Yoga courses
our yoga courses in Varese, Padua and Genoa
Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is a form of yoga based on a series of psychophysical exercises of very ancient origin, which originated in the initiatory schools of India and Tibet.
The word Hatha means energy of the sun (Ha) and the moon (Tha), Hatha Yoga represents the union of the sun and the moon, the solar, masculine energies and the lunar, feminine energies. The positions that the body assumes in Hatha Yoga are called Asanas in Sanskrit and although they can seem to be simply gymnastic exercises, they are actually much, much more.
The Asanas have innumerable purposes, they help to stimulate the internal organs by improving blood circulation, they favour the lengthening of muscles while toning them, they promote the liberation and correct function of the diaphragm, they help to regain concentration by fighting stress. In the Asanas, both body and mind find firmness and stillness. Our attention is directed to listening to the regular flow of breath, this is a very important aspect of yoga that helps us regain that inner balance and unity so necessary in our lives.
Hatha yoga is within everyone’s reach, what is important is consistency in practice with the right mental attitude. Our courses are based on teaching the sound principles of the eight limbs of classical Hatha Yoga, and from this knowledge base, our students can intelligently and creatively investigate the many aspects of Yoga in the contemporary world.
STRENGTH & FLEXIBILITY
This is a yoga practice based on a sequence of exercises (asanas) combined with breathing that will help you increase muscle strength, flexibility, maintain bone density, improve balance and reduce joint pain as well as greatly improve your practice and endurance.
RESTORATIVE YOGA
Restorative yoga is the yoga of recovery and relaxation. The practice derives from the teachings of master B.K.S. Iyengar and was perfected over the years by his students to become a therapeutic style of yoga. The emphasis of restorative yoga is on relaxation in the absence of any kind of effort in simple postures, that are also suitable for those who are not regular practitioners and those who are not very flexible or those who have a disability or need to recover from an accident. Restorative yoga helps trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which has the ability to balance the body and bring its response system back into complete equilibrium. The comfort and needs of the individual are met with the use of yoga equipment called ‘props’ that will support the body during relaxation poses. Gravity will help with relaxation and the release of tension.
VINYASA YOGA
It differs from the slower, meditative styles in that it focuses on a fluid and dynamic flow of movements. Traditionally, ‘Vinyasa’ refers to the sequence of asanas that corresponds to the central section of the Sun Salutation, which involves the transition from the Downward Looking Dog Posture (Adho Mukha Svanasana) to the Four Leaning Posture (Chaturanga), to the Upward Looking Dog Posture (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), with a final return to the beginning posture. The sequence described is often used in Vinyasa to transition between different asanas or as a form of warm-up. The development of this style is due to Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) who brought attention to the connecting phase from one asana to the next, refining the study of the moment of transition between postures, in synchrony with a specific breathing that favours a harmonious continuation.
YOGA DRUMMING
In all ages past, man has always used the drum to facilitate meditation and awaken awareness, we want to use the power of the drum to guide and stimulate our inner investigation and transformation.
Dr. Assagioli calls rhythm the ‘fundamental primordial element of music’ and quotes the poet D’Annunzio in his pronouncement of rhythm as ‘the heart of music’. Assagioli goes on to say: ‘Rhythm is the element that possesses the most intense and immediate influence on man and directly affects both his body and emotions’.
In our teachings at Holismos, we have created a method to combine the union of yoga and the drum. With an accumulation of over 35 years of yoga practice as a teacher and therapist, 30 years of percussionist experience, a martial arts practitioner and instructor.
The union of yoga and the drum comes a powerful method to facilitate the union of body, mind and spirit. The sound of the drum represents a new way to enhance and stimulate our yoga practice and deepen our inner quest.
Yoga and percussion form a natural partnership; the vibrating energy of the drum seems to exert a powerful pull towards a deeper practice, both for the students and for the teacher. The percussionist moves energy in space while the yogini moves energy in the body and the rhythm of the drum can go so far as to influence the intensity of the movement.
PRANAYAMA
One of the possible and common interpretations of the term Pranayama can be ‘breath control’ or ‘breath retention’. We can say that Pranayama represents our ability to expand or hold the breath by creating hypo-ventilation and sometimes even hyper-ventilation. The term breath control, though the most commonly used, does not fully convey the idea because the practices used are varied. The word Pranayama is formed from two roots: ‘prana’ plus ‘yama’. Prana means ‘vital energy’ or ‘life force’. It is the force that exists in all things, both animate and inanimate. Although closely related to the air we breathe, it is more subtle than air or oxygen. Therefore, Pranayama should not be considered merely a breathing exercise with the aim of introducing more oxygen into the lungs. Pranayama uses breathing to influence the flow of prana in the Nadi, or energy channels, of the Pranamaya Kosha , or sheath (level) of energy.
