Ireland & UK Regional Gathering
Your ticket includes accommodation, food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), all classes and workshops with the best of International and local teachers, social evenings with music, dance, chant and great company.
Professor Bill Mahony – Bridget Kramer Woods – Tiffany Wood – Noeleen Tyrrell and more to be announced
Join us for a weekend of deep blissful yoga, sharing and having fun together. Spend a few days in our little piece of heaven and study with great teachers from Ireland, the UK and beyond.
The Secret Heart
“In the yogic context, the concept of the heart carries many beautiful connotations.
The Heart (Sanskrit hṛdaya and similar terms) is the the most sublime, powerful, affirming, loving, divine presence within you. So, the Heart refers to the finest essence of your being.
The Heart also refers to the encompassing community that is grounded in and oriented toward the divine Presence within all beings
You may not always experience the true Heart, or you may not always know how to express it, for it is often hidden. In yogic terms, it is guha-hṛdaya, the “Secret Heart.”
Anusara® Yoga is oriented toward aligning with that Secret Heart that pulsates within you.
When referring to yogic texts, the word “heart,” hṛdaya, also refers to the most refined and precise set of yogic teachings about this divine power and presence with each of us. One such textual epitomes of yoga philosophy is called the “Heart of Recogjtion” (Pratyabhijṇā-hṛdaya), from the eleventh century, which presents the process by which we come to know the true Heart.
In this retreat, we will study, discuss, contemplate, integrate, and apply the teachings of the “Heart of Recognition” (Pratyabhijñā-hṛdaya) as we seek to know, understand, and embody that Secret Heart. Do join us!” Professor Bill Mahony PhD
Meet Our Special Guest of Honour :
Bill works internationally with the yoga community in leading workshops and retreats on the cultivation and refinement of the spiritual life. He is known for his warm, lively and compassionate teaching style that is accessible to contemporary yoga students at all levels.
In these workshops and retreats, Bill integrates his knowledge of Indian philosophy gained through his discerning and informed scholarly study with insights refined through over four decades of his own yogic practice. He shares with participants what he himself experiences to be expansive and transforming wisdom held in texts he studies, and he guides participants in ways they can fruitfully apply these perspectives in their own lives. Bill’s teaching style is oriented toward sustained group discussion and includes periods of meditation.
Tickets/ Cost
3 day Full Weekend: Non – Residential Ticket:
(See the list below of recommended local accommodation)
Cost: €350 (+ 1.4% Transaction Fee)
Includes:
Delicious vegetarian food (breakfast, lunch & dinner)
All yoga classes & workshops
Kirtan & social evenings with live music
Starts Friday Afternoon – Finishes Sunday Afternoon
First meal is dinner on Friday evening so please bring snacks and provisions as needed.
DAY Tickets
Shiva Friday Day Ticket
Shiva Friday €85
Dawn to Dusk Saturday Day Ticket
Dawn to Dusk Saturday €155
Shakti Sunday Day Ticket
Shakti Sunday €115
Our Festival Teachers:
SAOIRSE O’ DONOGHUE ANUSARA® INSPIRED YOGA TEACHER, RYT Chartered Level 1 – RYTC ARYT
Saoirse is founder of Warrior Yoga Sligo and is an Anusara® Inspired teacher and lifelong student. She teaches mostly from her beautiful home studio under the iconic mountain of the warrior queen Meadbh – Knocknarea . Saoirse has a playful, heartfelt approach to practice and is experienced in several styles of yoga with a keen interest in the therapeutic use of movement, mindfulness and breath. Saoirse is a 500 hour registered teacher with Yoga Alliance Professionals and has a passion for Kids Yoga. She both teaches and has written a book on Kids Yoga.
SAOIRSE’S CLASS
14.00 – 16.00 Friday
This dynamic intermediate level workshop focuses on finding the support we need within ourselves, remembering our inner strength which allows us to open our hearts to the joy of living. A back-bending workshop in self-love and support, the route to Joy.
SARAH’S CLASS
14.00 – 16.00 Friday
In Anusara® yoga, we move from the inside-out, we Open to Grace and connect to our core – our central intelligence. Then, we move or act with this power supporting us from within. This asana class will be a gentle but profound somatic exploration of the intelligence that supports us in the form of our deep core myofascial matrix (aka: Deep Front Line). We’ll be slowing things down, taking time to breathe, move, feel and experience from the soles of the feet, up through the pelvic floor, deep abdominal tissues and diaphragm, to the root of the tongue. You’ll refine your awareness, strengthen and align the more subtle layers of your body, and leave class feeling more centered, supported and in harmony with your True Nature. (Level: All levels. Props: 1-2 blocks).
JUSTINE PURCELL ANUSARA® INSPIRED YOGA TEACHER – RYT500
NOELEEN TYRRELL CERTIFIED ANUSARA® YOGA TEACHER, E-RYT 500
Noeleen has practiced and taught yoga for many years and is also a registered yoga therapist, C-IAYT. She has trained and been guided by many wonderful teachers and is hugely grateful to each one for the gifts they have given and the inspiration and light they have shone along the way. Noeleen draws on her extensive knowledge of body mechanics developed through her years of training, teaching and ‘hands on’ experience as a cranio sacral therapist to guide her as a yoga teacher. She encourages students to tune into their innate ability to heal through awareness, alignment and practice. Her classes are informative and lots of fun. Noeleen is founder of Ard Nahoo and leads 200 and 300 Level TTs.
