2027
THREE SWARA RASA MODULES
AND A FINAL EXAMINATION
Swara
Rasa®
The Resonant Flow
of Radiant Being
Attune to the pulse of harmony
and express your essence.
Discover how movement, breath and sound can gather awareness, nourish your vitality and allow your inner presence to guide creative expression.
What is Shakti Dance?
A way to feel at home in your body,
and give your inner life room to move.
About Shakti Dance® – The Yoga of Dance
Shakti Dance® is a unique yogic system created by Sara Avtar that combines flowing movement, breath, rhythm, sound and meditation to awaken the natural harmony of body, mind and spirit.
Through its Principles of Harmonious Movement, you learn the precise geometry and mechanics of organic waves and spirals, together with the subtle anatomy and energetics that support the circulation of prana-shakti. This systematic approach helps release accumulated tension, unravel habitual blocks and restore natural fluidity, opening the body to heightened sensitivity, vitality and inner resonance.
As these movement pathways become embodied, conscious effort gives way to spontaneous expression. The resonant flow of being begins to guide the body naturally through the prepared pathways of waves and spirals, liberating its innate creativity.
A Shakti Dance session unfolds through eight complementary phases: Tuning In, Flowing Asanas, Standing Exercises, Free Dance, Relaxation, Mantra Movement Meditation, Still Meditation and Closing. At its heart are the three Swara Rasa practices:
- Golden Spiral Asanas – opening and harmonising the body's natural pathways of movement and energy.
- Shakti Standing Waves – activating, amplifying and distributing the rhythmic flow of vitality.
- Mantra Movement Meditations – aligning movement, sound and awareness into coherent, meditative resonance.
Together, these practices lead from conscious preparation into free creative expression, deep integration and stillness, cultivating Swara Rasa – the harmonious flow of resonant being, where radiant vitality and inner freedom arise from a centred state of peaceful presence.
What is Swara Rasa?
When the cycles within us find harmony,
our inner presence begins to flow.
Explore coherence resonance and inner guidance
Cycles of breath and movement come into relationship with rhythm, melody and mantra. Shared timing and synchronised gestures bring these interweaving waves into a coherent field, facilitating a state of resonance.
Through meditative repetition, harmonious forms and rhythms of breath, movement and mantra come into resonance, allowing our inner flow to awaken and guide us.
As effort softens and attention gathers, our inner presence becomes more perceptible. Its flow nourishes us from within, enlivening the body and bringing quiet vitality.
This presence can also guide movement. We become receptive to an inward impulse that leads us into natural spirals, spontaneous expression and creative flow.
The training explores the mechanics, energetics and geometry of movement, helping you consciously cultivate the conditions through which this resonant flow can emerge.
and discover how to be moved by our essential Self.”
Benefits of the training
Ease in your body
Explore mobility, organic alignment and ways of softening unnecessary effort.
A steadier inner rhythm
Use breath and repeated movement to gather scattered attention and find balance.
Relaxed vitality
Discover how to activate, release and settle while remaining sensitive to your needs.
Creative expression
Allow structured practice to open into spontaneous, organic movement.
A deeper personal practice
Recognise meditation and devotion within the movements you already practise.
Confidence to guide others
Develop sequencing, observation and facilitation through practice and feedback.
Three entrances into one living practice
Each module is a complete immersion. Together, they form a progressive pathway into the Yoga of Dance.
Swara Rasa Asana
Golden Spiral Flowing Asana
Fluidity, breath and radiant embodiment.
Explore Asana ↓
Swara Rasa Charana
Shakti Standing Waves
Grounding, transformation and liberated expression.
Explore Charana ↓
Swara Rasa Lila
Mantra Movement Meditation
Rhythm, geometry and creative consciousness.
Explore Lila ↓
Let the body
become a flowing prayer.
Golden Spiral Flowing Asanas
Discover Rasa Asana
Module 1
Flowing Asanas ~ Physical Body
An in-depth exploration of the physical foundations of Shakti Dance®: natural body alignment, intelligent transitions, and fluid asanas guided by the breath. You will deepen your understanding of the principles of harmonious movement by learning to integrate energy into the body and coordinate the Five Elements, allowing the body to move as an integrated field rather than as a sum of separate parts.
You will explore the bandhas to support postural integrity and learn the purpose, characteristics, key alignment checkpoints, and energetic development of Fluid Asanas. This ensures a practice that is both safe and radiant, allowing the flow to remain truly natural and integrated.
As movement intelligence deepens, restrictions begin to dissolve through gentle, coherent spiral patterns, breath, and presence. This supports restorative fascial release, helping to ease tension and residual stress held within the deep fascia, so that vitality, sensitivity, and ease can return.
