ADVANCED PRACTICE WEEK
with Alicia Waters & Gilda Goharian
April 30 - May 7, 2020
Rosemerryn Retreat House, Cornwall
Our theme for the week will be...
Cultivating Your Self Practice: A Personal & Purposeful Exploration
of Asana, Pranayama, and Yogic Diet
Come explore how to structure a practice that is nourishing and sustainable for you. Rather than working from a template that assumes everyone needs the same things, or even experiences the same things in the same way, we will build our concept of practice from the ground up by asking what are we practicing and why?
• We’ll take time to identify our deeply held values, assess our individual needs, and notice our present state. And then we’ll approach each practice as an opportunity to learn what serves us (and what doesn’t) through experience, through trial and error, and through maintaining awareness of what is showing up, without judgment.
• We’ll review whether our practice is aligned with our values, knowing that such alignment is what enables us to practice with consistency, commitment, and enthusiasm.
• We’ll discuss how to use practice as self-care, as community care, and as a way to build resiliency for difficult times.
• As always, we’ll take advantage of our extended time together to create community and foster exploration in a way that simply isn’t feasible in a standard weekly class.
In this retreat, we will focus on three main aspects of practice: the physical asana practice, breath work, and diet & nutrition choices.
ASANA
If you ever struggle with your personal practice - not feeling motivated to get on your mat, not knowing what to do once you’re there, or feeling like the practice is a chore - this section is designed for you.
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With the awareness that we are always practicing something - either reinforcing well-worn pathways or breaking new ground - we will ask what we’re really practicing when we step on our mats.
Using somatic techniques we will delve into the vast realm of feeling, sensing, and knowing that we are capable of as human beings - and we will re-emerge with faith in our own power and self-authority. In other words, we’ll remember how to trust our intuitive wisdom to choose what is right for us, what is nourishing for us, what is satisfying and enticing to us, without outside direction.
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You'll go home with a renewed sense of what drives you to practice, and the confidence to choose the right practice for yourself each day, no matter how you're feeling.
BREATH WORK
This will likely be a very different way of approaching breath work than you are used to in an average yoga class. Rather than prescribing a breath pattern for you to copy and the effects you “should” feel, we will use methods for finding each individual’s natural, or essential, breath.
From there, we will explore our own habitual breath holding and restriction and how it manifests as chronic stress, nervous system disfunction, and other mental, emotional, and energetic imprints. Along the way, we’ll review the anatomy of the breath and learn multiple practices for liberating your most natural, supportive breath in any situation, on or off the mat. (Credit for this approach goes to The Breathing Book by Donna Farhi.)
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**This is not meant to contradict or discredit traditional pranayama, but to enhance it. Any successful pranayama practice must start with the ability to breathe in a healthy, unrestricted manner. This foundational work often gets overlooked, which is what we will be addressing here.
YOGIC DIET
In this section, we will explore solutions to the dilemmas that food choices can present. Information about nutrition can feel like a minefield these days, and the yoga world is not exempt. However, it is absolutely possible to find your own way with a flexible, non—dogmatic, and responsive approach. We’ll look critically at deeply-ingrained cultural messages about our bodies, food and weight in order to liberate ourselves from harmful ways of thinking and to live more joyfully with food.
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Topics will include:
- the relationship of mindfulness & your daily meals
- food as medicine (how to influence your health with mindful eating)
- the myth of the “perfect diet”
- what we know: considering whole food, plant-based eating
- how to plan a healthy, individualized diet (critical nutrients, supplementing, the “protein question“ etc.)
- the profound impacts of our food choices: acting in alignment with our humanity
Schedule:
(may change slightly according to the needs or requests of the group)
Arrival Day
Arrive from 2pm
4 -7pm Yoga Practice
7:30pm Dinner
8:30pm Welcome Circle
& Evening Meditation
Sweet dreams!
Daily Schedule
7:30 - 10:30am Morning Practice
10:30 - 11:30am Brunch
11:30 - 1:30pm Group Session
1:30 - 5:30pm Lunch & Free Time
5:30 - 8:00pm Evening Practice
8:00pm Dinner
Departure Day
8 - 10am Morning practice
10 - 11am Brunch
11am Departure
The week will include:
- 6 dynamic morning practices with time for questions and breaking down concepts in a more workshop-style environment
- 6 slower meditative evening practices
- 5 group sessions exploring the topics of the week
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*Group sessions will include experiential learning, which give a chance to reflect and integrate the material we cover. These may include group or partner exercises, journaling, discussion time, or other participatory activities.
Instructor Bios
Alicia Waters believes in healing through relationship, in questioning the status quo, and in every human's ability to realize our innate worth & dignity with practice. It is her work as a Vinyasa Yoga teacher that enables her to bring these deep convictions to life. Alicia holds the highest level of certification with Yoga Alliance US (E-RYT 500) and Yoga Alliance UK (SYT). Starting in 2010, she trained and mentored with Jennifer Yarro and Vidya Heisel of Frog Lotus Yoga for several years, culminating in leading and assisting over 20 intensive yoga teacher trainings in Bali, Spain, Costa Rica, and the US.