The word Yama means ‘control’ and is used to refer to various rules or codes of behaviour. However, this is not the word combined with prana to form pranayama; the correct word is ‘Ayama’ which has many more implications. The word ayama is defined as ‘extension’ or ‘expansion’. So the word pranayama means “extension or expansion of the dimension of prana”. Pranayama techniques provide the method by which the life force can be activated and regulated to go beyond normal individual boundaries or limits and achieve a higher state of vibratory energy and awareness. The practice of Pranayama is performed following clearly defined rules and techniques developed over centuries by the Indian Rishi (sages).
Four aspects of pranayama
Four important aspects of breathing are used in pranayama practices, they are:
- Puraka or inhalation
- Rechaka or exhalation
- Antar Kumbhaka or internal retention of breath
- Bahir Kumbhaka or external breath retention
The different pranayama practices include various techniques that utilise these four aspects of breathing.
The most important part of pranayama is actually kumbhaka or breath retention. However, to practise kumbhaka successfully, there must be a gradual development of control over the breathing function
Therefore in pranayama practices, more emphasis is placed on inhalation and exhalation in the beginning to strengthen the lungs and balance the nervous and pranic systems in preparation for kumbhaka practice.These practices influence the flow of prana in the nadis, purifying, regulating and activating them, thus inducing physical and mental stability.
nada yoga
Nāda yoga (नादयोग) is an ancient Indian metaphysical systemIt is equally a philosophical system, a medicine and a form of yoga. The theoretical and practical aspects of the system are based on the assumption that the entire cosmos and everything that exists in the cosmos, including human beings, consists of vibrations, called nāda. This concept holds that it is the energy of vibrations rather than matter and particles that form the building blocks of the cosmos.
Nāda yoga is also a reverential way of approaching and responding to vibrations. In this context, the silent vibrations of the self (anhata), sound [and] music (ahata) have a more significant spiritual weight, respectively, than the sensory properties normally provide. It is believed that the silent vibrations of the self (anhata) and sound and music (ahata) play a potential role as a medium/intermediary for achieving deeper unity with both the outer and inner cosmos.
The use of vibrations and resonances by Nāda yoga is also used to pursue palliative effects on various problematic psychological and spiritual conditions. It is also employed to raise the level of awareness of postulated energy centres called chakras.
Nada is pure vibration that has always existed, it is the eternal vibrational essence of the universe sometimes referred to as Purusha or Ishwara. This vibrational essence is evoked by the sacred sound or Pranava (AUM – OM).
PURUSHA – ISHWARA – NADA, this vibration tends to condense into a point that is referred to as Bindhu or Prakriti. Bindhu: described as a point, not a point without energy and life marked on a piece of paper, is understood as an opening that connects what is unmanifest with all that is manifest. From Bindhu everything enters the manifest world and becomes KALA, the coloured or manifested world.
NAD – BINDHU – KALA this is the path that creates the manifest world, we however through constant effort and study want to travel this journey backwards and that is from:
NAD – BINDHU – KALA from the manifest to the unmanifest, to the essence of the divine vibration.
Only through full awareness of our true nature and the transformational possibilities of our existence, momentarily obscured by the veil of Avidya, can we begin this journey backwards in search of the source. The constant practice of the principles handed down by the many schools and lineages of the Darshan of yoga are the tool that can show us the way. The choice is ours.
kirtan
The root of kirtan is kirt (Sanskrit: कीर्त्). The root is found in the Samhita, Brahmana and other Vedic literature, as well as in Vedanga and Sutra literature.
Kirtan, sometimes referred to as sankirtana (literally, ‘collective performance’), is a call-and-response chant or musical conversation, a genre of religious performance arts that developed during the bhakti devotional traditions of India.
However, it is a heterogeneous practice that varies regionally and includes a variable mixture of different musical instruments, dance, oration, theatre, audience participation and moral narration. In many traditions, a kirtan is a call-and-response style performance, ranging from devotional dance and singing by a singer and the audience. The kirtan is often accompanied by musical instruments such as: Harmonium, the veena or ektara (string instrument forms), tabla (one-sided drums), mrdanga or pakhawaj (two-sided drum), flute (wind instrument forms) and karatala or tala (cymbals).
