20 Day 200-Hour Hybrid Bodywork and Yin Yoga Therapy Teacher Training in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Certifications

Students who complete the training are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®) and will receive a Yin Yoga Therapy Training diploma as a component of Alexandra Denkinger, M.D.(ACU) physical therapy practice, licensed and registered as a Doctor of Medicine in Acupuncture M.D. (ACU) by the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine.

How the training works

The focus is on a three-week immersion in Bali, complemented by a 40-hour self-paced online training. You can start the online training anytime after completing the sign-up, and you will have one year to go through the material at your own pace (the online material is independent for the in-person content). The Yin Yoga Therapy team is always available for active support throughout this process. You will receive access to the video material after full payment.

Daily schedule

Here is an example day, but they adjust to sunrise or sunset, temperature, or mosquito time, and it might change a bit from day to day depending on sunset or sunrise times and the 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 and afternoon break
• 15:30 - 17:30 Yin yoga immersion
• 17:45 - 18:45 Sunset circle
• Occasional optional evening activities

Course information

Why Yin yoga and bodywork belong together

For yoga practitioners, receiving or offering bodywork can significantly support the release of deep physical tension and energetic blockages. It offers a powerful way to access the subtle body, encouraging deeper relaxation, embodied awareness, and therapeutic integration through mindfully long-held poses. For yoga teachers, learning to incorporate assisted stretches and touch-based techniques opens a whole new way of seeing and sensing the body. It refines your ability to read patterns, sequence with intention, and hold space more effectively. Bodywork adds a depth of presence and precision to your teaching that elevates the student experience - both physically and energetically.

When the body is met with presence and compassionate touch, it remembers how to heal

Contemporary neuroscience and somatic psychology now affirm what ancient traditions have long embodied: you do not learn to self-regulate in isolation - you learn and heal through connection. Long before self-regulation becomes possible, it is co-regulation, the calming presence of another, that teaches the nervous system how to feel safe, held, and at ease. This is not just theory. Studies in polyvagal theory, attachment science, and trauma recovery show that your capacity to soothe yourself emerges through thousands of moments of being soothed - through voice, gaze, and especially touch.

While the Yin yoga provides the structural and energetic framework of this journey, the bodywork component stands out in cultivating the art of safe touch, presence, and hands-on support that deeply enhances the student’s experience. You will graduate fully prepared to guide Yin yoga classes enriched with skillful bodywork, or to offer stand-alone sessions of intuitive touch and assisted Yin, with confidence, sensitivity, and authenticity.

Three-week immersion: Integrating bodywork into Yin yoga

In this three-week course, you will explore all about Yin yoga and bodywork. Yin yoga is a powerful practice on its own, but combined with bodywork, it evolves into a deeply therapeutic journey - nurturing body, mind, and energy, and unlocking profound release, balance, and connection. To build a strong foundation for both your practice and teaching, they will guide you through the theory and practice of Yin yoga, interwoven with the ancient Taoist wisdom of working with the body’s chi flow. You will explore the main Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) meridians and discover different ways to activate and balance them through Yin yoga and bodywork.

Physical or emotional trauma, poor posture, injuries, or limiting belief systems can cause energy to become trapped or blocked, leading to physical and emotional imbalance. Through its diverse range of techniques and mindful adjustments, bodywork and Yin yoga help release these blockages, restoring the body’s natural equilibrium and fostering a state of harmony and well-being. With the gentle wisdom of Yin yoga and physiotherapy experts Jenny Stark and Tina Bärtle, you will be guided into the art of touch: assisted stretches, meridian-inspired massage, and supportive hands-on techniques that nurture both body and soul.

These practices will enrich your group classes and add depth to your one-on-one Yin yoga therapy sessions. You will learn to confidently guide a full 90-minute Yin yoga session that integrates touch-based techniques and bodywork. Each practice is designed to target specific areas of the body along the 12 major TCM meridian lines, each connected to vital organs and their related emotional patterns.

