Callala Beach Yoga Retreats 2017

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Situated in the beautiful Jervis Bay region of the South Coast of NSW, is Callala Beach. Join me for a fabulous yoga getaway to this incredible location, staying in a quaint house, and a weekend of beach yoga, relaxation, meditation, swimming, fitness and delicious, freshly made food. There are only 8 places available for each retreat.

Dates:

Retreat #1: 4pm Friday 31st March to 3pm Sunday 2nd April.

Retreat #2: 4pm Friday 26th May to 3pm Sunday 28th May (NOTE THIS RETREAT HAS BEEN CANCELLED AS AT 18TH MAY 2017)

Inclusions:

  • Accommodation
  • Yoga, fitness and meditation sessions
  • All food
  • All drinks (yes, including some wine!)

What you need to bring:

  • Your fun vibes
  • Yoga gear, swimmers
  • Linen – towels, bed sheets and pillows

Cost:

Book and pay before Wednesday 8th March for the special early bird price of $400 per person.

For bookings after Wednesday 8th March, the price is $450 per person.

How to book:

Notify me via email. Please note which retreat you would like to book, and any dietary requirements in your email.

Just 8 places are available at each retreat, and bookings will be taken as first in, best dressed. Your place will not be confirmed until payment is received.

Thank you and I’m excited!!

Namaste
Eleni xx

The year that was 2016 (and what’s up in 2017!)

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2016 was the year where I started teaching without a wall in front of me in a split room position and carpet burn (hahaha!)
It was a crazy set up but it worked for 11 years!!!
2016 was the year that I opened my studio in a new location and it became OUR new yoga studio.  I was (and still am) so excited to start a new chapter for Eleni’s. At times, I’m overwhelmed, but I also feel this has just been my calling in life.
2016 was the year that I started to host fabulous workshops with amazing yogis and teachers of different disciplines of movement. Persian Yoga and Circular Strength Training with Kashi, a Prana Wheel Workshop with Sara from Ocean Love Yoga, Johnny Ivan Vasilj taught Fundamentals of Handstands and we even held an Introductory Workshop To Hooping with Spin Joy Hoop Dance.
In 2016, the most popular classes on the timetable were Saturday 8:30am General Yoga and Monday 7pm Open Yoga.
In 2016, the least attended class was Monday 5:30pm Gentle Yoga and Meditation.
In 2016, as in the past, there was a surge of new students from all walks of life.
And 2o16 was the year where more than ever more male students entered the yoga space and were willing to explore and make it a weekly ritual for themselves.
In 2016, students attend two classes a week on average, which is fabulous!!! I truly hope some more yogis will start making that commitment (you will not regret it.)
In 2016, I taught a crazy number of classes – around 565 (not including my own practise and self-development workshops). I also took the step to cancel classes which at times had less than 3 or 4 students booked to attend (so please confirm your attendance and bookings!)
In 2016, I planked around 1,980 times, lunged 2,000 times and did about 3,000 down dogs. My forearm plank stories were either extreme entertainment or lately very sedate as I am having a hiatus from dating. My swearing and talking in class have remained consistent.
In 2016, more students than ever booked in for Homeopathic consultations. My orders for remedies increased 200%.
In 2016, the most popular food on the yoga menu was Gina’s Vegetarian Gemista and Coconut Rice Puddings.
In 2016, the most purchased holistic products were eye bags, summer body oil and eco sustainable yoga mats.
And now it’s 2017!
So, what’s ahead?? More fabulous workshops and yoga classes with Sunday mornings dedicated to outdoors.
Yoga Freedom Retreats, in Australia and Greece. No timetables, no strict itineraries. Not for the fainthearted, but you will not regret it. Adventure, yoga, ocean, movement and creativity. A total commitment to you. Stay tuned.
In 2017, I hope the world will become a more peaceful place.
There are loving, caring souls out there. I encounter them every day. I feel blessed that you share your personal journeys with me. We travel through such challenging moments in our lives but I also feel you yogis have been there for me.
I am truly grateful.
Big love everyone and see you on your mat sometime in 2017
xxxxxx
Eleni

Special workshop

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SPECIAL WORKSHOP

Saturday 5th Of November
10:30am-12:30pm
Workshop with Johnny (@talldarkandhanstand)

Join us for this fun workshop featuring handstand and upside down fundamentals with a funky Vinyasana flow component. Bookings are essential!

