Intelligent movement, breathwork, meditation, deep relaxation
Tailored classes, use of yoga therapy techniques, yoga for spinal health, classes that promote circulation, digestion and improve energy levels
Upcoming workshops:
Bookings now open.
Sat 7 October 2017, 4-6pm @ Centre for Higher Self, 1 Marion street, Wellington
Booking advised as spaces are limited. No previous experience required.
If you would like to find a deep sense of release from tightness and tension, free your breath, mobilise your spine, improve your digestion and circulation, nourish your joints and generally have a delicious experience, then this session is for you!
During this session, we will flow through a beautiful sequence of easy natural movements to nurture the body and mind, promote deep sense of calm and relaxation while improving your energy flow and oxygenation of cells and organs.
Cost: $40
Sat 28 Oct 2017, 2.30-4.30pm @ Tiaki, 32 Kent Tce, Wellington
Booking required as spaces are limited.
Do you find it easy to maintain a good posture when standing, walking or working behind the desk? Finding mindful ways to open the front body is often the key!
Spinal mobilisation and health are probably one of the most important reasons why many people turn to yoga. We hear a lot about the advantages of opening opening through the front body into backbends to counteract the effects of our sedentary lifestyle.
In this workshop we will look at safe and effective approaches to backbends. We will discuss how your core, your hips and especially your shoulders play a huge role in mobilising the spine while providing stability and range of motion. We will progress safely through easeful backbends and shoulder mobilising movements to relieve upper back, neck and shoulder stiffness/tension, mobilise the hips and awaken the core. Feel nourished, uplifted and full of energy.
You will learn techniques you can apply to your yoga practice and in daily life to bring your whole body into a state of structural and emotional balance.
Cost: $55, – includes a $25 voucher for a structural assessment with a physiotherapist!
Bookings now open. Please book early as the previous session sold out.
Sat 11 Nov 2017, 1.30-4pm @ Centre for Higher Self, 1 Marion street, Wellington
The lower limb plays an important role in yoga practice. With an array of hip openers offered in yoga classes, it is crucial to understand the abilities of our Western bodies used to sitting in chairs to keep the knees safe while mobilising the hips.
In this session we will look at safe and effective approaches to working with your hips for sustained or increased mobility and overall joint health. We will also discuss relationships between the hip, knee and ankle positioning in many common postures. We will highlight essential alignment aspects and discover ways to create muscular engagement around the joints for strength and stability.
And to make you fully equipped to progress with your practice, we will learn to feel common compensations occurring in postures and find out how to correct them.
What others say: “As someone with tight hips, slight knee and ankle issues and a recently ruptured achilles, I found the “Happy Hips, Knees and Ankles” Workshop be an inspiring and eye-opening session for how to approach my yoga practice mindfully.” – Anne O’Driscoll, Wellington
Cost: $65, includes a $25 voucher for a structural assessment with an osteopath and a $20 off voucher for a kinesiology session at Radiant Health Centre with Richard Rust (balancing musculoskeletal, biochemical and mental/emotional body systems).
Bookings now open. Please book early as the previous session sold out.
Sun 26 Nov 2017, 2-3.30pm @ Centre for Higher Self, 1 Marion street, Wellington
Booking advised as spaces are limited. No previous yoga experience required.
A deep hip flexor muscle – psoas – is unique in its many important functions. It is the main muscle of standing/posture and walking. It is also a place of emotional holding which has a huge impact on our ability to process life experiences, ability to relax and breathe freely.
This deliciously relaxing session is specifically focused on releasing psoas. This session offers a potential to relieve back pain, SI joint pain, improve posture and core function and release overall tension in body, breath and mind.
Cost: $30
“Thank you so much Katya for offering Mindful Backbends workshop, it was fantastic. I’ve never felt so free in my shoulders and supported in my back bends! You’re an absolute wealth of knowledge and your teaching style makes this information so accessible and easily digestible. I’ve taken away loads of gems for my personal yoga practice and am feeling full of ideas and fresh alignment cues to use in my teaching so thank you!”
