Saturday 3 March, 2-4.30pm, $25
at Morra Hall, 115 Ocean View Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island

Come and experience the beauty of restorative yoga on Waiheke – a perfect time to centre and find peace during the busy holidays.  By relaxing deeply and consciously we allow tension to release, we allow our bodies to soften, for energy to flow. By re-connecting with our ‘natural’ relaxed self, as  Judith Lasater says, we restore and renew our energy levels.

Bookings recommended for this session as the Big Relax regularly fills up.

To book, email Neal on info@sacredmoves.com or phone on 09 372 7650 Find out more about Restorative Yoga here.

Download the flyer here….

Yoga Dance Flow Workshop

It is hard to approach the mat on days like this… anticipating the stiffness that has settled into your joints, the muscles that seem ever so tight.  The reality is it is days just like this one when you need it the most, when you need to call on the tapas of all the teachers and students that have come before you, and experience for yourself – yoga.  It does not matter if you are stiff, tight, sore, uncomfortable what matters is to find the breath and the rhythm, to set aside the time, to simply “be” for as long as you can, maybe 15 minutes maybe 2hrs.  Find the will to maintain the practice, keep the fire burning even with just a few embers it is still warm and heating, it is still yoga.

I have always found asana in winter to be difficult, I will admit that.  What I have found works to keep me going is to emphasize different aspects… strength and endurance versus flexibility, inversions instead of backbends, focus on the breath instead of technical alignment, increasing pranayama, chanting, and philosophical study.  These are just a few ideas.  Practicing a bit later in the day after the sun has been around for a bit might also help.

What seems particularly clear is the advice from my teacher Peter Sanson, “go to the mat with no expectations,” allow the practice to unfold, recognize that the winter practice is simply different then summer, autumn or spring practice.  Enjoy the time on the mat.  It is a time to be with yourself, to contemplate each moment as it is happening, to appreciate the energy of others if you are practicing in a class or with a group.  Just make sure you dress warm (layering is best), have an extra blanket to put down underneath you in your final relaxation, and look forward to the hot drink when you are finished.

Viktoria Maczo has been doing yoga since her early teenage years. Inspired by her father and other prominent Yoga teachers she tried many styles of yoga including Iyengar-,  Hatha-, Kundalini- before she has found Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She is a YA200 certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher (Yoga Academy Auckland 2010/11). She also holds a Hatha Yoga teacher certificate (Padma Yoga Studio, Hungary 2006).

After many years of study & practice she has found Yoga as her lifelong passion.

She believes that each one of us is unique and has a life-purpose. Finding it is a great blessing which brings joy and fulfillment in one’s life.

In her classes she aims to bring more understanding on Yoga by weaving her knowledge of Yoga Philosophy, Sanskrit, and Ayurveda into her teaching.

She attends Peter Sanson, Dena Kingsberg and David Timbs workshops and recently started her YA500 training with Stephanie Nelson.

In addition to her passion in yoga she is a Bach Flower Remedy practitioner. She is working on combining this gentle healing method with her Yoga Practice.

She lives and teaches on Waiheke Island this heavenly beautiful piece of land on the Pacific.

Every Thursday from 30 June, 12noon to 1pm $10

Chi Kung  (also known as Qi Gong) is a self healing system  consisting of a series of fluid and gentle movements combined with  focussed breathing techniques and meditation. It was developed in China by the Taoist monks over 3,000 years ago and has continued to be  widely practiced in China  today.

Good health, vitality and well being in the Taoist system are achieved through  the balance and uninterrupted flow of chi , the energetic life force, the intelligent life spark that drives the functioning of our bodies. But chi can be blocked and can stagnate just by the vicissitudes of living such as physical or emotional trauma, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and environmental pollution and stress.

Chi Kung works with specific energy channels to unblock and move stagnant chi , cultivate fresh chi and distribute it evenly through the body. It is a holistic system designed to deeply relax the body and mind so reducing susceptibility to stress and stress related illness. Because Chi Kung is a low impact exercise system it is easy on the joints and knees almost anyone can do it regardless of age, weight, body type or fitness levels.

Read more bout Zeenat here

Zeenat Stretton is a certified instructor of The Universal Healing Tao, a system developed by Master Mantak Chia and now  based in Thailand. Master Chia’s chi kung (Qi Gong) system is taught by a network of instructors  in Europe, the Uk and the US .Zeenat has trained in India, Thailand, and in New Zealand under the tutor ledge of Senior Instructor Gabrielle Euteneur.

She is particularly interested in empowering individuals and communities to take responsibility for their own good health and well being.

Please contact Zeenat directly if you are interested in individual or group sessions.

stretton_quik@ihug.co.nz

Kino MacGregor & Tim Feldman, Nov 2012

Kino MacGregor and Tim Feldman of the Miami Life Center will be in New Zealand November 23-25th 2012 for a weekend yoga intensive.

Kino MacGregor

Kino MacGregor is one of a select group of people to receive the Certification to teach Ashtanga Yoga by its founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. Without any background in movement training Kino MacGregor tried her first yoga class when she was nineteen. Three years later, she joined Govinda Kai’s Mysore-style classes in New York City and became a dedicated Ashtanga yoga practitioner. After seven months of traditional Ashtanga practice Kino traveled to Mysore, India to meet her true teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (“Guruji”). Upon her return she began real self-practice by practicing alone and devoting herself entirely to the study and teaching of Ashtanga yoga. After seven years of consistent trips to Mysore, at the age of 29, she received from Guruji the Certification to teach Ashtanga yoga and has since worked to pass on the inspiration to practice to countless others.

