Hatha Yoga

In the holistic approach of Yoga Philosophy, we find Asana - the third branch out of the 8, as Patanjali (the man who first put Yoga in writing thousands of years ago) indicated in Yoga Sutra. In order to transcend the limitations imposed by the senses and the never-ending thoughts vortex manufactured by the Chitta | monkey mind, Asana Yoga guides us to shift the energy flow from descending to ascending and to release on the physical level all the accumulated energetical blockages so that we can, through devotion and consistency, experience more refined states of consciousness. So, the body becomes the very first vehicle through which you experience on a practical level the Yoga teachings.

But mind and body are not separate entities. The grosser form of the mind is the body and the subtle form of the body is the mind. The mind and body alike hide tensions and bottlenecks of stagnant energy. Each tension accumulated on the mental layer has a physical correspondence and the other way around. Hatha Yoga helps to release this tension by somatically acting on the physical layer.

The Hatha Yoga class closely follows the teachings and techniques of traditional Hatha Yoga.

    • Pawanmuktasan warm-up as a massage for joints and articulations and preparation for asana | physical postures practice

    • Surya Namaskara | Sun Salutation to generate prana | vital force in the body

    • With the body already warmed up we practice a flow to restore health as a natural way of living. We penetrate the depth of the practice through various Pranayama and meditation techniques. There is only you and your breathing on the mat, your very inhalation and exhalation will support you during the practice. The consciously restored balance between breathing and physical movement will sustain you throughout the class.

    • amplifies body awareness

    • improves focus

    • builds a deeper connection with your breath

    • physical tension relief

    • building resilience

    • unlocks stagnant energy knots within the body

    • sets the ground for meditative practices

Nada Yoga

Nada is the Yoga of vibration and sound.

Sound is an utterly powerful tool in pacifying the restless mind. In a Nada Yoga class we use sound as an instrument to influence the entire brain, body and mind. Starting from external layouts of the physical experience, we build the way through Nada Yoga towards inner sounds. The practice does not put a highlight on the physical flow of the body, but particularly guides towards pratyahara - sensorial withdrawal, dharana - capacity to holistically concentrate the mind on a single point and dhyana - the encompassing state of deep meditation.

Just as the body is made of flesh and blood, similarly chakras | energy vortexes inside physical body are constituted of sound, symbol and light. Hence, when sound attains a certain momentum of frequency, it influences the chakras. Therefore, Nada Yoga is an instrument in the awakening of the potential energy resting at the base of the spine.

Nada Yoga is extensively much more than a Yoga class combined with Sound bath even if during the class sound instruments will be used. Nada Yoga bridges the idea that mind is energy and energy appears as sound. If consciousness can become aware of that sound it will realize its own nature because ultimately the two forces - Shiva and Shakti | masculine and feminine - cannot be kept separate from each other.

  • The session layout may differ from class to class, but generally it will include:

    • mantra chanting - in opening and closing the class

    • use of various sound instruments, mainly tibetan bowls and planetary gongs

    • various practices for the holistic approach of chakras - mixing asanas | physical postures, mantras, mudras | hand gestures promoting energy flow with specific purposes, bhandas | energy locks.

    • guided meditation - including meditation upon mahabhutas - five primordial elements, gunas - fundamental forces of nature.

    • calms down the hectic mind

    • helps in building the understanding you are neither only the physical body, nor your thoughts/mind

    • refines inner listening skills

    • supports th healthy expression of your voice

    • works in a holistic manner upon the vibrational and evolutionary system of the chakras

    • promotes a healthier lifestyle by bridging the physical body with all the other subtle covers of your Soul.

Vinyasa Evening Serenity Flow 

We all accumulate during the week a lot of physical, mental, emotional residual tension. The fundamental architecture of the body naturally asks for release and if you are not the one deciding to consciously offer this self-care moments to yourself, the body will decide on your behalf. So take action for yourself.

Vinyasa Evening Serenity Flow is based on a contemporary Yoga style, consequently designed as a dynamic flow of physical postures put together to form a sequence. Either focusing on pace or alignment, a Vinyasa class is all about taking good care of your physical body and developing an understanding of the instrumental role it plays in one’s evolution, with a regulated nervous system.

The class is taught exclusively in English.

