"Beyond Asana Ashtanga Intensive" - Gregor Maehle in Wien
40 years, almost half a human lifetime. That long Gregor Maehle practices Yoga. 1997 he was authorised to teach by his teacher Patthabi Jois, moreover he studied with B.K.S. Ivengar early on. What else does make him such a special teacher? He has vast knowledge in Sanskrit, Anatomy and Meditation - a deep over the years intensivied knowlegde of Body and Soul which complement each other perfectly.
The Body is the crystallized history of all of your past thoughts, feelings, words and actions.
Everything we do, say, think and feel manifests in our bodies.
…true yoga was always aimed at recognizing us as that which is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable.”>
Gregor grew up in Germany after World War II, but left his country many years ago and is living in Australia for 10 years now.
More than Asana
One of his many travels brought him to Vienna. His workshop, which took place from the 4th to the 7th of december 2017 at the Yogamelange, was limited to 30 participants which gave a very intimate and personal feel to it. Monday evening Gregor started with a pulic talk reminding us of the original signification and meaning of yoga. A topic which often is ignored in the asana focused practice which is dominant in the west. From Tuesday till Thursday we practiced asana in the mornings. On the first day we had a led class, the other days were mysore style classes. In the evenings we enjoyed Gregors talks, finished off with pranayama and meditation. We were allowed to interrupt Gregor at any point of his talk to ask questions which turned this workshop into something very special. All I can say is that I got a lot of answers on these 3 days - also on questions I haven't asked myself before.
Going deeper
Gregor doesn't only share his wisdom on workshops: he already wrote several books. 2 on asana, one on pranayama and another one on meditation. The topic of his last book is samadhi, he recommends reading this one first. Moreover he has a blog together with his wife Monica.
This workshop was really special, moved me deeply and gave me a new perspecitve on my yoga practice. Gregor Maehle is a very authentic teacher who experienced a lot and teaches with a lot of wisdom, dedication and love. If he ever comes to a place near you - don't hesitate and join.
If you want to read the article in german click here.