The shala is open to the air
Covered and open-air, set between the trees with the lake horizon in front of you. Morning practice happens in mountain air, with the volcanoes coming out of the cloud.
← All upcoming dates
200hr Yoga Teacher Training · Yoga Alliance RYS
Learn to teach where the land already teaches.
21 days in San Marcos La Laguna, ringed by three volcanoes. Yogic tradition woven with earth medicine, held at Arco Isis by a school celebrating ten years of teaching on this lake.
- January 5–25, 2027
- 21 days
- From $3,350
- room & meals included
- Every 5th day
- off, for integration
- 10th anniversary
- of teaching on this lake
This training also runs December 1–22, 2026 · March 5–25, 2027 · July 1–21, 2027. See the other dates
The school
You are choosing a school, and this one has taught here for ten years.
Sacred Paths Yoga is a Yoga Alliance Registered School that blends traditional yogic teachings and spirituality with earth medicine, so what you learn applies to how you live as much as to how you practise. San Marcos sits in what the Maya call an energy vortex, with three volcanoes and a village that has held ceremony for a very long time. The 21-day immersion draws on the wisdom of that land, on ancient Mayan culture, and on the deep inner knowing of the heart.
A Yoga Alliance Registered School
Sacred Paths is an RYS, so the 200hr you finish with is registered and recognised worldwide. You can teach on it anywhere, and studios know exactly what it means.
Ten years of teaching on this lake
The school has been running trainings and retreats on Lake Atitlán for a decade. The curriculum has been taught through many cohorts, and the faculty know how to carry a group of strangers through three weeks.
Yogic tradition woven with earth medicine
The training holds traditional yogic teaching and spirituality alongside the wisdom of the land and ancient Mayan culture. That combination is the reason the school teaches on this mountain, in a village that has held ceremony for a very long time.
Intensive, and paced to be survivable
Days are full from 6:30 until satsang, and every fifth day is off for rest and integration. Three weeks of that is what turns study into something your body actually holds.
What you study
The full 200 hours, and what each one is for.
The syllabus is the whole registered 200hr curriculum. It is taught in the order a body can take it: practice first thing, theory while you are awake, and teaching practice once you have something to teach.
Asana
Daily practice, and the postures taken apart so you understand what each one is doing before you ask anyone else to do it.
Pranayama & meditation
Breath and stillness practised every morning, and taught as techniques you can hand to a student.
Philosophy
The texts and the ideas the practice grew out of, brought back to how a person actually lives.
Anatomy
The physical body and the energetic body studied together, so alignment has a reason behind it.
Ayurveda
The sister science of yoga: constitution, season and food, and what it means for the people you will teach.
The art of teaching & the art of touch
Sequencing, cueing, voice and hands-on adjustment, then practice teaching in front of people who want you to be good at this.
The rhythm
What a day actually looks like.
Full, and paced so you can keep it up for three weeks. Every fifth day is off, for the lake, for sleep, and for letting it land.
- 6:30Meditation & pranayamaThe lake is still and the light is coming up over the volcanoes. You start before the day does.
- 7:30AsanaPractice in the open-air shala, with nothing between you and the mountain air.
- 10:00Spiritual lessonThe teaching underneath the postures, and why any of this is done at all.
- 12:00Special topicEarth medicine, Mayan cosmology, and the traditions this land already holds.
- 15:00Anatomy & philosophyThe body as it actually works, and the texts that shaped the practice.
- 17:00The art of teaching & of touchSequencing, cueing and hands-on adjustment. How to hold a room.
- 19:30SatsangSacred circle by firelight. The day is closed together.
Where you practise
Most trainings happen in a room. This one happens on a mountain.
The sanctuary sits on reforested land above the lake at 1,600 metres. You practise, study and sleep inside the same few minutes of walking, which is what makes 21 days of this possible.
You sleep on the land
Cabins, a tree house, safari tents and the Tea Temple. Your room is minutes from the shala for all 21 days, so a 6:30 start is a short walk.
What's included
One price, and then the logistics are handled.
200hr Yoga Alliance certification
Registered School (RYS). You leave qualified to register as an RYT-200 and teach anywhere.
21 days on the land
Your room at Arco Isis for the whole training, a few minutes' walk from the shala.
