’ll learn a hands-on approach to how the body moves safely with postures supported by breath, curiosity, and approaches appropriate for every body and skill level. Rather than memorizing set sequences, you’ll learn the subtlety of sequencing that is creative, inspiring, safe, and accessible.

This curriculum exceeds the Yoga Alliance Standards. you will learn and experience:

  • Embodied Anatomy & The Energetic Body – Understand how anatomy, physiology, and the subtle body work together to create a deeper, more holistic yoga practice.

  • The Art of Teaching & Sequencing – Learn to design safe, inspiring classes and workshops that go beyond memorization to creative, accessible sequencing.

  • Yoga Philosophy – Explore the roots of yoga through sacred texts integrating ancient wisdom into modern practice.

  • Trauma-Informed Yoga & Safe Spaces – Discover how to create inclusive, healing environments that support both personal and student transformation.

  • Meditation, Breathwork & Energetics – Learn to guide meditation and pranayama practices while deepening your understanding of the chakras and energetic body.

  • Building a Yoga Career & Community – Gain practical tools to teach in public and private spaces, develop a sustainable yoga business, and connect with a lifelong community of fellow yogis.

  • Historical Context – Explore the rich history and sacred texts that inform modern yoga.

  • Physiology & Biomechanics – Unpack the intricacies of the nervous system & the Polyvagal Theory- and gain a better understanding of how the body works,

  • Ethics, Equity & Accountability in Yoga - Learn to teach with integrity and take responsibility for the space you create, honoring all bodies and backgrounds.


    It is recommended that you have had at least 6 months of regular practice prior to the start of the course.

APPLY NOW

Student Testimonial

This training has been a truly transformative experience. It gave me a strong foundation in both the practice and philosophy of yoga, while also helping me grow the confidence to teach authentically. The balance of in-person and online learning made it accessible yet deeply engaging, and the supportive environment allowed me to overcome challenges, like studying in a second language, with encouragement and care. Most of all, it showed me that yoga is not just about poses, but about cultivating awareness, compassion, and connection in everyday life.

-Ines Guarriello. 2025 Student-

AN Embodied approach to teaching yoga

Yoga is more than just a practice—it’s a path to self-discovery, deep connection and community. Our 200-hour Yoga Alliance–accredited teacher training is designed to meet you exactly where you are—whether you’re ready to deepen your personal practice, step confidently into the role of a teacher, or integrate yoga more meaningfully into your life, you will be held in a loving container of over 65 years of combined teaching experience. 


Jazmin Ment and Dora Chan, founders of The Stillness Movement, have created this training on the shared vision of yoga as a means to holistic healing—honoring the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of well-being. We believe in the power of stillness as a catalyst for profound change.


This is more than a certification—it’s a journey into self-discovery, inner peace, and purposeful leadership. Join us and become part of a community devoted to living, teaching, and embodying the transformative power of yoga.

Why This 200-Hour Training
is Different:

A Unique Fusion of Ancient Wisdom & Modern Science

We integrate classical yoga philosophy and the history of modern day yoga with trauma-informed practices and tools for nervous system resilience so you don’t just practice yoga—you live it.


More Than a Certification - A Journey of Growth

This training isn’t just about learning poses; it’s about stepping into a new way of being, expanding your awareness, and embodying the wisdom of yoga in your daily life.


A Supportive Community & Experienced Mentors

With highly skilled E-RYT 500 lead teachers, you’ll receive hands-on guidance, mentorship, and a built-in network of like-minded community who will support you long after the training ends.


Designed for Every Body & Every Background

You don’t need to be an advanced practitioner to join. Whether you want to teach or to deepen your personal practice, you’ll learn how to apply yoga in a way that is safe, inspiring, and adaptable for all bodies and skill levels.

Dear Student of Yoga,

Welcome to our 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training—an embodied, experiential immersion into the heart of yoga.


This training is rooted in embodied practice, nervous system regulation, and the power of community. You won’t just learn how to teach—you’ll understand how and why yoga works. Through in-depth study of asana and alignment, pranayama, meditation, and sacred texts like the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, you’ll embody the wisdom of the practice.


Grounded in both science and lineage, this journey weaves functional movement, subtle body awareness, and philosophy into an integrated whole. You’ll develop the confidence and clarity to guide others safely, skillfully, and compassionately—creating accessible, inclusive, and deeply meaningful classes.


More than a certification, this training is an invitation to live your yoga—to act with intention, stay centered in complexity, and let your practice ripple beyond the mat.


It is with joy and open hearts that we welcome you.


With love,

Dora, Jazmin, Luca, & Cynthia

Student Testimonial

I discovered a deep understanding of my body (proprioception) that has become more of a personal exploration and now a passion for my career. When you start the training, you may think you know where it's going to lead you — instead, it will lead you to where you have subconsciously been wishing to go and were meant to be.

