Yoga Teacher
Namit Kathoria
'By practicing yoga, impurities dwindle away and the light of wisdom dawns.'
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Namit has a strong family tradition of yoga and has studied yoga all over the world including in his native India.
He has also travelled throughout North and South America and Europe learning from recognised teachers and constantly developing his teaching style.
His background as a leading health professional allows him to apply and explain the health benefits of yoga at every level. As a result his yoga retreats and courses are some of the most respected, traditional and original in the world.
He has studied both yoga and health to a very high level and uses his knowledge as the foundation of his highly respected system of teaching, which his students benefit from at his retreat centre in Spain: Yoga Sutra Shala.
Namit has written several articles about yoga and health for ezine online magazine. He has also written two short stories published on Amazon, one of which is entitled “Yoga – The Journey Inwards” and he is currently writing a plant-based nutrition recipe book.
Some of his guided meditations are published and available free of charge on the app named Insight Timer, by searching for 'Yoga Sutra Shala Retreat Centre'.
Namit began studying yoga and meditation as a child from his maternal uncles and pranayama (techniques for breath control) from his father.
Having a maternal family from the Himalayas, he has always been deeply inspired to receive greater teachings about yoga.
He was educated in the philosophy of yoga by his mother and his maternal grandmother, who later introduced him to a Nepalese yogi staying in India.
This yogi passed on to him the foundations of the yoga system, which Namit has developed himself and which he now teaches to his students.
As well as having a strong family background in yoga, Namit has yoga teaching qualifications from Rishikesh in India (the birthplace of yoga) and also from Dharamsala in the Himalayas in India (the current residence of His Royal Holiness the Dalai Lama).
He has spent time teaching advanced yoga in Dharamsala and has deepened his own practice in various shalas in Mysore (India), where he learnt different systems of yoga such as vinyasa and hatha yoga.
During his twenties, Namit studied martial arts in China and had his first insights into traditional yin yoga. While at university in the UK, he studied and practised martial arts, which added to the depth of knowledge in anatomy and physiology that he was gaining from his university degrees and allowed him to further develop his practise of yoga (in terms of anatomy), later in his life.
While he was in China, Namit heard about an American Chiropractor (who had previously lived in China and Taiwan) and who applied principles of anatomy to his practice. Inspired by this, Namit travelled to the US in order to learn from him and to understand his principles of alignment and structure, as related to the human body.
These experiences led Namit to study anatomy further with a chiropractor in India and later to study there with a physiotherapist, both of whom had backgrounds in yoga and led courses in Yoga Anatomy for health professionals.
Completing these courses gave Namit insights in to yoga-related injuries and how to avoid them, as well as using yoga anatomy to guide students to go deeper into their postures and in doing so, help them to release deep underlying tensions in their bodies and hence in their minds.
As he progressed in his yoga practice, Namit also travelled in Europe and returned to the Americas, learning different teaching styles of yoga and adding techniques from these to his own teaching style. He taught yoga regularly in the UK before moving to Spain.
Namit studied life sciences, including Pharmacy, at King's College London and Clinical Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast, where he graduated to Masters Degree level.
As a health professional, Namit has worked in roles advising on the use of medication in various specialities such as Neurology and Cardiology at some of the largest hospital teaching trusts in the UK, including the Oxford University Trust (ORH). He also worked as the first Pharmacist Advisor to the national NHS Direct service.
As such Namit has a very deep knowledge of the body and how it functions optimally. He has also studied the health benefits of yoga as part of his teacher trainings and other studies in India. As a result he has made his classes very health-orientated.
After studying health sciences and working as a health professional, Namit studied ethical business management, including social responsibility and fair trade at Masters Degree level at De Montfort University Leicester, aiding him in establishing Yoga Sutra Shala in Spain, where he lives his dream of raising awareness, by sharing his knowledge with those who want to learn about health and happiness and fully engage with life.
As well as yoga, Namit has taught Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Kung Fu and has learnt from masters across the world, including in both Northern and Southern China.
Namit is recognised as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) with Yoga Alliance, which acknowledges the completion of a yoga teacher training with a Registered Yoga School (RYS), and an accumulation of a minimum of 2000 hours of teaching.
Namit is a member of the General Pharmaceutical Society and has been a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for over 27 years.
As a Clinical Pharmacist he diligently follows Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on an annual basis.
Chef
Bev Hewes
Bev has become a valuable part of the team and will be your retreat host and chef. Her main priority is to ensure each guest's stay is one to remember. During the last few years Bev has dedicated her free time to reading and learning more about food and nutrition so that she can feed the team and all the retreat guests the delicious, healthy and balanced meals that we are well known for.
Bev had a passion for cooking from an early age. She became a vegetarian when just a teenager and has always enjoyed cooking for people.
Her love for plant based cooking has always manifested when she sees the look on everyone's faces after tasting her delicious plant based meals.
As well as being your host and chef Bev is also a yoga teacher and will be assisting in some of your yoga classes and holding workshops on various subjects during our retreats and teacher training course. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) with Yoga Alliance and particularly loves working with beginners to help them develop a practice that ensures they do not feel intimidated and embrace all that yoga has to offer.
It gives Bev great joy to see people enter into the path of true wellness.