Cost: $40 for members, $45 for non-members

Be careful, because you might have fun

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As I’m embarking on the 12th year of my studio, I have to say it’s not always been easy. Small business ventures are hard!!!! In every sector of our community.

I have struggles the same as everyone else. What has helped me constantly is that my day is filled with  bursts of fun. Yep, I have fun!!! I have joy in my work and I teach with the element of fun. I love to laugh and I so look forward to my classes and my days of teaching.
When was fun not taken seriously for us to feel in yoga?
Why is everything we do daily another tick or cross on the to-do-list?
I just don’t want  yoga to be one more thing to be ticked off in our weekly to do list.
Joy, fun and happiness are such important feelings that can be facilitated from our yoga practise, our meditation, our conscious breathing and cleansing rituals.
We all come to the yoga mat for different reasons ranging from mobility, strength, flexibility, to assist and prevent injuries, stress relief, unity, health, manage anxiety, to assist depression, mindfulness and so much more.
As we get on our mats we feel our bodies restrict us or our thoughts: “Why am I not more of this? (flexible, coordinated, thinner, stronger, better at balances, able to get a posture etc) and boom, we get down on ourselves. Then we have a look on Instagram and freak out at the thousands of  yoga models  and range of practitioners and question our practise.
Please don’t!!!! Fun and yoga can mix!!!! Come to yoga to feel and not just do.
So what if there’s something we can’t do? We constantly learn.
Learning is fun, adapting is fun.
Wondering at times “what the hell is my body doing?” Yep, that’s fun too.
Sometime, the best yogis are kids! I love teaching kids, because their hearts are glowing in lightheartedness.
Every kid, even if they have not been shown formally, will perform a downward facing dog and alternate raising a leg.
Yes, they love anchoring their head down as well and I go NO, NO, NO WITHOUT STOPPING THE FUN.
We have to do so many things in life such as pay bills, (yep, like yoga fees), clean the bathroom, study for exams, wash, clean, put petrol in the car.
Just please don’t let yoga be another element that hangs for us as a duty.
Gratitude is massive – be grateful that we got on the mat, and that equals an internal smile.
I aim to have a laugh when I teach. I’m not a quiet, serious yoga teacher (and at times I do love serious quiet yoga teachers) but I feel joy in interacting with all the yogis.
We go through a journey of self discovery constantly. Laughter is the best medicine. It has lifted my soul.
So don’t feel that yoga is all doom and gloom.
Connection of mind and body=fun
Mindfulness and self awareness=fun and joy
We are all pure beings of light.
We want health, vitality, energy, calmness, a smile and laughter – and mine can be a snorting chuckle!!!!
With the start of Spring we feel a new energy and perception of life and love. Ask yourself: Do I have bursts of fun during the day?
Come to yoga and it will uplift you in so many ways. But be careful, because you might have fun.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Eleni

SPECIAL PRANA WHEEL WORKSHOP

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SPECIAL PRANA WHEEL WORKSHOP
11:00am – 1:00pm – Saturday 24th September
$45 (pre-booked) or $55 on the day

Screenshot 2016-07-20 08.33.07The Prana wheel is designed to cultivate flexibility in the spine and open the heart. Prana Wheel workshops are designed for you to expirience the benefits that come with regular use of a Prana wheel. You will explore different ways to improve flexibility, strengthen and deepen your backbends plus we embrace a huge element of play into our two hour workshop. The instructor will take you through step by step how to effectively and safely use the Prana Wheel. Whether you decide you want your own Prana Wheel or not, there is huge benefit in joining in a workshop. Everyone is welcome our Prana wheel workshops are suitable for the complete newbie to yoga to the experienced yogi. Plus they are super fun and you will be left feeling fantastic!

Book now

Change is scary….but yoga = change

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Change is overwhelming.

Change is inevitable.

Change is movement.

Change is necessary.