Learning bodywork

• Principles of safe touch - cultivating consent, clear communication, and energetic sensitivity.
• Somatic awareness and embodiment - developing presence and guiding students to attune to subtle inner sensations.
• Anatomy of Yin yoga for bodywork - fascia, joints, and individual skeletal variations.
• Palpation skills - learning how to feel and read tension, density, or energy in tissues through touch.
• Hands-on adjustments - supportive, non-invasive touch that deepens the student’s experience without force.
• Assisted Yin poses - using gentle traction, compression, and mindful support for deeper release.
• Thai yoga massage fundamentals - applying body weight, leverage, and mindful pressure in floor-based settings.
• Physiotherapeutic integration - drawing on rehabilitative and therapeutic approaches for safe application.
• MyoYin - integrating myofascial release techniques directly into Yin poses.
• Trigger point release - relieving common tension areas through targeted manual or self-massage techniques.
• Fascia-focused stretching - refining methods to hydrate, mobilize, and release connective tissue.
• Neuromuscular release - softening chronic holding patterns and resetting muscle tone.
• Breathwork and touch synergy - coordinating breath and touch to deepen release and support nervous system regulation.
• Energetic awareness - infusing touch with Reiki-inspired presence and subtle energy connection.
• Intuitive touch development - refining the art of sensing and responding to what is needed beyond fixed techniques.
• Trauma-sensitive bodywork - fostering safe spaces, preventing retraumatization, and recognizing signs of overwhelm.
• Nervous system regulation - bodywork approaches to activate the parasympathetic state and support resilience.
• Sequencing bodywork in Yin classes - designing when and how to integrate touch and adjustments without disrupting the meditative flow.
• Self-care for the teacher - protecting your own body, energy, and boundaries while offering support.
• Ethics and professional boundaries - establishing clear guidelines for safe, respectful, and empowering practice.

Yin yoga therapy

While Yin yoga is a wonderful practice by itself, in combination with bodywork, you can transform the practice into a truly healing experience. For a solid foundation for your yin practice and teaching, you will be introduced to the principles and components, following the foundations laid out originally by Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, and Bernie Clark. The consideration of an individual skeletal structure, functional alignment, and working with ‘yin tissue’ to not only stretch but also strengthen them requires quite some ‘know-how’ to dive into. You will learn how to address the physical benefits, safe ways of guiding into poses, and intelligent sequencing principles according to anatomical requirements and energetic aspects.

In Yin yoga, you work with the ancient healing wisdom of the Taoist philosophy, the meridians, and the chi flow in the body. You will get to know all the main meridians and different ways to activate and address them in the yin yoga practice. Mindfulness principles provide insight and guidance for the practice. Learn how to integrate mindfulness, connecting your body to a Zen state of mind to create the space to allow energetic and physical healing to take place. This powerful skillset will elevate your teaching, offering students a profoundly embodied experience. It consistently receives outstanding feedback and fosters student loyalty, thanks to the nervous system co-regulation that naturally arises from this practice - a much-needed gift in today’s world.

Transforming a yoga class into a true healing experience requires both skill and practice. That is why you will have plenty of opportunities to refine your approach, practice teaching, and cultivate confidence. You will learn how to weave the meditative depth of Yin Yoga together with the healing power of therapeutic touch and mindful bodywork, creating a holistic path to embodied wellness and soulful connection.

40 hours of self-paced online course

To complete a solid foundation for your general 200-hour certification and a deep understanding of yoga in all its variations, they offer you an additional 40-hour self-paced online video course. Of these 40 hours, 20 hours are dedicated to anatomy and physiology, and 20 hours will focus on general yoga humanities. The anatomy 20-hour online course will look into the anatomy of the muscular and skeletal body, as well as the human physiology, like the nervous system, including ‘fight, flight, freeze’ stress response, vagal theory, overall mind-body connection, cardiovascular or circulatory, endocrine, digestive systems, and the respiratory system, as they relate to yoga practice.

