Yoga on the beach in Amed, Bali
Yoga has something for everyone, not just for the flexible or spiritually minded. Yoga is neither glorified gymnastics nor mystic mumbo jumbo, it is an incredibly broad collection of real techniques and practices for self transformation.
The science of Yoga represents more than 2000 years of un-interrupted research and exploration of human potential. It is first and foremost a practical approach to Humankinds deepest existential questions; such as how to live and get the most out of life. There are so many practices and techniques to Yoga that no one man could claim to be a master of all of them. These practices don’t just affect the physical body, but also affect the mind, emotions and subtler aspects of the human being, and there is something for everyone.
Asana is the physical practice, using posture and movement with the breath to increase strength and flexibility. See here for more about our Asana classes.
Asana can also considered preparation for Pranayama and Meditation, which we also teach, as much as these thing can actually be taught. we also regulary run workshops in different aspects of Yoga practice, follow us on faceburp 🙂
Tantric approach to Hatha Yoga
We don’t stick rigidly to any current in contemporary Yoga but believe in adapting class content to the level of group and mood, whenever possible adapting to the specific therapeutic needs or or personal interests of the student, be it surfing, freediving or simply being healthier and happier.
We follow a fluid approach to Tantric yoga that’s strong on postural alignment without neglecting the breath, which combined with Bhanda is used to explore the subtler aspects of Asana. Whether dynamic and restorative, we believe Asana should be an exploration of the mind body connection and never something competitive or purely physical.
The breath and focused intention are our principle tools for deepening asana into a truly meditative practice, a process which the teacher should guide but never dominate. For this reason any adjustments are discrete and non-invasive, less often being more in the art of adjustment.
Influences
Our approach to postural alignment is influenced by Iyengar and Desikachar traditions and to the subtler aspects of yoga by the Tantric approach of the Bihar School of yoga.
The fact that we also teach free-diving (breath-hold diving) means strong emphasis is placed on the breath. We see the breath as a tool for exploring asana and asana as a tool for exploring the breath. With the breath as our vehicle we try we bring our awareness to the subtler side of Yoga and develop our Asana into a truly Tantric practice.
Though we also teach practices aimed specifically towards the needs of Surfers, we believe Asana should always be achieve something more than just strength and flexibility, it should help create some inner stillness.
Yoga & Freediving
For years freedivers having been using techniques of yoga to improve their freediving abilities, indeed every aspect of yoga has some benefit for the freediver, be it asana for strength and flexibility or pranayama and meditation for increased mental and respiratory control.
Less obvious are the benefits of free-diving for the Yogi though they are equally profound. The most obvious of which is increased awareness and control of the breath. Vimalanada the famous Tantrik master used to teach pranayama through immersion in the Indian ocean. But there are less obvious benefits too. The fact that the apneist has limited oxygen obliges them to become capable of fluid and meditative movement, with minimal superfluous mental and physical activity. This has a subtle yet profound effect on a person’s asana practice.