NOELEEN’S CLASS
TIFFANY WOOD CERTIFIED ANUSARA® YOGA TEACHER, E-RYT 500
The path of yoga began in 1996 and opened Tiffany to the gifts of tenacity, surrender, and reverence for life. A certified Anusara© yoga teacher, she holds space for learning to be playful and connected to the Source of wisdom. Passionate about living life with skill, she combines non-dual Tantra, functional anatomy, mythology, mantra and mudra to the art of transformation. Tiffany draws from the experience of owning a small business, extensive training as a body worker, life coach, and shamanic healing arts. She inspires students to look within and love what’s there.
“Yoga is looking within and loving what’s there.” Tiffany brings tremendous depth to the therapeutic aspect of yoga and emphasizes “Radical self-acceptance” as the guiding light she has offered for 23 years of teaching. Tiffany serves ASHY as director of Community Relations and is a Certified Advanced Teacher Trainer offering credit toward the 300 hour requirements.
TIFFANY’S CLASS
Saturday 9:30 – 11:30 Twisted Strength and Length
Just as it took Vismamitra time and patience to become a sage, recognize true power vs. force by allowing core strength and a steady mind to reveal flexibility. Let go of immediate gratification and allow this twisted, deep hip and shoulder opening, arm balance practice to patiently reveal the balance of your inner Sage. The boon of the practice will be learning how to listen to the wisdom of your psoas so that you move from the fine line between internal power and outer strength.
Sunday 9:00 – 11:00 Dynamic Flow
The world is a dynamic process, every moment, every experience, is being created, as well as simultaneously being destroyed. Kashmir Shaivism calls this pulsation the ābhāsavada. This practice will call you to move into the play of pulsation through an upbeat, full spectrum practice that builds your connection to the Five Acts of Shiva. Discover that Grace in Tantra means there is a movement within us to a more expanded experience of Consciousness. The boon of this practice will be the experience of how to cue the Five UPA’s in a flow-style practice.
CHRISTINE STEWART ANUSARA® YOGA TEACHER, ARYT 500
Christine has studied Anusara® yoga for over ten years and is touched by its deep
connection to the divine in all its chaotic glory. Her love of yoga has led her to study with many diverse teachers and traditions. She teaches in Boyle Yoga Shack and on Inishbofin where she runs and hosts yoga retreats and events. She is an Anusara® Inspired Yoga Teacher.
CHRISTINE’S CLASS
14.30 – 15.30 Saturday: Exploring the Twists and Turns of Life to Reveal our Authentic Self
In this class we will be exploring the Koshers through a combination of asana and pranayama, incorporating gentle twisting poses and culminating in some fun and challenging twists. We will explore with curiosity the deep and sacred heart of our authentic self, uncovering our five progressively subtler bodies that compose our unique and authentic personality, We will recognize how the twists and turns of life can reveal and nourish us despite challenge, revealing the hidden heart that hides behind the blockages of life that we can unconsciously bury in our body layers and allowing the flow of prana to run freely to nourish our entire system and ultimately experience connection to heartfelt personality.
BRIDGET WOODS KRAMER, CERTIFIED ANUSARA® YOGA TEACHER,E-RYT 500
Bridget teaches internationally as well as running Anusara teacher training programs in London, Bali and her home in Cornwall. A senior teacher and a certified Anusara teacher since 2001, after spending the 80 ‘s teaching in the fitness industry, Bridget focused on yoga having meet John Friend in 1994, where her focus turned from Iyengar yoga to Anusara when the school 1st established. She teaches with passion and humour and her greatest wish is for more compassion and peace in our lives, our communities and the world.
BRIDGET’S CLASS
Saturday 13.45 -15.45 ‘Activate your Core’
Using the delightful interplay of Anusara Yoga’s Inner / Outer Spiral and the loops to activate Mulabandha is key to successful Abdominal and back strength .
When we find balance in the pelvis we connect more fully to the earth and simultaneously bring a length and lightness to the spine . Simple and so effective .
Bridget will interweave fun core work ,Pranayama and how to activate the 3 bandhas in Bandha Triya .
Sunday 9-11 am ‘Exploring the Pancha Koshas’ in this simple Hip opening / Handbalance practice.
The Koshas where first mentioned in the 6th Century text Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1-5), later the Tantrika’s gave them a slightly different twist .The idea that there are layers / dimensions of the Self . These layers are not rigidly separate Lord Ksemaraji tells us
“It is the nature of each layer to be pervaded by all the layers beneath it .The subtler the layer is, the more it can pervade the other layers .”
In this workshop Bridget will peel back the layers , exploring the practices that reveal Anandamaya Kosha ( the body of Bliss)
Giving us the tools to weave the threads of yoga into the tapestry of our lives on and off the mat .
