The teachings of Diane Long and the legacy of Vanda Scaravelli
with Robin Stamm and Alexandra Sotiropoulou“You don’t have to look for answers in any other place than yourself.”

In this three day workshop for teachers and students of yoga, Robin and Alexandra will guide you in a deep exploration of intention, movement and connection to the spine.This unique way of practising yoga is “revolutionary” as Vanda Scaravelli said, since we stop all pushing and pulling and we give all the emphasis to the quality of attention instead.

The brain along with the spine form the core of all vital body functions, emitting as well as receiving information through a complex circuit of nerves. During our yoga practice we aim to awaken the potential of the spine and train both the body and mind to move, work and breath in a more whole way. We also try to alleviate the pressure inside the spinal nerves, to elongate the curves of the spine and bring width and depth to the breath. It is without a doubt the most important task we need to accomplish in yoga and also life, to work with and not against gravity, to discriminate between “good” and “bad” effort and to bring harmony and poise in everything we do.

The teaching of Diane Long comes from 40 years of experience in practicing and sharing this wealth. We, as her students, will share our understanding and interpretation of this work, as it is imprinted in our bodies and minds through our own practice and our connection with the teacher.

Robin simultaneously began her study of movement and breath within the dramatic arts and yoga communities of Saskatchewan, Canada. She started teaching yoga early on in her practice, but after her first meeting with Diane Long in 2007 made the conscious decision to step back from teaching in order to enter more fully into her personal practice, and ultimately, her own body’s intelligence. Diane introduced Robin to a way of practicing yoga where the spine is revealed as our vital centre and where rested strength grows into lightness. This yoga refines our awareness and attunes one to the possibility that movement can be so full of grace that it seems effortless.

Robin went on to complete a graduate degree in physiotherapy and supplemented this conventional education with Tom Myers and his wonderful team in Maine, adding Anatomy Trains Structural Integration to her repertoire. She continues to develop and refine her understanding of the human form and its function with continuing education courses and through her Canada-based physiotherapy practice. Here she has a strong interest in children and peri-natal issues relating to movement and working with adults who have chronic conditions.
However, her devotion to yoga and her teacher remain the guiding lights in her ongoing study of life and movement. Robin continues to study intensively with Diane Long and has taught alongside her for the past three years.

Alexandra started practising yoga in her early twenties and felt that her body needed the awakening that comes with the practice of yoga. She studied and taught Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Yoga inspired by the Satyananda system, until she made a big turn when she met Diane Long, in 2008.
When she started practicing with Diane it became very clear to her that yoga is about the awakening of the body and spirit. She gradually shifted the way she was teaching in a manner that could be liberating for people, suggesting ways to bypass the obstacles ahead of them in a more intelligent and creative way, one that manuals and books cannot really describe or offer.
After Diane’s first visit in Athens to teach, Alexandra has been inviting her every year, as well as visiting her in Italy. Diane is guiding her to bring more refinement to her practice, inspiring her to search further and to share all these insights with her own students. This way is really unique, in a way that you don’t really depend on information coming from the outside but tune in to another frequency, that of intuition and clarity.
Alexandra is teaching yoga without interruption since 2003 and has led many workshops and retreats.

– Friday 14/6
18.00 – 20.30
– Saturday 15/6
10.00 – 12.30 & 14:30 – 17.00
– Sunday 16/6
10.30 – 13.00 & 15.00 – 17.30* Early bird price until 20th of March
170 euros
* After 20th of March
200 euros
* Cost for one day (two sessions)
90 euros
Information and registration
vijayayogis@gmail.com
6938690884
Alexandra Sotiropoulou