Embodied Śakti Advanced Teacher Training

Immerse yourself in Traditional Tantric Yoga and follow the path of the Masters of the Himalayan Tradition. Set out on a journey to reclaim life's greatest rewards - freedom, fulfillment, and remembrance of who you truly are.

300-hour Traditional Tantric Yoga Teacher Training

October 2024 - January 2026

The intention of Embodied Śakti is to share the philosophies and practices of the Himalayan Tradition of Tantric Yoga in a way which touches your heart, transforms your life, and empowers you to effectively carry the light of a living tradition.

Tantra, Yoga and Sankhya philosophy are the sources of wisdom and techniques at the heart of Śakti Sādhanā and Embodied Śakti . These ancient spiritual systems are as practical as they are profound. Their collective purpose is to guide you, grant you access to the inherent sacredness of life, and elevate your relationship to yourSelf and reality.

The combined wisdom of Tantra, Yoga and Sankhya sheds light on everything - from the most practical and worldly, to the most subtle and sublime. In order to fully understand and experience the scope and ultimate promise of Yoga, we draw from the wisdom of Sankhya and the beauty of Tantra - one the most life-affirming and all-inclusive spiritual systems ever developed - and the light of a living tradition.

Embodied Śakti is an advanced course of study for experienced teachers and practitioners of the Tantric tradition. We will build on your foundational understanding of yoga and tantra by further developing the subtly profound nuances accessible in both individual paths - and the magic that emerges as the two are woven together with finessed expertise.

Embodied Śakti is best suited for teachers with at least a foundational understanding and experience of Tantric yoga, and ideally a few years experience of teaching. This training will be very practice oriented, improving the likelihood of genuine embodiment of the tradition through direct experience, and increasing your capacity for transmission in your teaching.

If you are an experienced Yoga Teacher, but new to Tantra, yet have a strong desire to study and incorporate the wisdom of this tradition, Embodied Śakti may still be the appropriate training for you. I will be offering three Bridge Courses this year prior to the start of the training, which will provide the foundational understanding necessary. If accepted into Embodied Śakti, the cost of these Bridge Courses will be subsumed into the tuition for the complete training.

Why Embodied Śakti

Rooted in the tradition passed down by the Himalayan Masters, Embodied Śakti draws from ancient wisdom to create a holistic approach to modern practice and life. This experience is designed to both develop your personal practice and prepare you to embrace your role as an ethical, empowered, impactful teacher fully capable of carrying and passing on the light of a living tradition.

Embodied Śakti deepens your understanding of Tantra and Yoga, and how to share them in a way which blends traditional methodology with embodied intuition. The structure of the training provides the opportunity to empower and engage with your practice to develop an authentic voice in your teaching that is uniquely your own - yet still authentically represents the Tradition. This can only be done by embodying the teachings through dedicated direct experience guided and supported by an embodied teacher.

Content

Every module in the training is mindfully crafted for an immersive experience combined with practical, effective teaching methodology. The modules are woven together in a wise progression to deliver knowledge, appreciation, and direct experience of the teachings and techniques of the tradition.

Module One

The Devimahatmya - Confronting Our Demons

The Devimahatmya, a spiritual classic, addresses the perennial questions of the nature of the universe, humankind, and divinity. How are they related, how do we live in a world torn between good and evil, and how do we find lasting fulfillment and ultimate freedom? The Devimahatmya speaks to us across the ages of the experiences and beliefs of our ancient ancestors. We sense their enchantment at nature's bounty and their terror before its destructive fury, their recognition of the good and evil in the human heart, and their understanding that everything in our experience is the expression of a greater reality, personified as the Divine Mother. In this module we will study this ancient text as a map of the inner workings of our own mind and heart. What can we discover about both our darkness and our light and the vital role each play in the world and in our life?

Module Two

Wise Progression on Retreat in Tuscany

How can we maximize the various components of a complete Tantric Yoga practice (postures, breath, relaxation, meditation and more) for the most impactful practice? In this module we will learn more about each of these various components and discover wise ways to select and sequence them in order to create a truly transformative experience for our students and ourselves.

Module Three

Applying the Tantric Methodology of Moon, Sun & Fire

Building upon our foundational understanding of Tantra as both a worldview and a methodology, in this module we will explore how to further incorporate the beauty of tantra into our experience of both practice and life. We will also concentrate our efforts on refining our utilization of the system of Moon, Sun & Fire.