Key Points
Natural alignment and movement • Breath-guided flow • Bandhas • Foundations of the Elements, Gunas, and Samkhya philosophy • Creating short stretching and fluid movement sequences • Shiva–Shakti dynamics • The principle of Lakshmi: integrating energy into the body • Cyclical awareness
Awaken the wave.
Discover your freedom.
Shakti Standing Waves
Explore Charana
Module 2
Standing Exercises ~ Energetic Body
This module develops the energetic body through standing practice. You will learn to guide, structure, and integrate Standing Dances with clarity and precision.
You will work with key energetic maps—including the chakras, vayus, nadis and marmas, and meridians—while exploring the lived experience of energy through wave, frequency, intensity, and polarity.
The module includes practical teaching checkpoints, collaborative creative processes, and a strong emphasis on sequencing. You will explore themed sequences based on the chakras, vayus, nadis and marmas, and meridians, culminating in a more liberated form of expression through guided and free dance.
Key Points
Chakras • The Five Vayus • Nadis, Marmas, and Meridians • Grounding and Energetic Alignment in Posture • Principles of Waves and Frequency (Intensity, Polarity, and Coherence) • Rasa and the “Yoga of Feeling” • Key Teaching Principles and Safe Transmission • Sequencing Skills (Chakra, Vayu, Nadi, and Meridian Sequences) • Creating 10–20-Minute Standing Dance Sequences • Guided Free Dance and Liberated Expression • Kali: Transformative Liberation
Follow the thread
of sound into presence.
Mantra Movement Meditation
Discover Lila
Module 3
Mantra Movement Meditations ~ Mental Body
This module offers in-depth training for the mental body through meditation in movement, mantra as a technology of attention, and choreography as a living yantra.
You will explore how mantra, mudra, rhythm, tempo, and movement patterns cultivate dharana and dhyana—sustained concentration and meditative flow—and how group formations become sacred geometry in motion.
The module includes structured mindfulness practices, an exploration of sound and mantra principles, and creative processes for developing mantric choreographies and Celestial Communications, in which movement becomes both devotional and meditative.
Within the overarching practice of Shakti Lila, explored in this Swara Rasa Lila module, there are two complementary forms: Akash — Celestial Communications, and Lila — Mantric Choreographies. Both unite mantra and movement as meditative expression.
Key Points
Yogic Psychology of the Mind (Citta, Vrittis, and Samskaras) • Focus and Concentration Training (Dharana → Dhyana) • Patanjali’s Yoga Philosophy, with an Emphasis on Limbs Five to Eight (Pratyahara → Samadhi) • Meditation in Movement • Mantra and Mudra • Rhythm and Tempo • Yantra, Mandala, and Sacred Geometry • Creating Group Choreographies • Saraswati: Creative Awareness and the Geometry of Fusion
The still centre within
the moving circle
Explore the yogic process
Shiva is the still centre of awareness; Shakti is its moving, expressive power. Throughout the practice, we explore how to remain in relationship with that centre while the body moves, feels and creates.
Asana and breath support gathered awareness. Focus can deepen into continuous meditation and absorption. This process begins within flowing asana and develops throughout all three modules.
Choose your path
An individual immersion
Join one or more modules for personal exploration, embodied renewal or inspiration for your existing work.
Guided practice, reflection and creative assignments support your learning. No examination is required for a standalone immersion.
Certificate of Participation on completion.
Explore the programmeThe teacher training pathway
Complete all three modules, required home study, methodology, ethics and final assessment.
Learn to bring the disciplines together within the eight-phase Shakti Dance form, supported by supervised teaching and feedback.
Pathway towards Level 1 teacher certification.
View the training journeyLearn at home.
Come together in Italy.
Live online teaching, shared practice and creative integration unfold across the year, concluding with an in-person intensive in Gallese.
ASANA
19 March–22 May 2027
CHARANA
11 June–10 August 2027
LILA
10 September–12 November 2027
IN-PERSON GROUP CHOREOGRAPHIES & EXAM
11–14 November 2027
Detailed attendance arrangements and fees are provided with the programme.
An international community,
connected through Shakti Dance.
Venue online teaching and the in person intensive
Online · March to October
Most sessions take place live via Zoom. Learn, practise and connect with an international group from wherever you are.
In person · 11–14 November
Come together for the final two training days and two examination days in Gallese, Italy. Shared practice deepens our connection and brings the journey to completion.
A community across borders
The training welcomes participants from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, united by movement, music, yoga and a shared love of Shakti Dance.
Our retreat venue
The in-person intensive takes place at the country house Giulia di Gallese, Viterbo, Italy. Here we can practise together, celebrate our learning and complete the examination process.