In 2006, Kino and her husband Tim Feldmann founded Miami Life Center, where they now teach daily classes, workshops and intensives together in addition to maintaining an international traveling and teaching schedule. Miami Life Center is a community built around yoga, holistic health and consciousness on Miami Beach www.miamilifecenter.com.

Kino is dedicated to carrying the torch of Ashtanga yoga throughout the world and sharing the amazing tradition of Ashtanga yoga with everyone who is inspired to practice. In her unique, inspirational and playful approach Kino helps all her students expand and deepen their understanding of yoga and life. Yoga found its expression through her message of spiritual strength, balanced flexibility and emotional peace.

Passionate about the environment, Kino pledges a monthly donation to Go Zero! to make her heavy travel schedule carbon neutral. As life coach and Ph.D. student in holistic health with a Master’s Degree from New York University, Kino integrates her commitment to consciousness and empowerment with her yoga teaching. She has been featured in Yoga Journal, Yoga Mind Body Spirit, Yoga Joyful Living, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Ocean Drive Magazine, Boca Raton Magazine, Florida Travel & Life Magazine, Six Degrees Magazine as well as appearing on Miami Beach’s Plum TV and the CBS Today Show.

Tim Feldman

Tim Feldmann is founding director at Miami Life Center, www.miamilifecenter.com, which he runs with his wife, Kino MacGregor. He was set on the yoga path by his teacher Lino Miele and is Authorized to teach directly by the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Method, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and his grandson, Sharath Rangaswami. Tim is dedicated to Ashtanga Yogas traditional style.

Tim’s teaching integrates his extensive study of Alexander Technique and sitting meditation with 20 years of experience as a professional dancer and an internationally acclaimed choreographer – see www.cphcph.dk. His in-depth knowledge of functional anatomy, alignment as well as the idiosyncratic body and mind in stillness and in motion creates the platform upon which his solid understanding of the Ashtanga method rests.  Tim is a cherished teacher giving workshops, retreats, classes and privates throughout Europe, India and the Americas.

Kino and Tim will be coming to New Zealand in November 2012 to present the following weekend workshop (Nov 23, 24, 25) in the Auckland area:

Friday
6:30 – 8:30 PM Workshop
Breathe & Bandha: The Magic Carpet Ride
Inhalation and exhalation are two sides of the inner body. In this class learn how breathe is the key to unlocking the mysteries of inner strength and accessing a calm, meditative mind. Only by mastering the breathe will you gain true access to the power centers deep within your pelvis, often referred to as the “bandhas”. These energy locks are both physical muscles that you can access and spiritual doors that you can walk through. Often the missing key to a flowing practice, the integration of breathe and bandha lead the way to the discovery of limitless power and lasting peace both in your yoga practice and in your life.

Saturday
10 AM – 12 PM Guided Full Primary Series Ashtanga Yoga
2 – 4 PM Workshop
Arm Balances for Everyone
Break a sweat while learning to safely balance on your hands, have fun while challenging yourself and gain access to your own inner strength. The magic of the arm balance is demystified and made approachable so that every practitioner who is not afraid to put in the work can feel the beauty of flight. When done correctly arm balances can build self-esteem, increase energy flow and heal old injuries. Every student will leave with proven techniques to safely build the structural support necessary for stability in all strength based postures.

Sunday
10 AM – 12 PM Mysore
2-4 PM Workshop
Fearless Backbends
If you enjoy a challenge but think you are too stiff to ever bend your back then this is the perfect class for you. By understanding how to work your body in a safe way you will learn what it takes to really bend over backwards with no fear. The secrets of deep backbends are available to you through the integration of sound anatomical principles, healthy alignment techniques and intensely fun stretches. The dynamic movement mechanics of bending your spine are the key to limitless flows of energy and in this class you will begin to explore you natural potential to for deep backbends with safety, support and enthusiasm.

The venue: Surfdale Hall 8 Hamilton Rd, Surfdale Waiheke Island.

Pricing schedule will be announced closer to the date.

Sibylla is actively engaged with Holistic health and healing since 1993. Originally from Germany she lives on Waiheke island since 10 years, teaching Reiki and the Universal Healing Tao. In her private practice in Palm beach she gives individual sessions in transformational and oriental bodywork such as Chi Nei Tsang, a form of taoist abdominal massage.

Sibylla is passionate about empowering people to heal themselves and to offer them ways to complete their conscious unfolding of body, mind and spirit. Sibylla teaches “energy awareness” and “inward connection” to teenagers, as well as terminal ill people, where the medical department has no cure or given up on. However, connecting with Love, and especially self love is at the core of all the techniques and modalities, that Sibylla is offering.

“I love the challenge of believing in the impossible, especially in the power of human consciousness, and the universal love.”

About Tao Yoga

Tao Yoga is a form of Qi Gong, which means the harnessing and cultivation of the subtle life force called chi to harmonize body, mind and spirit. It can be practiced by anyone, who is able to develop awareness and their senses. There are no strenuous movements or other difficult techniques involved. In fact most of the Qi Gong exercises and meditations can practiced on a chair, or even lying in bed, if necessary.

More info

To find out more about Sibylla’s work or want to register for any of the Tao Yoga classes, you can visit her website: www.transformationalbodywork.net, or call her on 372 3133, mobile 021 538 486.