This retreat will be taught in conjunction with Clare Brooksbank. 

 

Ashtanga yoga uses familiar Hatha yoga postures within a set sequence that has been devised to help to body progressively open. Once the student has learnt the sequence the teacher can help refine the postures while the student focuses internally working through the sequence in a type of moving meditation. This form of yoga is known for it's dynamism, though the student will leave the class deeply relaxed, stretched as wel as strengthened.Clare has had an interest in alternative therapies since her teens and has studied various nutritional therapies such as macrobiotics, herbal medicine and naturopathy. This interest in health lead her to India in the pursuit of knowledge of yoga.On her first trip to India in 1993 Clare began her studies of yoga. It was during her second trip in 1994 that she was first introduced to Ashtanga yoga. On her return to the UK in 1995 she made contact with Derek Ireland (who was the first person to teach Ashtanga yoga in the UK) and studied intensively with him over a number of years whilst working in his retreat centre the Practise Place in Crete. In 1997 Clare completed a teacher training course with Derek in India and he remained her primary teacher and inspiration until his death in 1998. She has since studied with some of the most respected Ashtanga teachers including John Scott, Gingi Lee, Michaela Clarke, Hamish Hendry and David Williams. She has also extended her understanding of yoga through study with teachers of other schools of Hatha yoga including the Satyananda school and Mark Freeth's Freestyle Yoga Project.It was whilst studying at various classes and workshops in London during 1999 that Clare began to give private classes to students in London. She continued teaching in London until 2001 when she moved to Derby and became the first resident teacher of Ashtanga yoga in the city where she still teaches. Clare enjoys involving herself in each student's practise. She has many years experience helping people with issues, injuries or weaknesses and is skilled in adapting the postures to suit the individual.