My year so far has been a year of constant change, on every single level of my life and at times I have been left feeling crushed, exhausted, exhilirated, surprised, scared and excited.

Why can’t change happen in an orderly fashion? Why does the Universe not ask me: Hey Eleni, are you ready for change number one? How long will it take you to adapt to this change? What and how will you support this shift?

Then once you have adapted to that change, number two, it’s your turn now!

But nooooooo. It’s BOOM!! A roller coaster where the ride ends briefly for an inhalation and then BOOM, the time has expired and off you go again.

Change in our personal lives is a test. If we are not moving forward to continue our growth and discovery path, we may get lucky and get a big shove to GO! GO! GO!

I feel after the last six months of 2016 that change is growth – growth to a deeper level of consciousness. Change is inevitable as time shifts, as our discovery paths unfold, through our creative soul of discovery and daily searching.

My adaptation to all the craziness of the last few months has been my holistic lifestyle and the beautiful support of the people around me. My yoga practise, stillness on the mat, my morning meditation, my breathing exercises. Regardless of workload, my connection to nature, some silence and supplementing internally with remedies from my homeopathic dispenser. This year I have allowed myself to ask for help and accept assistance when people offer. That has been a massive change for me because I have always been too proud or pushing myself to get everything done. I have also had support from other health professionals with massage, cupping, acupuncture and visiting my own homeopath.

Has it been all smooth sailing? No! My eczema flared up which built up in consistency and growth to parts of my body that I never thought possible. Stress grows in the body then spills out, and that’s the picture of my eczema. I’ve also been too psyched up to sleep, but I do my little rituals and i usually fall asleep by 1am.

Since moving studios, I have been talking a lot about change and really looking forward to writing this blog topic. Because guess what?

YOGA = CHANGE

I have been practising yoga for 15 years (which in a yoga lifetime, means I’m still in primary school. When I started yoga, I did not fall in love with it instantly. I just persevered and competed internally with the yogis in my class (EGO!!!!) After two years that changed. I use to practise religiously at 6am every day – this has changed to one or two sessions a week which will suffice. If I did not do a vigorous practise then I felt incomplete and deflated and I spent too much time worrying what my body looked like, and kept pushing to change it (although my hips and hamstrings eventually became more flexible!!!)

Yoga changes so many factors which reflect on daily with my students and clients: energy levels, seasonal changes, injuries, our mindset, disease, our adaptation, spiritual connection, motivation, passion, age, spiritual connection.

Last year I incurred a shoulder tear after a crazy incident with my dog, which changed what I could and could not to do in yoga. This year it was my right knee. But yoga is change so we try new postures and we fall in and out of love with aspects of our practise. Learning new things about ourselves on the mat: THAT is change. I’m sure that I’m not the same yogi  now as I was 15 years ago or that I will be in five years from now.

And all this change, i will continue to welcome while i take a holiday – a change of routine and experiences. I’ll keep you posted. See you in class for our shifts of change and deep manifestations of self love, care and growth.

Love always,

Eleni

xxxx

Why I love, love, love Down Dogs

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Adho Mukha Svanasana – otherwise known as Downward Facing Dog.