  • Expect a dynamic Vinyasa Flow designed to enhance your flexibility and focus. In this class, you’ll flow through fluid movements with precise alignment while learning to calm your nervous system and control your breath.

    Larisa will guide you to engage in each pose with hands-on adjustments, providing the perfect opportunity to improve joint mobility and leave feeling balanced and energized.

  • Vinyasa’s dynamic nature promotes:

    • body awareness

    • increased flexibility

    • physical strength

    • overall boosted stamina

    • increased breath awareness

    • reduces arterial stiffness

    • low blood sugar levels

    • reduces stress

Hatha Yoga (restorative pace)

We navigate daily through hectic scenarios of the existence. The mind stirs and very easily becomes prone to various scenarios. Any thought you might choose, the mind will feed with even more offshots. We accumulate and store on a daily basis all these thoughts, emotions, feelings which stimulates us physically, emotionally, intelectually, energetically. The footprint: an inflexibility with which we are not confortable with, but which became part of our lives. Gently, you can shift the frame of perception by cultivating responsibility for the restlessness coming from your thoughts. Restorative Yoga sets the ground for an honest, contemplative self-observance.

What does Hatha Yoga in a restorative pace mean?

It is a profound relaxation experience which facilitates the recalibration of the autonomic nervous system. The restorative practice will support you to shift from the accumulated stress effects towards an integrative state of relaxation, healing and energetical recomposition.

Why should you practice a slowed down version of Hatha Yoga?

It may seem an easy practice because it does not challenges you on the physical level, and using the props supports the body to settle as comfortable as it can. Though, it teaches us that relaxation can happen only when awareness is present. This faces you with strong unconscious narratives which hijacks your capacity to relax. The biggest challenge is to calm the mind fluctuations and to accept it is that easy to relax.

  • At the surface of the practice, the entire muscular-skeletal system shakes off. Each asana | physical posture is generously sustained by accesories | props (pillows, blocks, bolsters) and effortlessly maintained for a few minutes (5-10 min). All postures are supine. The focus is not on the active muscular stretch, but on a physical recreation through a passive stretch. In this way, the body releases tension and makes room for a confortable experience of rejuvenation. The asana conforts becomes a catalyst for change and a way by which you can accede to a more refined Yoga purpose, experienced far beyond the asana and Yoga mat - the experience of freedom.

  • •Balances the activity of the autonomic nervous system it is an excellent grounding practice

    • Releases muscular tension improves the amplitude and breath rhythm

    • Supports a healthy collab between body - breath - mind - soul

    • It has a positive impact upon stress, anxiety, insomnia, arterial pressure

    • Harmonizes blood flow to all internal organs

    • Supports the optimal functioning of the immune system

    • Supports a nourishing sleep

    • Improves focus and analysis capacity

    • Builds upon the ability to formulate a swift and balanced answer in front of daily challenges

    • Induces a deep, healing relaxation statefor the entire body

    • Guids the student towards meditation practice

Gong Bath

A Gong Bath is a therapy using planetary gongs as main characters. A planetary gong is an instrument created on the frequency of a specific planet from the Solar System. As it is an idiophone instrument - which means once it is touched it produces sounds from its entire being without the intervention of an auxiliary tool - a gong has the tremendous capacity to transcend the barrier of the physical body and penetrate on a cellular level. A gong bath is based on the resonance principle - an energetically loaded entity wanting to touch and work on other entity made out of energy.

IMPORTANT: Please hydrate extensively before and after a Gong Bath session in order to prepare the body and mind to receive practice’s full benefits and to ground deep at a cellular level all its effects.

  • A Gong Bath is an experience of freedom and personal openness. From a laid down posture - either Shavasana (completely laid down on your back), or fetal posture, or simple crossed legs as in meditation - the session promotes a new level of complete relaxation. Once the gong starts to release its vibrations your only job is to be curious. The gong bath per se usually lasts between 45-60 minutes, but by the end of the practice we will experience together few moments of complete silence. This will vary depending on the group’s energy

    • stimulates, updates and upgrades the autonomous nervos system activity

    • facilitates the transition from Beta waves towards Alpha and Theta

    • rebalances the activity between the two cerebral hemispheres

    • dramatically decreases the risk of cardiac diseases

    • stimulates serotonin production (through Alpha waves update - reaching between 8-14 Hz)

    • impacts all sheats of the human body - physical, energetical, emotional, psychic

    • leads towards profound meditative states

    • reduces inflammation in the body

    • immediately positively impacts the pain experienced in the physical body

    • promotes the creation and rejuvenation of stem cells

    • improves stress and burnout symptoms

    • promotes the release of a hormonal cocktail which will induce a deep relaxation in the body and mind.

