Join us on this incredible 100hr Yoga for Mental Health and Resilience Training. Led by Yoga with Odona and Frontline Yoga, this course is located on the small, tropical island of Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. It’s suitable for yoga practitioners, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in using yoga to support mental and emotional health.

Thailand Yoga Teacher Training

100hr Yoga for Mental Health and Resilience Training

This immersive 100-hour course is designed for individuals seeking to deepen their understanding of yoga as a tool for enhancing mental health and building resilience. Set in the serene environment of Thailand, participants will explore the therapeutic applications of yoga techniques to manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, while fostering emotional strength and balance.

With Byron Yoga Centre’s teaching team on site, you can be assured of a rich, varied and holistic experience of yoga while at the same time enjoying the exotic surroundings of Koh Phangan.

Thailand 100hr Yoga for Mental Health and Resilience

100 Hours | 12 Day Residential in Thailand

Dates Register
May 18 - 30, 2025 Register Now

Residential priced from $4170 (includes tuition, two meals per day and 12 nights in a simple bungalow, other accommodation options subject to cost and availability). Earlybird Price from $3970 available for bookings made more than 8 weeks prior to course commencement. 

Course Content

This course is suitable for yoga practitioners, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in using yoga to support mental and emotional health.

  • Foundational Yoga Practices: Learn and practice key yoga postures (asanas) that promote physical and mental well-being, focusing on alignment, breath control, and mindful movement.
  • Pranayama for Stress Relief: Explore breathing techniques that regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and build emotional resilience.
  • Meditation and Mindfulness: Develop a consistent mindfulness and meditation practice to improve focus, emotional clarity, and self-awareness.
  • Trauma-Informed Yoga: Understand how yoga can support individuals experiencing trauma, with an emphasis on safe and supportive approaches.
  • Psychological Resilience through Yoga: Dive into the science of resilience and how yoga principles can be applied to overcome adversity, enhance mental fortitude, and develop coping mechanisms.
  • Self-Care and Recovery: Focus on yoga as a self-care tool, using restorative practices to support recovery from mental fatigue and emotional stress.
Participants will:
  • Gain a comprehensive understanding of the mind-body connection through yoga.
  • Develop practical skills for managing mental health challenges using yoga techniques.
  • Enhance emotional resilience and learn strategies to maintain well-being during times of stress or uncertainty.
  • Be equipped to teach yoga for mental health and resilience to others.
Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive a 100-hour Yoga for Mental Health and Resilience certification, acknowledging their ability to apply these techniques in personal or professional settings.

What’s Included?

  • All training including pre and post course support
  • Teacher Training Manuals
  • Practical training with real teaching experience
  • Incredible line up of senior yoga teachers
  • 12 nights accommodation
  • Breakfast and dinner each day included
  • Exotic location
  • Day trip – boat tripto neighbouring islands

Travel and insurance are not included in costs.

Yoga is a lot about giving and receiving. It has been proposed that we only keep what we have by giving it away, which is one of the main motivations for teaching and training others to teach.

The yoga we teach at Byron Yoga Centre and on this Yoga Teacher Training in Thailand is called Purna, meaning integrated or complete. Purna Yoga represents a holistic approach to yoga integrating not just the physical postures but also philosophy, meditation, pranayama breath control and the yogic personal and social code of ethics. The postural instruction is alignment focused. Sequences range from gentle restorative to dynamic. Blocks, belts and bolsters are available to be used to support and modify postures safely.

You can read more about Purna Yoga here. 

You will receive a certificate of completion and this can be counted as 100 hours towards Byron Yoga Centre’s 300-hour Level 2 Yoga Teacher Training Program.

This 100 hour training can be counted as your CPD (Continuous Professional Development) as required by Yoga Alliance (YACEP) and Yoga Australia.

You may be able to claim this training on tax!

As a contractor/sole trader yoga teacher operating in Australia, you’re entitled to claim a range of expenses as tax deductions if they directly support your teaching activities. We’ve put together a breakdown of some eligible expenses you might consider claiming to help ease the financial pressure and let you focus on what’s important – teaching yoga! Read more here. 

The path to becoming a certified yoga teacher can be life-changing, and choosing the right yoga course is a big decision. One decision you will need to make is whether to complete your yoga teacher training course in person or opt for the online route.

At Byron Yoga Centre, we firmly believe in the transformative power of in-person YTT.  We’ve put together just four advantages to completing a YTT course face-to-face. Read more.

Sample Schedule of Yoga for Mental Health in Thailand

7:00am - Asana Practice
9:00am - Brunch
10:00am - Intro to Mental Health
11:30am - Break
12:00pm - Impact of Chronic Stress
1:30pm - Free Time
3:30pm - Mental Health Supportive Practice, Gentle Flow/ Restorative Yoga / Yoga Nidra
7:00pm - Dinner
8:00pm - Journal and Self Reflection

The Location

The Sanctuary Thailand is located on the small, beautiful tropical island of Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand, a sister island to Koh Samui.  The retreat centre is situated in the middle of Haad Tied – one of three bays on the island.

