YOGA
YOGA CLASSES IN ATHENS GREECE
Dear practitioners and members of Zen Center Athens,
We would like to inform you that as of Sunday, December 15th, the Center will be operating in its permanent location at the Saikenji Athens Temple, 76 – 80 Agιsilaou Street, Athens.
The new enriched yoga program from December 17 onwards is as follows:
Morning classes
Hatha Yoga: Wednesday and Friday, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Afternoon and evening classes
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 17:15 – 18:15
Hatha Yoga: Tuesday & Thursday, 18:30 – 20:00
Nada Yoga (Yoga of Sound): Friday, 18:30 – 20:30
Please be advised that the attire for yoga classes is black pants (no leggings) and a white shirt and is required for all.
In order to get informed about the weekly schedule, please visit this page.
For more information you can contact us via [email protected]
ANTARATMA THEODORE CHIOTIS & ALEXANDRA SOTIROPOULOU
In the western world we are more familiar with Hatha Yoga, which aims to balance the two hemispheres of the brain, thus balancing the two facets of existence, body and mind. Hatha Yoga techniques are primarily designed to detox the body. Soon as the body is as cleansed as possible, all of its systems function at their best capacity.
Breath connects body and mind, and therefore a lot of emphasis is placed upon raising the awareness of one’s own breath and expanding it. When the breath works well, it can provide the body with the necessary vital energy (prana shakti) and balance its mental energy (manas shakti). However, there are many other aspects of yoga that you will come across through these lessons.
BRANCHES OF YOGA
Raja Yoga explores the mind, and is called “the royal path” or “the way of meditation”. Through the techniques of meditation and the use of tools such as yamas and niyamas, the mind is cleansed and the patterns with which we perceive the world are gradually revealed. Two very important qualities cultivated while practicing are the abilities of detachment and distinction, both of them belonging to the buddhi, the awakened side of the mind.
Karma Yoga is the path of action, an action for which, unlike western lifestyle and thinking, we expect nothing in return. It is also called dynamic meditation and can be integrated into everyday activity. The fact that we do not encounter such qualities in our culture does not mean that they are not essential and useful to Western people. On the contrary, we would all benefit greatly, if we devoted even a small part of our day in exploring what it means to act for the joy of action itself.
Swami Satyananda Saraswati has stated that in order to reap the benefits of any yoga technique, it is necessary to practice in this spirit.
Nada Yoga uses sound as a tool. Sound is nothing but the effect of vibration. The matter vibrates and produces energy. Consciousness understands energy; it can direct and channel it. It is very important to know that the mantra is a sound with a strong vibration because of the way it is expressed; it is therefore important to articulate it in the most correct way.
Other branches of yoga are:
Bhakti Yoga & Jhana Yoga
It is amazing that all these aspects of yoga are complementary. They seem different, but in reality they are parts of one single thing. This one thing is Consciousness, and it can have infinite manifestations. All paths have one common goal – to increase Awareness. Yoga is vast. It can be explained in words to a certain degree, but it can only be revealed through practice.
Α main component of spiritual practice is Abhyasa, the uninterrupted systematic practice. This applies to all students whether they join a weekly class or have established a consistent personal practice at home. During these times, it is necessary to stay connected with the sangha, and clearly this can be also done through online courses when physical attendance is not impossible.
So we would like to invite you to participate in the weekly lessons, aiming to grow the roots of meditation and awareness in your life this year deeper.
The Teachers
Antaratma Theodore Chiotis (www.yogavijaya.com) was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He started his practice and study of Yoga in 1995 in the system of Satyananda Yoga, with the guidance of Swami Shivamurti Saraswati. His first encounter with Yoga happened when a good friend took him to a Satsang.
Satsang means to be in the presence of the truth and a Master of Yoga. What struck him then and was the reason he got hooked to Yoga, was the singing of Kirtan. There, he witnessed the release that happens when people sing and dance together, using mantras and music. That was the very beginning of his journey. He immediately enrolled in weekly Yoga classes, practically transforming himself. Yoga became his life. His life became Yoga.
SATYANANDA INSPIRED YOGA
Later on, he committed to his Sadhana (spiritual practice). His journey then took another turn, where the desire to uplift and realize himself was rooted even deeper. It wasn’t until 1999 that he enrolled in Yogic studies 1. This decision didn’t come out of an ambition to become a teacher. It was the encouragement of his teachers that took him forward. The Instructor’s s training course in the system of Satyananda Yoga followed in 2000. Antaratma has been leading Yoga classes, workshops and Yoga retreats for students and instructors since that time.
Antaratma is an artist, a musician. His relationship with sound began when he was only eight years old when he started studying classical guitar. Music plays a great role in his life. The very practice of Yoga allows him to dive into sound deeper than before.
In the early years of his Yoga journey around 1998, he began composing and singing kirtan which belongs to the branch of Nada Yoga (Yoga of the sound) and Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of the heart) and is a powerful way to express and connect with the Self. The first thing that attracted him in that first Satsang is the same thing that drives him to this very day. The attraction for sound and the magic that derives from it.
Alexandra Sotiropoulou (www.yogavijaya.com) was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She began practising Yoga in 1996 in the system of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga with Derek Ireland and Kristina Karytinou in the Practice Place, in Southern Crete. That was the beginning of a life long journey for her. She was almost immediately relieved from physical and psychological pain.
She still recalls the first downward-facing dogs she practised. That is the reason she understands how people feel when they first start practising Yoga. It is a combination of pain and pleasure that profoundly shapes the body-mind. Soon after she met Theodore, she visited Satyanandashram in Paiania, Greece. There, she came across the Sannyasa way of living, started visiting more and getting involved in Karma Yoga.
In 2002 she enrolled in Yogic studies 1 of the Satyananda Yoga system. She completed two teacher’s training courses in Astanga Vinyasa Yoga, with Kristina Karytinou (2003) and David Swenson in Scotland (2005). In 2007 she attended and completed the Instructor’s Training Course (2007) in Satyanandashram Hellas.
SCARAVELLI INSPIRED YOGA
At some point, Alexandra was given and read Vanda Scaravelli’s book, “Awakening the spine”. She was surprised by the poetic and articulate way the author was explaining the method. That urged her to find a teacher that used to be Scaravelli’s close student, and that could teach her. That research took her to Diane Long. She has been studying Scaravelli inspired yoga with her since 2008.
Alexandra knows that this is her call. The understanding of the magic that remains hidden, like a precious stone, inside the body-mind. She adores exploring asana and pranayama and it fulfils her in a way that nothing else can.
Alexandra has been teaching since 2003. She is certified by YOGA ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL (Master level training – 500 hours).