-Erin Donohue, 2025 Student-

Learn to teach with Confidence

You'll leave this training prepared to teach — with practical skills in sequencing, class planning, and the business of yoga. Everything you need to share your passion in a skillful, grounded way.


If you feel called to deepen your practice and explore what yoga can offer beyond the mat, we invite you to join us.

APPLY NOW

Detailed Schedule and Class times

Fall 2026 Session: October 14 - December 20

All days/times are in-person and online hybrid

Weekly schedule

Wednesdays

5:30-7:30 PM

Mentorship

Fridays

2:00-5:00 PM

Lecture + Discussion

Saturday

9:00 - 12:00 PM Lecture

12:00 - 1:30 PM Break

1:30 - 6:30 PM Asana, Sequencing, Workshopping

Sunday

9:00- 12:00 PM Lecture

12:00 - 2:15 PM Break

2:15 - 6:30 PM Asana + Practicum

Session 1

Friday - Sundays: Oct 16-18, 23-25

Wednesdays: Oct 14, 21, 28

  • Meditation, Chanting, Mantras

  • History of the term “yoga,” the Om

  • Anatomy, Biomechanics and Physiology Principles

  • Asana, Workshopping Postures and Hands on Assists

  • Intro to Trauma-Informed Yoga

  • The Nervous System and Polyvagal Theory

  • Natural Breathing and Pranayama

  • The Yogic Body: Koshas, Nadis, Prana Vayus

  • Classical Yoga and the Yoga Sutra

  • The Full Arc of Yoga Philosophy

  • Practice Teaching

Session 2

Friday - Sundays: November 6-8, 13-15, 20-22

Wednesdays: Nov 11, 18

  • Physiology of Breathing

  • Meditation, Chanting and Pranayama

  • Ethics of the Yoga

  • Asana, Workshopping Postures, Hands on Assists

  • Anatomy, and Biomechanics

  • The Chakras

  • The Bhagavad Gita: Politics and Allegories

  • Trauma and the Nervous System

  • Accountability, Appropriation, and the Politics of Yoga

  • The Full Arc of Yoga Philosophy

  • Practice Teaching

Session 3

Friday - Sundays: December 4-6, 11-13, 18-20

Wednesdays: Dec 2, 9, 16

  • Meditation, Chanting, Pranayama, Bandhas

  • The Yogic Body

  • Introduction to Tantra (Kashmiri Shaivism)

  • Anatomy and Biomechanics

  • Asana, Workshopping Postures, Hands on Assists

  • The Yoga Professional

  • Business of Yoga: Marketing, Promotion, Private Teaching

  • The Full Arc of Yoga Philosophy

  • Practice Teaching and Final Assessment

Required Reading

  • Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar

  • Yoga Body by Mark Singleton

  • When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

  • Yoga Anatomy (third edition) by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

  • Any translation of The Bhagavad Gita

  • The Yoga Sutras by Edwin Bryant

MEET YOUR TEACHERS

Jazmin Ment

E-RYT 500, YACEP

Asana and Alignment

Jazmin maintains respect and amazement for the innate wisdom of the body and the transcendent experience of being more and more embodied. Expressed by her commitment to her own practice and living the principles of yoga, she shares her teaching from an integrated understanding of the postures and the practice.


She has practiced Iyengar and other forms of yoga since she was a little girl and still considers herself a student first and always. With thousands of hours of study and 500+ accredited teacher training hours, her understanding of yoga, meditation, the human body, and well-being is extensive and heartfelt. She initially studied to become a yoga teacher with Ganga White and Tracy Rich. She then completed her 300-hour advanced teacher training with world-renowned master teachers Colleen Saidman Yee and Rodney Yee. She has more recently taken a mentor role as a part of their teacher trainings. Jazmin considers Rodney and Colleen her primary teachers and has studied with them since she was a teenager.

Jazmin incorporates her deep-rooted background in Iyengar yoga with the fluid evolution of Vinyasa yoga and its older sister, Ashtanga yoga. Her holistic approach to yoga opens a welcoming door (hopefully with a little humor) into self-awareness and relationship with body, mind and Spirit. She believes it is in and through the body and life itself that we practice Yoga, that we realize our humanness, ours and each other’s. And that through the method of Yoga that we un-do patterns of fear and separateness, ‘sit with it’, and relax into our truest Self, a unique part of the whole. Ultimately, Jazmin believes in the power of Yoga to transform our world and uncover joy, breath by breath, through deep listening and compassion, from the inside-out.