Haad Tien Bay is situated on the east coast of Koh Phangan – an island known for its Thai friendliness. Experience the peace and tranquility of an unspoiled island bay with excellent swimming, snorkelling and relaxation facilities.

Accommodation

The Sanctuary Thailand accommodation rises on the hill behind their beachfront restaurant. Accommodation options are unique sanctuary style villas and houses, all with stunning views. Many of these villas and houses are open plan to allow you to get the feeling of living under the stars. All options have your comfort in mind with lounge chairs and hammocks, king size beds and hot water showers. Budget options with cold water showers also available.

Your Hosts

Our facilitators offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise to share with participants. Click on the links below to learn more about each teacher.

Odona Farska is a certified yoga teacher, and the founder of Flow Yoga Dubai, Flow Yoga Canberra and Yoga with Odona. She discovered yoga in Sydney in 2000 and fell in love with the daily practice of yoga and its benefits. Since then, Odona has travelled extensively and has practiced different styles of yoga in numerous locations worldwide – from Australia to the Czech Republic, and from the Maldives to Bali. She set up Flow Yoga Dubai and taught at her outdoor garden yoga studio between 2004 – 2014. She then spent next decade in Australia where she founded Flow Yoga Canberra. She has recently moved to Amsterdam and set up Flow Yoga with Odona. She is RYT 500 certified, with over 15 years of teaching experience, having completed 5 global yoga teacher training courses.

Odona has completed Purna yoga teacher training in Goa, pre-natal teacher training in Koh Samui, advanced Purna yoga teacher training in Pondicherry, Mother and Baby yoga teacher training with Birthlight in London, Rainbow Kids Yoga training and Viniyoga Yoga Therapy teacher training in Australia.

Odona’s gentle and compassionate personality allows her to create a friendly atmosphere in her classes, where everyone feels welcome and all standards are accepted. Despite her extensive knowledge and experience, Odona keeps a light-hearted approach to yoga, rather than taking things too seriously. Her classes are open to people of all ages, fitness levels and health conditions.

Odona teaches private yoga classes in Amsterdam and group yoga classes at the Niewe Yogaschool BV as well as yoga retreats in Australia, Europe and Asia. Her clients come from all walks of life, including children, students, adults, various professionals, artists and teachers as well as companies companies like Ernst and Young, the Australian Department of Communication and the Arts, Austrade and Arena. She has volunteered her time to teach complimentary weekly classes to primary school children, organised fundraisers. Odona has also taught at yoga and art festivals around the world.

Having run the Flow Yoga studio at Nishi Gallery in New Acton in Canberra for 7 years, Odona has collaborated with Molonglo Group and Johnathan Efkarpidis and opened new Flow Yoga studio at Dairy Road in February 2021. Studio has become a hub for yoga, meditation, connection with like minded people and various wellness events. Studio won an Australian Institute of Architects 2022 Award for Interior Architecture.

Odona’s special interests include the therapeutic effects of yoga, yoga nidra and aromatherapy.

Chris started practicing yoga asana while he served in the Military. It reduced stress and was particularly helpful in processing traumatic experiences from his time deployed to Afghanistan.

After 14 years service, he left the Military and went straight into yoga teacher training, completing his Level 1 in Bali and then Level 2 and the Certificate IV with Byron Yoga Centre. He has also studied with Trauma-Sensitive Australia, Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and completed the Byron Yoga Centre Remedial Yoga course with Maria Kirsten.

He currently balances his time between family, working with Byron Yoga Centre to deliver Trauma-Aware Yoga Teacher Trainings and running Frontline Yoga which provides Trauma-aware Yoga to the Military, First Responder and Emergency Services community.

Swami Pujan reached self-realization through the studying of the Upanishads and Vedanta with the help of his teacher, James Swartz, after many, many years being involved in Theavana and Mahayana Buddhism. He was a trained psychologist so his teachings bring in the western psychological angle. His wish is to bring the complex teachings of the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras to a western audience that is relevant to their lives.

“Spirituality is a difficult subject to teach. It is often taught either by Indians that have difficulty connecting to their western audience through their constant use of Sanskrit names and stories that are often pulled out of an Indian contents. And with western teachers the difficulty is often that of too much intellectualising the subject. If it were not for my teacher James Schwartz, I would have maybe never found Advaita.

My wish is to bring the complex teachings of the Upanishads  and the Yoga Sutras to a western audience that is relevant to their lives. Spirituality has to be practical and not only philosophical!

There is a danger of course to oversimply the teaching, but i hope i can avoid this. You don’t need to know Sanskrit, you don’t need to believe in a God , you just have to have an open mind and use your intellect to understand the teachings. I love the logic in Vedanta and I want to bring that across in a non dogmatic fun and engaging way”

Frequently Asked Questions

By Plane:

The most direct way to get to Koh Phangan is to fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui Island with Bangkok Air. Note that Bangkok Air has a very flexible ‘change your ticket’ policy and they have 20 flights a day to and from the islands.

From Koh Samui Airport:

The easiest option once you have collected your luggage is to ask at one of the travel desks upon leaving the airport for a taxi & ferry ticket to Haad Rin (for Haad Rin Queen Ferry), Koh Phangan.  You will then be transported from the airport with your luggage straight to the ferry port. 