At Holismos Yoga & Wellness, we use different forms of traditional kirtan derived from Hindu and Buddhist traditions, as well as Christian and other prayers. Chanting uplifts the spirit and because of this, all religious traditions, in addition to prayer, use chanting in its various forms as the main tool for uplifting the individual energy and spirit.
Join us at Holismos and come and sing while releasing the tensions and stress that we inevitably accumulate day after day.
MANTRA
For thousands of years, mantras and special formulas derived from ancient teachings and texts in Sanskrit have been practised in pursuit of precise effects on the lives of those who assiduously practised them: to reduce karma and focus the mind by dispelling the disparity that normally exists between mind, body and spirit.
The aim was also to attune the human body ‘instrument’ to the various invisible energies existing in our universe. The constant, systematic practice of mantras produces an immediate effect on the breath, making it deeper, and automatically also increases the capacity for concentration; the mind becomes clearer, new information is perceived and an expansion of consciousness is created.
Awareness grows in our inner space, while the difficulties imposed by our karmic baggage slowly dissolve through the repetition of these ancient, sacred formulas. We can then begin to see, feel and understand in a new light, with new ways of understanding.
The word Mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words, the first syllable comes from “Manas” or “mind”, and the second syllable comes from the Sanskrit word “trai” which means “to protect” or “to free from”.
Thus we can define the mantra as a tool used for the mind, which eventually frees it from the fluctuations of the mind. The ancient spiritual texts, which have come down to us from the East, are presented to us through one of the oldest languages of our humanity: Sanskrit.
In our Hatha Yoga practices, special importance is given to the use of mantras, as given the vibrational nature of the cosmos, we seek to create a vibrational attunement with it, not only through the practice of asanas and pranayama, but also through the use of ‘Vak’ the voice. And it is the voice that is the most sophisticated instrument at our disposal.
The special vibrations attributable to prayer or mantras, handed down to us through centuries of experimentation by the Rishis and ascetics, thus become an effective tool in our journey of growth and reconnection to the primordial sovereignty of ‘Nad, Purusha, Holy Spirit’.
yoga therapy
While in India it has always been an intrinsic value of yogic practices, that of having a positive impact on the health of the practitioner and until recent times, there was no particular need to develop a line entirely dedicated to its therapeutic aspect. On the contrary in the West in recent decades, we wanted to give a certain impulse to this aspect and today yoga therapy represents a valid synthesis between the ancient wisdom of the East and the most recent knowledge of complementary medicine, biomechanics and posturology of the West.
Teachers, both in the East and in the West, who over the years have developed “yoga therapy” as a discipline in its own right, have arrived at it by adding their respective professional and personal experiences, particularly in the fields of healing, motor science, ‘anatomy, biomechanics, psychology, etc.
We can simply think of yoga therapy as a way to replace old habits with new and current paradigms. This sees the mind, body and spirit as interconnected and tries to evoke lifestyle changes. It can certainly be a great way to manage disease and facilitate healing. It includes not only the body techniques we perform when we are on the mat, but also and above all wants to reinterpret the way we relate to ourselves and to others, outside the yoga mat.
While in normal yoga classes certain dictates of progression and study are followed, in yoga therapy sessions, we try to adapt the practice of yoga to the individual needs of subjects with specific and persistent health problems, which cannot be taken care of. in normal group yoga sessions.
At Holismos we specialize in following our clients individually, supporting them in their path of healing and evolution.
For two years we have founded “Aletheia, a training school in yoga therapy and integrated medicine“
Courses and Timetables
WEDNESDAY
FROM 7.30 PM TO 9.00 PM | Hatha yoga
MONDAY FROM 6.45 PM TO 8.15 PM
GIOVEDÍ FROM 8.00 PM TO 9.30 PM
SABATO FROM 10.00 AM TO 11.30 AM
MONDAY
FROM 10.30 AM TO 12.00 PM | Hatha Yoga class with Sara
FROM 6.45 PM TO 8.00 PM | Hata Yoga class with Massimo
FROM 8.15 PM TO 9.30 | Vinyasa Yoga class witch Sara
THURSDAY
FROM 6.20 PM TO 7.30 PM | Hata Yoga class with Massimo
FROM 8.00 PM TO 9.30 PM | Hata Yoga class with Massimo
SABATO
FROM 10.00 AM TO 11.30 AM | STRENGTH & FLEXIBILITY class with Sara