I just love, love, love Down Dogs, and if you are reading this and have attended any of my classes in the past or present you are nodding your head and chanting YES, I KNOW!
I incorporate the asana in all of my classes to link and to create fluidity in our practise. A centredness is sealed. A moment to be on your own. It’s a soothing place, because you can either keep the posture, or you are in a perfect position to surrender to Child.
Where would we be without Sun Salutations in Yoga?
Down Dog creates a bridge in linking so many beautiful combinations of postures and shapes. It’s a link of strength and stability.
Down Dog makes me feel secure and when I want my own internal space, that’s what I do. Those moments where I feel overwhelmed or at times disheartened, my soothing place is upside down.
If you are a yogi who can’t do Down Dogs due to any contraindications, I recommend that the same shift of length and space can be experienced by standing facing the wall, palms outstretched above the shoulders, and extending and lengthening without pressure on the wrists or shoulders. A few of my students will also perform Dolphin Pose on the forearms, as a great variation.
Here are the three most common challenges for students when it comes to Down Dog (and I will be brief!):
1- Holding the weight on the upper body, rather then lengthening
2- Not spreading the fingertips of each hand, not utilising the web of the Hand between the thumb and index finger
3- Not being mindful of the continuous focus of breath and attention to the moment. Mental focus is key.
If you think any of these challenges apply to you, or if you have any further questions about your Down Dog, please approach me before or after class.
Also if injuries are prevalent, do get medical clearance and support from your doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor, osteopath etc. It’s a long term investment to your health.
I know exactly what it’s like. I experienced a shoulder tear injury 11 months ago and have only recently started feeling  less pain and have better utilisation of my right arm. UUUGHHHH I can still remember that Wednesday afternoon when my dog Jedda took a swipe with her mouth at a small white dog in the park. I did manage to save the dog by pulling on Jedda’s collar – but that meant all 40kg of her wrenched my shoulder. My rehabilitation incorporated physiotherapy, rest, homeopathic remedies, supplements, acupuncture and of course my own Yoga practise. I’m still mindful of what I can and can’t do with my right arm, so please, please, please don’t think that one yoga class a week or fortnight is enough support for healing and strength.
The benefits of inverting our body in Down Dog are skeletal, (hello spinal column), muscular (legs of steel), so rejuvenating for our abdominal organs, and soothing for our nervous system. You can still smile when you’re upside down!!!
See you on your mat, fabulous yogis.
xxxxxxxxxx

NATURE, BREATHING AND YOGA: A call to practicing outdoors

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As a summer lover – (regardless of my painful experience getting bitten by a blue bottle this weekend while swimming. This blue bottle had such power, it made my arm burn and double in pain for 24 hours. I loved the ambulance staff that attended to me. So helpful and reassuring. Deep gratitude) – I feel that yoga and meditation should be taught and practiced outdoors as often as possible, not just on random weekends, retreats or holidays.

I love yoga due to the freedom of movement and the beautiful relationship that it has with mother Earth. When I teach, I try to describe the postures from the fundamentals of nature’s creations: Earth, Sky, Sun, Moon, Animals and Plants.

That’s why I love standing postures so much. I stand and watch from above. I stand and feel as one. I breathe with deep consciousness of the Life Force to soothe, restore, calm and relax me. Breathing and meditation is most effective outdoors, especially by the beach (my ultimate passion) or amongst trees and plants.

It’s our human calling to practice yoga and meditation outdoors, to feel the prana, to step on the earth without shoes, to sit and move without the limits of walls. Yoga and movement outdoors has the ability to filter away our overexposure to chemicals, environmental pollution, internal stress and resentment, over reliance on technology, fatigue and our daily imbalances.

Yoga allows us to improve our sense of self and inner connection which expands to our community and the world.

I started teaching “Yoga at the Beach” nine years ago and I always feel such power watching the water move and the constant evolving change. It has such a magnet-like feeling.

It taught me not too be too hard on myself if my plans did not succeed, especially as a teacher. I can’t count the amount of classes that have been interrupted, changed or cancelled by rain, thunder, strong winds, mosquitoes, ants. We need to flow, like the tides that rise and fall.

My proposal is for more sessions outdoors. My yoga fitness classes have been conducted all throughout Bardwell Park, Marrickville and all its reserves. I would love to get more of us out and about.

Before joining one of my outdoor classes, please checklist the following:

  • For walking / running / bushwalking activities, wear reliable, comfortable and appropriate shoes.
  • If you’re feeling sick or weak don’t attempt a two-hour session in the great outdoors!!!!
  • Bring sunscreen, water, snacks and sometimes a change of clothes.
  • Bring an extra bag (biodegradable if possible) to dispose of rubbish as well as cleaning up rubbish when we can. We are using Mother Earth, so we need to give back. A fair exchange I think.

Share an outdoor yoga class with someone you care, love and celebrate.

Thank you and Happy Summer everyone.

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Persian Yoga Introductory Workshop 31st January

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Book now for this special session on 31st January!