 Alternatively, you can catch a taxi to Big Buddha Pier, Koh Samui to purchase a ferry ticket to Haad Rin, Koh Phangan (please see below). 

Private Speedboat to and from The Sanctuary 

We can organise a ‘Private Speedboat’ booking for you at 7,500 thb one way.  

The driver can collect you from Koh Samui airport, take you to the boat and bring you directly to The Sanctuary.  We can also arrange a return journey when leaving The Sanctuary.  

For safety purposes, the driver will not operate after dark.  

Please book at least one week prior to your arrival with us via Reservations (holidayasiabookings@gmail.com) and at least one day prior to your departure from The Sanctuary with Reception.

By Ferry:

Haad Rin Queen ferry 

The ferry departs from Big Buddha Pier Koh Samui to Haad Rin (Koh Phangan) daily at 

 10.30am,  

3pm (fast boat) &  

5pm daily. 

** Please double check it is the correct pier for the HAAD RIN QUEEN FERRY, as there are 2 Big Buddha Piers. 

Koh Phangan island is easily accessible by ferry from one of two towns, Thong Sala or Haad Rin.  If you are travelling to us from Koh Tao, please catch the fast ferry (Lomprayah) to Thong Sala Pier.

At Thong Sala, please catch a taxi truck (20 minutes, approx. 150 baht per person) to Haad Rin town. 

From Haad Rin, Koh Phangan:

When you arrive at Haad Rin Pier, Koh Phangan, there will be boat / taxi drivers waiting for customers bound for Haad Tien (where The Sanctuary is located).  

Please ensure you ask the taxi boat driver to transport you to Haad Tien. 

To improve your chances of getting a boat / taxi quickly with other passengers, head to the ferry port when the boats from Koh Samui arrive at: – 

11.20am, 3.30pm & 5.50pm.  

The ferry port is just a 5 minutes walk from Sunrise Beach, Haad Rin. 

 The cost of a boat / taxi is approx. 500 baht depending on how many customers are taking the boat with you.  If the waves are high or there are few customers, the boat drivers may charge a higher price. 

If the waves are too high for a boat / taxi, there will be a taxi jeep waiting.  This journey is quite an adventure!  It takes about 40 minutes over mostly rough jungle track.  The taxi truck journey costs approx. 500 thb per person. 

**Please note**  

For our arrivals after dark, we suggest that you stay overnight somewhere local in Koh Phangan.  As it may feel a bit daunting catching a boat / taxi in the dark for the first time, or by road truck as it can be a bumpy ride! 

Depending on the strength of the waves, the boat / taxi may drop you at the end of Haad Tien beach, requiring you to walk across the beach to The Sanctuary.   

If this is the case, you are more than welcome to contact us via our WhatsApp general enquiries number for assistance with your suitcase: – 

WhatsApp message us on: – +66 (0) 95-027-2163 GMT+7 (Available between 8am – 9pm). 

From the city of Surat Thani:

Many ferry companies offer boats directly to Koh Phangan, or via Koh Samui. The journey from Surat Thani/Donsak to Thong Sala takes around 2.5 hours. The boats land at Thong Sala town on Koh Phangan and you can get a taxi truck to Haad Rin, where you then catch a boat / taxi or taxi jeep to The Sanctuary.

On Foot:

If the weather prevents the boats from running, or if you are feeling particularly energetic, we recommend the beautiful walk from Haad Rin to The Sanctuary. The walk starts at ‘Thai House Bungalow’ just up the street from ‘Yogurt Home Restaurant’ and brings you up through coconut palms and then on through secondary tropical rainforest.  Just follow the yellow/green dots on rocks and trees.  This route will take you uphill with steps, so please take this into consideration. We would not recommend you undertake this for your first time unsupervised. 

Don’t forget to bring some water! Pay attention to the sights and sounds on the amazing walk. When you arrive in paradise at The Sanctuary, we will be waiting to welcome you… 

Returning Home:

The ferry times back from Haad Rin (Koh Phangan) to Koh Samui take 50 minutes and run daily at:- 

9.30am 

 12.30pm (fast boat)  

& 4pm. 

If your flight out of Koh Samui is before midday, you will need to either spend your last night in Koh Samui or travel by private speedboat. 

 

May offers plenty of sunshine with temperatures ranging between 27°C and 33°C.

Most travellers are issued a one month tourist visa upon arrival in Thailand at one of the country’s international airports.  Most passport holders can obtain a further 30 days at the local Koh Samui Immigration office – However it is recommended you visit your own countries Thai embassy for specifics, as countries do differ.

If you think you will want to spend more than 1 month in Thailand, we recommend getting a tourist visa in your own country.

If you cross the Thai border by road you will only be given a 15 day visa.

Bring comfortable clothing suitable for yoga.
Other than that bring your usual toiletries and creature comforts.

We recommend purchasing a DTAC sim card when you arrive in Thailand as this works well on Haad Tien.  We do have good WIFI here, however you may be required to reconnect to The Sanctuary WIFI every time we change our generators (3 times a day).