Admin
Tracy Hughes
Tracy works closely with Yoga Sutra Shala Retreat Centre and local drivers and she is here to answer your questions about your transfer and local places you can stay in before and after your visit. She enjoys meeting people and helping people have the best experience possible. Having lived in the Marina Alta (this part of Valencia) for over 5 years and having travelled here prior to making a permanent move here, she has gathered a wealth of information about the local area. She enjoys sharing her experiences and discovering new places and experiences as she is very proud of this region. If you need information about your stay here in Spain before you arrive, during your retreat or perhaps you are thinking of extending your stay she is here to help.
We couldn’t recommend the Marina Alta area any higher. It has everything you need. A great climate, clean air, lovely beaches, warm calm seas. Beautiful costal towns such as Denia, Javea, Moirara, Altea, Benissa, Oliva to name but a few. Inland the green valleys: Valle de Gallinera, Valle de Laguar, Valle d´Ebo to name three with their lush crops of olive, citrus, cherries and grape. Please feel free to email us for a recommendation or an experience.
Kathrin Trattler
Kathi is our online co-administrator working remotely from Styria (Austria).
Her love for movement began at an early age when she began training in classical ballet. Spending some time in Sri Lanka and working in an Ayurvedic Spa, she got attracted to the mindfulness aspects of yoga and eventually did an intensive training to become a certified yoga teacher.
During her time at Yoga Sutra Shala she also discovered her love for body work and therefore decided to become a medical massage therapist.
Her journey continues as she shares the practice with joy and care. In addition to dance and yoga, Kathi is passionate about music and all things culinary.
Therapists
Miguel Sales Franco
Miguel studied at the Quirosoma centre in Valencia, where he learned many different massage techniques. He expanded his training with further study of natural therapies on a course endorsed by the University of Barcelona.
During his career as a therapist his knowledge has grown and having met Namit a while ago, he began offering treatments at the Yoga Sutra Shala Retreat Centre, where he enjoys a space full of energy, gratitude and charming people.
The treatment he offers is an excellent complement to the sharing of yoga and life practices available to guests.
Miguel’s Deep Tissue Massage brings a balance to body and mind, encouraging energy exchange, where tension points are released and emotional states of the body and mind are opened.
He invites you to feel what you are and enjoy life!
Miguel’s treatments are usually available on Wednesdays at the retreat centre.
Lynsey Barker
Massages are her passion. What started out as a hobby led to Lynsey becoming a qualified Massage Therapist. Doing massages gives her a great sense of satisfaction when guests leave feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. She is fascinated by the human body and her approach to each guest is individual because no two massages are the same. Each person will feel tension or pain in different areas so she tries to use a wide range of massage techniques to ensure that she meet each guest’s needs.
Lynsey is a very open and positive person and has a real zest for life. She is an eternal optimist and wants to share her positive energy with everyone.
Her treatments are normally available on Thursdays at the retreat centre and throughout the week at the teacher training centre. Her massage centre is close to the Teacher Training Centre.
Remei Sendra
Having discovered the world of personal growth and meditation, mainly through teachings she received in India, Remei decided in 2015 to train in Bioenergetic Ayurvedic Massage, at the Innova School in Valencia.
Passionate and captivated by her new tool to work the body while being connected to the heart and quietening the mind, Reme furthered this training in Kerala, India in 2017.
Since then she has been working and developing her treatment, by adding additional approaches to therapy, including Reiki (level 3); Thai Massage; Californian Massage; Active Mediation; and Bioenergetic Respiration.
Remei sees the body as an internal exploratory key that guides us towards silence and the intrinsic joys of life.
The most important difference between different types of massage is where the focus is placed: For Remei, massage is a time for meditation, by means of overcoming the mind and connecting intuition and the heart into her hands.
By using long movements, Remei goes over the body to create a smoothness which will relax your nervous system. Different rhythms are used and much of the work is done with both thumbs, then elbows and forearms, so as to work into your deeper muscles. This creates a state of relaxation and confidence which allows energy to move and express itself in order to become nourishment for the body, mind and heart.
The aim of this type of massage is to free your energy into motion. It gradually turns into a healing practice, where different rhythms are considered. This massage helps you to get connected to a silent, quiet place, where your mind can rest in your heart, as it is there that health is restored.
Remei also uses techniques from Reiki, Reflexology, Hot Stone Massage and Herbal Pouch Massage as part of her treatments.
Remei's treatments for trainees are usually available on Wednesdays during Teacher Trainings. Her massage centre is a short walk away from the Teacher Training Centre.
Kika Heredia
Kika has trained in Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante and has many years of experience as a massage therapist. She has studied several systems of massage including Californian and Ayurvedic massage, Lymphatic drainage and reiki.
In her treatments, Kika uses a fluid and circular rhythm with long integrative movements designed to relax the nervous system and to bring the endocrine system into balance. Her massages hence bring relaxation, and reduce pain and stress. They also promote conscious breathing as the tissues begin to open.
Kika uses natural vegetable and essential oils for all her massage work. Her intention is to help you connect with that space of stillness and silence where the mind can rest in the heart because that is where healing and the restoration of health occurs.
She invites you to travel through this wonderful massage journey with her.
Kika’s treatments are usually available every day at the teacher training centre. Her massage room is a short walk away from the Teacher Training Centre.