Private Yoga 

We live in a body which is faced on a daily basis with indiscretions. And as it is equipped with a wisdom which transcends our sensorial capacities, it stores the effects of all these indiscretions and it signals us in various ways that it needs our deepest care and love. But the mind, this monkey jumping from here to there, impatiently awaits the next plan, the next idea, the next activity, the next sensorial delight. Consequently, it feels like we are denying our own body & mind the opportunity to live in a more compassionate, aware manner.

A private Yoga class replies to this very invitation. In extension to a group class, we consider all the specifical individual imbalances and we told them on the most appropriate rhythm to support energetically restoration of the body - breath - mind - Soul. Vital force is brought back to a flowing state.

The Hatha Yoga private class closely follows the teachings and techniques from traditional Hatha Yoga.

For available time slots and bookings, please get in touch with me.

    • hands-on assist - as it is a 1:1, it naturally becomes more easy for me, as your guide, to assist you in your practice. My undivided attention translates into real time suggestions and adjustments

    • customised sadhana | practice - Yoga is a practice of inclusivity, it is also adaptogen. Which means for you to experience the maximum effect of the practice, all the guidance will be adapted to your capacities and needs.

    • level of presence - regardless if you are just meeting Yoga or you feel like you need some guidance in your practice, the complexity degree and setup of your sadhana | practice is only decided by the capacity of being present in your own breath and life. Let’s use “beginner” for being curious and “advanced” for deepening the knowledge.

    • alignment & technicality - asana | physical posture is just one step from Yoga. But it is quite an important and extremely useful one. This is why we should lean upon it with responsibility and attention. Relaxation only happens when awareness is present and this can be experienced by listening and honouring the body’s message.

Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is a conscious relaxation technique derived from Tantra Yoga. Also known as “dynamic sleep” or “the yogi sleep”, Nidra (trans. sleep) is a systematized method that induces a profound relaxation on a physical, mental, and emotional level. At the borderline between the sleep state and active conscious state, Nidra steps in as a subconscious and unconscious dimension.

The fundamental feature of Yoga Nidra is the rotation of consciousness on the entire body. Gradually creating and following the roadmap of the practice invites the mind to disconnect from the sensorial information which, generally, restricts the relaxation capacity. When this state of allowing the tension to be released starts off, also there is an increase in receptivity.

Sensorial loaded life means a dispersion of human energy on all levels of existence. The mind diminished its ability to live in balance and harmony within all the spheres of activity. The main imbalance element does not hide in the physical body, but in the ever-changing human, individual ideals, in the way of thinking and feeling, influenced by the society in which he himself/herself is trying to blend in with a minimum of a compromise.

Is Yoga Nidra suitable for you?

Regardless if you perform physical work or a 9 to 5 job, if you have a protein-rich diet, if you are vegan or not, if you sleep a lot or not enough, all these imbalances (too much, too little) imprint in various layers of personality, they accumulate in the muscular, emotional, mental layers generating multiple forms of inflexibility. Yoga Nidra works with a sharply calibrated periscope in order to release all these tensions.

  • Depending on the duration of the practice, Yoga Nidra is recommended to be experienced from meditation, simple crossed legs posture, or completely laid down in Shavasana | corpse pose. Most of the time we practice in Shavasana not to be distracted by physical signals after keeping the body in a meditation pose. In this way, we have plenty of time to deepen the experience and allow it to penetrate even the most sensitive layers of the mind.

  • • Supports conscious, reliable shift of life approach

    • Enhances creativity

    • Improves focus capacity and memory

    • Improves locus of control

    • Brings inside clarity

    • Supports optimal functioning of the endocrine system

    • Works on an optimal blood glucose index

    • Supports in producing dopamine

    • Brings a profound muscular relaxation