Detailed Weekly Information  - West Crete 2010

West Crete Holidays is a group of several venues within the same area. Ask the staff in the Free Spirit office if you require more information.

Whilst 90% of the holidays are Yoga based led by visiting UK teachers, scattered throughout the year we also have dedicated walking holidays, walking combined with yoga, writing and poetry, Angel workshops and DNA Healing weeks.

Below are the holidays in date order regardless of which venue they are at, venues and weeks can be linked and it is also possible to stay on an accommodation only basis.

Non participant partners and friends are also welcome and we can make provisions for families to stay in apartments either at the beach or inland at Potamida village.

Fiona teaches a classical form of Hatha yoga in which breathing is controlled and linked to the posture work. So each movement is coordinated with the breath.

The yoga postures are modified in the class to meet the individual needs of each participant. The emphasis on breathing is important in all aspects of this gentle form of yoga and bring a focused and meditative experience to the work which can be relaxing and energising. Postures and breathing help to reduce physical and mental tension, improve mobility, increase strength and stamina and can help physical and mental health.

Fiona Ashdown is a senior teacher in the tradition from Krishnamacharya and Desikachar and this week includes the option of five guided walks at a time when you will see the countryside at its greenest.

 May 18th - 25th

Iyengar Yoga

Astrikas Yoga Centre

Margaret Gunn-King

Margaret teaches for her 13th year here, a course tailored to meet a range of skills levels from beginners to more advanced.

Her good humoured way of stretching and relaxing in Iyengar yoga, makes the holiday a real joy. She introduces the group to laughter meditation and yoga for the eyes and has experience of using yoga as therapy through her studies with the Yoga Bio-Medical Trust.

The days allow time for other therapy sessions and skills exchanges as well as swimming and other holiday pursuits.


 

May 25th - June 1st

Hatha Flow & Astanga Yoga

Hotel Peli

Davy and Janaki

YOGA WITH JANAKI AND DAVY

Enjoy allowing your body and mind to experience many strands of yoga under the tuition of Janaki and Davy.

Each day there will be two sessions where you can experience Janaki's unique style of Hatha flow yoga and Davy's Dynamic Astanga style. In addition, there will be chance to explore pranayama, meditation and visualisation with plenty of time for advice and help with your yoga practice.

Beginners and more experienced yogis alike are welcome and over the week, we can explore together backbends, twists, balances and inversions, partner yoga and much much more, going as far as your mind and body will allow. You will have a lot of fun and laughter and surprises!

Janaki has been teaching and practising yoga for many years and graduated from Sivananda Vedanta Ashram, Kerala in 1998. Davy has been teaching and practising for over 10 years. They share a sense of fun and passion for yoga and believe it should be inclusive and available to all.
 

www.inspirationyoga.net

June 1st - 8th

Sivananda Yoga 

Mithimna Beach

Juliet Green

Sivananda yoga aims to encourage world peace.

Easing your body, deep relaxation, breath control and meditation are the means for personal peace, without which there cannot be world peace! So not only will you feel the benefits in class but in your life. This holiday is an opportunity to witness yourself, discover more energy and nurture your inner quietness in the very supportive environment that Juliet brings to the holiday.

Juliet trained to teach yoga in India and has experienced many styles of yoga in the 12 year history of West Crete Holidays.

This breadth of experience, her intuitive nature and dedication to service helps both beginners and people wishing to take yoga beyond the asanas.

June 8th - 15th

Iyengar Yoga 

Hotel Peli

Sue Read

Iyengar Yoga with Sue Read
 
Sue has been teaching Iyengar Yoga in the Oxfordshire Area for more than 20 years. She holds the Junior Intermediate Level 1 Iyengar Yoga Teaching Certificate.
 
Sue is a regular visitor to India and has studied with the Iyengar family in Pune and is booked to return in 2011. She also continues to work and learn with senior teachers in England, regularly attending Judi Sweeting's teachers' classes and Margaret Rawlinson's workshops and holidays. Sue is also a fully qualified Midwife and teaches a very successful and popular "Birthlight Yoga Class" to pregnant Women.
 
Sue knows that the power of Yoga plus the care and experience of her teachers have helped her to achieve a complete recovery from serious personal injuries - her yoga practice has been a constant and enormous  benefit in her healing process.
 
Sue aims to instil and pass on her life experience to students through her knowledge and teaching of Yoga.
 
Over the course of the week we shall be working together to move students to another level through practice, help and guidance. In the three-hour morning session we shall work in-depth in standing poses, twists, seated poses and back arches. These will be explored in detail and students will be helped and encouraged to develop the intensity and integrity of their own practice. The one and a half hour evening class will be a quieter, winding-down experience where even with only a limited previous experience of Pranayama and contemplative Meditation it will be possible for students to achieve enhanced inner strength and peace. Inverted and recuperative poses will be features of the evening session.
 

June 15th - 22nd

Astanga Yoga 

Hotel Peli

Georgina Evans

Georgina was first introduced to yoga at the age of 16 while at boarding school in Yorkshire. She was taught Sivananda style yoga for two years and then left the path to explore other youthful delights. After working in the cultural industries for ten years she discovered Astanga Vinyasa Yoga in 1999 and has been practicing Astanga ever since.

Georgina has a British Wheel of Yoga teaching certificate and has trained with leading yoga teachers in various styles, including Astanga Yoga with Sri K Pattabhi Jois, Hamish Hendry and Dena Kingsburg; Yin Yoga with Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley; and Vinyasa Yoga with Siva Rea.

Incorporating elements of alignment and strength-building, Georgina encourages inner reflection and self-healing through her sharing of yoga teachings. Her classes offer a warm, nurturing and safe environment in which to develop mindfulness by working with focus and commitment, softness and strength, and a connection to inner peace and joy.