Join an amazing introductory yoga workshop taught by Kasha Azad for:

  • An introduction to fundamental Persian Yoga and Circular Strength Training principles
  • An introduction to the use of Meel (Clubs) and Shena (Push-up board)
  • A guided group training session
  • The option to buy equipment on the day and save on shipping and handling costs ($50 value!)

Introductory Workshop Program – 90 minutes

  • Introduction to Persian Yoga & Circular Strength Training

The secret conditioning system of Iranian wrestlers and the physical arts of ancient Persian warriors! A time tested, battle-field proven, integrated approach to multi-skill and multi-planar movement and circular strength training. Developed millenia ago as a complete, yet simple, physical arts conditioning system to forge warriors out of ordinary people.

  • Fundamentals of Meel

Meel, the grandfather of the Clubbell and Indian Clubs! The Original and Authentic Persian Meel, made from one piece of timber for exceptional balance, symmetry and swing performance. Used for millenia by ancient warriors and modern martial artists to develop great strength, endurance, mobility, stability and synchronicity of the shoulders.

  • Fundamentals of Shena

The essential, and most ancient, calisthenics tool! The Shena is time tested to deliver results like no other similar device. Used by Persian warriors and modern day Olympic gold medal wrestlers. Enables a wider variety of push-ups, improves ROM, strength, flexibility of shoulders and hips for safer push-ups.

The session will be held outdoors, commencing at 8am. Please pre-book and pay by 29th January 2016. 

Health, yoga and fitness advice and my self-exploring and enquiring: Part #2

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Summer is finally here. A season of pulsating energy and vibration. There’s movement as we all try to spend as much time outdoors. Following Part #1, this is a continuation of health advice that I adhere to myself and hopefully you, awesome reader, can gain some inspiration.
It’s not too make you feel overwhelmed or that you are not enough.
1 Hydration
Consistency of water throughout the day is imperative, for adults as well as kids. If water gets boring (and many of my yogis roll their eyes when I remind them to drink after a class), you could add some of the following: Fresh mint, slivers of lemon, grapefruit, coconut water and pormegranate juice.
I love coconut water but the quality of what is sold is a mixed bag. Check that there’s no added sugar, preservatives or stabilisers. Another option which I love is to use all the herbal teas that have been stashed aside in winter. They can be made to a great iced tea and if I need some sweetness I simply add some agave syrup or honey.
It’s also a great time of the year to invest in renewable water bottles. Plastic sucks on all levels. It’s destructive for your body, the environment and your budget.
2 Swimming
Swimming is MAGIC in Summer. If you swim laps and love rockpools, be mindful of keeping trend with the tides. You do not want to swim with hundreds of people in old ocean water – yuck!!!! Swimming is amazing for yogis who want to support their mediation practise. It’s such a mindful movement of gliding through the water and correct breathing will have you swimming for longer then 30 minutes.
I have made a deal with myself over the years that if I want to keep high energy levels, my prescription is exercising (such as running) then swimming a minimum of twice a week.
If you are an adult who is not confident in the swimming department, please, please get some swimming lessons. You will LOVE it!!! Do not leave it for another year to go by. Ocean water is also very cleansing for our aura and a great mood stabiliser.
3 Salads
For the yogis who claim that  they can’t cook, salads in Summer are your best friends. Pimp them with yummy produce, your own home-grown herbs or do some bartering with a home gardener. Nuts, seeds, flavoursome vinegars, tamari, olives, olive oil and the best salt and pepper will have you glowing inside and out.
4 Outdoors
Moving your yoga and meditation practice outdoors is easier in Summer than in winter and much more accessible!!! Come and participate in some of the outdoor classes that I teach and present. Mother Nature provides such beauty and allows us to appreciate and stop the busy-ness that can sometimes engulf our lives. Practising yoga in the outdoor elements is divine. Head to a park or just before you get your midday coffee and sit on a park bench and breathe. You can do it!! It’s a blessing for our heart space.
May we all have a peaceful Christmas, safe holidays and a magnificent 2016.
Thank you for all of the support it has been such a blast.
Thank you for funding my yoga dream.
I adore Yoga, teaching and my magnificent students.
Love to all of us.
xx Eleni