Module Four

Abhyasa & Vairagya - The Balance of Self Effort & Trustful Surrender

The path of yoga is two-fold. It is both a 'moving toward' that which resonates more purely with our true essence, often through practice - or what we actually 'do', as well as a 'moving away from' that which is keeping us bound to false beliefs and misperceptions regarding ourself and the nature of reality. The 'moving toward' part of the path is known as abhyasa. The 'moving away' is vairagya. In this module we will explore the role of - and the balance between - them both.

Module Five

Developing Vinyasa Krama - Further Focus on Sequencing

Wise Sequencing - of an individual practice, a workshop, a training or a retreat - is the differentiating factor between a yoga teacher capable of guiding impactful experiences which bring the practitioner through a process of alchemy which serves to further free and fulfill, and a yoga teacher capable of simply helping the practitioner 'feel' good. In this module we will hone our skills in sequencing through a balance of systematic methodology and intuition.

Module Six

Developing Pranayama - Dissolving the Veil

Pranayama is the most effective tool at our disposal for attenuating the veil of ignorance which keeps us trapped in our seemingly endless cycle of confusion, delusion, and suffering. In this module we will learn a tried-and-true series of pranayama techniques developed to liberate us from our ignorance and reunite us with our innate intelligence.

Module Seven

Chitta Prasadanam - Purify the Mind

Sutra 1:33 offers profound wisdom regarding the process of purifying our mind. This sutra introduces us to the four most potent contaminants that poison the human mind. It explains the impact these contaminants have on our lives and spiritual pursuits. And, most importantly, it defines quite clearly how to liberate ourselves from them by giving one antidote for each contaminant. As yoga teachers it is vital that we be constantly purifying our minds in order to become and remain a pure vessel for these teachings.

Module Eight

Subtle Embodiment - Exploring the Koshas, Chakras & Vayus

Take a deeper and more nuanced dive into the subtle body through practices which give you direct experience of your sacred essence. Utilizing our intellectual understanding of the koshas, chakras, and vayus, we will discover how best to work with these understandings to facilitate meaningful experiences for our students and ourselves.

Module Nine

Discipline to Devotion - Awakening to Kundalini

At some point on the path of yoga our pursuits, which may have initiated as physically, mentally, or philosophically motivated, will inevitably become spiritual in nature. This 'spiritualization' of life through yoga is one way of experiencing an awakening to Kundalini Śakti, our latent spiritual potential. In this module we will source ancient texts for a keener understanding of Kundalini and chart a course for our own awakening to Her beauty and potency.

Module Ten

Vishoka - Joy Beyond the Reach of Suffering

Sutra 1:36 is a treasure trove of esoteric wisdom summarized in a statement which translates, roughly, as 'by resting awareness on the experience of joy beyond all suffering, and your own innate inner luminosity, the mind will sustain a peaceful state of inwardly flowing awareness.' This sutra is at the heart of the Sri Vidya tradition of Tantric Yoga. It holds the key for our lasting freedom and ultimate fulfillment. In this module we will adventure through the philosophical terrain of this sutra as well as engage with the practices developed to help us reach that terrain and remain established in it.

Module Eleven

Mantra & The Sacred Fire

Mantra and sacred ritual are key portals to divine union by way of the Tantric path. In this module we will examine some of the more mystical elements of this tradition and entertain how you may wish to incorporate them in your own practice and your teaching.

Module Twelve

Diagnostics - The Right Practice at The Right Time

Now that we've developed a nuanced understanding of many philosophies, practices, techniques, and methodologies, let's discuss how we can assess the unique needs of our students and deliver the most effective practice or series of practices to meet them where they are and deliver them to the experience of freedom and fulfillment. This is when your teaching can become prescriptive and play a more refined role in another's empowerment and healing.

Module Thirteen

Dharma - Heed Your Unique Calling

We are all unique expressions of divine reality, called to walk a path that is uniquely ours and express our individuality. Similarly, we have all been called to teach yoga for different reasons, and the world needs us all to use our unique voice and heed our individual calling in order to play a vital role in universal healing. In this module we will immerse ourselves in self inquiry to uncover what truly makes us tick. What lights me up? What gets me out of bed in the morning? What was I born into this life to do? Who was I born to be? What is the impact I, uniquely, am meant to have in this world? Upon answering some of these life altering questions, we will explore how you can heed your calling within the context of teaching yoga.