Her approach is rooted in postural alignment, therapeutic benefits and application, pranayama (breath), and meditation as a means to inner and outer peace. The thing she continues to find is that the deeper she dives, the more and more there is to discover and the practice is ever-giving. It is with great commitment that she lives and teaches from a place of deep embodied understanding. It is with great joy and passion that Jazmin shares her lineage of yoga with fellow students and teachers.

Meet Dora

Meet Jazmin

Meet Cynthia

Meet Luca

MEET YOUR TEACHERS

Cynthia Abulafia

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEPSubtle Body, Sacred Texts, Pranayama, Meditation

It is through investigation and attention to detail that the experience of the body, breath, and heart work together in wholeness. Cynthia loves to explore the body and the yoga movements as a map to reverence.


In addition to teaching yoga inspired postures, she regularly teaches courses in yoga philosophy, breath work and breathing mechanics, the subtle or energetic body/ kundalini awakening and management, human anatomy for yoga, key sacred texts of yoga and non-dual Tantra, and the ethics of spiritual inquiry.


She started practicing yoga as a pre-teen with her mother and sister, and began teaching in 2005 while still in college.


She has taught at Yoga Soup since 2007 and was instrumental in the creation and leadership of Yoga Soup’s 200 and 300 Hour Teacher Trainings. Cynthia currently co-leads the 300 hour YTT, where she focuses on the sacred texts of yoga and Tantra and the energetic body.


Her background is in Yoga Therapy, and she is a certified Yoga Therapist, has certifications in Pilates and Thai Yoga, holds a Masters degree in Nutrition, and is currently studying Sanskrit in a second Masters program in Yogic Studies.


Cynthia has spent much of her life studying yoga and Tantra, including Yoga Therapy, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa Krama with Srivatsa Ramaswami, modern postural yoga, blended with movement science modalities, and has studied deeply with many beloved meditation, Advaita, non-dual Tantra, kundalini-Shakti, and self-inquiry teachers, most notably Rupert Spira, the late Bonnie Greenwell, the late Sally Kempton, Sravana Borkataky-Varma, and Ben Williams.

Dora Chan

E-RYT 500, certified iRest® Teacher, Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra

Dora has a fascination with the workings of the human body and mind, especially how stress, anxiety, chronic pain and trauma play a role in our health and well-being. With a Bachelor in Biotechnology and a PhD in Immunology, Dora has a deep appreciation of western scientific methods. However, she also sees the limitation of the western approach to understanding ourselves.


On her quest to seek a deeper understanding of the human body, mind, and in life itself, Dora began training in various eastern modalities. Dora is an experienced Yoga teacher, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Certified iRest® Yoga Nidra Meditation teacher, Level 1 Warriors at Ease teacher, Holistic Nutritionist, Reiki Master teacher, and Yoga Therapist in training.

Dora is passionate about bridging western knowledge and eastern wisdom practices to support people in finding healing in body, mind and spirit. She is especially interested in understanding how stress affects the nervous system and how yoga can be used powerfully to support our physical and mental health.


Many people approach life and their yoga practice as two separate things. Dora believes that life and yoga are in fact not separate. Based on the Tantric teachings of Kashmiri Shaivism, Dora’s approach is about welcoming and integrating all aspects of ourselves, which may show up in various ways in our daily lives. Yoga helps us live life in full awareness so that we continue to find new opportunities for integration and returning to wholeness.


Dora invites you to deep self inquiry by challenging your belief system and what you perceive to be true about yourself. With love, gentleness, and non-judgment, she invites you to break free from conditioned beliefs and to expand your mind and heart for limitless growth.

Jazmin Ment

E-RYT 500, Asana and Alignment

Jazmin maintains respect and amazement for the innate wisdom of the body and the transcendent experience of being more and more embodied. Expressed by her commitment to her own practice and living the principles of yoga, she shares her teaching from an integrated understanding of the postures and the practice.


She has practiced Iyengar and other forms of yoga since she was a little girl and still considers herself a student first and always. With thousands of hours of study and 500+ accredited teacher training hours, her understanding of yoga, meditation, the human body, and well-being is extensive and heartfelt. She initially studied to become a yoga teacher with Ganga White and Tracy Rich. She then completed her 300-hour advanced teacher training with world-renowned master teachers Colleen Saidman Yee and Rodney Yee. She has more recently taken a mentor role as a part of their teacher trainings. Jazmin considers Rodney and Colleen her primary teachers and has studied with them since she was a teenager.


