Yin Yoga isn’t just stretching. It’s meditation in disguise.

Many of the yoga classes we experience in studios today are movement-focused, with little time dedicated to meditation. Yin offers another doorway.

When you stay in a pose for several minutes, you have time to actually notice what is happening within you, your breath, sensations, thoughts, emotions, resistance and the constant urge to move on to the next thing.

And instead of immediately distracting yourself or reacting, you practice staying, observing and allowing.

That is a skill we can take far beyond the mat.

October 11-18, I’m offering two ways to experience this practice during the same week @casafirefly in Cahuita, Costa Rica:

🌿 The Retreat — a week to slow down, find balance and experience deep rest. Mornings include Yang-style Hatha or Vinyasa to build heat and challenge the body, while afternoons turn inward with Yin + Yoga Nidra.

📚 The 50-hour Yin & Yoga Nidra Training — for yoga teachers who want to deepen their own practice and learn how to thoughtfully share these powerful practices with their students and communities.

Two paths. One week together.

And honestly, I think learning how to create space for stillness is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves, and our students.

Be honest: when you get uncomfortable or bored, do you stay with it… or reach for your phone? 👀

🌿 Retreat links in my bio.

#meditationpractice #yinyogatraining #yogacostarica #nervoussystemsupport #yogaretreats

If you expected spa music… you don’t know me very well. 😌🎤

#millenialmemes #millenialsbelike #shakethatmonkey #tooshort #naturereels

There are plenty of places to save money, but these are a few things I truly believe are worth investing in when choosing a yoga teacher training.

🌿 An intensive format. Immersion changes everything. Spending 2–3 weeks where your only focus is practicing, studying, reflecting, and growing allows you to absorb the teachings in a way that’s hard to replicate when life keeps pulling your attention elsewhere.

✈️ A destination training. Traveling takes you outside your comfort zone, introduces you to new cultures, and surrounds you with the kind of beauty and nature that naturally deepens your practice. It’s an education and a life experience all in one.

🧘🏽‍♀️ Experienced teachers. Look for teachers who have actually spent years teaching classes and leading trainings. Knowledge is important, but experience is what teaches you how to adapt, communicate, and guide real students with confidence.

🎙️ Lots of practice teaching. This is one of the biggest things I look for in a training. You should be practice teaching every single day. As I always say, practice makes improvement. The more you teach, the more confident you’ll become, and eventually the words stop feeling rehearsed and start feeling like your own.

🥗 High-quality, nourishing food. When you’re moving your body, studying for hours, and taking in so much new information every day, good food isn’t a luxury, it’s fuel. Being well nourished helps you show up with more energy, focus, and presence throughout the entire experience.

If you’re researching yoga teacher trainings, I’d encourage you to look beyond the price tag and ask yourself what kind of experience you’re actually investing in. The right training doesn’t just give you a certificate, it gives you the confidence, knowledge, and support to become the teacher you want to be.

What would you add to this list? 👇🏽

#yogateachertrainings #yogateachertraining #yogacostarica #yogateacherlife #yogateachers

If you don’t slow down enough, you might miss the rustling of the brown-mantled tamarins in the trees… 🌿🐒

But bring a banana to the party and suddenly everyone comes out for the big show. 🍌✨

Feeling so incredibly blessed that these sweet little monkeys come to hang out at my house here in the Peruvian Amazon. The magic is everywhere at @moksha.yoga.amazonica you just have to slow down enough to notice it. 🤍

#peruvianamazon #yogateacherlife #naturetherapy #monkeymagic #yogainnature

Nature maxing is one of the most underrated perks of an immersive yoga teacher training. 🌿

Sure, you’re there to study yoga, but you also get a few weeks of waking up surrounded by beauty, breathing fresh air, slowing all the way down, and letting nature become part of the practice.

It’s an education and a vacation. A chance to step away from the noise, be fully present, and remember what it feels like to actually have space to breathe.

This is why I’ll always love destination trainings. The setting changes you just as much as the syllabus.

#yogateachertrainings #educationvacation #yogainnature #naturemaxxing #yogaoffthemat

One of the greatest blessings of this path, of teaching yoga, leading trainings, and building community, has always been the people.

A former student and dear friend, Neil, sent me this passage from Embers by Richard Wagamese, and it landed in me so deeply:

“most of the time, she sends people. People are the miracles that emerge from the ripped and worn pattern of your life and help you stitch it back together.”

And wow… if that doesn’t feel like the truest thing.

So much of my life has been shaped by stepping into the unknown, moving countries, changing directions, taking leaps before I felt ready, doing things scared anyway. And when I look back, the greatest gifts were never the places themselves… it was always the people waiting there.

The ones who arrived at just the right time.
The ones who offered wisdom, friendship, love, perspective.
The ones who reminded me of who I was when life felt loud or uncertain.

This is one of the reasons I love what I do.

When I talk about community, about keeping these yoga spaces alive, this is what I mean. It’s these connections. These emails. These moments where someone reaches across time and distance to offer a piece of their heart, and somehow it’s exactly what you needed.

Neil, thank you for this reminder. Thank you for being one of those people in my life.

Sometimes I think the joy of being alive is found right there, in the courage to keep saying yes, to keep stepping beyond comfort, and in trusting that along the way, Creator will send exactly who you need.

And somehow… they always do.

📸: The ever talented @sierraphotography.cr

#yogateachertrainings #yogacommunity #yogacostarica #yinyogatraining #yogateachertrainer

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ABOUT MICHELLE

Michelle is an indigenous yoga teacher hailing from a small and remote Canadian town in British Columbia. She leads yoga teacher educational programs on an international scale, and has facilitated over 40 yoga teacher trainings. Michelle has enjoyed stints in Canada, the US, Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica.

Learn More About Michelle Here

Upcoming Trainings & Retreats

200 Hour

Yoga Teacher Training

September 19 - October 10, 2026

Anamaya Resort

Montezuma, Costa Rica

50 Hour Yin & Yoga Nidra Training

October 11 - 18, 2026

Casa Firefly

Cahuita, Costa Rica

8-Day Yin & Yoga Nidra Retreat

* Happens alongside the

Yin & Yoga Nidra Training*

October 11 - 18, 2026

Casa Firefly

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Rise Into 2027: A 5-Night New Year Retreat

December 28, 2026 -

January 2, 2027

Casa Firefly

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Fanny B.

I was fortunate enough to take my YTT with Michelle in the fall of 2023. Her natural talent for teaching, her humble and inclusive approach and her genuine care for others makes her an exceptional teacher and person. Few teachers manage to reach so many students while maintaining an authentic approach. I can't recommend booking a retreat or teacher training with her enough!