“I have practised yoga (primarily Iyengar) for over 15 years, and have also explored Tai Chi. Over the 12 months that I have been doing Calligraphy Yoga I have noticed big changes in my daily breath, my energy levels and spinal flexibility. Perhaps the most unexpected benefit has been the strengthening of my core. No sit ups required! I am a big fan and strongly recommend Calligraphy Yoga to you.“
“Thanks so much for offering your Vinyasa Fundamentals Course. It was hugely helpful for breaking down and giving instruction on going through the sun salutation. Despite attending yoga classes regularly since 1995 I found that I had much to learn, in all asanas and transitions. It was an informative experience for me and I felt your precise instruction and clear explanations were very helpful.“
“I found the “Free Up Your Spine, Fire Up Your Core” Workshop to be really valuable in terms of helping me to relax into my breath as a way of connecting to my core which became the generating source for the movement into the yoga postures. This was a very new and exciting discovery for me and one which will, as with most things that are worthwhile, require practice! Katya and Susan are excellent teachers and explained all of the principles clearly while giving us plenty of hands-on support throughout. Thank you – this has made such a positive change to the way I approach my yoga.“
“Bravo, Wonderful, Most Excellent! The Studio Management wants to thank you for putting on such a great, informative and professional “Core Matters” Workshop. The feedback has been so positive and encouraging and we look forward to having the opportunity to host more of the same or similar workshops. I personally found the course content so valuable as a teacher and practitioner and you both compliment each other as a team.”
“A very informative, detailed Pelvic Power Workshop. So much core activation occurred for me as I moved my pelvis through various movements.
I was totally encouraged by your obvious knowledge and felt completely safe. Thank you!“
“Arriving with some aches and pains I was hesitant but curious attending the Calligraphy Yoga Immersion. The way Katya introduced Calligraphy Yoga and then had us moving in our own flow in just over an hour was amazing.
I will definitely follow this through as it identified game-changing physical focus and fluidity. My previous aches and pains are a distant memory.“
“Before I started Calligraphy Yoga I was finding that I was mentally exhausted and drained of energy by the end of a working day, which was hard as I love my work. The practice has really helped me ground myself and massively increase my energy levels making me feel more peaceful and vital at the same time.
Over time I found myself using the breathing techniques naturally throughout the day. It made me aware of how easy it can be to let go of stress if you know how to breathe. I have also found that even knowing just a few techniques and doing a little everyday really helps to maintain mental acuity and be more aware of my own body and its movements.
Knowing how to breathe and move well are invaluable to your physical and mental health.”
“The Vinyasa Masterclass today was AWESOME! I was quite apprehensive about coming, as I’m relatively new to Vinyasa, but know I should never have doubted Katya’s teaching!
Katya was such a fab teacher as always – she is inspirational, ego-less, calm, entrancing, and has a fabulous ability to help you feel what you could do differently to enhance postures.
Thank you Katya, as someone who is relatively new to Vinyasa, I love learning from you.“
“The Pelvic Power Workshop was a highly informative and very useful session – a good mix of science and yoga, easy to understand and apply. I was able to incorporate the tips and adjustments into my practice immediately. At the time and in the days since I have been marvelling at how different the postures feel without inadvertently straining my back! I would thoroughly recommend it.“
“The Pelvic Power Workshop on Saturday was excellent. Susan and Katya were outstanding and I was really impressed how much I learned. They are both so knowledgeable and professional. Really worthwhile for anyone interested in getting more from their yoga practice!“
“I have attended a number of workshops with Katya and Susan and it is every time a life changer! These workshops bring new discoveries to light that support and inspire deeper connection to your body.”
“Really great session on Hips, Knees and Ankles. It helped me to get so many movements clear in my mind and I can’t believe how fast the time passed! I will definitely do another one of these workshops!”
“A very informative, useful and well paced workshop on Glutes – Great Shape, Flawless Function! Very helpful for improving my yoga practice. I had not realised how important engaging the glutes was for my practice nor did I know the techniques to help you do it properly.”
“As someone with tight hips, slight knee and ankle issues and a recently ruptured achilles, I found the “Happy Hips, Knees and Ankles” Workshop be an inspiring and eye-opening session for how to approach my yoga practice mindfully.”
“I would recommend the Pelvic Power Workshop to everyone – to beginners and advanced yoga practitioners alike. Having a greater understanding of your body and how your pelvis moves will change how your body feels on daily basis.”
“I am enjoying practising Calligraphy Yoga with Katya immensely. I have found the sessions to be not only enjoyable, but well planned and executed, with clear instruction on each movement, coupled with explanations about the objective of each move. The sessions do not over exert me at all, yet at the same time they also make you feel like you have done a workout. The sensations I am experiencing throughout my body during the practices are remarkable, ranging from physical sensations to mental relaxation during the meditation period at the end of each session.
After each session I feel very loose and relaxed. I feel that this is very beneficial to my muscle tension and flexibility and overall well-being. I intend to continue my training in Calligraphy Yoga, and would highly recommend it to anyone considering trying it.”