Jazmin incorporates her deep-rooted background in Iyengar yoga with the fluid evolution of Vinyasa yoga and its older sister, Ashtanga yoga. Her holistic approach to yoga opens a welcoming door (hopefully with a little humor) into self-awareness and relationship with body, mind and Spirit. She believes it is in and through the body and life itself that we practice Yoga, that we realize our humanness, ours and each other’s. And that through the method of Yoga that we un-do patterns of fear and separateness, ‘sit with it’, and relax into our truest Self, a unique part of the whole. Ultimately, Jazmin believes in the power of Yoga to transform our world and uncover joy, breath by breath, through deep listening and compassion, from the inside-out.


Her approach is rooted in postural alignment, therapeutic benefits and application, pranayama (breath), and meditation as a means to inner and outer peace. The thing she continues to find is that the deeper she dives, the more and more there is to discover and the practice is ever-giving. It is with great commitment that she lives and teaches from a place of deep embodied understanding. It is with great joy and passion that Jazmin shares her lineage of yoga with fellow students and teachers.

Luca cupery

E-RYT 200

Practicum, Teaching Methodology & Ethics

Luca has devoted herself to exploring and sharing transformational practices since 1999, when she first began studying yoga. Her journey led her to Mount Madonna Center, where she met foundational teachers Adyashanti and Baba Hari Dass, and then to India for a year of intensive study in yoga philosophy and Iyengar and Ashtanga traditions.


Her path has been shaped by influential teachers including Pankaj Sharma, Prem Baba, Erich Schiffmann, Eddie Ellner, Mooji, Djuna Devereaux, and the current community of teachers at Yoga Soup.


Committed to daily practice and understanding the body's mechanics, Luca apprenticed at Bob Cooley's Resistance Flexibility and Strength Training studio. This training deepened her focus on fascia—engaging and strengthening while elongating—which has become integral to her teaching approach and helps students understand how the body moves and heals.


For over seven years, she has managed Yoga Soup, integrating this leadership role into her practice and deepening her understanding of yoga as both personal journey and community experience.


Luca's approach transcends physical practice. She believes every body possesses innate wisdom and creates learning environments characterized by curiosity, compassion, and conscious breathing—spaces where students can explore profound connections within themselves.


Her teachings invite students to discover that yoga extends far beyond physical postures, representing a comprehensive technology for accessing inner wisdom, presence, and truth. She guides students toward meaningful change and self-reflection, respecting each person's unique path while sharing the wisdom and embodiment practices she has engaged with for more than two decades.

More Than a Studio

A Sanctuary for Growth & Transformation

Yoga Soup is a fluid, organic idea that is constantly reshaping itself. As it grows it will no doubt assume different forms but it’s hard to imagine its intention much changing: to provide a safe, vibrant, serious and light-hearted space for self-observation and transformation to occur.


At Yoga Soup, we offer a space for inquiry, growth and self-study through a wide variety of offerings. We walk in the door from frantically-lived lives – or so they seem at least in our heads. We are running around trying to attain, to achieve, to maintain, to endure... And then we enter a space whose very heartbeat pauses us to remember: “There is nothing wrong anymore.” You don't have to strive or grasp or hold. You are the thing you’re reaching for. You’ve arrived.

About our Teacher training

For over 19 years, our Santa Barbara yoga studio has been a hub for connection, growth, and lifelong learning. Just minutes from one of the Central Coast’s most beloved beaches in Santa Barbara, you’ll be part of a vibrant yoga community that welcomes both locals and visitors seeking inspiration and renewal with a side of stunning scenery.


Since 2018, our in-house yoga teacher training has empowered students with deep knowledge and authentic practice. Led by three highly experienced instructors, and expert guest teachers, this program is designed to elevate your personal practice and the foundation for those intending to become professional teachers.

Tuition and Details

Fall 2026 Session

October 14th - December 20th 2026

Available in-person or via live-stream with full community experience

Tuition covers the cost of the 200-hour
training and 40 in-studio classes.

Early Bird Tuition

$2,950

APPLY NOW

Deposit Due by Sept 01, 2026

For early bird tuition.

Regular Tuition $3,250

Registration deadline October 7, 2026

Payment Plans are available.

A completed application and $500 deposit will secure your spot in the program. We have a limited number of scholarship opportunities, including specifically for our BIPOC community. Please fill out the scholarship application if you are interested in applying.

Requirements for Certification

Attend all scheduled classes and be on time

Attend all scheduled classes

and be on time

Complete all assignments and required readings

Complete all assignments

and required readings

Practice teach minimum of 15 hours

Practice teach minimum

required hours

Take 30 public classes with lead teachers and faculty, observe 8 public classes with lead teachers

Complete a final review and teach a 20 minute assigned sequence

Interested in obtaining an RYT 500 credential?

If you would like to complete all 500 hours with us, you can enroll in both our 200 and 300 hour programs and receive $500 off the combined tuition. Simply let us know your preference on the application.

For questions about the training or registration, contact Yoga Soup:
trainings@yogasoup.com