Courses
Suggestions and approaches
LEANING TOWARDS YOUR INDEPENDENCE
The method of ashtanga vinyasa yoga
Rooted in the ancient tradition of yoga, as brought to the West by the “father of modern yoga” Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989), the ashtanga vinyasa yoga method, created and first taught in Mysore, India, by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, is a comprehensive training method for the body and mind that provides both empowerment and healing. Its foundations are the harmonious coordination of breathing and movement (vinyasa), concentration on a single point through focused gaze (dristhi), the activation of specific energy points, the so-called “bandhas” (locks) for the physical support of the body during practice, and the recitation of mantras. The aim of the practitioner is to be able, after constant repetition of the series of postures taught by his/her teacher, to stand autonomous on the mat. To be able to independently perform his/her practice (self-practice) freely at his/her own pace, according to his/her peculiarities and unique needs each day, in a style of practice that became known as “mysore practice”.
As a student of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, you become your main leader, with the teacher taking on the role of that assistant and supervisor, responsible for ensuring, on the one hand, that you proceed with safety, proper knowledge and respect for the system, and on the other, that you begin to discern the various ways in which it can benefit you personally.
CREATING SPACE FOR YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The philosophy of astanga yoga in practice
In addition to a physical exercise that aims for better health and well-being of body and mind, the VISION OF YOGA calls for another, equally important, exercise, that which involves inquiring into the way we think and act both on the mat and in our everyday lives and concerns what is called the “philosophy of yoga”. Most of the time we tend to consider the latter as unnecessary or completely foreign to modern life. Almost “unreal”. In other words, we have the impression that the philosophy of yoga is outside of us, in a sphere so high that it does not even touch the sky of the world we live in. It is true, as the eightfold yoga (astanga yoga) of the sage Patanjali will point out, its message takes you high. But its place is down here, in this world, in what you do outside and on the mat.
One of your goals, when you practice, is to overcome the difficulties of your body and mind that “narrow” you internally, by creating “space” to walk the paths which arise as you move towards new conclusions and experiments on your possibilities. As a practitioner, you investigate and wonder. In a way, you philosophize but in practice. The philosophy of yoga makes the routes of the paths clearer for you to walk through your experience or draws your attention to those you have already opened, perhaps unconsciously.
Katerina works as an ashtanga yoga teacher in studios in Athens center and in Chalandri, after having worked in the previous years with groups of both beginners and advanced students at the shala “Astanga Yoga Zakynthos” that she maintained in Zakynthos for many years.
Except from teaching ashtanga yoga, another significant part of her work is dedicated to moderating discussions in yoga classes that aim to emphasize the approach of the old teachers according to which THE PHILOSOPHY OF YOGA IS NOT FOR THE FEW BUT FOR ALL STUDENTS OF ITS SYSTEM.
Let us discover together the new, unlimited potentials that THE VISION of YOGA opens before us and your own, unique way to develop them as a practitioner on the mat. Express your interest through my contact form to start classes with me.
Events
With our discussions every first Wednesday of the month at the Synthesis Yoga Center in Chalandri, we attempt to answer the various “small” questions that arise in our minds as we begin to unravel the long thread of the following “big”, central question: How “contemporary” are the teachings conveyed to us by ancient classical yoga and how do they affect us as practitioners? For more information, contact me here.