Casa del Sol Montanita offers yoga classes, teacher training courses, and workshops in a beautiful bamboo, ocean view studio on the coast of Ecuador.
Yoga Retreats (3)
7 Day "Re-treat" Yourself Yoga and Surf in Ecuador
January 9-15, 202228 Day 200-Hour Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training in Montañita
May 30-June 26, 20217 Day Welcome OM! Surf and Yoga Holiday in Montañita
Available in April & MayVideos (3)
Instructors (4)

Tamara Allers
Tamara Allers is a E-RYT 500 & a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She began her journey with yoga in 2009 certifying as a teacher in India. In 2011, in search of a simpler life, she moved to the coast of Ecuador and embarked on the journey of Yoga Montanita. The foundation of her practice is rooted in Astanga, however after years of experience as a teacher and student, her teaching style has broadened to a more fluid dynamic Vinyasa flow. Moving deeper in the practice of yoga, she uses the 8 Limbs to create wonderfully challenging, energizing and powerful classes for both the body and mind!

Cheryl Oliver
Cheryl Oliver, E-RYT500, has been teaching Sanskrit, vedic chant and yoga philosophy since 2004, and yoga asana since 1998. Our practice, teaching and philosophy is based on presenting students with direct experiences of yoga. We both honor and refresh the traditions of the astanga vinyasa system, making the practice applicable and accessible all. We encourage students to read, to contemplate, to question. We encourage students to experience a variety of practices to challenge our preconceptions, to refine our physical practice, to expand our minds, and to open our hearts.
Michelle Hurley
Michelle is a world wanderer using yoga to keep herself grounded and present. As a 200 hour RYT and epitome of the pitta dosha, she shares her transformational energy by guiding students through mindful vinyasa ebb and flow with bursts of fiery movements. Currently living and teaching on the coast of Ecuador much inspiration draws from her love of the ocean, sunshine, and of course Montanita surfing.

