Relax and Restore Teacher Training

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Relax and Restore Level 1 Immersion
Dates : 1 – 5 March 2017

To ‘rest’, to ‘relax’ and to ‘restore’ is a natural vital process in our lives. Rest supports optimal physiological functioning, and promotes healing and growth. During rest, one’s autonomic nervous system switches from sympathetic-dominance to parasympathetic-dominance, regeneration and restoration is accelerated. Research has shown that relaxation and rest is essential to everyone of all ages and culture, size and shape.

Come and learn the science and art of Restorative Yoga, the skills to practice active relaxation. This immersion supports ample space and time for learning, reflection and integration. Whether your intention is to deepen personal understanding of restorative practices, or to offer it to family / friends, or to teach and share this healing practice, there will be comprehensive coverage of both the theoretical and practical application of restorative yoga.

This comprehensive immersion offers 30 hours of study and practice of :

– Physiology of relaxation, and the Autonomic Nervous System

– Continuum of consciousness

– Relaxation skills / tools

– Sensory & somatic intelligence

– Sequencing a practice

– Variations to adapt and modify, creative use of props

– Teaching skills and ethics

– Adjustments and touch

– Group vs One-to-one

– Relaxation and Five Koshas (Physical, Energetic, Emotional, Mental, Pure Being)

– The process of reflection and integration

Fees : Early Registration : 470 € Full Payment

After 31st January 2017 : 520 € Full Payment

(It is also possible to pay a non-refundable Deposit of 260€, and to pay the remaining Balance of 250€ before the training)

Option for certification (fee = 100 euros) :
Upon successful completion of 30 hours immersion and a follow-up project, trainees will receive a certificate of completion, be offered to join an invitation-only online forum for restorative practitioners internationally, and also be listed on www.restorativeyogateachers.com, which is a widely promoted site by Judith Hanson Lasater and Adelene for this work.

Location : Radiant Light Yoga – Rue Saint Quentin 36 – 1000 Brussels

For more information: ncouloubaritsis@gmail.com

+32 485 69 53 05

Adelene Cheong (SYT / E-RYT200 / BWY / iRest Level II)

Having studied various styles of yoga, Adelene’s practice in the recent decade has been greatly inspired by her teachers Judith H. Lasater and Donna Farhi. She has trained extensively with both Judith and Donna, and continues to study and assist them annually.

Adelene integrates her experiences in her teachings, and is particularly interested in the therapeutic application of yoga. Her teaching focuses on anatomy, organic support and healthy alignment, with an emphasis on breath and spinal integration within the body, promoting a harmonious relationship with gravity. She is absolutely committed to a balance of both active asana and restorative practices.

Restorative yoga has been and still is a big part of her practice to restore and reset balance at every level. Adelene believes that rest is not a luxury, it is a physiological need. When the body is hungry, we feed our body with food. When the body (and mind) feels depleted or stressed, it is a vital need to feed the body with rest… to relax and restore.

www.relaxandrestore.com

This Training is organized by Galini Yoga & Radiant Light Yoga

8 Week Yoga Therapy Course

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The Yoga Therapy 8-week course is a comprehensive and evidence-based program for anyone looking to reduce stress or suffering from anxiety and/or depression.  All sessions will be held at Radiant Light Yoga in Brussels.  The course combines specific yoga therapy techniques to:

  • Enhance the functioning of the nervous system to improve well-being
  • Improve self-awareness
  • Promote the support of others by recognising habitual patterns of thought and behaviour.

Both awareness and therapeutic yoga are well known to help improve anxiety and depression, this 8 week yoga therapy course will help you access these profound healing properties.

Each session will be 2 hours long and will include education on mind-body functioning, a 70 minute yoga practice, breath work, additional mind-body activities and group discussion.

Research reveals that faster and more long-term healing occurs through the intelligent integration of mind and body techniques.

No previous yoga expirience is necessary.

Tuesdays 9:30-11:30

5 September-31 October with one week off (to be announced as soon as possible).

Cost: 300 Euro for the 8-week course, comprehensive manual and CD/digital download that corresponds to the 8-week course

For more information on the course: https://themindedinstitute.com/interested-in-yoga-therapy/8-week-yoga-therapy-course-stress-depression-anxiety/

About the teacher:

Emily Gold is a Yoga Teacher and Trained Yoga Therapist with the Minded Institute.   As a yoga therapist she is uniquely suited to work with individuals to utilize the teachings and practice of yoga to enhance well-being and improve physical and mental health. Emily also holds a Masters in Public Health and is strongly commited to evidence based practices. When not on her yoga mat Emily can be found reading, knitting or most likely spending time with her family.

Yoga as Medicine + Science of Yoga

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Timothy McCall, M.D. is a specialist in internal medicine, the medical editor of Yoga Journal and the author of the bestselling Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing (Bantam). He is one of the co-editors of the just-released medical textbook on yoga therapy, The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care (Handspring Publishing). He teaches Yoga As Medicine Seminars and Teacher Trainings in the U.S. and worldwide.