Training hours
This training programme culminates in certification as an Instructor of Shakti Dance® classes or workshops of 1–3 hours, following successful completion of its requirements.
Experience, sensitivity
and a love of sharing the practice.
Sara Avtar
I’m British born in Edinburgh, educated in London and qualified in Germany, currently living in Italy. I am a life-long dancer and Originator of Shakti Dance® — The Yoga of Dance. I have practised and trained in various styles of yoga and meditation since 1987, certifying as a Yoga Alliance / E-RYT 500 Kundalini Yoga Lead Teacher Trainer and Sat Nam Rasayan Healer.
Read the full biography
Along the way, my inspiration has been sourced from Sufism, Theravada Buddhism, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and an array of different dance and movement styles, all of which have found confluence and synthesis in the unfolding practice of Shakti Dance®.
Studying Naturopathy in Germany and training to be an Art and English schoolteacher at Goethe University, Frankfurt, was a foundational experience for creating and writing the curriculum and manual for the Shakti Dance® Teacher Training Programme, first launched in 2005.
I am a mother and CEO of the Shakti Dance Academy and have trained hundreds of Shakti Dance® teachers all over the globe, including a talented team of teacher trainers.
Alongside dance, I love to compose music and sing, and have released six albums to date, with mantra music for Shakti Dance®: Shakti Lila, Merging, Swara Rasa, Waves of Grace, Swaha, Release — available on the Shakti Dance® Academy.
Through spontaneous playfulness and spiritual practice I have found self-support and empowerment as a woman and mother. My intention is to share this inner resource with others, transforming art into yogic technology — combining harmoniously dance, breath and song with awareness, for the vital expression of peaceful Presence.
Through teaching Shakti Dance®, I love to help others savour the nurturing depth of their Being, while holding space for deep release and the much-needed unfolding into wholeness, for planetary harmony.
Read More →
Darshan Nam
Darshan Nam is a psychologist, yoga teacher, and emotional wellness guide with over ten years of experience supporting women on their journeys of self-discovery and transformation. Since 2015, she has been teaching yoga and meditation, integrating the wisdom of the body with psychological understanding and energetic work.
Read the full biography
As part of the Shakti Dance® Teacher Training, Darshan Nam guides aspiring teachers in developing awareness of the energetic body, authentic self-expression, and conscious presence. Her teaching style is characterised by warmth, clarity, and the ability to create a safe, transformative space where each woman can explore and connect with her own inner language.
She is the founder of the Yoga Saucha Community — Saucha means “purity” in Sanskrit — which brings together yoga practice, emotional awareness, and inner work. Her approach combines psychology, energy, and body awareness to help women recognise patterns, release emotional blockages, and reconnect with their innate power.
What our participants say
“A life-changing experience! The training has deepened my connection to movement, breath, and inner peace. I feel empowered to share this beautiful practice with others.”Carmen
“This journey has transformed not only my personal practice but also my entire outlook on life. The wisdom, the flow, and the sense of community are simply magical!”Katharina
“Shakti Dance® has opened up a new dimension of self-expression and healing for me. The training was the perfect blend of discipline, creativity, and spiritual growth.”Anna · Leipzig
“More than just a teacher training programme, it was a journey of self-discovery. I feel empowered, inspired, and ready to share the sacred art of Shakti Dance® with others!”Helga
Join a module,
or follow the complete pathway.
Choose the option that best aligns with your journey.
Single module
What is included
- Tuition for one module
- Three months of Shakti Dance Academy membership
- Teaching materials in English
- Digital training manual
- Six morning sadhana practices
Exam and certification fee not included. Final retreat accommodation and food not included.
CHOOSE PLANWhole training
What is included
- Tuition for the complete training
- 12 months of Shakti Dance Academy membership
- Teaching materials in English
- Digital and printed training manuals
- Saraswati Flowing Asanas and Saraswati Standing Exercises video
- 16 morning sadhana practices
- Exam and certification fees included
Final retreat accommodation and food not included.
CHOOSE PLANReturn to the practice
Whether you are actively teaching or wishing to reconnect, you are warmly invited to revisit one or more Swara Rasa modules and deepen your understanding of the practice.
Previous trainees
Join one or more modules. Please enquire for details.
Ask about returning to the trainingCertified Shakti Dance teachers
Per module · 7.5 training days
€45 + VAT per training day
Shakti Dance trainers
Per module · 3.75 weekends
€25 + VAT per weekend
Trainers organising this course
For trainers intending to organise this course in their area.
Ask about returning to the trainingShakti Dance® Level 1
Teacher Training 2027
Three Swara Rasa modules and a final examination.
A journey of embodied practice, inner discovery and conscious teaching.