RIANA WALSH, ANUSARA® INSPIRED YOGA TEACHER.
IYA 600 HOUR IYA Post Grad 125; YTI Post Grad Dip
Riana completed her initial yoga teacher trainings long before her first experience of Anusara® in 2010. She sees yoga as a constant exploration, a lifelong adventure, an on-going process, both on and off the yoga mat, every day, and her continued studies inspire her experience of yoga as a way of being, of connection with self and the world. Riana teaches Mindful yoga, Meditation and Yoga Nidra at The Sanctuary, a garden oasis in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.
RIANA’S CLASS
11.30 – 13.00 Sunday Deep Flow
In this slow, deep flow class we explore the exquisite paradox of yoga as a gentle strength. What is it that sustains us in our yoga practice, in our life? Staying close to the breath we cultivate a calm concentration. Unifying breath, body, mind we attune to our still point within and listen to the inner guide of the heart as we navigate our pathway through the practice, a story line of life, to vibrancy and radiance from a space between ease and effort, gentleness and strength.
DAITHI O HEIGHNIGH
Daithí is an RYT 200 Hrs. registered teacher and is currently undertaking a 300 Hrs. Anusara yoga advanced teacher training program. He teaches Hatha, Yin, Yoga Nidra and mindfulness meditation.
Daithí believes:
- Happiness, wellbeing and access to healing is all about finding holding in nature. The more elaborate and involved the conversation becomes, the stronger and more resilient we will become. The more abstract it is, the weaker and more prone to illness, depression and addiction we will be.
- Narrowing the divergence between one’s true self (intuition, spirit, soul, etc.) and the persona one lives out in the day-to-day world can lead to all kinds of insights and healing.
As such, Daithí works with people on the theme of self-inquiry, employing various forms of meditation, yoga and creativity. He regularly facilitates ‘Yoga & Creativity’ workshops incorporating therapeutic art-making and elements of the Social Dreaming & Deep Listening frameworks.
Daithí is currently researching a framework which combines Yoga Nidra and Art Therapy for his Art Therapy Masters dissertation. Daithí loves the sea and is a keen freediver (4* AIDA – Assistant Instructor).
www.iloveyoga.ie
DAITHI’S CLASS
14.00 – 15.00 Sunday
“Yoga Nidra is a great treasure, a potent meditative resource for healing, insight, and empowerment. It’s a state of consciousness in which we are invited to re-encounter the essential truth of who we really are. Yoga Nidra provides us with the opportunity to experience deep freedom. It welcomes us all home to ourselves.” – Dr. Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, Yoga Nidra Network.
Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping. It is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, where the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of their inner world by following a set of verbal instructions provided by the instructor. Neither a technique, nor a practice, Yoga Nidra is a process for entering into an effortless state of being. Although literally translated it means ‘yogic sleep’, in fact it is not a sleep, but an awakening.
This 1-hour class is a deeply nourishing and relaxing guided meditation. To begin, the student finds an optimal relaxation position supported by props (typically supported savasana with blankets and eye pillows) and is guided into a state of deep relaxation by following instructions provided by the teacher. The class typically involves poetry recitation and gentle music. The only requirement of the student is to relax and listen!
The practice of Yoga Nidra has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating and abdominal pain also respond well. It has also been used to help with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
This class is open to everyone and no prior yoga experience is required.
Accommodation
We have now sold all of our fully residential tickets to the festival! However we have a list of amazing local places to stay.
LOCAL ACCOMMODATION SUGGESTIONS
Ardvarney Country Lodge – Dromahair ardvarneycountrylodge@gmail.
Bluebell House – Manorhamilton bluebellbb@eircom.net B&B
Tawnylust Lodge Tawnylust, Manorhamilton info@tawnylustlodge.com self catering
W8 is a beautifully designed new holiday village, nestled at the very heart of the picturesque and friendly town of Manorhamilton in Co. Leitrim, just a 15 minute drive from Ard Nahoo. These superbly appointed holiday cottages are exquisitely designed, with stylish interiors and their own urban garden, and underground parking.
Travel – getting here
Ard Nahoo is a 1 hour drive from Knock International Airport
2 hours from Belfast and 3 hours from Dublin.
There is a bus that goes from Knock and one from Dublin to our nearest big town Sligo. From Sligo you can get one of our local taxis to drop you out to us or to your accommodation. If you are travelling in a group we can try to arrange a minivan to pick you up.
Check out the website for further details.
Join us for the Pre-Festival Workshop with Prof. Bill Mahony
9.30am – 12.30am Friday 7th June
***Limited Spaces***
Cost: €60 to those attending the full weekend
Or €85 as a stand alone event
For all yoga enthusiasts who want to deepen their understanding of the roots of yoga, it’s philosophy, history and beauty. Explore your Heart of hearts with one of the worlds leading lights on the subject. Professor Bill Mahony will look at the history and relevance of the Pratyabhijnahrdayam – the Heart of Recognition. Bill will further explore this text in series of workshops throughout the festival.
