300 HOUR ADVANCED YOGA CERTIFICATION

NEW SESSION!
Begins April 12, 2025
Ends March 22, 2026
Lila Yoga Studio, SLC

This Tantric-based training is much more than a skills lab. It will challenge you in your own practice to tap into the source power of yoga, as you immerse yourself in teachings that lead to healing, transformation and even transcendence. Combining the support of a lineage with Tantric techniques, alignment-based asana, tools of yoga therapy, wisdom of ayurveda, practices of self-reflection, mantra and meditation - this training offers a path to become a truly masterful teacher and yogi.

  • Designed for yoga teachers with relentless curiosity, who want to go beyond the basics to understand how and why yoga works, who want to grow their capacity for intelligent sequencing, adjustment, and spiritual guidance

  • Appropriate for anyone - teacher or layperson - who is called to the yogic path and wants to learn more, both broadly and deeply

  • For those who already have a 200 hr RYT certificate, this is a bridge program that leads one to be eligible for a 500 hour RYT certificate

  • Anchored in a Sri Vidya lineage of the Himalayan Masters, this course integrates ancient wisdom with contemporary knowledge

  • Influenced by yoga therapy to include therapeutic applications of yoga

  • This systematic approach to yoga is brilliant! The time-tested techniques really work. They were developed to bring about targeted change that affects us on all levels - physical/emotional healing, empowerment, spiritual growth

  • Students will learn to skillfully integrate many tools - asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, ayurveda, lifestyle, self-reflection - in order to address one’s specific and unique needs. Learn to work holistically with body and mind, heart and soul

  • Connects you into a beautiful community of like-minded seekers!

This is no ordinary training. It will challenge you to transform in body, mind and spirit - a totally unique and priceless gem here in Salt Lake, offered with expert mentorship and ongoing support.

2025-2026 SCHEDULE: here


WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?

  • Alignment-based asana

  • Grounded in an authentic living lineage of the Himalayan Masters

  • Informed by Yoga Therapy and steeped in Ayurvedic principles

  • Integrates ancient and contemporary approaches to yoga practice

  • Time-tested approach to integrating asana with pranayama, meditation, mantra, self-reflection, ayurveda and lifestyle

  • Extensive coaching in hands-on assisting and adjusting. Expert mentoring and support available throughout

  • Intimate group setting to cultivate sangha (community!)

  • Advanced training designed for yoga teachers and lay people alike, built around refining and deepening one’s personal practice

  • Program is divided into distinct courses spread out over 11 months, so you can integrate and apply the learning before moving on to the next unit

  • Sri Vidya Tantric world view and philosophy teaches us how to practice for inner transformation, which then spills back into your outer life, giving greater joy and capacity in the world.

  • Practical assignments given to systematically grow your understanding, mastery and application of yogic tools in the classroom or on the mat

  • Directed by Mary Johnston-Coursey, with extensive and ongoing training, supported by over 45 years teaching experience. Mary is E-RYT 500, certified in yoga therapy through IAYT, certified in Vishoka meditation, and has an MFA in dance. Established in the Sri Vidya lineage of the Himalayan Tradition, she is one of a handful of teachers qualified to offer this unique synthesis of teachings - a rarity in these days of popular yoga culture in the West  

  • Emphasis is on embodied learning - learning with the heart, not just the head

  • Offered almost entirely in-person, with the option for Livestream and recordings as needed to accommodate individual limitations around scheduling and location


ATTENTION PARAYOGA® STUDENTS:

Students with ParaYoga® credit for previous Parayoga® coursework may apply PY certificates to this certification. A plan for completing the program can be custom designed. Contact Mary to create a plan

PROGRAM COURSEWORK

Each course offered in the program is a stand-alone course, encompassing a unique body of material. The Energetics course lays the groundwork for the remaining courses.


FOUNDATION

Tantra involves the skillful use of energy. Tantric Yoga seeks to shape one’s energy through practice, and thus change bodies, minds, and lives. The Energetics course lays out the energetic systems of yoga as a whole, how they relate to the body in asana, and how to master sequencing to maximize the energetic benefits of practice.


PROGRESSION

These 3 courses elaborate on the systems presented in ENERGETICS, and can be done in any order. THERAPEUTICS 1 emphasizes physical alignment, TANTRA addresses the merging of asana with pranayama to create specific energetic effects, PRANA focuses on the many layers and methods of accessing prana through practice.


