Yoga Teacher Training tour

Arrive Grand-Popo. VBR transfer to beachfront retreat accommodation. Evening: welcome circle on the beach at sunset, group introductions, intention-setting session, orientation to Grand-Popo’s environment. Gentle 60-minute restorative practice to reset from travel.

Three full days of intensive foundation training: Yin and Yang asana methodology, relevant anatomy for yoga teachers, introduction to yogic philosophy and its African and global spiritual parallels. Two practicum sessions per day (90 min morning, 75 min evening). One VBR cultural introduction session (afternoon): the sacred traditions of Grand-Popo and the Vodoun coastal world.

A full VBR cultural day in Ouidah (45min transfer). The sacred grove, the Temple du Serpent, and an optional Vodoun spiritual cleansing ceremony arranged by Rosalie Linhoun. The day is framed as an exploration of sacred practice across cultures — what yoga and Vodoun share as systems of embodied spiritual practice.

Morning: guided plant medicine walk with a Fon herbalist — the coastal plant pharmacopoeia of the southern Benin Republic, including the medicinal plants used in traditional healing practice. The session includes a facilitated discussion of how healing practice and movement practice intersect across cultures. Afternoon: teaching practicum — participants begin leading 20-minute segments for the group.

Three more intensive days: intelligent sequencing for different bodies and purposes, hands-on adjustment methodology and ethics, trauma-informed teaching principles, business of yoga (for those setting up independent practice). Evening sessions on the beach under open sky. Guest session by a Beninese movement practitioner.

Final morning: full 90-minute group graduation practice led by participants in rotation. Certificate presentation: VBR Yoga Programme completion certificate. Farewell beach dinner with the full group. Transfer to Cotonou COO airport for evening departures.