15-16 October 2016 (8:30-17:00 each day)

The Science of Yoga
A Weekend Immersion with Timothy McCall, MD

at RLY Brussels

Yoga practitioners don’t need to be convinced of the health benefits of this ancient Indian mind-body discipline. They can feel it, and that evidence can seem pretty persuasive. Yet to make the case for yoga to skeptical scientists, governmental agencies, as well as doctors and other health care professionals, one needs to explain how yoga works using the language of science.

Join physician, yogi and bestselling author Dr. Timothy McCall as he guides you, through specialized yoga practices and lively lectures and discussions toward greater understanding — both intellectual and experiential — of how yoga works.

Yoga has been documented to have hundreds of beneficial effects on the body and mind, from lowering cholesterol to improving the functioning of the immune system. Here, Timothy will mix practice with theory to give you a better understanding of:

  • the rapidly growing scientific evidence suggesting that yoga is useful for dozens of health conditions from cancer to heart disease to autoimmune conditions
  • mechanisms of action explaining yoga’s therapeutic benefits that conform with western, scientific ways of knowing the physiology of stress, stress-related disease and stress relief the use of the breath to modulate the autonomic nervous system and thereby potentially affect the functioning of all internal organs and bodily systems
  • the additive and potentially synergistic benefits of different yogic tools from asana (poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques), to chanting and various types of meditation
    the yogic technology for rewiring ingrained neural patterns
  • contraindications to safe practice with different health conditions what isn’t known and the limitations of science in investigating yoga how to talk about yoga in a way that won’t make scientists roll their eyes.

Appropriate for yoga students of all levels, yoga teachers from any tradition, as well as health care professionals.

Cost: €280 (€250 early bird before 15 Oct, plus €25 euros off each booking if you come with a friend)

 

22-26 October 2016  (8:30-17:00 each day)

Yoga As Medicine
A 5 day training with Timothy McCall, MD

at RLY Antwerp

Full training (Saturday-Wednesday) 22-26 October 2016 or weekend-only option (Saturday-Sunday), 22-23 October 2016

Yoga As Medicine is a 5-day, 30-hour, hands-on, roll-up-your sleeves intensive workshop, with much of the time spent doing yoga therapy in small groups under Timothy’s supervision. Practice observing bodies, study breathing patterns, analyzing doshas (body-mind types as described in ancient Ayurvedic medicine), and tailoring personalized therapeutic yoga practices. Lectures, yoga practices, writing exercises and guided meditations complement the group case work. In addition, on Sunday, Timothy will demonstrate an in-depth yoga therapy evaluation of one of the workshop participants. For those unable to join us for the full 5-days, there are a limited numbers of spots available to attend the weekend-only portion of the training.

During case work, which begins Monday, and in detailed discussions of selected cases, we evaluate “patients” in five categories, using the acronym SNAPS: Structural, Nervous System and Breath, Ayurveda, Psychology and Spirituality. This holistic roadmap allows for a systematic assessment of function on all levels of body, mind and spirit. YAM uses the full palette of yogic tools including poses, breathing techniques, meditation and philosophy as well as dietary and lifestyle advice.

Past attendees have included healers, health care professionals, yoga students and teachers, as well as those seeking yoga therapy for such conditions as back pain, cancer, arthritis, heart problems, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety and depression. Familiarity with basic yoga concepts and practices is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

Cost: Full training €720 (€650 early bird before 20 Oct) or weekend only €280 (€250 early bird before 20 Oct) plus €25 euros off each booking if you come with a friend.

#stretchypants

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In the land of my birth (good old USA), over the last 10 years there has been a boom in the number of shops dedicated to outfitting those who are practicing yoga, or who just love wearing yoga ‘stretchy pants’.  On nearly every visit to the States, I wander around these shops and think to myself ‘why don’t we have something like this in Belgium?’.  Good quality clothing that is designed for the practice of yoga.  Trousers with a waistband that do not roll down when sitting for meditation.  Tops that cover your belly when you move into Downward Dog.  Clothes that allow for movement but also look nice, wash well and last for years.  Well, the waiting is over: our wonderful friends at Manduka who have been making fantastic yoga gear have now launched a clothing line!  I am thrilled to be stocking some of this line at our shop in Antwerp… stretchy pants here we come 🙂

 

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4 Year Anniversary

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On the 1st of May we are celebrating 4 years of Radiant Light Yoga!   We have a special offer from Monday 2 May – Saturday 7 May (inclusive): bring a friend (or family member) who is new to RLY and if she/he purchases an Intro Pass, you both receive a free class!

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Open Door Day

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With the busy-ness of getting all of the last-minute details sorted out, this blog about opening our new yoga space in Brussels has been slightly neglected 🙂 Now we have started to offer classes in RLY Bxl, welcoming new students and re-uniting with students that have been in my classes for years (yay!), and generally getting things rolling. Sitting in RLY Bxl one evening and savouring a feeling of contentedness, I had a sense that the space is really starting to feel like home.