Jackson Smeltzer
Jackson began practicing yoga in 2012. As a youngster, he was an adrenaline junkie and extreme sports enthusiast, but after two and a half decades of abuse, his stiff and damaged body was ready for some healing. Originally he preferred to practice Astanga yoga but he eventually became more attracted to yin yoga. In 2017 he completed his 200-hour certification and in 2019 a 50-hour yin yoga course with Bernie Clark. He currently resides in Montanita where he is happy to share his love of yoga with fellow yogis and yoginis at Casa del Sol.
Reviews (10)
Scott Cooper
from Canada, February 2021
"Casa Del Sol...Love at first sight"
I enjoyed everything about Casa Del Sol. Beginning with the laid back atmosphere of Montenita in general and the location of the retreat being just far enough out of town to provide peace and tranquility and yet close enough to safely and easily get to and from town. Road or beach-your pick. The breakfasts are fresh and of excellent quality. Tamara and Jackson are wonderful hosts who consistently go above and beyond to create an environment that is conducive to each guests needs and wants. The retreat itself is gorgeous and very natural with plantlife everywhere and local materials being used for construction. The yoga classes are fantastic and accommodating to all skill levels. I have no complaints at all about being here and would easily recommend Casa Del Sol to anyone visiting the Montenita area.
Sumani Lanka
from United States, February 2020
"Excellent Place to Relax, Surf, do Yoga and BE INSPIRED!"
The location and retreat were excellent. I really connected with the people and vibe of the place. Everyone was really nice and accommodating. The beach was really close. The activities were so much fun. And I feel like I made some deep friendships. I plan to go back someday!
Brian Gallagher
from United States, December 2019
"Amazing Experience"
I stumbled upon this program after searching for a retreat, and I’m so glad I did. The value provided in this 28-day training versus a weeklong retreat made it an easy choice to pick this training. The training is structured around one main goal: preparing you to create and teach your own yoga classes, and it surely delivers. The program gets you in front of your group, leading parts of a class, beginning with sun salutations in the first few days, and ends with each participant creating and leading their very own 60min class. All the parts of the training are geared towards this, from chanting practice everyday (which unexpectedly became the highlight of the day for me), to sequencing “games” played as a group. The instructors are very knowledgeable, and super nice. The program is led by Cheryl Oliver, who owns and operates a yoga studio in Scottsdale, AZ. She was absolutely wonderful. Her passion for asana, chanting, and yoga philosophy is contagious. When here, be sure to ask her for stories on pose names. She truly shines here, and literally made me feel like a kid again, longing for story time. Loved.
The accommodations were wonderful. Breakfast and lunch were included everyday, and were all delicious vegetarian dishes. Coffee and water were available every day as well. The place is a 30sec walk to the beach, and about a 10min walk into town - far enough to be super quiet, but close enough to quickly head in if you needed
Holly Pearson
from United States, April 2019
"Wonderful experience! "
This was a wonderful training and I am so glad I chose this program to get my teacher certification. Cheryl Oliver is simply a phenomenal teacher. She is patient, encouraging, warm, and extremely knowledgeable about the practice and philosophy of yoga. She has a very clear and thorough way of conveying information, and she cares very deeply about each and every one of her students. Her assistant teachers, Tamara Allers and Laura Leathers, were also excellent.
As a long-time practitioner of yoga, I have enough experience to appreciate what high-quality instruction this program offered. Cheryl thoroughly understands all the dimensions of what it means to be a good, effective yoga teacher, from how to build good sequences and design a good class, to how to cue effectively, to the deeper philosophy of yoga and how it applies to modern life, to how to support students' growth and help them improve their practice.
This training included an emphasis on yoga history and philosophy, and incorporated vedic chanting and learning the yoga sutras. This was a really special element that made the program unique. I appreciated the authenticity of this training and how connected the curriculum was to the origins of yoga. I loved learning the meaning of the yoga sutras and the daily practice of chanting in community with the group.
The schedule for this training was a great balance - an immersion experience, but with free time and space to decompress, relax and assimilate everything.
Erin Gardhouse
from United States, February 2019
"Excellent "
Great location near the beach , great yoga instructors and gorgeous studio , delicious food, nice people . Lots to do, but you can go at your own pace. Thank you !
Anonymous
from United States, December 2018
"Great, but some things can be fixed "
Loved the location, liked how the learning was dynamic and we could choose what we wanted to learn.
Lauren Pearce
from Colombia, July 2018
"Fantastic experience "
I went into this training with no intention of teaching yoga and have come out of it trying to figure out a way to encorporate it into my life! It was a really great experience and builds your confidence enormously. It's a fairly intense programme, but is a nice mix of asana and theory of yoga (which is a lot more interesting than it sounds!). The chanting was great too and we had lots of opportunities to teach classes to our fellow students and the public. Cheryl, Julie and Tamara are all great teachers and are very inspiring. I would most definitely recommend this training to anyone who's looking for a rounded 200hr YTT course.
Carmen Schild
from Ecuador, April 2019
"gracias"
it was a magical experience. for myself, for my practice and for all these wonderful beings i met.
thank you so much for that month.
Florie Bouillot
from Uganda, March 2019
"March 2019 training"
The trainers are very knowledgeable and I feel I have grown so much on a personal level thanks to them. Everything is well thought and organized. Very trustworthy team.
Anne Morgenstern
from Peru, March 2019
"Paradiesisch"
Mir hat alles gefallen, der Ort, der Yogaraum, die abwechslungsreichen Yogastunden, die lieben und sehr guten YogaleherInnen (hier nicht auseählbar aber sehr kompetent auch die liebe Katy Shea und Jackson Smelzer) Das Essen war gut und die gesamte Atmosphäre im Cada del Sol einfach herzlich. Ich habe mich so wohl gefühlt, dass ich am liebsten nicht abgereist wäre. Es war sicherlich nicht mein letzter Besuch.