Schedule

October 2024 - January 2026

4 - 6 October 2024 : The Devi Mahatmyam - Facing Down Our Demons

11 - 16 November 2024 : Wise Progression - Retreat in Tuscany

13 - 15 December 2024 : Tantric Methodology - Moon, Sun & Fire

17 - 19 January 2025 : Abhyasa & Vairagya - The Balance of Self Effort & Surrender

February 2025 - Integration - No Weekend Gathering

14 - 16 March 2025 : Developing Vinyasa Krama - Further Focus on Sequencing

18 - 20 April 2025 : Developing Pranayama - Dissolving the Veil

16 - 18 May 2025 : Chitta Prasadanam - Purify the Mind

13 - 15 June 2025 : Subtle Embodiment - Koshas, Chakras & Vayus

July 2025 Integration - No Weekend Gathering

15 - 17 August 2025 : Discipline to Devotion - Awakening to Kundalini

12 - 14 September 2025 : Vishoka - Joy Beyond the Reach of Suffering

17 - 19 October 2025 : Mantra & the Sacred Fire

14 - 16 November 2025 : Diagnostics - the Right Practice at the Right Time

December 2025 Integration - No Weekend Gathering

9 - 11 January 2026 : Dharma - Heed Your Calling

Gathering Times

Fridays

8am-12pm Pacific / 11am-3pm Eastern / 4-8pm UK / 5-9pm Europe

Saturdays & Sundays

5am-12pm Pacific / 8am-3pm Eastern /1pm-8pm in the UK / 2pm-9pm in Europe

Retreat in Tuscany

11 - 16 November, 2024

Ebbio of Monteriggioni, Tuscany

In the province of Siena lies a 13th century farmhouse, surrounded by seventeen acres of countryside, which has been transformed into a yoga retreat center known as Ebbio. Nestled inside an evergreen forest, Ebbio sits on an extinct volcano that was sacred to the ancient Etruscans, just steps from the medieval walled town of Monteriggioni.

We will gather as a blended community - Śakti Sādhanā (200-hour) and Embodied Śakti (300-hour) - to enjoy our in-person retreat at Ebbio. Embraced by the nourishing nature and culture of Tuscany, immersed in the Himalayan Tradition’s sacred practices and philosophies, our time together will establish a beautiful foundation for the remainder of our time together.

Your Guide

Natalie Backman

Tantric Yoga has given me an entirely new lease on life. I was once anxiety-riddled, validation-seeking, victim-identifying and doubtful of my worth. After more than a decade of highly dedicated practice and study I now experience life as beautiful and meaningful, and myself as joyful peaceful, steady (most of the time) and grateful to be alive.

My relationship with yoga and spans twenty years and I've been devoted to sharing the teachings of this tradition for the last ten. In that time, my experience has evolved from physical exercise to a holistic reintegration with my soul. The teaching of Tantric Yoga is integral to my life's purpose and has become my personal spiritual path.

A 500-hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher, I remain a lifelong student of the Himalayan Tradition, profoundly grateful to receive the ongoing guidance of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait and the support of the unbroken lineage of Himalayan Tradition.

I share a modern approach to Traditional Tantric Yoga interweaving asana, pranayama, yoga nidra, mantra, meditation, and more. Also certified in Yoga Nidra and Vishoka Meditation, I endeavor to provide a means for true and thorough transformation. I teach only what I have embodied through direct experience, and guide with the intention to facilitate sacred remembrance of Self.

All I do is an offering to the Divine Mother. It would be an honor to guide you through this journey of healing and help you lay claim to yoga's promises: ultimate freedom and lasting fulfillment.

Jai Maa.

Apply

If you are interested in joining this intimate teacher training, please complete the application at your earliest convenience. If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to reach out directly via NatalieBackmanYoga@gmail.com.

I look forward to learning about you and supporting you on your path. I will be in touch to schedule your interview once I have received and reviewed your application.

Tuition

$5,108

Payment Plans & Scholarships Available.

Payment can be made in full or in monthly installments.

For monthly installments, we require an initial deposit of $608 to reserve your space in the training. Another $500 will bue due one month prior to the start of the training (for a total of $1,108). The balance can be paid in monthly installments of $250.

Reimbursements and Cancellations

Deposits are non-refundable, but are transferrable to another training within two years. Additional payments made can be reimbursed up to the beginning of the training. Once the training has commenced, I ask that all payment plans continue to be honored, and no reimbursements will be made if - for any reason - you are unable to complete the training. Payment can be transferred to a future training, with a transfer fee of 10% of the cost of the training.