Intensive Iyengar yoga workshop with Constantinos Giannetakis

Workshop highlights 

• 6 Iyengar yoga workshop-style classes (5.5 hours of practice per day)
• Professional instructor with 30 years of yoga experience
• Three nights' accommodation in traditional guesthouse, 5 minutes walk from the beach
• Three brunches and one dinner (all vegetarian)

Workshop programme

The workshop begins on Friday June 10th. You can already arrange your arrival in the later morning or early afternoon and enjoy the peacefulness of the area and perhaps one of the nearby beaches, before the course begins.  The wholesome, delicious, vegetarian dinner, prepared with love using produce from local organic farms, that you'll enjoy with the sunset view in our traditional yard, will complete your welcome! 

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning (8.30-11.30 am.) we'll begin with a workshop-style Iyengar yoga class, which will incorporate detailed explanation of asana (yoga pose) techniques, in order to lead to an understanding of the muscular chains necessary for the asana to arise organically and be executed effortlessly. This understanding will then be practiced in a wide range of asana, dynamic as well as restorative.  Through this process, one finetunes awareness of body, breath and mind. Each session closes with a deep 10-15 minute relaxation. 

Following our hearty brunch, there is free time for resting, sunbathing and swimming at a nearby beach, or massage treatment. 

In the afternoons (5.00-7.30 pm. on Saturday and Sunday, and around 4.00-6.30 pm. on Monday - depending on everyone's departure time), there will be a relaxing session with pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation.

The day closes with dinner at one of the local taverns (dinners - except for that on Friday evening - are not included in the course cost).

The course closes after the afternoon session on Monday June 13th, so that you can arrange your departure that evening. Alternatively, you can also choose to stay an extra night and leave on Tuesday (ask us about the possibility of an extra night's stay).

If you have extra time on Crete, hiking along the coastal path or along one of the area's gorges is a wonderful way to enjoy the regions many beauties. 

The number of guests is limited to 15, to create a warm and friendly atmosphere, and to ascertain that individual attention is given in the classes. The practice space is outdoors, so there is ample space to keep adequate distances.

Iyengar yoga
Iyengar yoga was developed through the pioneering work of B.K.S. Iyengar, who freed the classical yoga postures (asanas) from their Indian mystique and with the use of props made them suitable for Westerners, who want to have a clear understanding of what happens in a yoga posture. A typical Iyengar yoga class focuses on precision of movement, correct alignment, and the study of the ‘muscle and mind’ actions and resistance necessary to enter a state of concentration. Breathing awareness is emphasized in every asana in order to deepen the experience. Through consistent practice the student overcomes physical and mental/emotional limits and develops a deep awareness of the body, power, control, patience and physical and mental harmony.

Instructor

Constantinos Giannetakis
Constantinos is an enthusiastic and dedicated practitioner of Iyengar Yoga since 1992. In 1996, he moved to France where he also obtained his certification as a clinical psychologist from the University of Picardie. During that time, he studied extensively psychoanalysis both in the freudian and the lacanian vein and became particularly interested in the possible role of the immune system as an interface between body and mind. In the course of time, it became apparent to him that health is not simply the absence of disease but also concerns a state beyond that, which relates to the plasticity and lightness of the energy body. In 1999, he moved to London where he continued his study of psychoanalysis at a postgraduate level while also studying yoga at the South London Iyengar Yoga Institute, where he stayed for 3 years. In 2002, he gained his Iyengar Yoga teaching certification and became a member of the UK association. After his return to Greece in 2003, he opened the first official Iyengar Yoga Centre in Athens, where the first teacher training in the country took place. His teaching is alignment-based and aims at clarifying the biomechanics of asanas and pranayamas in a very precise way. It is also informed by the belief that the study of the body, nature and breath gives one the opportunity to understand the mind.

Prices 

per person

• €330 in a small single non-ensuite room with use of the communal bathroom 
• €330 twin ensuite
• €375 single ensuite
• There is also the possibility for a work-exchange discount (only one place per course): about 1 hours’ help per day with light household tasks (e.g., washing dishes, cleaning yoga studio) that does not interfere with the attendance of all classes - contact us if this would interest you!