During this holiday there will be led Astanga classes for all levels in the morning to build strength, stamina and groundedness. In the afternoon, there will be a replenishing Yin Yoga class to gently cultivate deeper stretching, self-awareness and relaxation. Between classes you are free to enjoy the beach, walking in the stunning Cretan countryside, relaxing by the pool or exploring the local environment at your leisure.

 

July 20th - 27th

Iyengar Yoga

Hotel Peli

Margaret Rawlinson

Margaret Rawlinson has been teaching Iyengar Yoga for over twenty years and holds

a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teaching Certificate.

She is firmly grounded in the precision and depth of Iyengar Yoga and has studied with Sri B.K.S. Iyengar in India, the U.S. and Europe, and also with his daughter Geeta and son Prashant at the Institute in Pune, India.

She teaches regular classes in Berkshire, England as well as leading workshops and Yoga holidays at home and abroad. Margaret also brings to her teaching the richness of her experience in Chinese Medicine, which she has been practising for the last ten years, after qualifying in acupuncture and patent herbal medicine at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine.

Margaret believes that we can find self-healing for mind, body and spirit in the complete Yoga practice, which incorporates asanas, pranayama, and meditation. Her classes explore the asanas in depth to find new insights, openings and extensions - but always joyfully and with respect for the body and the great subject of Yoga.

For more details on the yoga you can contact Margaret on 01628 523174
email: rawlinson@waitrose.com

August 24th - 31st

Dynamic Yoga

Mithimna Beach

Sasha Norton

Sasha Norton views the practices of asana and pranayama as a preparation for the deeper practices of concentration and meditation. Yoga is a systematic training of the physical body, breath, senses and mind in attempt to achieve spiritual union and self-realization.

Although this may not be the aim of every practitioner ('and indeed was never my intention when I first turned to yoga for stress relief'), the techniques and methods are also effective in relieving physical and mental tension and encouraging a greater sense of well-being. Strength, flexibility and stamina are welcome by-products.

Sacha's preference is for a dynamic, physically challenging style of asana practice leading to a deeper state of relaxation and preparation for meditation. However, this is carefully balanced with the students' own needs and abilities and classes are constructed in an organic way to meet these needs.

Where possible, the following elements are covered in each session: sun salutations, (flowing) standing postures, balances, core stability, backbends, twists, inversions, forward bends, savasana (relaxation) and pranayama (breath work).

A variety of postures and techniques are used as appropriate, with modifications as necessary to suit individuals.

Classes are not suitable for pregnant ladies.

August 31st -  September 7th

Yoga and CBT

Mithimna Beach & Olive Mill

Gill Garrett and Juliet Green

The week is not prescriptive and set in stone but provides a framework from which you can choose the activities and sessions which fit best each day. The opportunities for walking, swimming, cycling and yoga will be offered for individuals to make their own choices and maximise the integration and development of heart, body and spirit.

Juliet Green brings her sensitive and heart-felt approach to yoga to you each morning to help prepare you for meditation and the practices that Gill will teach. Working into silence and stillness is the aim, but also to cast off the limitations of the body brought about by life stresses.

Respect for and nurturing of the body are important for Juliet and as she says: we are born with the body to suit this life, it is a blessing. Juliet also brings to you healing skills from Kinesiology to help you live with a comfortable body.
 

Gill Garratt is a Psychotherapist who likes to live and work in a holistic way. Heart, body and spirit awareness combine to give a fabulous holiday experience which includes sharing of resources of everyone to give a caring and fun environment nurturing respect and personal development.

Gill's passions are CBT therapy, an integration of philosophy, science and cognitive awareness, walking, cycling, dance and being at one in the beautiful Greek climate & culture, birthplace of civilisation. The week will include opportunities to consider what CBT is about, practical workshops, and time to reflect on what is important to the individual and how to look towards the future and integrate positive psychology. She will include Mindfulness meditative experiences.

The philosophy of Carl Rogers emphasised that the person who knows what is best for you is yourself - trust in the process.
We aim to be alongside you as facilitators in this process in a genuine and empathic way. 

September 7th - 14th

Angels on Holiday

Mithimna Beach

Chrissie Astell

Chrissie is an experienced workshop facilitator and angelologist, who travels extensively to bring the light and wisdom of the angels to each one of us.

Whether you are an avid seeker or an interested novice you will find this week relaxing, fun and enlightening. You will learn about the different angels, some history of the distant origins of angelology, and take part in the daily communications with the beautiful morning meditations of the Essene angels.

During this week we will get closer to our own angels in a fun and light-hearted way, through spiritual exercises and visualisations.

By opening up spiritually in a relaxed atmosphere with our guides and angels during the week we will learn how to truly connect with the angel within.

October 12th - 19th

Yoga For Your Health

Mithimna Beach

Wendy Faulknall

Wendy is an enthusiastic, dynamic, intuitive, heart centred Yoga Teacher.
Throughout your yoga week on Crete you will experience how the precision of beautiful gentle flowing yoga sequences connecting with nature, combined with breathing, yoga postures and stretches, to develop strength and flexibility, and relaxations to soothe and calm the mind and body can bring about a feeling of stillness, balance, harmony and peace within the individual.
This has a powerful positive affect on health on all levels.

Wendy feels that enjoying the experience of Dru Yoga in idyllic surroundings, eating scrumptious food, making new friends and relaxing, having fun and laughter creates a feel good factor and a great yoga retreat for everyone.

Wendy is MRDY qualified (registered with Independent Yoga Network and Yoga Alliance).