Restorative Teacher Training Module with Anouk Aoun Wendel
Dates are February 19 to 26, 2019:
We start with a welcome circle on the 19th at 17:00, followed by dinner.
The retreat finishes on the 26th after brunch.
The Idea of Rest in a Restorative Practice:
We live in modern times where much of what we do seems in need to be rushed: from waking up until the end of the day we are in a ‘non-stop involvement’ with the world. Many of us pack our day with more duties and higher efficiencies than is perhaps wholesome. There are so many workshops on how to become ‘more productive’ or how to do ‘more in less time’.
In my opinion, a healthy human being has both sides in his/her life: moments of being fully engaged with the world, but also moments of rest, stillness, silence and contemplation. I feel that we need to cultivate the latter a little more. Some practices of Yoga are said to emphasize precisely this state of inner silence.
Restorative Yoga results in a relaxed physical state. It focuses on staying in a variety of postures on the floor, using props to be comfortably and fully supported. The postures are helping to gently open and release certain areas in our bodies. In our course, we pair this with Pranayama to encourage a movement into stillness beyond.
The Course:
This is a YA certified 50 hr. training, which will allow those who already hold a Yoga teaching degree to add hours of study to their experience and teaching credentials.
The course is also designed to be accessible to those practitioners of Yoga interested in applying restorative Yoga to their own practice.
The Practice and Content:
In addition to the restorative part of the training, this course offers you an opportunity to study Pranayama with a qualified teacher in the lineage of Emil Wendel.
We will be exploring a series of Yogic breathing techniques that, beyond their physical benefits, further the possibility of a state of stillness. During the last days of our course the benefits, counter-indications and differences will be discussed, so that all participants can build a home practice. Please note this is not a certification for teaching Pranayama as this requires steady years of practice under the guidance of a teacher and we take this seriously. Of course - for those who have been previously studying with either Emil or I – the course builds experience towards becoming a Pranayama teacher in the future.
In the mornings, after the practice of Pranayama and meditation, we continue with an energetic Asana practice in the style of Hatha Yoga, which would be providing the balance between the states of vitality and stillness that I speak of above.
We will use the time in the afternoons to look in detail at each of the restorative postures: what is the most advantageous way to perform them, the benefits of the postures, the modifications and options suitable to what each body might need. Further emphasis will be placed on verbal skills. We will learn to give gentle adjustments to the student while in the posture and give options on how to sequence and combine with gentle stretches to the arms and upper body.
At the end of the course, the participants have an opportunity to present a short class and receive feedback.
Note:
This is not a YIN training, there is a difference between Restorative and Yin.
The Venue:
This training will take place in the Satsanga Retreat in North Goa, near the town of Mapusa and about 40 min away from the capital Panaji. (Emil has been teaching at this venue for the last twelve years). It is a beautiful place; comfortable, yet not overly luxurious, offering good, healthy food. The Yoga space we will use has wooden floors and it is well equipped with all the props we will need.
Price:
The cost is € 825 based on shared accommodation, all meals and program fees included.
For bookings please email:
Anouk Aoun Wendel:
Working with breath, movement and meditation, the practice of Yoga gives me an opportunity to daily access a sense of serenity, a space where, when I am there, I am not troubled by the constant turnings of my mind or the limitations of my body. This, has a cumulative and profound effect on my daily life.
My intention as a guide and teacher is to encourage us all to learn to be awake to the present, remaining self-observant, inquisitive, and kind to one another. I find that the quality of being joyous and non-dogmatic along our spiritual journey helps to cultivate a lightness of being.
After attending my first class in 1997, Yoga soon became a daily practice in and beyond its physical aspects. Over the last eight years, I have been regularly teaching at teacher training programs; in India since 2010 under the guidance of my teacher, Julie Martin, and in Bali at Yoga Arts with Louisa Sear, and at Intuitive Flow with Linda Madani.
Today, my teachings in Yoga are inspired by my heart teacher and husband Emil Wendel.