Interview with the Yoga Connects Festival Teachers

With the Yoga Connects Festival just a couple of months away Cheryl caught up with some of the yoga teachers to find out more about their upcoming workshops at the festival and what they love most about teaching yoga.

Yoga Connects Presents

Lisa Andersson Rhodiner and Nazareno Grisolia from Inspiro Yoga

Aoife Kane 

Celest Pereira

Luis Valentine

Dylan Werner

 Anna Karides

What style of yoga do you teach, how long have you been teaching and why did you become a teacher?

Lisa and Nazareno:
We teach strong and playful Vinyasa Flow classes along with inspiring music and hands on adjustments. We teach both individually and together. About two years ago we started to co-teach our vinyasa classes, taking turns each 5-7 minutes, which we call “Double Up Vinyasa”. This creates a unique experience for the students and give us a chance to give lots of hands on adjustments and better attention to students. We’ve been teaching full time since three years ago both at studios in Bali and Sweden. Having found yoga and fallen in love with it for many different reasons, to become teachers felt like a natural step.

Aoife:
Forrest Yoga and Power Vinyasa Yoga. Yoga helped me to heal my body when I was diagnosed with ulcerativcolitis in my early twenties. I fell in love with the healing benefits of the practice and wanted to share this with others. After practicing for a number of years in Australia I came back to Europe and trained with Baron Baptiste, Shiva Rea and YogaCampus. I met Ana Forrest in 2012 and was drawn to how the Forrest practice emphasises connection with breath, strength, integrity & spirit. I trained with her in 2013 & 2014 and it is a practice that I identify with greatly. There is nothing in the world I would rather do than teach and share yoga. It is a transformational practice that benefits everyone.

Dylan:
I teach a strong vinyasa flow class. I’ve been teaching for a little over 4 years now. I was a full time FireFighter/Paramedic and I had no intention of ever becoming a teacher when I took my training. I did a teacher training with my Fiancé (Ashley Galvin) to support her and I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about yoga. I discovered that I really enjoyed teaching yoga. When I got laid off from the Fire Department, Ashley and decided to move to Los Angeles and try or luck at being full time yoga teachers. That was about a year and half ago.

Celest:
I teach a flow based class interwoven with lots of arm balances and inversions. I started teaching full time five years ago and haven’t looked back since. Ever since I started yoga, 13 years ago, I always thought I’d love to do a teacher training. Then when I graduated from university I took my student loan and went to India. I never thought I would teach full time, but when i came back I started covering classes for spare cash and it took off like wild fire. Now I’m super happy and completely fulfilled, doing what I love each and every day.

Luis:
I have been teaching the Jivamukti method for about a year. Sharon Gannon, the  co-founder of the method describes Jivamukti Yoga  as ‘a path to enlightenment, through  compassion to all beings’. Jivamukti is a form of hatha yoga and integrates asana, chanting, philosophy and meditation all based on the five tenets of the method.

My journey to teach was a very organic one: Having trained as a performer I was pursuing this path for a number of years and I first found yoga while at drama school. I was practicing for some time before discovering Jivamukti in 2011  and I was instantly hooked. It was on a Jivamukti retreat that I connected with my teacher Emma Henry who guided me onto this path and it has been a blessed one and has flowed on many levels.

Anna Karides:
I teach AcroYoga as well as Vinyasa Flow. My classes are dynamic and mirror my passion for backbends, arm balances and inversions. Becoming a yoga teacher was not really my plan. It was during my law studies that I enrolled on a yoga teacher training course only because I was fascinated by the practice and wanted to deepen my understanding. It’s only when I started teaching over 7 years ago that I realised how much I enjoyed it and there was no looking back.

 

What other yoga festivals have you been involved in?

Lisa and Nazareno:
We teach at Yoga Games – The Nordic Yoga Conference in Sweden, at Move Copenhagen a festival for people interested in yoga, acroyoga, climbing, slack lining, dance and other forms of movement. We also teach at The Copenhagen Yoga Festival.

Aoife:
I have been in transit for the last year and I have settled in Dublin Ireland so Yoga Connects will be my first Festival to teach at. I am super excited about it!

Dylan:
So far I’ve only taught workshops, teacher trainings and retreats. Yoga Connects will be my first yoga festival. But I’m also going to be teaching at the Forever Now Festival in Berlin and the Namaste Festival in Jakarta this year.

Celest:
I went to an amazing yoga conference in Slovenia! It was incredible. Such a warm energy. I’m back again this year and can’t wait to see the friends I made last time. I’ve also taught in the Yoga Show in London and Manchester. Can’t wait for Yoga Connects this year!

