returns April 26 –29, 2012
Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) is widely credited as the “father of modern yoga”. His students included Sri BKS Iyengar and Sri Pattabhi Jois. There is hardly a style of yoga anywhere in the world now that has not been influenced by or derived from his teachings.
Svastha in Sanskrit refers to the state of complete health and balance.
Krishnamacharya used to say that people come to yoga for different reasons, but three are important: for maintaining health and fitness, for therapy when they are unwell, and for spiritual or personal transformation. This programme will build a solid foundation for you to teach students with any of these needs.
Krishnamacharya’s central principle was that yoga must be made relevant to the student. Consequently, this programme will emphasise a personalised approach to yoga that will encourage your practice and improve your life.
Ganesh Mohan is the son of A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan, students of Krishnamacharya for the last 18 years of his life and co-founders, with Krishnamacharya’s son, T.K.V. Desikachar, of the Krishnamacharya yoga Mandiram. He began practising yoga as a child under the guidance of his parents. He is also well-versed in other related areas of traditional studies such as Vedic chanting.
Ganesh is also a doctor, trained in both modern medicine and Ayurveda. He is an advisor to the International Association of Yoga Therapists in the US and has taught at workshops, conferences, and yoga trainings in countries such as the US, Germany, UK and Singapore. He is the co-author of the Mohans’ book, Yoga Therapy (Shambhala Publications, 2004), and of the forthcoming book, From Here Flows the River: The Life and Teachings of Krishnamacharya (Shambhala Publications, May 2010). He is also deeply interested in the profound wisdom of yoga philosophy and psychology, which he continues to study and teach.
The Mohans are based in Chennai, India, where they continue to practise, study and teach. They also offer in-depth studies on yoga philosophy, yoga psychology and yoga therapy in locations across the world under the name of Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda.
Abigail
/ December 1, 2011The Ganesh workshop was so lovely, so gentle and yet intense. I kept struggling to find a way to write about it, but somehow was not able to feel satisfied to the point of sharing, or even feeling coherent. I feel that little by little, over the course of the 5 days, I made a journey. In the end I felt as if I was just out of words. It was difficult to write about it and I did not want to trivialize or interfere with what I was feeling in order to “get it over with”. So I waited….and now here I am…
The workshop was really amazing. And although it was completely different from what I expected, it far exceeded my expectations. In the way that a hypnotist convinces you to face your fears before you are aware of it, somehow Ganesh, in subtle tiny steps, expanded my practice without my noticing it. I was able to do a headstand, and even a shoulder stand (with the wall, but still—I have been afraid of shoulderstands…) Also coming back to Mysore I found myself stronger, more centered, more confident—balanced and stable.
I also loved in particular the work with the breath. I have reasonably bad asthma, and I have felt a strong and immediate effect from the “Om Namaha” exercise, which I have continues on my own.
Somewhere in my core I feel stronger, less frightened, more certain—not only physically but spiritually and emotionally. I think that much of this is the result of the totally lucid, accessible way that Ganesh spoke about the philosophy of yoga. I am a person that causes a lot of my own suffering, and I was particularly taken with his willingness to acknowledge that none of these yamas and niyamas were attainable to perfection—and that that was still ok. In the end all I can say is that I was deeply touched by him. I will remember this workshop for some time, and consider myself blessed for sharing in the experience not only with Ganesh Mohan but with all of you. You each added to my experience and inspired me in a meaningful way.