In the yoga humanities 20-hour online course, you share details about general yoga history, philosophy, and foundations like the eight limbs and Patanjali’s yoga sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. You will get to know about the Chakras, Koshas, Prana Vaayus, Kleshas, and more. Both these video courses are independent of the in-person module; you can start anytime after completing the sign-up, and you will have one year to go through the material at your own pace.

The team is always available for active support throughout this process. Whether you seek personal transformation, professional growth, or a deeper understanding of mind-body healing, this training is your gateway to a more balanced, aligned, and healthy life. Join them and embark on this journey of wisdom, healing, and personal evolution.

Curriculum

1. Foundation, definition, and theory of Yin Yoga Therapy™

• Physical
• Energetic
• Soul and mind

2. Yin yoga practice

• 35 Yin yoga poses and applied bodywork
• Functional and energetic aspects of the poses
• Propping principles
• Intelligent sequencing

3. Foundations of bodywork

• Principles of safe, conscious, trauma-sensitive touch
• Ethics, consent, and professional boundaries

4. Integrative bodywork

• Somatic awareness and embodiment
• Hands-on adjustments
• Assisted deep tissue release in Yin poses
• Thai yoga massage fundamentals
• MyoYin: integrating myofascial release techniques into Yin poses
• Trigger points for common tension areas
• Fascia-focused stretch
• Neuromuscular Release
• Physiotherapeutic integration
• Target areas and meridian massage

5. Energetic and therapeutic approach of bodywork

• Energetic awareness and integration (Reiki-inspired touch)
• Breathwork and touch synergy
• Nervous system regulation
• Attuning to the energetic pathways and emotional resonance of the TCM meridians
• Using touch to deepen presence, connection, relaxation, and release

6. Bodywork in Yin yoga

• Skillful integration of bodywork into Yin yoga classes
• Designing bodywork sequences with physical, emotional, or meridian focus
• Savasana massage: head, face, feet, and hands
• Adapting techniques for individual and group settings
• Embodiment and teaching presence
• Teacher presence: balancing technique with compassion
• Reading bodies and responding intuitively
• Guiding students with awareness, safety, and care
• Self-care practices for the teacher

7. Taoist wisdom and chi flow in the body

• Introduction to Chi
• The wisdom of the Dan Tiens and internal alchemy
• 12 primary traditional TCM Meridians
• The three different ways to activate chi flow in Yin poses
• The transformative power of the rebound

8. Traditional yoga philosophy and foundations

• History and people
• Overview of different yoga styles
• The eight limbs of yoga
• Patanjali Yoga Sutras
• Pranayama
• Chakras, Koshas, Prana Vaayus, Kleshas
• Mudras and Mantras
• Spiritual concepts

9. Mindfulness

• Mindfulness history
• Concept and practice
• Neuroplasticity
• Taoist meditation practices

10. Yoga anatomy and functional approach to yoga

• Muscular and skeletal system
• Biomechanical principles, joints, and their movements
• Physiology such as nervous system, cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive systems, and respiratory system as they relate to the practice
• Polyvagal theory
• Aesthetic vs. functional alignment
• Compression vs. tension
• Understanding fascia and tensegrity
• Anatomical considerations for Yin and bodywork

11. Professional development

• Class management and general professionalism
• Credentialing process with Yoga Alliance
• Ethical guidelines for a Yin yoga teacher and bodyworker
• Responsibility, equity, and accountability
• Scope of practice and code of conduct

12. The art of teaching

• Intention, expression, context, or tools
• The art of guiding a Yin class incorporating bodywork
• Embodied practical experience or peer teaching practicum

13. Daily practice

• Morning class of dynamic yang styles of yoga for the energy balance
• Bodywork skills or massage techniques in sequence
• Yin yoga immersions

14. Sunset or sunrise circles

• Different active meditations
• Connective communication games and sharing circles
• Kirtan and cacao ceremony