Ashtanga Yoga Retreat April 2024 – in German – near Munich

Monday, 1. April - Sunday, 7. April
@ Holzmannstett (Bavaria, Germany)

Overview

Grischa's Ashtanga Yoga Retreat 1-7 April near Munich

Beschreibung auf Deutsch

Experience the magic of daily practice with Grischa, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga Berlin in 2004. His retreats are known to be very intense and transformative. It may not seem easy to get up at 6 and digest 10 hours of Yogic teaching and practice every day for a whole week. But hey, we're Ashtangies, aren't we?

The goal of Grischa's retreats is to bring your Ashtanga practice to a completely different level. Key to this is linking all practice to the original definitions of Yoga as laid out in the ancient scriptures. 

You will get invaluable information to make it smoother and free from injuries. Grischa teaches a straight forward approach that allows you to directly experience the effects of the famous Ashtanga key principles, Mulabandha, Uddiyana Bandha Ujjayi Pranayama etc. More importantly we will dive deeply into understanding the true meaning of the Yogic path. Understand the magic which transforms gymnastics into a yogic (transformational) process and which awakens your inner teacher. Knowledge allows you to develop your individual practice and is also the key that allows you to tell apart meaningful guidance from the usual copy-paste pseudo-wisdom all over the place. 

Daily Schedule

We practice all key levels of Yoga every day at the retreat:

  • Pranayama
    Each day starts with one hour of pranayama. Pranayama is often confused with breathing exercises for increasing lung volume, for holding the breath longer and other physical achievements.
    But how shall this "remove the covering of light" as described in the Yoga Sutra? Experience the mental transformation process which turns breathing into a yogic practice! 
  • Mysore Style
    Mysore Style is the one-on-one time, when you learn how to apply the breathing principles in movement and how to apply the technical details of the alignment classes in your own practice. Grischa will help you with individual challenges in your practice, how to get rid of given injuries and the root causes of future ones. 
  • Asana Research
    Similar to pranayama, Asana is widely misunderstand as a stretching and strengthening program. Nothing could be further from the nature and goals of Yoga practice.
    Waste no more time with desperately following technical advice, engaging the pelvic floor, looking for square body parts, straight lines, grabbing of toes or looking at a navels. These tools are completely pointless and unrelated to actual Yoga practice. Frustration is guaranteed from inadquate means. 
    We will see how asana practice is transformed into a valuable component of the Yogic path. You will understand a completely different layer of the famous "bandhas" and how to use them for revealing your inner teacher in every single pose you can think of.
  • Philosophy and Sanskrit
    Yoga cannot arise from fancy theories or gymnastics. We should learn to understand Yoga from the perspective of those who invented it thousands of years ago. 
    Only lazy people try to avoid the ancient texts and want to believe they are only theoretical.
    Would you really prefer uneducated teachers over educated ones?

Yoga Philosophy Special: The central scriptures of Yoga

Every retreat has a focus on specific aspects of the Yoga scriptures. In this retreat Grischa provide a high level overview of the central scriptures and how they relate to each other.
Grischa will of course cover the key texts such as Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita. But we will also campare them with rarer text such as Shankaracharya's Aparokshanubhuti and Swami Svatmaramas legendary "Hatha Yoga Pradipika".

Intro Videos to Grischa's Yoga Philosophy Teachings

Get a taste for Grischa's approach of explaining the nitty gritty details and meaning of Yoga philosophy for your daily practice: Ca. 2hr online sessions on Yoga Sutra, Bhagavad Gita and more. Only 15€.

Detailed Information

Language

This retreat is in German

Employee in Germany? Get paid extra vacation for this training. Call for info: +49.30.48496665

For practitioners

This retreat is open for all practitioners with prior Mysore Style experience. The deep understanding of breath, bandha and good alignment taught in this training will transform every single asana and your whole practice. You will understand the root causes of all major difficulties and injuries in Yoga practice and how to overcome them with ease. 

Understand the true aims of Yoga practice and experience real pranayama beyond torturing the nose, huffing and puffing or holding the breath!

For teachers

Inspiration makes all the difference! The only true Ashtanga teacher training, the only real authorization to teach is understanding Yoga within yourself. Experience the meaning of asana,  pranayama, the scriptures and meditation, rather than hearing theories about it. Helping everyone from the beginner to the most advanced practitioner safely and precisely comes naturally only from personal experience based on a a systematic set of principles. Integrating and improving the patterns in your own practice and teaching will make you a unique and outstanding teacher. Or have you ever liked receiving copy-paste adjustments from anyone?

Get authorized by knowledge and wisdom!

6:30 pranayma
7:30 mysore style
9:30 breakfast
10:00 ashtanga alignment intensive
12:00 yoga sutra
13:30 lunch
16:00 yoga sutra
17:00 ashtanga alignment intensive
18:30 dinner
20:00 sanskrit and meditation

Arrival day start: 10:30

Departure day end: after breakfast (ca. 10:00).

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Yoga

If space permits we offer a “holiday” package for the morning and evening sessions only (ashtanga mysore practice, pranayama, meditation). 

We provide sponsorships for ashtanga enthusiasts who cannot afford the regular rates. Please call: +49.30.48496665

Price(s): 700 €

Accommodation & full board

The prices below include three vegan/vegetarian meals per day, paid directly to the seminar house.

2 bed + 510 €
2 bed with private bath + 570 €
single + 600 €
single with private bath + 660 €

Holzmannstett (Bavaria, Germany)

The Ashtanga Retreat Venue Holzmannstett is a wonderful house near Munich. 

It was Italian builders who constructed the impressive Hof Holzmannstett estate around 150 years ago. After extensive renovations, a seminar house was finally opened here in the year 2000. It is situated in a stunning secluded location on a 10,000 square meter property between Grafing and Wasserburg am Inn (50 kilometers east of Munich).

 

Accommodation

The house, with its extensive garden, is surrounded by meadows, fields, and forests, facing south with mountain views. The architectural centerpiece of the house is the large dining and lounge area – a column-supported historic vaulted room with a large fireplace and south-facing terrace. The rooms, furnished with bright softwood furniture, are designed with clarity and harmony. The house’s delicious wholefood cuisine primarily uses ingredients from organic farming. A sauna adds coziness to cold winter evenings.

Food

The Holzmannstett kitchen is known for it’s exquisite vegetarian cuisine for 20 years. It has evolved from a consciousness and joy for original, flavorful, and above all, lovingly prepared dishes. We primarily use food from organic farming, avoid any processed products, and all meals are freshly prepared.

Ashtanga Retreat Video

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Retreat and Teacher Training Impressions