TAKE ANYTIME

These 3 courses take a deep dive into the inner journey of yoga. YOGA SUTRAS offers a study and practice of The Yoga Sutras that is simply revelatory, leading us into the art of self-inquiry and meditation. SONG OF THE SOUL draws upon self-study, meditation and Yoga Nidra, challenging us to articulate and claim our dharma by transforming the obstacles on our path. YOGA NIDRA reveals the priceless treasures that lie hidden within the practice of Yogic Sleep


CULMINATION

These final courses offer an opportunity to integrate all the previous learning in the context of group classes, one-on-one sessions, and dedicated personal practice

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

  • All course hours must be attended and assignments satisfactorily completed in order to be eligible to receive certification. A limited number of absences will be allowed, with make-ups through video and written work. Beyond 16 hours of missed attendance, students must arrange and pay for private sessions as needed with the instructor to complete the material

  • Complete all reading and journal assignments satisfactorily

  • Complete and pass two quizzes - ENERGETICS and SUTRAS

  • Satisfactory performance teaching and adjusting in Practicum Assignments

  • Satisfactory design of practice plans as assigned

  • Satisfactorily present a case study research project or other independent project during THERAPEUTICS 2

  • Have designed and established a regular personal practice by the end of the training

  • Complete a 40-day practice of your design, approved by Mary

  • Apply for certification and pay $100 application fee (This fee is already included for those purchasing the entire training. For those purchasing individual courses, this is an additional fee due at the time they decide to complete their certification.)

Questions? Please contact me HERE

SCHEDULE
2025 - 2026

(NOTE - Schedule is subject to change. Most sessions will be held at Lila studio in person, with the option to Livestream. All sessions will be recorded except for Therapeutics 1, allowing the option to catch up for missed sessions by recording. Select sessions will be offered via Zoom.)

  • ENERGETICS: April 12-20 / Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30, Wednesday 9:00-1:00, Thursday (Zoom) 5:30-9:00

  • THERAPEUTICS 1: May 14-18 / Wednesday Zoom 6:00-9:00, Friday 5:30-9:00 pm, Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30 (Note: This course requires in-person attendance)

  • TANTRA: June 21-29 / Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30, Wednesday 9:00-1:00, Thursday (Zoom) 5:30-9:00

  • PRANA: July 26 - August 3 / Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30, Wednesday 9:00-1:00, Thursday (Zoom) 5:30-9:00

  • PRACTICUM: August 9, 10 + Individualized Schedule - summer into fall

  • SONG OF THE SOUL: August 26, 28, 30, 31 / Tuesday & Thursday 5:30-9:00, Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30 Live, + 3 hour follow-up session after 8-12 weeks, schedule TBD. NOTE: weekend sessions must be attended live or livestreamed

  • YOGA NIDRA: September 20-21, October 11-12, November 1-2 / Saturday 8:00-5:30 & Sunday 1:30-5:30

  • SUTRAS: January 10-18/ Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30, Wednesday 9:00-1:00, Thursday (Zoom) 5:30-9:00

  • THERAPEUTICS 2: March 18-22 / Wednesday 6:00-9:00 (Zoom), Friday 5:30-9:00 pm, Saturday & Sunday 8:00-5:30

PAYMENT OPTIONS

1) $4,300: Save $200-$500!
Pay in full for this year’s entire training by March 15, 2025
After March 15, full fee is $4,500
(Includes $100 administrative fee for certification)
$300 of this registration fee is non-refundable if you cancel anytime after April 5, 2025

300 HOUR CERTIFICATION - FULL FEE
$4,500.00

2) $4,600: Pay $1,150 over 4 payments: April 11 2025, July 11 2025, October 11 2025, January 11 2026 (Includes $100 administrative fee for certification).

300 HOUR CERTIFICATION - PAYMENT PLAN
$1,125.00

3) $4,800: Pay as you go per course. Each course fee is unique, dependent on number of hours. Current fees total $4,700, plus an additional administrative fee of $100 is required before certification. (To receive credit towards certification, all course assignments must be satisfactorily completed in a timely manner for each course.) To register, go to course title highlighted in orange.


CANCELLATIONS: Cancellations must be received in writing.

  • Full Program - Full Fee: A full refund will be offered if cancellation is requested 3 weeks in advance of start date. A half-refund will be honored if cancellation is requested between 1 and 3 weeks in advance. No refunds will be given after March 29, 2025 (1 week in advance).

  • Full Program - Payment Plan: If you commit to the payment plan and cancel for any reason during the training, you will be charged at the individual course rate for all courses partially or totally completed.

  • Individual Courses: A full refund will be offered if cancellation is requested 3 weeks in advance of start date. A half-refund will be honored if cancellation is requested between 1 and 3 weeks in advance. No refund will be given in the week leading to the start date.

APPLICATION

Contact Mary below for an application form or with any questions