I really didn’t set out to become a yoga teacher and to have yoga centres… My background is in academia and was working in research for a university when we moved to Brussels. After several years of attending yoga classes, one particularly encouraging teacher (now a wonderful friend) suggested that I might want to do the teacher training programme in order to deepen my own practice. It wasn’t until I began teaching yoga as a trainee that I realised that this was actually something I loved doing. Everything else has flowed from this. There is a quote from Oprah Winfrey that so eloquently summarises how I feel:

‘I come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.’

Teaching and providing a space for others to teach is something that I simply love to do. I have had amazing support (which seems a wholly inadequate way of describing the story behind the Wilrijk studio, as well as the way my husband helps bring my dreams to reality) and Radiant Light Yoga is very much a team effort. If I won the lottery I would still be doing what I am doing (though maybe we would have even MORE props!), and feel grateful to be able know this. So I hope that if you are reading this blog post you will feel inspired to drop by the new space and experience what happens when you do what you love: wonderful things develop!

We are having an Open Door Day on Sunday 24th of January, so please come on over 🙂

22nd November!

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We have a date! We have a date! We have a date!

It is official: Radiant Light Yoga Brussels will celebrate its grand opening on Sunday 22nd November. Yaaaayyyyyy!

The plan is to have a day of yoga classes and then a party to officially launch the space. Once the details are finalised, I’ll be putting up the schedule for the day – including a registration for the classes. Everyone is welcome to join us for the party!

There is such a difference in the space now – it looks so very nearly ready. The first coat of paint is on the walls, the ceiling has been painted, the wall panels are ready to be installed, the sub-floor is laid, the steps have been put in place… It looks so much larger now! The back wall will be painted a beautiful blue, which gives a lovely focus to the room and looks fabulous with the oak floors. Check out the sample book 🙂

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Yep…still in progress

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With so much happening all the time, I’m always surprised when people ask me ‘Is the Brussels RLY up and running yet?’ and they aren’t totally amazed when I say ‘Not yet, looks like it’ll be sometime mid-November. But we DO have a boiler now!’. I might be a tad effusive about my enthusiasm about the daily progress. Okay, yes, the workers always look a bit taken aback when I appear in the doorway and start to exclaim ‘OH WOW! Look at the _______!’ (fill in with any of the following: ceiling; new wall; smooth new windowsill; cable for lights; prep for the stairs). But seriously, look at what happens from visit to visit:

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When the light technician comes in with a sample of the LED lights to demonstrate their effect, it is like the turning on of lights on a Christmas tree! The lighting changes everything making it softer and more inviting. We will have indirect lights so no one is laying in savasana with a light shining in their eyes – how lovely is that?

The front windows are really becoming a feature now that the walls have been tidied up and repairs have been made. The frame is in place for our feature wall – now awaiting the delivery of the wood! The photo below shows where we were when everything had been cleaned out, and where we are now.

Still in progress but looking great.

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RLY Bxl: before it gets better

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The phrase ‘it gets worse before it gets better’ definitely applies to the building trade.  Piles of rubble grow, dust continues to gather, and wires appear… We have big movable scaffolding for the guys who are plastering the ceiling, trenches dug into the floor for the cables, and stacks of building supplies piled up in the corner.   This messy chaos brings change.  For example, to my delight, walking into the space I discovered that the entrance now includes a step rather than a ramp (the space used to be a show-room for cars, so presumably this is where they drove them in at one point).  We will gain so much additional floor space for yoga by levelling the floor.  Here is a photo of the ‘before’ and the ‘during’ – eagerly awaiting the ‘after’ 🙂

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I walk in and visualise what people will see as they step into the space: a reception area to welcome them, a long kitchen with a tray of cups and flasks of hot tea, a table and chairs for sitting after class to enjoy the post-yoga bliss, a little shop area full of inspiring books and props… I am officially a fan of the men who are putting in so many hours to create the physical manifestation of the vision of the wonderful Francesca – our amazing architect and project manager extraordinaire.  They may not know it, but every time I pop in to have a nose around, I see the space for our yoga community becoming a reality.

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This week at RLY Bxl…
Without going into too much detail of the day to day advances of the renovation team, suffice to that the works have been progressing.  I never thought I would be so delighted with electricity cabling.  Having peered in through the window this afternoon, I can report that the ceiling will soon be plastered (it will be nice to be rid of the pink ceiling!).
Progress continues apart from the construction.  Our class schedule  is now shaping up nicely, with a mix of different types of yoga and meditation (Kundalini, Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, Restorative, Prenatal, Postnatal, Mindfulness Meditation).  In addition to morning classes, we are planning to offer two lunchtime classes each weekday to accommodate those who work nearby, plus evening classes.  I’m so excited that we will have a mix of teachers from RLY Antwerp and also Brussels-based teachers.  We are working on the website, to make it easy to use for both Antwerp and Brussels, including separate online class schedules.
There are no firm dates as yet, but keep your diaries free for Sunday 8th November… We will be having a launch party and will let you all know once the date is confirmed.