Supporting hundreds of students on their journey to becoming yoga teachers has been an immense privilege, and it has made Alicia passionate about encouraging modern Western practitioners to connect with the philosophical heart of yoga and find a sense of deeper meaning in the practice - choosing to focus on the quality of presence over performance.
Currently Alicia lives on a farm in coastal Cornwall with her beloved husband Ross, dog Huxley, and cat Iggthorn. She teaches local classes, private sessions, workshops, and retreats. Alicia loves tending to her plants, dunking herself in the sea (even when it's freezing), dancing around the house, and spending time outside with no phone or watch or agenda.
Alicia holds her teachers, both known directly and felt in lineage, in gratitude and high esteem for all they have contributed to her personal understanding and professional work.
Movement has always been a part of Gilda Goharian's life. From childhood she was involved in sports and dance, which segued into working as a group fitness instructor, teaching functional fitness classes such as BodyArtTM which combines elements of Hatha Yoga, strength training, meditation, classical breathing techniques and physiotherapy.
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After experimenting with several yoga systems, Gilda took up a regular Vinyasa practice and still loves the flexibility and creativity of this particular style. She completed a fundamental 200 hr teacher training in 2010 with Vidya Jacqueline Heisel and Jennifer Yarro of Frog Lotus Yoga. In 2012, Gilda finished her Advanced Teacher Training (+300 hrs) – also with Frog Lotus. Soon after she completed a Budokon Yoga Teacher Training with Cameron Shayne and got hooked on this unique transition-based Hatha Yoga flow with Martial Arts influence and continuous circular rotation.
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In addition, Gilda is a Thai Yoga Massage practitioner and a graduate from the T. Colin Campell Center of Nutrition and eCornell. She is passionate about sharing the multiple benefits of whole food, plant-based nutrition for optimal health, wellbeing, and athletic performance.
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Gilda is currently working toward another 500 hour certification in Yoga Medicine with Tiffany Cruikshank, an advanced training that focuses on a deeper understanding of anatomy & physiology and its application to traditional yoga philosophy. Gilda's classes are vigorous and energetic, with a strong focus on alignment, anatomy and breathing:
"I encourage my students to constantly surprise themselves by going beyond their limits and to approach yoga with a lot of fun and curiosity."
Accommodation
Tucked away in a peaceful wood, only a short walk from the sea, this former artist’s residence is reminiscent of a slower way of life, offering plenty of space to gather as a group and for you to escape on your own when you need. The house is as charming as you could want, the gardens are serene, and the yoga studio is light and spacious - the perfect place to immerse yourself in practice away from the demands of daily life.
Price Per Week:
£975 - cozy private room, 3 spaces available
£825 - comfy shared room, 6 spaces available
£75 Earlybird Discount until Feb. 15
What's Included:
- Accommodation
- All yoga and meditation sessions listed in the schedule above
- All meals indicated in the schedule above
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Sample Daily Menu
Brunch: Bircher style muesli or porridge, fresh fruit salad, roasted veggie and herb frittata, and selection of whole grain and gluten-free breads
Lunch: Winter veggie stew, green leafy salad, fresh veggies and hummus, whole fruits
Dinner: Roasted butternut squash with walnuts and goat’s cheese, Moroccan spiced lentils and saffron Basmati rice, red cabbage slaw
**we will happily cater for dietary requirements, as long as we know in advance**
Not Included:
- Travel to and from Rosemerryn
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Travel Information:
If you are driving, there is plenty of parking. The address is: Rosemerryn, Lamorna, Penzance, TR196BN and we will send more detailed directions closer to the retreat.
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If you are not driving, the easiest way to get here is to take a train to Penzance station. From there, we will arrange to pick you up.
If you will be flying in for the week, we suggest you fly to London and get a train to Penzance as above. It is also possible to take a connecting flight on Flybe from London (usually from Heathrow airport LHR) to Newquay airport NQY. Please note that if you fly into Newquay, you will be responsible for getting to Penzance - this involves a few bus changes, so please plan to arrive early in the day.
If you are making other travel arrangements than those above, please let us know at the time of registration.
To book, e-mail Alicia with your room preference. You will hear back within 24 hours to confirm availability; if your room type is available, you will also receive payment info.
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Any questions, feel free to ask!
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Terms & Conditions
Payment in full is required to reserve your space. If you need a payment plan, please contact Alicia directly.
Acceptance Policy: As this course includes continuing education for yoga teachers, preference will be given to teachers already certified with Yoga Alliance. In the case of overbooking, preference will be given to Frog Lotus Yoga graduates who have studied with Alicia previously. This course is not appropriate for beginners.
Cancellation Policy: Before March 31, your payment will be refunded, less £50 admin fee. March 31, payments are not refundable, unless another yogi is found to take your place. Then you will receive a refund minus a £50 admin fee. Travel will not be reimbursed, so travel insurance is recommended.