Daily practice
Meditation, pranayama and asana every morning in the open-air shala.
The full syllabus
Philosophy, anatomy, Ayurveda, the art of teaching and the art of touch.
Fire ceremonies & cacao
Evening satsang, ceremony, and the traditions this village has held for a long time.
Three meals a day
From-scratch vegetarian cooking, friendly to vegan and gluten-free eating.
Where you'll sleep
A room on the land, for all 21 days.
Private cabins, a tree house with its own bathroom, safari tents, the Tea Temple, and shared rooms. Your choice sets your price. You pick when you book with Sacred Paths, and every option is minutes from the shala.
Real photos of the sanctuary. See every room →
The kitchen
Fed well enough to study all day.
Three from-scratch vegetarian meals a day, cooked here, mostly from what grows around the lake. Vegan and gluten-free are ordinary here, and every meal is blessed before anyone eats.
1 / 13
Photo 1 of 13: A trainee laughing while drizzling honey over rice cakes with banana and granola
Breakfast, and the honey jar going round the table.
Real photos from our kitchen. More about the food →
From people who trained here
Ask the ones who already came.
Guests and trainees who stayed at Arco Isis during a teacher training on this land.
The sanctuary is beautiful and an oasis from the busy streets of San Marcos. The location of the yoga shala is exquisite and it was a joy to have cats and dogs on site as they provided companionship and happiness.
Alana S.Yoga teacher training
When I booked my room with access to a private bathroom, I did not expect to stay in the absolutely beautiful Tea Temple!!! This space is gorgeous, serene, and very comfortable. Paulina ensured that I had everything I needed throughout my training and this accommodation exceeded my expectations. Thank you for providing this space to me.
Kim StixYoga teacher training
Incredible! Paulina made sure our yogi student group had everything we needed, provided us with detailed information in making arrangements for transportation and activities, and the entire Arco Isis staff made me feel welcomed, safe, and comfortable during my entire training.
Dave StanGroup training
January 5–25, 2027
Places are limited by the number of beds.
The training is run and certified by Sacred Paths Yoga, who handle tuition, payment plans and scholarships. We hold the land, the rooms and the kitchen. Leave your details and we'll make the introduction.
Rather talk it through first?
Book a call with Sacred Paths.
Straight to the school for the syllabus, tuition, payment plans and scholarships. For the land, the rooms and the food, ask us.
Book a call with Sacred Paths ↗The rest of the year
This date is one of several.
The same training runs more than once a year here. If these weeks are wrong for you, another set will fit, and the group is small enough that people book a long way ahead.
The same training, other dates
Also at the sanctuary
The honest answers.
- Do I need to be advanced?
- Beginners through experienced practitioners are welcome. The curriculum is intensive and balanced, and every fifth day is off for rest and integration.
- Do I have to want to teach?
- Plenty of people take a 200hr to go deeper into their own practice. The certification is there when you want it, and it stays valid whether or not you use it.
- What is the certificate worth?
- Sacred Paths is a Yoga Alliance Registered School, so on finishing you can register as an RYT-200 and teach internationally. It is the standard qualification studios ask for.
- What does it cost, and can I pay over time?
- Tuition with onsite accommodation starts around $3,350. Sacred Paths run deposit-based payment plans and offer scholarships, so ask them directly and they will walk you through it.
- What if these dates do not work?
- The training runs several times a year on this land. The other confirmed dates are listed at the bottom of this page, and the group is small, so booking a long way ahead is normal.
- Where exactly is this?
- San Marcos La Laguna, on Lake Atitlán, ringed by three volcanoes. Arco Isis sits on reforested mountain land ten minutes up from the dock. Boats run all day from Panajachel.
- What are the rooms like?
- Private A-frame cabins, a tree house with its own bathroom, safari tents, the Tea Temple, and shared rooms. You choose when you book with Sacred Paths, and every option is on this land, minutes from the shala.
- Who actually takes my payment?
- Sacred Paths Yoga. It is their training and their certification. Arco Isis is the sanctuary that holds it: the land, the rooms, the kitchen and the shala. Ask either of us anything.
Still unsure? Email hello@arcoisisatitlan.com and a real person answers.