What are you most looking forward to at the festival?

Luis:
I have been practicing yoga for a number of years in a class setting and also attending workshops and retreats but I have never ever been to any kind of festival! So I am super excited.

Anna Karides:
I’ve been teaching yearly at the London Yoga Show and Mind Body Spirit Festival. I’ve also taught at Wilderness Festival and the British Yoga Festival. I’ve had the opportunity to assist Jason Nemer the co-founder of AcroYoga at the German Yoga Conference in

What are you most looking forward to at the festival?

Lisa and Nazareno:
We’re looking forward to come together with like minded people, learn form other amazing teachers and have lots of fun.

Aoife:
Practicing, teaching & having the chance to connect with other yogi’s.

Dylan:
I’m looking forward to taking some great yoga from some awesome teachers, seeing London for the first time and of course sharing my love of yoga with amazing yogis!

Celest:
Being in the sunshine surrounded with lots of happy people.

Luis:
Teaching, which I just love! I am really passionate about this method and love introducing it to people who are new. Also checking out some of the other amazing teachers on the line up.

Anna Karies:
Being in nature, practising, sharing and connecting with other yogis!

Aoife:
The class will be a Forrest Yoga sequence and there will be lots of opportunities to play and have fun during the practice.

Dylan:
I’ll be teaching some strong all level flow classes designed to challenge you through creative sequencing and some tricky transitions that will take your practice to the next level. These are fun and vigorous classes with plenty of opportunities for inversions and arm balances as well as deep stretches to leave you feeling strong and balanced.

Celest:
My favourite thing to do is to get people doing things they thought they couldn’t do. I’m not naturally good at inversions and arm balances, so I’ve had to break things down and figure out the logical progression on how to get from A to B. Most of my classes have this theme, but I want it to always be fun and inspiring.

Luis:
I will be teaching daily Open level 90 minute Jivamukti classes with a central theme or focus and also a Spiritual Warrior class. The Open class is open to all levels of practitioner and includes dynamic flowing asana seqences, chanting, philosophy and meditation all set to music. The Jivamukti Spiritual Warrior class is a dynamic,  well rounded  set  sequence all completed in 60 minutes.

Anna Karides:
I will be teaching a super fun AcroYoga Class! Combining yoga, acrobatics and thai massage, a practice that cultivates trust, playfulness and community, enabling the participants to explore the body and its unlimited potential.

What do you love most about practicing yoga?

Lisa and Nazareno:
The way it brings you back to the present moment and deepens the connection to your body, mind and breath. The way it makes you feel. Whether relaxed, exhausted, happy or energized. It makes you feel alive.

Aoife:
I love the challenges it brings. I love that even if I finally get one pose there is another transition and pose to work on. The practice is a journey just as our lives are and for me its enjoying that journey on and off the mat.

Dylan:
Everything!

Celest:
I love how the practice is holistic and can be modified to suit any type of body, energy level and mind set.

Luis:
That no matter what craziness  is going on in my life, I always leave feeling so much better, a better version of myself. The practice gives us  the tools to cope better with whatever life throws at us. It’s a life practice and whatever changes the practice is always there. It helps me to let go and to move forward with love.

Anna Karides:
I love how it makes me feel.

How can people find out more about you?

Lisa and Nazareno
www.inspiroyoga.com
Facebook:inspiroyoganazalisa
Instagram: @inspiroyoganaza + @inspiroyogalisa

Aoife 
www.aoifekane.com
Facebook: AoifeKaneYoga
Twitter: @AoifeKaneYoga
Instagram: @AoifeKane

Dylan
www.dylanwerneryoga.com
Facebook: dylanwerneryoga
Instagram @dylanwerneryoga

Celest 
www.cityogi.com
Facebook: cityogi
Twitter:cityogi
Instagram:cityogi

Luis 
Facebook: Luis Valentine Yoga
Twitter: luisvalentineyo
Instagram: LuisValentineYoga
www.jivamuktiyoga.com/users/luis-valentine

Anna
www.annakarides.com
Facebook: AnnaKaridesYoga
Twitter: @anna_karides
Instagram: @annakaridesyoga

Buy your tickets here!

Tell us more about your upcoming workshop at the festival?

Lisa and Nazareno:
We will teach our Double Up Vinyasa, an Armbalances, Inversions and Transitions Workshop as well as a Partner Yoga Workshop.

For the full line up visit the Yoga Connects website.